When someone thinks about Anglican music, they rightly think about 18th century Psalm chants and 19th century Victorian hymns sung in the dark, reverberant cathedrals in British cities, and they would be right. This music is often filled either with royal pageantry or with quiet devotion, coming from impressive pipe organs and cassock-robed choirs of men and boys. For many this is the epitome of church music, especially at festival times like Christmas and Easter (think of the magnificent Festival of Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve in the chapel of King’s College, Cambridge).
But within Anglicanism (and the Episcopal Church in the US) there have long been three branches. There is the “high church” branch which is close to Romanism in its formal liturgies and focus on ritual. There is the “broad church” that is dominated by liberal (today called “progressive”) theology. And there is also the “low church” in which historic gospel theology is faithfully preached. In the past, this is the branch that has included such champions of the faith as J. C. Ryle, John Stott, and J. W. Packer. In such churches not only is there solid evangelical doctrine being preached, but also joyful congregational singing, with choirs and organs and classic hymns, and more recently with contemporary compositions from praise bands.
We should also remember the significant numbers of churches in the broader Anglican communion, especially in Africa. Many millions of believers worship in Anglican churches in countries like Kenya and Uganda which are solidly evangelical in doctrine and gospel-focused in spirit. In these places, traditional Western hymnody exists alongside indigenous African worship compositions (including native drums and multiple percussion instruments) and what Americans would recognize as “contemporary” Christian music. On places where performers have skill and resources, praise bands lend joyful music to the congregational praise.
One such band is named CityAlight, from Castle Hill, Sydney, Australia, at an Anglican church called St. Paul’s Castle Hill. This group, and some of their songs, have become familiar to Americans in part through their exposure with Getty Music at the annual Sing conference, as well as through their recordings and concerts. Australia’s reputation is one of being a country almost completely secular, if not openly hostile to religion. And so it is exciting to hear of thriving evangelical congregations and ministries “down under.”
The Diocese of Sydney, of which they are a part, is an evangelical form of global Anglicanism with a commitment to the authority of Scripture, a personal relationship with Jesus, and a focus on mission, sharing the gospel both home and abroad. As for worship, the Anglican church has a very different relationship to modern worship than the Pentecostal church. In large part this stems from the Anglican church’s long history of supporting choral and traditional music, an engagement that’s run over hundreds of years, and it can’t (and probably shouldn’t) be shaken off immediately. There’s a great beauty in those styles of music that evangelicals have not wanted to lose. But on the whole Anglican churches in Sydney no longer reflect that sort of worship even if their reputation hasn’t yet caught up. On the average Sunday one will see the minister in a suit or a shirt and tie (occasionally shorts and a t-shirt in the Australian summers), the words of modern congregational songs projected onto a screen, a band with drums and guitars up front, and one will rarely see a prayer book.
In an interview with Christian blogger Tim Challies, a person from CityAlight had this to say.
In saying this, though, it does not mean we suddenly have a deep or familiar relationship with modern worship if by that you have in mind songs with a vaguely pop/soft rock sound and a verse/chorus/bridge structure. The Sydney Diocese is immensely careful to protect the truth of the gospel in its preaching and teaching. It values clarity of expression and faithfulness to Scripture. And that very often admirable caution has extended to music in the Diocese, too. We haven’t seen the easy acceptance of every hit congregational song going around or every development in musical style or the implementation of each technological advance because, roughly speaking, the church has aimed to ensure at every point that it won’t be compromising on something, a first principle. Attention to detail in these matters has kept the priorities as priorities, but it also results in a denomination making much slower progress in its implementation of and proficiency with modern music. This is intended to be a statement of fact, and individuals can decide where the balance ought to be.
At St. Paul’s, with CityAlight, we’re immensely grateful for the legacy of the Anglican church, their fidelity to Scripture, their commitment to clarity in preaching and teaching, their desire to reach unbelievers with the gospel, and their insistence on a personal relationship with Jesus. The mission of CityAlight is to write simple melodies with biblically rich lyrics and it doesn’t take much maneuvering to see how closely those values align with those of the Diocese. In being part of the Anglican Church, and particularly in a denomination informed by the principles of the Reformation, we’re honored to join in with a very long history of people trying to serve God with the best of their music and teaching and writing and witnessing. We just see ourselves as getting in line and continuing on.
