This week's "Lyrics Breakdown" is a new(er) song (2011) that borrows from a well-known hymn written in 1834. The verses of the song "Cornerstone" are word-for-word from the old hymn "The Solid Rock." The difference is the chorus.

“On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand”

— The Solid Rock (1834)

These lyrics point to Jesus' teaching about the wise and foolish builders in Matthew 7:24-29. But the new version changes things up for a slightly different focus.

“Christ alone, Cornerstone
Weak made strong in the Saviour’s love
Through the storm, He is Lord
Lord of all”

— Cornerstone (2011)

We still get the idea of Jesus being our anchor in the storms of life, but calling Him "Cornerstone" shifts our attention to Ephesians 2.

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

— Ephesians 2:19-22

(also see 1 Peter 2:4-10)

The cornerstone is the first stone laid in a building, the true level by which the rest of the building is set in place. The picture is not just of us holding onto Jesus as our anchor, the rock in the storm, it's of all of us together being built into His temple. Certainly, the Spirit lives in us each as individual believers, but the promise here is for us as members of God's household to become a place where God's Spirit dwells. He is our cornerstone.

When we sing this together on Sunday, consider the fact that you're not singing it alone. He's building us together on the foundation that was laid perfectly because Jesus is the chief cornerstone.

See you then,
Pastor Tracy

Song Credit: Cornerstone by Hillsong Worship