Could there have been any more majestic structure than the one where he sat and considered the importance of the church? Samuel John Stone was a 27-year-old serving in England’s Anglican Church at the Windsor Castle (St. George’s Chapel [at the left] and the Round Tower [center-right] at the castle are shown here in this 1848 painting by Joseph Nash) in London when he put pen to paper to express his strong opinion about “The Church’s One Foundation”. He heard and read some opposing viewpoints that challenged what had been accepted for many generations, even centuries. Samuel wanted there to be no mistaking how he felt, probably explaining why he wrote seven verses to passionately articulate his view and defend the institution in which he had chosen to serve. The issue at the heart of a brewing debate was deeply affecting to Samuel, so it should come as no surprise that the song he wrote was just one of many that occupied his thoughts at the time.
Samuel Stone, like those of his generation and many before him, had grown up and studied to become a servant of the church by relying on the tenets of the Apostles’ Creed. Twelve basic truths occupied this creed, including the ninth that Samuel wanted to address in his hymn ‘The Church’s One Foundation’. Why? Simply put, Samuel had become aware of writings that were skeptical of the historic accuracy of the bible’s Old Testament. He and others believed this modern, liberal viewpoint was damaging the unity of the body – the church – that Stone loved so much. So, he returned to the creed, which at that point in the mid-19th Century had served as a set of guiding principles for Christian believers for well over 1,000 years. The creed’s focus is on who God is and what He has accomplished, including the ninth point that highlights the church that He started. Samuel echoes the creed’s point regarding the universality of that body in his poem’s second verse – ‘…from every nation, yet one o’er all the earth...’. Stone extols the church’s resilience through most of the verses, after setting the foundation in verse 1 – Jesus Christ. All the attributes of the church flow from this seminal relationship to Christ -- its permanence (v.3); its role as a haven for believers during strife (vv.4-5); its spiritual connectivity between the living and those who have gone on before us (v.6); and its place in the lives of believers who have a hope and certainty of an eternal reward (v.7). Pretty important things, aren’t they?
Would anyone seriously disagree with Samuel that God’s church is bigger - much bigger - than one local congregation, or group of congregations in one country? If you’ve taken part in church life, would you take exception to Samuel’s opinion that church folks can help when you have a life-challenging struggle? How do you feel about church, as you long to see loved ones again who’ve preceded you in death? Can you imagine what life would be like without a church to help actuate your days? Whose inspiration is at the root of the church you think of as God’s body? If you’re at a loss to answer the preceding, just look at Samuel Stone’s poem. He had the answers. You can, too.
See more information on the song story in these sources: The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006; Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990; 101 Hymn Stories, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1982.
See brief biography of the author here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/s/t/o/n/stone_sj.htm
See all seven of the hymn’s original verses here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/c/h/o/f/chofound.htm
See the basic tenets of the beliefs that the hymn’s author and other conservatives of his time shared: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostles%27_Creed
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