Let Thy Blood In Mercy Poured

Let Thy blood in mercy poured,

Let Thy gracious body broken,

Be to me, O gracious Lord,

Of boundless love the token.

Thou didst give Thyself for me,

Now I give myself to Thee.

Thou didst die that I might live;

Blessed Lord, Thou cam’st to save me;

All that love of God could give,

Jesus by His sorrows gave me.

By the thorns that crowned Thy brow,

By the spear wound and the nailing,

By the pain and death, I now

Claim, O Christ, Thy love unfailing.

Wilt Thou own the gift I bring?

All my penitence I give Thee;

Thou art my exalted King,

Of Thy matchless love forgive me.

GREEK HYMN (SIXTH–NINTH CENTURY?)

Translated by John Brownlie (1859–1925)

A TRANSACTION occurs when we come to Christ, and this hymn beautifully captures it. We receive Jesus, and Jesus receives us.

In a way, each time we come to worship we review this transaction. In the worship service we hear again of the amazing sacrifice of Christ. We hear how He gave up His heavenly glory to become a man. We hear how He loved us enough to die for us. We hear of the power of His resurrection and the Spirit who now lives in us, empowering us each day. We hear of the promise of eternal life.

But we should also be renewing our vows to the Lord. We should take every opportunity—our songs, our offerings, our words to others, our attentive listening, our standing, sitting, kneeling, or proceeding—to remind the Lord that we belong to Him and will live for Him. We are not our own; we were bought with a price—the precious blood of Jesus.

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Romans 5:6-8