“Faith Creatorâ€
Faith Creator, claim this child
Call him/her Your own reconciled
Graft him/her into the True Vine
Wash him/her with your grace divine
Simple water fills the bowl.
How can this renew his/her soul?
Splashed on him/her your Holy Word
“Father, Son, and Spirit” heard.
Steeped in sin he/she meets this font
Filled with death, his/her soul in want;
With your blood you clothe him/her clean
Leaves this font, his/her guilt unseen.
From his/her birth unruly whole
Nothing pure within his/her soul
Fill him/her with your Spirit true
Make him/her die and rise anew
An Original Hymn Text by Pastor Philip Hoppe. I would suggest the tune Orientis partibus. However, any 7.7.7.7 meter tune will work. Feel free to use it for any non-commercial purpose. If you use it, I would love to hear about it at pastor@ihoppe.com.
Hello pastor Hoope! Thanks for this beautiful Hymn! God be praised for His gifted Children.
-Miguel
I remember this text Phil. You wanted me to set it to some music, but nothing I wrote ever seemed to work. I do have some problems with one part of the text which strikes me as “ultra-Calvinistic” but it’s not a bad piece.
what part?
So beautiful. I don’t know the names of tunes, but I sung it in my head to the tune of “Holy Spirit, Light Divine.”
Too bad you didn’t post it a few weeks earlier! We could’ve used it for Eli’s baptism. Ah, well… maybe the next Christ child. (That’s short-i Christ child.)
Jaime,
Funny, Light Divine is the tune I used originally. Here is a midi of the other tune: http://www.ccel.org/cceh/0011/001124a.mid
We have used it at all of my kid’s baptisms. Hope you can use it in the future.
My problem is with the line “nothing pure in his soul.” The Calvinist “total depravity” really shows up here. I think even the Blessed Augustine would shudder as to how his thoughts and teachings have been twisted by modern “theologians.” If someone is totally depraved, then what hope does he have? If he has not one thing of the image of God left in him, even if one microbe, then such assumes that the beauty of God’s creation can be totally defeated by sin.
Q – If someone is totally depraved, then what hope does he have?
A – Only Jesus. Only Jesus.