Musical Notes

Hello OCBC family,
“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

This verse is part of Peter’s message before the rulers, elders, and scribes. Peter and John had been arrested because they were preaching about Jesus and the resurrection (v. 2). The following day, these leaders asked them, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Peter’s response was a bold proclamation of Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection, and the exclusivity of salvation through faith in Him. Peter’s words make it unmistakably clear that salvation is found in no one else. There is only one Savior, one way of salvation, and one name by which sinners can be reconciled to God: Jesus Christ.

Perhaps Peter’s declaration also brings to mind the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, when our Lord said: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13–14).

Peter’s message still powerful today, and it was powerful at the time of John Newton, when he wrote a loved hymn, “How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds.”

I guess I don’t have to repeat to you about John Newton and his life and transformation after his encounter with Jesus, but just to remember, John Newton was a former slave trader, and Jesus found him, and he “was blind, but now he can see.”

“How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
In a believer's ear!
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And drives away His fear,
And drives away His fear.”

Newton’s purpose in this hymn is to show that the name of Jesus is not merely a name that is sweet to pronounce or mention. Rather, the sweetness of His name is found in the person and character of Christ revealed through His name. To speak of the name of Jesus is to speak of Jesus Himself—who He is, what He has done, and all that He is to His people.

Another stanza declares that Jesus is the Rock where we can run and find protection, and John Newton make this image very beautiful.

“Dear name--the rock on which I build,
My shield and hiding place;
My never-failing treasure, filled
With boundless stores of grace,
With boundless stores of grace.”

The last stanza, in most of hymnals, describes Jesus with many of His offices.

“Jesus, my shepherd, brother, friend,
My prophet, priest, and King.
My Lord, my life, my way, my end,
Accept the praise I bring,
Accept the praise I bring.”

The theme of this hymn will be our theme in glory for all eternity, because we will adore this same Jesus, and His sweet name.
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In His service,
Israel