There Is A Balm In Gilead

There is a balm in Gilead

To make the wounded whole;

There is a balm in Gilead

To heal the sin-sick soul.

Sometimes I feel discouraged,

And think my work’s in vain,

But then the Holy Spirit

Revives my soul again.

If you cannot preach like Peter,

If you cannot pray like Paul,

You can tell the love of Jesus,

And say, “He died for all.”

TRADITIONAL SPIRITUAL

AFTER JOSEPH’S BROTHERS beat him up and threw him into a pit, they sold him to a caravan passing through. The merchants were traveling from Gilead to Egypt, with spices, balm, and myrrh. Gilead, the area just east of the Jordan near Galilee, was famous for its medicinal balms.

When Jeremiah cried out for the healing of his people, he looked for a cure in Gilead but found none. The people were rebellious, obstinate, willfully blind to what God was doing.

The disease was sin. We all suffer from “sin-sick souls.” We are unable to live righteous lives. This is the human condition, the plague of Adam’s curse—a terminal illness.

Fortunately, this song answers Jeremiah’s question with a resounding yes. There is a balm in Gilead, and it rests in the simple truth that Jesus died for all, and He alone can heal the soul sick with sin.

I hurt with the hurt of my people. I mourn and am overcome with grief. Is there no medicine in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why is there no healing for the wounds of my people?

Jeremiah 8:21-22