Hymn: By Grace I'm Saved, Grace Free and Boundless

Lawrence Roff has written another edifying “hymn story” well worth a read. He takes a look at the hymn By Grace I'm Saved, Grace Free and Boundless, penned by Christian Ludwig Scheidt (1709-1761) in 1742. It’s in the Trinity Hymnal (#456) to the tune MENTZER. Here is the Trinity Hymnal version on YouTube if you want to hear it.

The first two stanzas make clear what the title states:

By grace I'm saved, grace free and boundless; my soul, believe and doubt it not.
Why stagger at this word of promise? Has Scripture ever falsehood taught?
No; then this word must true remain: by grace you too shall heav'n obtain.

By grace! None dare lay claim to merit; our works and conduct have no worth.
God in his love sent our Redeemer, Christ Jesus, to this sinful earth;
His death did for our sins atone, and we are saved by grace alone.

Grace, full and free. Any works we do “have no worth.” The very definition of grace (free) precludes any works being of value to save us from our sins.

Remarkable too is the back story of Scheidt. Each stanza he wrote is packed with rich biblical truth, but this one jumped out at me, especially considering his life story.

By grace to timid hearts that tremble, in tribulation's furnace tried,
by grace, in spite of fear and trouble, the Father's heart is open wide.
Where could I help and strength secure, if grace were not my anchor sure?

Trouble and tribulation obviously come to us in our lives. Scheidt’s life surely had some trouble and tribulation as well. Roff notes:

The hymn shows us the heart of a man who deeply appreciated and trusted in the God who had saved him by sovereign grace. His faith was severely tried in the decades after his schooling. He and his wife had eight children, but every one of them died at a young age!  And on top of that, soon after the death of their eighth child Scheidt discovered that his wife was having an affair with his personal assistant. After three years of attempting to reconcile, they divorced. He remarried, but died three years later in Hanover after a lengthy and severe illness.

All eight of his children died at a young age! Yet even in such tragic and heartbreaking circumstances, he trusted in the God of grace. I can’t even imagine.

God give us grace each day as we walk through the ups and downs of life.

Roff’s full story if worthy of a read.