Jesus! What a Strength in Weakness!

The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him. Psalm 28:7

Jesus is our strength when we are weak. We can hide ourselves in Him, and take refuge at His right hand.

Wondrously show Your lovingkindness, O Savior of those who take refuge at Your right hand from those who rise up against them. Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings from the wicked who despoil me, my deadly enemies who surround me. Psalm 17:7-9

In this life, we are tempted, we are tried, and we fail. There is no sugar coating it. Jesus has promised us that we would have trouble in this life, and we will. But the story doesn't end there.

The beautiful thing about Jesus as our strength in weakness is that Jesus has experienced every human emotion and has been through anything that we will go through.

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15

Because of that, He can relate to us. And He can win the victory for us. Think about Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness. He was tempted for 40 days straight! And he wasn't eating. Surely a man who has been through that can sympathize when we are weak and need strength.

The Word also promises us that whatever we are going through isn't really all that special - whatever is happening is common to man! That would be enough to have me really dismal over the human condition. But it's the next phrase that is key. God is faithful.

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. I Corinthians 10:13

He will give us strength to endure it, and He will give us the victory. He will win the victory for us!

Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. I Corinthians 15:57

Jesus is a friend for sinners. A friend for us who are weak and need strength, who need refuge, who need victory. Hallelujah, what a Savior!

But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, for You have been my stronghold and a refuge in the day of my distress. Psalm 59:16


Jesus! What a Friend for Sinners!
Words by J. Wilbur Chapman

Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!
Jesus! Lover of my soul;
Friends may fail me, foes assail me,
He, my Savior, makes me whole.

Refrain
Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.

Jesus! what a Strength in weakness!
Let me hide myself in Him.
Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing,
He, my Strength, my victory wins.

Jesus! what a Help in sorrow!
While the billows over me roll,
Even when my heart is breaking,
He, my Comfort, helps my soul.

Jesus! what a Guide and Keeper!
While the tempest still is high,
Storms about me, night overtakes me,
He, my Pilot, hears my cry.

Jesus! I do now receive Him,
More than all in Him I find.
He hath granted me forgiveness,
I am His, and He is mine.

Jesus! What a Friend for Sinners!

The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Luke 7:34

This hymn does a masterful job at showing us who Jesus is. I have written about it before, but after recently singing it in church, I wanted to take the time to do a "deep dive" into each verse of this hymn.

Jesus is a friend for sinners, even when our earthly friends fail us. It's inevitable; because we live in a fallen world, our friends are sinners. And they will sin. They will disappoint us, not live up to our expectations and desires, and they may even walk away from a faith that once was strong.

Paul had this experience himself. While in prison in Rome, he wrote to his friend Timothy, the pastor at the church at Ephesus, and urged him to come and visit.

Make every effort to come to me soon; for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. II Timothy 4:9-10

Notice what he tells Timothy - Come soon! For my friend Demas has deserted me. And two others have left as well. Demas was Paul's partner in ministry. But clearly he couldn't hack it - he loved the world too much. I'm sure this was a disappointment to Paul. Not only did he lose his friend in a geographic sense (as Demas literally left Paul's side and went to Thessalonica) but he watched him choose the world over Jesus.

This wasn't the first time this had happened to Paul. A little later in the letter he recounts:

At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. II Timothy 4:17

Everyone deserted him! You'll note that Paul, in his graciousness, asks that it not be counted against them. But still! No one supported him. This is Paul we're talking about. Paul, who had the most amazing conversion story of all time, the living voice of God who has been in prison for spreading the gospel. They all deserted him.

Remember, Jesus is a friend for sinners. And Paul reminds us of that.

But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. II Timothy 4:17-18

The Lord stood by Him! Everyone else deserted him but not Jesus. Not only did He stand by Paul, but He strengthened him and rescued him.

I love how Paul takes every opportunity to give God the glory. Even though several more verses follow, He can't end this section of His letter without a little benediction.

Take some time today to meditate on Jesus, the friend for sinners. Thank Him for the times that He has stood by you. Praise Him for making you whole.


Jesus! What a Friend for Sinners!
Words by J. Wilbur Chapman

Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!
Jesus! Lover of my soul;
Friends may fail me, foes assail me,
He, my Savior, makes me whole.

