This morning I heard a familiar hymn sung during the invitation portion of our church service. I knew it as soon as the first few bars of introduction were played and felt myself become overwhelmed with emotion in the message and familiarity of the song.
The chorus of the song is written:
“Jesus Paid It All!
All to Him I owe,
Sin had made a Crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.”
For years, I remember this song being sung at First Baptist North Spartanburg, Spartanburg, SC. This was the invitational hymn of choice for the years I was a member there and something that, if I’m asked, continues to my hymn of choice after I preach. It was so enjoyable to hear the song sung so well this morning that it brought tears to my eyes.
The message of that sweet hymn is so clear.
Jesus paid it all—all of our sins, he paid for on a cross. He died because we cannot pay the penalty of death ourselves.
Therefore all to Him I owe. I owe him everything. Through his death, he gave me life—eternal and abundant.
The song is such a beautiful picture of the gospel. It is so good to hear and I never get tired of hearing it. I haven’t heard it even sung in a while. People don’t sing many hymns and this one doesn’t involve clapping, shouting, or dancing. It just talks about the plain and simple message of the gospel.
It was so good to hear.