Olney Hymns · Chapter
Praise for Faith explained
This hymn by Cowper praises God for the gift of faith, which enables sinners to receive the merits of Christ's blood.
What happens
This hymn by Cowper praises God for the gift of faith, which enables sinners to receive the merits of Christ's blood. It acknowledges that without divine teaching, hearts are blind to the Savior's worth, and that both the Savior and the power to appreciate him come from God alone.
Themes in this chapter
Grace and Unmerited Favor
Faith itself is described as a grace given by God's hand, not earned, and the power to value Christ is also a gift.
Faith and Trust in Christ
Faith is the 'blood-receiving grace' that trusts in Christ's merits, and without it, the heart remains blind and miserable.
Characters to notice
- God
Addressed as the Giver of all good, who bestows faith and the teaching power to see Christ's merits.
- Jesus Christ
Referred to as 'my Redeemer,' whose blood is the richest gift and whose merits are hidden from the blind.
- The Narrator
The speaker praises God for faith, confessing human blindness and dependence on divine grace.
Key passages
“Faith too, the blood-receiving grace, From the same hand we gain; Else, sweetly as it suits our case, That gift had been in vain.”
Faith, which receives the benefits of Christ's blood, is also given by God; otherwise, the gift of Christ's blood would be useless to us.
The hymn emphasizes that faith is a divine gift, not a human work.
“Till thou thy teaching power apply, Our hearts refuse to see, And, weak as a distemper'd eye, Shut out the view of thee.”
Until God applies his teaching power, our hearts are like diseased eyes that cannot see him.
Spiritual blindness is only cured by God's direct intervention.