Olney Hymns · Chapter
Is This Thy Kindness to Thy Friend? explained
The poem reflects on the believer's unworthiness and the boundless love of Christ, who ransoms, guides, and promises eternal glory.
What happens
The poem reflects on the believer's unworthiness and the boundless love of Christ, who ransoms, guides, and promises eternal glory. The speaker laments his own faithlessness, neglect, and shame in confessing Christ before the world, yet acknowledges that only God's grace prevents him from being cast away.
Themes in this chapter
Grace and Unmerited Favor
The speaker acknowledges that only God's grace prevents him from being spurned, despite his vileness and base behavior.
Human Sinfulness and Depravity
The speaker laments his perverse returns, faithlessness, and shame, recognizing his own sinfulness in contrast to Christ's faithfulness.
Characters to notice
- Jesus Christ
The rich, almighty Friend who ransoms from hell, controls foes, and promises enthronement in heaven.
- The Narrator
The speaker who confesses his own weakness, faithlessness, and shame in response to Christ's kindness.
- Satan
The adversary whose lies the speaker often believes instead of trusting Christ's promises.
Key passages
“I Poor, weak, and worthless, though I am, I have a rich, almighty Friend; Jesus, the Saviour, is his name, He freely loves, and without end.”
Despite my own poverty and weakness, I possess a powerful and wealthy friend, Jesus the Savior, whose love is unconditional and eternal.
The opening stanza establishes the contrast between the speaker's lowliness and Christ's greatness.
“He ransom’d me from hell with blood, And by his power my foes control’d; He found me wand’ring far from God, And brought me to his chosen fold.”
He paid the price to save me from damnation, subdued my enemies, and rescued me from my waywardness, leading me into his community of believers.
This stanza recounts the redemptive work of Christ in the believer's life.
“But ah! my inmost spirit mourns, And well my eyes with tears may swim, To think of my perverse returns; I’ve been a faithless friend to him.”
Yet my soul grieves deeply, and I weep, because I have repaid his kindness with disobedience and unfaithfulness.
The speaker expresses sorrow over his own failure to be a loyal friend to Christ.
“Often my gracious Friend I grieve, Neglect, distrust, and disobey; And often Satan’s lies believe Sooner than all my Friend can say.”
I frequently sadden my gracious friend by neglecting, doubting, and disobeying him, and I am more prone to trust Satan's deceptions than Christ's words.
This highlights the struggle between faith and doubt, and the influence of spiritual warfare.
“Sure, were not I most vile and base, I could not thus my Friend requite! And were not he the God of grace He’d frown, and spurn me from his sight.”
If I were not utterly wicked, I would not repay my friend so poorly; and if he were not a God of grace, he would reject me in anger.
The final stanza acknowledges human depravity and the necessity of divine grace.