Refrain
Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.

Jesus! what a Strength in weakness!
Let me hide myself in Him.
Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing,
He, my Strength, my victory wins.

Jesus! what a Help in sorrow!
While the billows over me roll,
Even when my heart is breaking,
He, my Comfort, helps my soul.

Jesus! what a Guide and Keeper!
While the tempest still is high,
Storms about me, night overtakes me,
He, my Pilot, hears my cry.

Jesus! I do now receive Him,
More than all in Him I find.
He hath granted me forgiveness,
I am His, and He is mine.

I Will Sing of my Redeemer

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. John 5:24

There is a very profound, and life-changing truth in the final verse of this hymn. I will sing of my Redeemer because He has brought me from death to life. I deserve to be dead, but because I have placed my faith in Him, He has given me life!

I deserve to be dead because of sin entering the world through the first humans God created. Adam and Eve's indiscretion in the Garden guaranteed a world of sin, and made me a sinner before I was even born.

But, God had a plan. He had a plan from before there was time; a plan to redeem this fallen world through His sinless son. As Paul explains, just as Adam brought sin into the world and caused death to reign for everyone, Jesus brought life and the gift of righteousness.

For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17

By Adam's sin, we were all condemned. Through Jesus' sacrifice, all sin is forgiven and we are deemed righteous and justified when we believe.

So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. Romans 5:18

In the same way that Adam was disobedient, causing sin for all people, Jesus was obedient, dying on the cross to pay for sin and redeem sinners.

For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. Romans 5:19

God instituted the Law for His people so that they would see their sin. But again, His plan was in place - grace would conquer sin once and for all through Jesus so that when we believe and put our faith in Him, our sins are forgiven and we are free from death once and for all. We are free from death here on earth and we are promised eternal life in heaven with our Lord and Savior!

The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:20-21

Jesus abolished death and brought immortalit and life to light through the gospel. That's what I call good news!

God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. II Timothy 1:9-10

I will sing of my Redeemer!

I Will Sing of my Redeemer
Words by Philip Bliss

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His wondrous love to me;
On the cruel cross He suffered,
From the curse to set me free.

Refrain
Sing, oh sing, of my Redeemer,
With His blood, He purchased me.
On the cross, He sealed my pardon,
Paid the debt, and made me free.

I will tell the wondrous story,
How my lost estate to save,
In His boundless love and mercy,
He the ransom freely gave.

I will praise my dear Redeemer,
His triumphant power I’ll tell,
How the victory He giveth
Over sin, and death, and hell.

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His heavenly love to me;
He from death to life hath brought me,
Son of God with Him to be.

I Will Praise My Dear Redeemer

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. I Corinthians 15:57

I will praise my dear Redeemer,
His triumphant power I’ll tell,
How the victory He giveth
Over sin, and death, and hell.

We have countless things to praise God for - He created our beautiful world, He fulfilled His plan that He promised through the ages - sending Jesus Christ our Redeemer - and we praise Jesus for obediently going to the cross, humbling Himself and willingly taking my place.

One thing that is totally amazing to my finite, human mind is that through His death and resurrection, Jesus gives victory over sin, and death, and hell.

Jesus paid the price for my sin on the cross. After He died and was buried, God brought Him back to life, because He was pleased with Jesus' sacrifice. Death could not hold Him!

This Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. Acts 2:23-24

He has triumphant power because of His resurrection!

...who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord... Romans 1:4

Death no longer has victory over anyone who confesses Jesus as Lord and Savior. Isn't that great news? That is something to sing about! Jesus gives us victory over sin and the law through His death on the cross.

"O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. I Corinthians 15:55-57

I will sing of my Redeemer! And like Paul, I want to know Him and the power of His resurrection so that I, too, may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

...that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:10-11

I Will Sing of my Redeemer
Words by Philip Bliss

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His wondrous love to me;
On the cruel cross He suffered,
From the curse to set me free.

Refrain
Sing, oh sing, of my Redeemer,
With His blood, He purchased me.
On the cross, He sealed my pardon,
Paid the debt, and made me free.

