Olney Hymns · Chapter
The Loadstone explained
This poem uses the metaphor of a magnetic stone to describe how faith in Jesus Christ draws the soul toward God.
What happens
This poem uses the metaphor of a magnetic stone to describe how faith in Jesus Christ draws the soul toward God. It contrasts the restless, wandering state of those led by blinded passions with the fixed and stable heart of the believer who has received the Holy Spirit's teaching of the Savior's love. The poem emphasizes that grace, working through love, constrains the will to good and leads the believer to forsake idols and serve the Lord, ultimately being drawn upward by the crucified and exalted Christ.
Themes in this chapter
Faith and Trust in Christ
Faith is compared to a needle touched by a magnet, giving the soul a new tendency toward Jesus.
Grace and Unmerited Favor
Grace is described as another name for love, which constrains to good and bars from ill.
Characters to notice
- Jesus Christ
The object of faith and the Savior whose love is imparted by the Holy Spirit and who draws sinners upward when lifted up.
- The Holy Spirit
The one who imparts knowledge of the Savior's love, fixing the wandering heart.
- The Narrator
The speaker who describes the transformative effect of faith and grace on the soul.
Key passages
“As needles point towards the pole When touch’d by the magnetic stone; So faith in Jesus gives the soul A tendency before unknown.”
Just as a compass needle is drawn to the north when touched by a magnet, faith in Jesus gives the soul a new direction it never had before.
The opening simile establishes the central metaphor of the poem.
“But when the Holy Ghost imparts A knowledge of the Saviour’s love, Our wand’ring, weary, restless hearts Are fix’d at once, no more to move.”
But when the Holy Spirit teaches us about the Savior's love, our hearts, which were once wandering and restless, become firmly settled and no longer drift.
Describes the transformative work of the Holy Spirit in stabilizing the believer.
“By love’s pure light we soon perceive Our noblest bliss and proper end; And gladly every idol leave, To love and serve our Lord and Friend,”
Through the pure light of love, we quickly recognize our highest happiness and true purpose, and we willingly abandon every idol in order to love and serve our Lord and Friend.
Highlights the renunciation of worldly idols and the devotion to Christ.
“Thus, borne along by faith and hope, We feel the Saviour’s words are true; “And I, if I be lifted up, Will draw the sinner upward too.””
Carried forward by faith and hope, we experience the truth of the Savior's words: 'And I, when I am lifted up, will draw all people to myself.'
The poem concludes with a direct reference to Jesus' promise of drawing sinners to Himself.