Hymn II
Born Again
On the necessity of new birth in Christ
Verse 1
Was walking blind in the darkness
According to Frisk, this is the universal state of all people pre-conversion. While he didn’t use language of blindness, Paul certainly did in passages like 2 Corinthians 4:4, where he says that unbelievers are “blinded” by the “gods of this age.” The idea of “gods of this age” factored heavily into this first verse. We really liked the imagery of someone stumbling in the darkness, grabbing onto things they believe are gods but are not. “We all know [these false gods’] names and that their number is legion," Frisk says.1 "‘Nationalism’, ‘Success,’ ‘Popularity,’ ‘Pleasure,’ ‘Reputation,’ ‘Family,’ ‘Home,’ ‘Church’ - the list is without end."2
1. Donald Frisk, New Life in Christ (Chicago: Covenant Press, 1969), 13.
2. Ibid.
Was holding the weight of the world
This pre-conversion life may appear to be easy and free (and normal) but in reality it’s foolish to believe that these idols don’t demand anything from you. On the contrary, these idols demand everything and trying to produce just a fraction of what they ask is exhausting. We were inspired by the hymn Rock of Ages in this line: “Nothing in my hand I bring.”3 There’s something about the idea of bringing our own work and effort to Christ and him emptying our hands to embrace him that really moved us.
3. Augustus M. Toplady, "Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me," 1775, in Trinity Hymnal (Suwanee, GA: Great Commission Publications, 1990), hymn 500.
My heart grieved and my Spirit was troubled
This is a re-interpretation of words in Psalm 73:21-22 in the NIV: “When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.” We thought this beautifully articulated the vision of this song, and we also loved that in his Scriptural and Basic Introduction to True Christianity, Francke uses this Psalm to highlight the nature of faith within trials.4 Even when we’re doing well spiritually, there is no guarantee that life will be easy, and Francke talks about how faith in this very common situation produces confidence and joy, two themes that will reoccur later in the song.
4. Hermann Francke, "Scriptrual and Basic Introduction to True Christianity", quoted in Gary R. Sattler, God's Glory and Neighbor's Good (Chicago: Covenant Press), 253.
You found me buried and burdened
We wanted to include something about baptism within our project, and so we tied this line to Paul’s words in Romans 6:3-4: “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Baptism, just as the priesthood of all believers, is a vital Covenant affirmation.5
5. Committee on Covenant Doctrine, Covenant Affirmations (Chicago: Covenant Publications, 2005), 2.
You gave me new eyes to see
This is a reference to Psalm 119:18 there the Psalter asks for their eyes to be open in order to see the beauty of God’s law. Before being born again, one cannot fully grasp the beauty of the Law. Only after “decisively turning to God”, one can begin on the path of seeing the goodness of life with Christ.6
6. Frisk, New Life, 12.
You are the rest for my weary soul
Another explicit reference to the words of Jesus that one finds in Matthew 11:28 (NIV): “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” The Covenant hymnist A.L. Skoog wrote a hymn entitled Sabbath Day of Rest and Cheer that powerfully evoked the image of God granting rest, and we thought it was fitting to include a vintage Covenant hymn.
6. Joël Blomqvist, "Sabbath Day of Rest and Cheer," trans. A. L. Skoog, in The Covenant Hymnal: A Worshipbook (Chicago: Covenant Publications, 1996), hymn 172
Refrain
I need to be born again
Another reference to an A.L. Skoog hymn called Day by Day, we see the lyrics: “Day by day, and with each passing moment, strength I find to meet my trials here."7 The “day by day” phrasing of this hymn mirrors the Swedish “nyfödd dag” meaning “newborn day”. We can see a connotation that each day is a new opportunity to be born again to the Lord. We rely on Him every hour, needing new birth.
7. J. Irving Erickson, Twice-Born Hymns (Chicago: Covenant Press, 1976), 26.
Verse 2
I’m coming back to my Father
Within the early preaching of The Covenant Church, we see an emphasis on the story of The Prodigal Son out of Luke 15. In a Pietistin article titled "What the Evangelical Covenant Church Believes about God", Glen Wiberg recounts a sermon preached by Rev. Emil Gustaf Turnquist in Minneapolis. During his sermon, “a woman in the gallery cried out in great anguish, ‘I am lost.’ And from the pulpit the voice came loud and clear: ‘You are no longer lost because your Father comes out to meet you.’”8 Core to their Pietistic roots, the early Evangelical Covenant Church emphasized the gracious and forgiving nature of God the Father towards humanity.
