The Unborn Child

In late July 2005 word came to me through my father that a not so distant cousin and her unborn infant (with in two weeks of being born) had been killed in a vehicle accident, and her husband seriously injured.

When I attended church on the Sunday morning after hearing of the accident, we sang this hymn, and I was astonished. To tell you truthfully, I missed hearing a good deal of the service as it continued—because I was caught up in reflection of the second verse….

Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #357, Jesus Lover of My Soul, verse 2

Other refuge have I none;
Hangs my helpless soul on thee.

Leave, ah, leave me not alone;
Still support and comfort me.

All my trust in thee is stayed;
All my help from thee I bring.

Cover my defenseless head
With the shadow of thy wing.

What a prayer for an unborn child!

We often hear that “it takes two to conceive a child”. But it really takes three. God’s Spirit is the third persona, at the point of conception; it imparts a soul to the child. Without God, nothing comes to be. Children truly are a gift from God.

I liken baptism as binding a soul to the Lord our God. For the soul, like a person, is given free-will. We Christian’s baptize our children, to commit their souls to God, through whose grace they are born. And when they are old enough teach them to love and know God our Father. What then of the unborn child? There is none to speak for it. To claim it on Christ’s behalf. We do not baptize the dead.

I think the soul of an unborn child inherently recognizes from which it came. Satan does not create souls. He is not God. I reflect on the above verse, from the perspective of an unborn child. Think about it—do you not perceive the prayer? The unconscious soul of an infant seeks re-unification with its maker! Such simple praise and recognition of God the Creator of Heaven and Earth.

The rest of the hymn is as follows:

Verse 1
Jesus, lover of my soul, Let me to thy bosom fly
While the neared waters roll, While the tempest still is high
Hide me, O my Savior, hide, Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide. Oh, receive my soul at last!

Verse 3
Thou, O Christ, art all I want; More than all in thee I find.
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, Heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is thy name; I am all unrighteousness.
False and full of sin I am; Thou art full of truth and grace.

Verse 4
Plenteous grace with thee is found, Grace to cover all my sin.
Let the healing streams abound; Make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the fountain art; Freely let me take of thee.
Spring thou up within my heart; Rise to all eternity.

(one last note about the italicized in verse 3): this child’s prayer for
her dead (fallen)mother, for her injured father, and for her sister 2-year old sister, and the rest of us who are grief-stricken; and finally,
for the souls of the unborn who have not yet been baptize to Life in
Christ)

Hymn by Charles Wesley, 1707-88.