II Corinthians 4:7
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
Charles Wesley used this thought as a launching point for a song about Heaven:
This heavenly treasure now we have
In a vile house of clay
But Christ will to the utmost save
And keep us to that day
Our souls are in His mighty hand
And He shall keep them still
And you and I shall surely stand
With Him on Zion’s hill
About 150 years later, Charles Wesley Naylor and A.L. Byers wrote another song from the same passage. But this one, “Only an Earthen Vessel,” is more focused on life today:
I am only an earthen vessel
That Jesus may use as He will,
Whether much I may do in His vineyard,
Or small be the place that I fill.
I am only an earthen vessel,
But Jesus has pleasure in me;
While I gladly submit to His purpose,
A vessel to honor I’ll be.
I am only an earthen vessel,
But cleansed by the Master’s dear hand;
He hath placed me just where He would have me,
And ready for service I stand.
I am only an earthen vessel,
All excellence is of the Lord;
For alone I am worthless and empty,
And nothing of profit afford.
I am only an earthen vessel,
The graces within are not mine,
For the love and the power and glory
Belong to the Savior divine.
II Corinthians 4:16-17
For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory
Jamie Soles’ excellent expository song “Weight of Glory” draws its chorus from verses 16 and 17. It is, however, even more deeply rooted in this chapter than that, as its verses pull from the rest of the chapter as well.
Daniel W. Whittle wrote a hymn from this passage, “More and More the Weight of Glory,” in 1895:
More and more the weight of glory,
For our light afflictions here;
Glory grand, supreme, eternal,
If the cross for Christ we bear.
More and more the weight of glory,
More and more the love of God;
More of music in the story,
As we sing of Christ the Lord;
More of music in the story,
As we sing of Christ the Lord.
Expository Songs
Weight of Glory (II Corinthians 4:7-18) (2008)
Jamie Soles | Popularized by Jamie Soles
Lyrics | YouTube | Amazon
Earthen Vessels (II Corinthians 4:7) (2005)
Popularized by John Michael Talbot
YouTube | Amazon
Only an Earthen Vessel (II Corinthians 4:7)
Charles Naylor, A.L. Byers
Lyrics | Sheet Music
Do Not Lose Heart (II Corinthians 4:16-18) (2016)
Popularized by Caroline Cobb
YouTube | Amazon
More and more the weight of glory (II Corinthians 4:17)
Daniel Whittle
Lyrics | Sheet Music
Other References
Let the Earth Resound (II Corinthians 4:6) (2006)
Keith Getty, Stuart Townend | Popularized by Stuart Townend
Lyrics | Sheet Music | YouTube | Amazon
We Shall Know Him As He Is (II Corinthians 4:7)
Charles Wesley
Lyrics | Sheet Music
Not Alone (II Corinthians 4:8-9)
Popularized by Carolyn Arends
YouTube | Amazon
Blue Skies Coming (II Corinthians 4:8)
Wayne Haun, Joel Lindsey | Popularized by The Perrys
YouTube | Amazon
Anchor to the Power of the Cross (II Corinthians 4:9)
Shannon Childress, Gary Sadler | Popularized by The Hoppers
YouTube | Amazon
I Will Rise (II Corinthians 4:9) (2014)
Dianne Wilkinson, Rebecca Peck | Popularized by Tribute Quartet
YouTube | Amazon
Never Forsaken (II Corinthians 4:9) (2012)
Popularized by Charles Billingsley
YouTube | Amazon
Never Forsaken (II Corinthians 4:9) (2015)
Popularized by Hillsong Worship
YouTube | Amazon
Inward Man (II Corinthians 4:16)
Luverne Isbell | Popularized by The Cathedrals
YouTube
Let The Weight Of Your Glory Fall (II Corinthians 4:17) (2010)
Popularized by Paul Wilbur
YouTube | Amazon
O Happy Band of Pilgrims (II Corinthians 4:17)
John Mason Neale
Lyrics | Sheet Music