“The Power of God”. A brief sermon for the kitchen table (and the sanctuary).
Hymns are not quaint relics for hymn book collectors. They are theologies set to melody. R. Burnham’s “The Power of God” reads like a short catechism in praise: it names God, names our weakness, names the enemy, and points us to the victory we have in Christ. Let’s walk through it, sing a little, and leave with ready feet for the spiritual fight.
Two Scripture bookends the hymn gives us
Burnham anchors his words with two scriptural echoes. Exodus 15:6 celebrates God’s victorious right hand; in the ESV, we read, “Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power…”. Psalm 62:11 puts it like this: “Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this:” the point being, hear it once, hear it again: power belongs to God. These two images, the strong hand and the solemn declaration, frame the hymn’s confidence.
Stanza-by-stanza: what’s going on here?
Stanza 1 — Identity and dependence.
“God is my everlasting King; / God is my Strength…” That’s plain theology: God is sovereign and He sustains the weak. The hymn doesn’t dance around our frailty, “my feeble frame”, but immediately gives the remedy: we are upheld and made victorious through His name. This is classic biblical reciprocity: our dependence, His power.
Stanza 2 — The enemy and the armor.
“Devils retreat when he appears… every fiery dart repel.” That line borrows language straight from Ephesians, those “flaming darts” the enemy shoots (Eph. 6). The point isn’t that we go toe-to-toe with hell by our wit or grit; it’s that the presence of the Lord, and the use of his name, his truth, his blood, causes evil to recoil. Practical point: don’t look for courage in your courage. Look to the One whose right hand wins the day.
Stanza 3 — The means: the Redeemer’s blood.
Burnham is explicitly Christ-centered: through the Redeemer’s blood, we “feel the mighty power of God.” There’s doctrine here, not sentimentalism. The blood is not magic; it is the historical, atoning work of Christ that opens us to resurrection strength: we “rise from earth, and soar to heaven.” That’s sanctification language, the believer empowered to live above sin by gospel grace.
Stanzas 4 & 6 — Corporate prayer and future praise.
These are a pastoral nudge: pray for weaker saints to be filled with “celestial fire” and picture the church in heaven, “shouting the victories of the Lamb.” Worship here flows naturally from warfare: rescued people rehearse redemption.
Stanza 5 — Petition and mission.
“Now, Lord, thy wondrous power exert… Give us fresh strength to wing our way / To regions of eternal day.” The hymn moves from praise to petition to mission. We ask for strength not merely to be comfortable, but to press on toward the consummation, to live as pilgrims heading to “eternal day.”
Why this matters for us
- The Christian life is not moral soloing. We aren’t called to brave heroics in our own strength. The hymn repeatedly points our eyes away from ourselves to God’s power. That’s medicine for pride and for despair alike.
- Spiritual warfare is real and gospel-centered. It’s not overcoming by anger or by arguing louder. It’s resisting with the name, truth, and blood of Jesus. If your spiritual battles feel like darts raining down, check whether you’re putting on the armor (Eph. 6) and standing in the gospel.
- Hope is not warm fuzziness; it’s resurrection trajectory. To “rise from earth” is to live with heaven as our destination, and that changes how we grieve, how we serve, how we suffer.
A few practical applications
- When fear hits, name the truth. Repeat: God is my Strength; God is my King. Short, biblical, true.
- Use the gospel as your first-line defense. Memorize and confess gospel truths (what Christ has done) when “fiery darts” come.
- Pray for others’ strengthening. Stanza 4’s plea for weaker saints is pastoral; get practical: encourage, disciple, and be present.
- Sing. Hymns form belief. When doctrine gets thin, sing thick theology to yourself and your family.
A final pastoral word
If the hymn leaves you with a yearning, either for greater boldness to resist temptation, or for peace because you’re tired of fighting in your own strength, know this: the power Burnham praises is not a distant force. It is the saving, sustaining presence of the Lord Jesus poured into weak vessels. We do not win because we are smarter or tougher; we win because He is strong.
