Paul W. McCracken
December 29, 1915 - August 3, 2012
Ann Arbor, Michigan | Age 96
Former presidential adviser dies at 96
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"From Sandra: This song is a blend of old-style hymn lyrics with a moedrn folk melody. It reads like a Psalm, pleading with the soul to boast only Christ. It is modeled after the 18th century hymn form, tracing the nature of God, our need for His grace and the longing for glory. From Derek (18 Nov 02): This is a song that she (Sandra) wrote. I heard it first okay? But Caedmon's wanted to put it on their record and so we put it on the Caedmon's record (Back Home), but I really wanted to put it on my record, my solo record, so it's on both. So you're gonna get to pick which version you like best. A really cool song all the same she rewrites a lot of hymns she's really amazing. She has a real gift for writing new music to old texts old hymns that are out of circulation so that the church might sing some of the old hymns and might be easier for us to do. This song, when she wrote it, we were in Houston and I came in and she had been working on it and I heard her in there working on something so I stayed downstairs Then I came up and she had finished this song and I just swore it was a hymn. She had the (William) Gadsbye2€™s hymnbook around and I thought, You know what number is that one? That's really cool. Ite2€™s beautiful. Which one is that like Watts or Gadsby or Ann Steele?' She was like, No, I just kind of wrote this one the language is based on some of the hymns, but I just kind of wrote this one.' And I was like, Alright, I married up. There's no doubt.' Intimidating, living in a house with a writer like my wife not easy, but hopefully in the long run it will help me. I'm growing I'm told."
"From the Press Kit: Not to be mistaken for an antehm of human effort and persistence, this hymn is about the freedom we find in the finished work of Jesus. Here again, Isaac Watts proclaims that our confidence, our brokenness, and our whole being are found hidden and humbled in Christ. We therefore have no record of our own to defend or protect, nor do we have something left to build or maintain. All has been accomplished and sealed in Jesus. We are called only to rest in His intercession for us, now and with every passing hour as it was when we first believed."