Most churches around the world aren’t large. Some figures tell us that the average number in Australia is about 70. That means these are churches without large music teams or complicated sound equipment. These are churches with one guitar, or no guitar, one organ, one trombone, two singers – something like that. And we want to partner with those faithful congregations. Our vision is to resource them with simple songs. There is nothing on earth like the sound of a church singing, big or small, ancient or modern, skilled or not. The sound of a church singing has preceded almost every great revival in church history. The church is God’s witness and representative on earth. And is there any wonder that a tremendous power comes about when the representative voice of God in the earth is singing?
We have been writing songs together for about five years. The band isn’t fixed. It’s made up of whoever is available when the request comes in! We really see ourselves as a local church, first of all writing for our people, and also praying that God might take these songs out to any of His churches that might be helped by them.
That interview also included reflections about the challenges of writing new music.
But on the flip side there is also a trend in the church music ‘industry’ to write songs quite quickly. A new song or two a day is a pretty common benchmark for many writers. The reasoning behind this (we’re guessing) is that you continue to improve your craft and don’t get too stuck in any one song. Good songs can certainly be written that way. But, this method of writing is going to limit the kind of songs that come out. Certain songs just take time and work and reworking and meditation and reworking and discussion. Theology is rich and deep and our songs need to grapple with that. It is unlikely (though not impossible, it must be said) that a writer could dash off a song about God’s sovereignty or the mystery of suffering in an hour or two. In fact, there is the danger of arrogance where a person thinks they would be able to do that without serious thought with whatever ideas come easily to mind. Deep truths about the gospel take time to get a grip on and the songwriter must take the time to do it in order to bless the church. We are feeding the church. We need to feel the weight of that. What we put in the mouths of the body of Christ has the power to either strengthen a believer or distort their theology. We would argue that, because of the way songs stay in people’s minds, we have a responsibility just like the preacher delivering a sermon. In fact it could be argued that songs need even more care than sermons.
The best-known song from CityAlight is “Yet Not I but Through Christ in Me.” It took them 12 weeks to write it. They dove deep into the idea of what it means to have Christ dwell within. They wrote and rewrote the song many, many times, struggling for every word. They encourage other songwriter to slow down, knowing that their songs will be richer for it. Many will also be familiar with CityAlight’s song, “Only a Holy God.”
“Yet Not I but Through Christ in Me” builds on a theme found in many places in Scripture. In “the Upper Room Discourse” in John 15, as Jesus spoke about His being the vine and we being the branches, He said that if we will abide in Him, He will abide in us. We can also remember Colossians 1:29 where Paul wrote, “To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.” Having Christ in us does not mean we do no more work, and neither does it mean we do it all. Rather, we contend and we contend with His energy. Even our final resurrection is made possible by the gift of Christ in us. He will bring us to glory. In our weakness He is strong, and He will complete the work He has begun. He Himself is within us, leading us home, step by step. Every believer has been given this gift. It’s worth singing about!
Two of the writers of “Yet Not I But Through Christ in Me,” Richard Thompson and Jonny Robinson, said this about their work on this song, adding these words to the previous comments about taking time to be careful and thoughtful about lyrics.
There is a trend in the church music ‘industry’ to write songs quite quickly. A new song or two a day is a pretty common benchmark for many writers. Good songs can certainly be written that way. But, this method of writing is going to limit the kind of songs that come out. Certain songs just take time and work and reworking and meditation and reworking and discussion. Theology is rich and deep and our songs need to grapple with that. It is unlikely (though not impossible, it must be said) that a writer could dash off a song about God’s sovereignty or the mystery of suffering in an hour or two. In fact, there is the danger of arrogance where a person thinks they would be able to do that without serious thought with whatever ideas come easily to mind. Deep truths about the gospel take time to get a grip on and the songwriter must take the time to do it in order to bless the church. We are feeding the church. We need to feel the weight of that. What we put in the mouths of the body of Christ has the power to either strengthen a believer or distort their theology. We would argue that, because of the way songs stay in people’s minds, we have a responsibility just like the preacher delivering a sermon. In fact it could be argued that songs need even more care than sermons.
