Friday 25th
Luke 23:33
NIV – ‘When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.’
ESV – ‘And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.’
Jesus was slain for me, at Calvary.
Geo Perfect – RH177
We come to the last of the devotions looking at one of the hymns from the Redemption Hymnal, thank you to all that have commented that you have enjoyed revisiting these older hymns, I have enjoyed it too. For the last one (unless I look at some more in the future) I have turned to ‘Jesus was slain for me, at Calvary’. This is a wonderful hymn centred around what Christ has done for us at Calvary and surely there is no better way to conclude a series than at the Cross.
It is a hymn which was obviously the testimony of the author but, is written in such a way that it is the testimony for every individual that has come to know Jesus as Saviour and Lord. It is a hymn that is full of personal pronouns in which when sung expresses our born-again experience.
Here are the words, mid-way through the devotion instead of at the end, read through them and begin to rejoice in the wonder of the power of the Cross in your own life.
Jesus was slain for me,
At Calvary.
Crowned with thorns was he,
At Calvary.
There he in anguish died,
There from his opened side,
Poured forth the crimson tide,
At Calvary.
Pardoned is all my sin,
At Calvary.
Cleansed is my heart within,
At Calvary.
Now robes of praise I wear,
Gone are my grief and care,
Christ bore my burdens there,
At Calvary.
Wondrous his love for me,
At Calvary.
Glorious his victory,
At Calvary.
Vanquished are death and hell,
Oh, let his praises swell,
Ever my tongue shall tell,
Of Calvary.
O the wonder of the Cross, O the wonder of the love of God, O the wonder of his precious blood, O the wonder of knowing that as we have come to believe we are forgiven, cleansed, and robed not only in robes of righteousness but also in robes of praise. O the wonder of his victory, vanquished are death and hell, the devil is defeated, death has lost its sting, the grave will only be a temporary stop-over, oh, let his praises swell, may our tongues ever tell, of Calvary!
I have just realised while typing the previous line that we started our look at the hymns with the great hymn of Charles Wesley, ‘Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing, my great Redeemers praise’, and we end with a line so similar, ‘ever my tongue shall tell of Calvary’.
Calvary is worth singing about, Calvary is worth talking about, for it was there at the Cross we have been reconciled to God and have become recipients of all that God had stored up to give to those who would become adopted into his family.
I end with the verse and chorus from another hymn, may it be our own personal prayer as we contemplate Calvary, and the incredible, amazing love of God.
Give me a sight, O Saviour,
Of thy wondrous love to me;
Of the love that brought thee down to earth,
To die on Calvary.
Oh, make me understand it,
Help me to take it in;
What it meant for thee, the Holy One,
To bear away my sin.