O Let Your Soul now be Filled with Gladness

And the ransomed of the LORD will return and come with joyful shouting to Zion, with everlasting joy upon their heads they will find gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Isaiah 35:10

O Let Your Soul now be Filled with Gladness
Words by Peter Aschan

O let your soul now be filled with gladness,
Your heart redeemed, rejoice indeed!
O may the thought banish all your sadness,
That in His blood you have been freed,
That God's unfailing love is yours,
That you the only Son were given,
That by His death He has opened heaven,
That you are ransomed as you are.

If you seem empty of any feeling,
Rejoice, you are His ransomed bride!
If those you cherish seem not to love you,
And dark assails from every side;
Still yours the promise, come what may,
In loss and triumph, in laughter, crying;
In want and riches, in living dying,
That you are purchased as you are.

It is a good, every good transcending,
That Christ has died for you and me!
It is a gladness that has no ending
There in God's wondrous love to see!
Praise be to Him the spotless Lamb,
Who through the desert my soul is leading
To that fair city of joy exceeding,
For which He bought me as I am!

I love this wonderful hymn, set to a Swedish folk song. I wish I could play the music for you, because I’m sure you would sing it in your head all day long, as the music is so beautiful and lilting, and the text is so encouraging.

I love the point this hymn makes in every verse: We are ransomed, purchased, bought AS WE ARE. There’s nothing we can do to make ourselves better, Christ forgives us and makes us His, in exactly the state we are in right now. And most of us don’t need reminding – the state we are in right now is sin.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

That’s God’s unfailing love – that He gave His only son to die for our sins, and that by His death, heaven is opened to us and we are ransomed. Christ paid the price!

He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. I John 2:2

Many of us would do well to remember what this hymn reminds us of: that come what may, good bad, and everything in between, we have been purchased as we are. That is good news no matter what you are facing today. Verse 2 pretty much sums up a lot of what any human may be up against: those you love don’t love you back, darkness is evident everywhere, loss, triumph, laughter, crying, want, riches, living, dying. We still hold fast to the promise that He has redeemed us and we are His.

But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” Isaiah 43:1-3

Christ died for you and me – that is a good that transcends every other good that we could possibly imagine. If we have no other reason to be glad, that alone should keep us singing until He calls us home to Him. Praise be to the Spotless Lamb.

Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:29