“I was so lost I should have died.” No truer words than these. Our next hymn is called Lamb of God. It is one of my favorite songs to lead, not only because it sounds beautiful with our voices, but how beautiful the words themselves are. Here’s a beautiful recording! You can listen to it on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9jh0L0wz5M. If your congregation has never sung this hymn before, maybe bring it up to your song leader. I think it will benefit anyone who hears and sings it, but most importantly it will glorify God in a beautiful way!
Lyrics:
Verse 1:
Your only Son, no sin to hide
But You have sent Him from your side
To walk upon this guilty sod
And to become the Lamb of God
Verse 2:
Your gift of love they crucified
They laughed and scorned Him as He died
The humble King they named a fraud
And sacrificed the Lamb of God
Verse 3:
I was so lost I should have died
But You have brought me to Your side
To be led by Your staff and rod
And to be called the Lamb of God
Chorus:
O Lamb of God (Lamb of God)
Sweet Lamb of God (Sweet Lamb of God)
I love the Holy Lamb of God (Holy Lamb of God)
O wash me in His precious blood (wash me in His precious blood)
My Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God
First verse reads, “Your only Son, no sin to hide. But you have sent Him from your side” (V.1). Imagine you are a father. You have a beautiful son that you love dearly, and you have to give him up to one of the most brutal deaths known to man. It’s hard to even fathom that thought in our minds, but that’s what God willingly did for us! He was perfect and without blemish. 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Christ knew no sin, yet still he came to receive what should have been our punishment. We were the ones who deserved death, as a result of our sin, but Christ came to defeat death and give us a way to be made righteous. Continuing, “To walk upon this guilty sod. And to become the Lamb of God” (V.1). We see in John 1:29 and verse 36, that he referred
to Christ as the “Lamb of God”. Instead of continual animal sacrifice for sin, as the old law enforced, God fulfilled his promise and sent one sacrifice for all of man. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)
The second verse says, “Your gift of love they crucified” (V.2). It’s impossible for our mortal minds to even fathom how much God loves us, “ and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge”. One very common verse displaying his love is John 3:16, which says “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”. Christ was a gift of love, a road of redemption for our souls. God is love, as we see in 1 John 4:16, “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him”. It is horrible to think that anyone could persecute the God of love, yet the very people he came to save put him through an awful and painful death. Next, “They laughed and scorned Him as He died. The humble King they named a fraud, and sacrificed the Lamb of God” (V.2). Christ wasn’t only killed, he was tortured and humiliated. “They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ ” (Matthew 27:28-29) Christ went through something no man has come close to experiencing, and he did it all out of love for his people!
The third verse starts with “I was so lost I should have died” (V.3). Before Christ there was no forgiveness. Everyone lived in sin and there was no way to remove those stains. We deserved a fate far worse than death. Then the hymn continues, “But You have brought me to Your side. To be led by Your staff and rod. And to be called the Lamb of God” (V.4). Jesus said, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14:18), and “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you” (John 14:20). Christ has come to us and brought us to his side, where we can have a relationship with him. Not only is Christ the lamb of God, he is also our shepherd. David paints this picture perfectly for us in Psalm 23, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). He leads and comforts us through our journey, “He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:3-4). Even if we feel alone at times, know that Christ is by our side leading and comforting us always! “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
Finally the chorus. God is a God of love, Christ was a gift of love, now we get to show our love for the Lamb. “O Lamb of God. Sweet Lamb of God. I love the Holy Lamb of God. O wash me in His precious blood. My Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God” (Ch). Christ is God in the flesh, he is holy yet he still became lower than the angels to walk this earth. He was seated at the right hanf of God, yet he came to save us all, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). He gave his life for us so we may be washed in his blood (Revelation 1:5) through baptism (Acts 2:38), being buried (Romans 6:4) into his body (the church – Ephesians 5:23) . Nobody is too far gone to access the blood of Christ! If you are lost and you aren’t a part of Christ’s body, just know that Christ came to earth and died for YOU! You have a chance to walk the road of redemption he has to offer.