8. Glen Wiberg, "What the Evangelical Covenant Church Believes About God," Pietisten IV, no. 4 (Winter 1989), https://www.pietisten.org/iv/4/wiberg.html.
I’m giving all that I can, I’m running hard after Jesus
The Mission Friends published a periodical called "Zions Banér,"" led by Lutheran minister Charles Anderson. In reflecting on the life and faith of the prolific evangelist D. L. Moody, the publication wrote: “His soul glows with burning devotion; not like the sparkling of a rocket or flickering of a flame, but as metal heating to the core. He is penetrated by an inner love for the Lord Jesus and a longing to save souls… with the Bible, he has shaken the most powerful strongholds of darkness.”9
This vivid language highlights a faith marked by deep, unwavering devotion. The Christian life is not one of complacency, but of intentional pursuit. It is this same spirit that is captured in the lyric, calling us to “give all that we can” and to “run hard after Jesus.”
9. Zions Banér, June 1875, 137–138. Zions Banér published Waldenström's Brukspatron Adamsson serially from April 1873 to February 1874.
Refrain
I need to be born again
You are my helper and friend
The connection between helper and friend comes from Sing… with Understanding. Evidently, the hymn “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” was once connected to a hymn called “Ebenezer.”10 We loved the connection lyrically between the two words, and to see that the ideas were connected musically far before we began work on this project felt providential.
10. James Davies, Sing... with Understanding(Chicago: Covenant Press, 1966), 9-10.
For you called me out of death,
And you brought me into life
We really loved how Frisk talked about the joy that follows a life following Christ. He says, “The Christian knows that he participates in the death of Christ through the confession of sin and the offering of self and that he participates in the resurrection through deliverance from sin, the powers of darkness, and death.”11 This participation in Christ’s resurrection means being called out of death, which is the new birth.
11. Frisk, New Life,, 97.
I have been born again
We wanted to capture the progressive sanctifcation in the life of a Christian. First, one must recognize his or her need to be born again. Then, they accept Christ's death. From there, life continues with no promises that things will always be good. Yet, in the midst of trials and suffering, you are always born again. In other words: no matter what happens, once you have received Christ's death and resurrection, you will never experience the ultimate pain of death.
Bridge
Your Power, Your Glory
P.P. Waldenström references Hebrews 1:3 several times throughout his seminal work, The Reconciliation. Hebrews 1:3 states, "And he is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power," and for Waldenström, this verse perfectly illustrates how it is for God's glory that we are brought back into relationship with him: "Therefore, it pleased to send God to send just him and fill him with all this fullness. Hence, it happens that Christ everywhere in the Gosepls ascribes to the Father all that he is and does and speaks."12 We thought that this was a fitting was to talk about how beholding Christ is beholding God's glory.
12. P. P. Waldenström, The Reconciliation: Who Was to Be Reconciled? God or Man? Or God and Man? Some Chapters on the Biblical View of the Atonement, trans. J. G. Princell (Chicago: John Martenson, 1888), 96.
Your Splendor, and Majesty
We wanted to indicate both the spiritual nature of the new birth as well as the physical resurrection that will come one day for those Christ. A great verse to highlight this reality is 1 Corinthians 15:35-41, where Paul talks about the "splendor" of our future, heaven bodies.
Your Goodness, Your Beauty
Two major components of worship are beauty and goodness, and we found a line in The Covenant Book of Worship that captured both of these ideas perfectly. It's in one of the General Calls to Prayer: "O Lord, open our eyes, that we may see the beauty of goodness."14 Again, to connect our song to that line from decades ago is very inspiring.
14. Covenant Church,The Covenant Book of Worship (Chicago: Covenant Press), 42.
Your Friendship and Your Mercy
In the same section of "Sing... with Understanding" that connects the themes of hymns "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" and "Ebenezer," James Davies says, "Our relationship with the divine Friend is transformed from a somewhat maudlin sentimental yearning to a rugged, vibrant experience."15
15. Davies, Sing..., 10.
Your kindness leads me to repentance
We were inspired by Paul in Romans 2:4 (NIV): "Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?"
Your kindness leads me to repentance
And I have been born again.