Paul’s letters are filled with references to our union with Christ, as he has written almost 150 times in his epistles that we are “in Him” and He is “in us.” We think, for example, of Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” But if there is any one passage of Scripture that captures the theme of this song and gives it a solid biblical basis, it is Colossians 1:27, “To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” What a great phrase: “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” In the CityAlight song, the repeated refrain, “Yet Not I But Through Christ in Me,” affirms that our salvation, our hope, our joy, our security, our lives are not based on anything in ourselves, but are found only “through Christ in me.” This takes away any kind of boasting in who we are or what we have done, but boasting only in what Jesus has done in and through us.
Stanza 1 sings of Jesus as being the greatest gift we possess. John Piper has written that Jesus says to us, in effect, “I want to give you the greatest gift possible … Me!” Notice all the things named in this stanza that we have if we have Jesus: joy, righteousness, freedom, love, peace, hope … “all is mine!” This is all of grace, God’s unmerited favor toward us. And so we hold on to Him, resting in the assurance that “my life is wholly bound to His.” Such an amazing truth is this that we conclude the stanza singing that this is “strange and divine.”
What gift of grace is Jesus my redeemer
There is no more for heaven now to give
He is my joy, my righteousness, and freedom
My steadfast love, my deep and boundless peace
To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus
For my life is wholly bound to His
Oh how strange and divine, I can sing: all is mine!
Yet not I, but through Christ in me
Stanza 2 sings of the difference it makes in our lives when we are experiencing the inevitable and too-often dark times that make us feel forsaken, but our Savior remains by our side. His presence enables us to labor on in rejoicing, even when we are at our weakest. Those are the times when “His power is displayed” so dramatically. That phrase brings to mind the wonderful book by the late Canadian hymn writer, Margaret Clarkson. Her chosen title sets a marvelous reality before us: “Grace Grows Best in Winter.” We have all discovered that it has been in “the deepest valley” that Jesus does His best work in our souls. The victories we experience will lead us to sing that “the night has been won” and we have overcome, but giving all the glory to God. It will indeed be a victory, “yet not I, but through Christ in me.”
The night is dark but I am not forsaken
For by my side, the Saviour He will stay
I labour on in weakness and rejoicing
For in my need, His power is displayed
To this I hold, my Shepherd will defend me
Through the deepest valley He will lead
Oh the night has been won, and I shall overcome!
Yet not I, but through Christ in me
Stanza 3 sings of the harshness of the realities that rise up in our paths. Apart from Jesus, people will do the best they can, and perhaps even experience temporal peace and prosperity. But when they stand in final judgment, all their accomplishments will be of no value if their sins have remained unforgiven, and they will be cast out of the loving presence of God into an eternity of hell’s indescribable miseries. But the payment for the sins of the elect has been paid in full as “Jesus bled and suffered for my pardon.” The second half of this stanza ought to be raised half a step to a higher key as we celebrate the certainty that “my sin has been defeated.” The fear of judgment is gone. The chains that bound us have been released, enabling us to sing, “I am free!” Once again, though, we deny any claim to our having done anything to achieve this. It is “not I, but through Christ in me.”
No fate I dread, I know I am forgiven
The future sure, the price it has been paid
For Jesus bled and suffered for my pardon
And He was raised to overthrow the grave
To this I hold, my sin has been defeated
Jesus now and ever is my plea
Oh the chains are released, I can sing: I am free!
Yet not I, but through Christ in me
Stanza 4 sings of our longing for something wonderful in our future: when He will deliver on His promise to bring us home. Until then, “with every breath I long to follow Jesus,” confident that “day by day I know He will renew me until I stand with joy before the throne.” So the song concludes in an exuberant shout of security: “To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus.” For the Christian who knows everything he or she has or hopes for is in Christ, it is our great joy to point away from ourselves and direct all the attention to Him who alone is worthy of such glory. That will be what will occur on that day John saw in his vision in Revelation 5:12, when every creature in heaven will sing, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And so we know that “when the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat: Yet not I, but through Christ in me!”
With every breath I long to follow Jesus
For He has said that He will bring me home
And day by day I know He will renew me
Until I stand with joy before the throne
To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus
All the glory evermore to Him
When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat:
Yet not I, but through Christ in me!
Songwriters: Michael Farren / Rich Thompson / Jonny Robinson
Yet Not I but Through Christ in Me lyrics © 2018 Farren Love And War Publishing,
Integrity’s Alleluia! Music, CityAlight Music
Here is a link to the CityAlight team singing it live at their home church, St. Paul’s Castle Hill in Sydney.