Song picture
How Firm a Foundation
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This hymn was written in 1787 by Robert Keene. It is an astoundingly substantial song, comforting and beautiful.
classic hymn
I'm a Christian songwriter who loves many types of music, but none more than the ancient hymns.
There is neglected gold lying about in dusty hymnals. Due to an understandable desire to create songs that appeal to contemporary tastes, there has been a gradual turning away from some of the most profound expressions of Christian faith that can be found outside of the Bible itself. Writers like Charles Wesley, Isaac Watts, John Newton, and Fanny J. Crosby composed dozens, even hundreds, of powerful spiritual songs. To Anna Laetitia Waring, who created, 'My Heart is Resting,' I owe a huge debt. Her words gleam like sparkling gems. Learning them and singing them was like a spiritual transfusion, giving me hope and comfort in dark times. Martin Luther's 'A Mighty Fortress' was a song I used to sing defiantly while walking the halls of York University. Let the demons hear the truths of that mighty man of faith! I don't know how many of these hymns I will record, but I intend to work on them between original projects. My voice is no longer as strong as it once was, so my range doesn't make singing some of these easy, but the substance of these songs is worth preserving for any listener who would like to be blessed, refreshed, and enriched.
Song Info
Genre
Rock Christian Rock
Charts
Peak #14
Peak in subgenre #3
Author
Robert Keene
Rights
W. Cameron Bastedo
Uploaded
May 16, 2025
Track Files
MP3
MP3 6.6 MB 320 kbps 2:52
Lossless
WAV 57.8 MB
Story behind the song
The story behind the song itself belongs to a different era, but the truth behind the song belongs to eternity. My love for the song belongs to singing it many times in Emmanuel Christian Church in Toronto, and then many times on my own and sometimes with my wife Dianne. It is a lovely hymn, rich, true, and sustaining.
Lyrics
I have included a few verses here that I didn't sing. I sang the ones from memory that I recalled from the past. 1: How firm a Foundation, ye Saints of the Lord, Is laid for your Faith in His excellent Word; What more can he say than to you he hath said? To you, who unto JESUS for Refuge have fled. 2: In every Condition, in Sickness, in Health, In Poverty's Vale, or abounding in Wealth; At Home or Abroad, on the Land on the Sea, "As thy Days may demand, shall thy Strength ever be. 3: "Fear not, I am with thee, oh be not dismay'd, "I, I am thy GOD, and will still give thee Aid; "I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, "Upheld by my righteous omnipotent Hand. 4: "When thro' the deep Waters I call thee to go, "The Rivers of Woe shall not thee overflow; "For I will be with thee, thy Troubles to bless, "And sanctify to thee, thy deepest Distress. 5: "When thro' fiery Trials thy Pathway shall lie, "My Grace all sufficient shall be thy supply; "The Flame shall not hurt thee, I only design "Thy Dross to consume, and thy gold to refine. 6: "Even down to old Age, all my People shall prove "My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable Love; "And then hoary Hairs shall their Temples adorn, "Like lambs they shall still in my bosom be borne. 7: "The Soul that on JESUShas leaned for Repose, "Iwill not, I will notdesert to his Foes; "That Soul, tho' all Hell should endeavor to shake, "I'llnever. no never. no never forsake.
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