Olney Hymns · Chapter
A Prayer for Power on the Means of Grace explained
This hymn is a prayer to God, acknowledging that all spiritual power and effectiveness in preaching and hearing the Word come from Him alone.
What happens
This hymn is a prayer to God, acknowledging that all spiritual power and effectiveness in preaching and hearing the Word come from Him alone. It recalls God's mighty acts in history—creation, the provision of water from the rock, and the fall of Jericho—to illustrate that human means are powerless without divine intervention. The hymn pleads for God's Spirit to work in the hearts of hearers, breaking stubborn hearts and granting repentance, and specifically prays for the youth, that they might not waste another year without responding to God's call.
Themes in this chapter
Divine Providence and Guidance
The hymn emphasizes that all spiritual results depend on God's sovereign action, not on human effort or means.
Prayer and Dependence on God
The entire hymn is a prayer acknowledging total dependence on God for the effectiveness of the means of grace.
Characters to notice
- God
Addressed as the almighty Creator and the one who commands light, gives life, and works wonders; the source of all power in the means of grace.
- Moses
Mentioned as the one who waved his rod, but the water flowed only at God's command, illustrating human inadequacy.
- The Holy Spirit
Implored to be poured out on the assembled youth, granting the unction needed for spiritual transformation.
Key passages
“Thou at whose almighty word / The glorious light from darkness sprung!”
You, God, who spoke and light came into being out of darkness at creation.
Alludes to the creation narrative in Genesis, emphasizing God's sovereign power.
“As when, of old, the water flow’d / Forth from the rock at thy command; / Moses in vain had waved his rod / Without thy wonder-working hand.”
Just as water came from the rock only when you commanded it, Moses' rod was powerless without your miraculous intervention.
References the event at Meribah (Exodus 17:6) where God provided water from the rock.
“As when the walls of Jericho / Down to the earth at once were cast; / It was thy power that brought them low, / And not the trumpet’s feeble blast.”
The walls of Jericho fell because of your power, not because of the sound of the trumpets.
Alludes to the fall of Jericho (Joshua 6:20), emphasizing that victory comes from God alone.