How Firm A Foundation
How Firm a Foundation
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
“Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.
“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
For I will be with thee thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
“When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
“The soul that on Jesus still leans for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake!”
MOST HYMNALS simply list the author of this hymn as “K” because he wanted to remain anonymous. The hymn was first published in 1787 in a hymnbook put together by John Rippon, a Baptist minister in London. While the author remained a mystery for a while, most musicologists now agree that John Rippon’s assistant, Robert Keene, was probably the author.
The title of the hymn was “Scripture Promises,” and in that 1787 hymnbook these words from 2 Peter 1:4 were printed above the first stanza: “Great and precious promises.” Each stanza of the hymn emphasizes a different promise in God’s Word, with the great climax coming on the last verse, “The soul that on Jesus still leans for repose . . . I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake!”
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.”
Isaiah 43:1-2
From the book