I will tell the wondrous story,
How my lost estate to save,
In His boundless love and mercy,
He the ransom freely gave.

I will praise my dear Redeemer,
His triumphant power I’ll tell,
How the victory He giveth
Over sin, and death, and hell.

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His heav’nly love to me;
He from death to life hath brought me,
Son of God with Him to be.

I Will Tell the Wondrous Story

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

I will tell the wondrous story how Christ came to save my lost estate. This is the reason Jesus came to earth - to save those who are lost!

For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Luke 19:10

Jesus, because of His great love for us, freely gave His life up for me, paying the ransom to save me from death.

The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. Matthew 20:27

This idea of paying the ransom did not originate with Christ - we see many examples in the Old Testament of "ransoming" - paying to free someone or something from death. God uses these examples in the life of His chosen people to point them to the Savior who would come to ransom them from their sin - saving them from death.

If a man's animal killed a person, that man was sentenced to death. However, he could pay a ransom to redeem himself and save himself from death.

If, however, an ox was previously in the habit of goring and its owner has been warned, yet he does not confine it and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. If a ransom is demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is demanded of him. Exodus 21:29-30

Jesus paid our ransom! He went to the cross and died in my place so that I could live.

For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. Timothy 2:5-6

I will sing of my Redeemer!

I Will Sing of my Redeemer
Words by Philip Bliss

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His wondrous love to me;
On the cruel cross He suffered,
From the curse to set me free.

Refrain
Sing, oh sing, of my Redeemer,
With His blood, He purchased me.
On the cross, He sealed my pardon,
Paid the debt, and made me free.

I will tell the wondrous story,
How my lost estate to save,
In His boundless love and mercy,
He the ransom freely gave.

I will praise my dear Redeemer,
His triumphant power I’ll tell,
How the victory He giveth
Over sin, and death, and hell.

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His heav’nly love to me;
He from death to life hath brought me,
Son of God with Him to be.

I Will Sing of My Redeemer - Refrain

Sing, oh sing, of my Redeemer,
With His blood, He purchased me.
On the cross, He sealed my pardon,
Paid the debt, and made me free.

Why do I sing about Jesus? Because He purchased me with His blood.

Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. Acts 20:28

When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” Revelation 5:8-10

He sealed my pardon on the cross. Jesus, fully God and fully man, does not retain His anger forever - He pardons iniquity and delights in unchanging love.

Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love. Micah 7:18

He paid the debt that I owe.

When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Colossians 2:13-14

He made me free.

But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:22-23

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1-4

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1


I Will Sing of my Redeemer
Words by Philip Bliss

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His wondrous love to me;
On the cruel cross He suffered,
From the curse to set me free.

Refrain
Sing, oh sing, of my Redeemer,
With His blood, He purchased me.
On the cross, He sealed my pardon,
Paid the debt, and made me free.

I will tell the wondrous story,
How my lost estate to save,
In His boundless love and mercy,
He the ransom freely gave.

I will praise my dear Redeemer,
His triumphant power I’ll tell,
How the victory He giveth
Over sin, and death, and hell.

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His heav’nly love to me;
He from death to life hath brought me,
Son of God with Him to be.

I Will Sing of My Redeemer

As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Job 19:25

This is a wonderful old hymn with good reminders of why we are to sing and give praise to our God. These are basic truths of the Christian faith, but even these simple truths deserve to be revisited and meditated on - for the beauty of the gospel is that it is not complex - but it is significant.

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His wondrous love to me;
On the cruel cross He suffered,
From the curse to set me free.

Our God is our Redeemer - even in ages past, His people knew Him as their Redeemer, as He had rescued them from Egypt.

You, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is Your name. Isaiah 63:16

From "of old" God had promised His people that their Redeemer was coming - a Messiah who would deliver them. After waiting for thousands of years, God sent His son Jesus to fulfill his promise. Jesus, fully God and fully man, was born a man and grew up just like we do, except without sin. And then He obeyed His Father by going to the cross and dying in our place.

God, our Redeemer, showed His love for us by giving us His only son.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16

Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, showed His love for us by humbling Himself and suffering on the cruel cross to pay the debt that He did not owe.

Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

This love of our Redeemer was demonstrated through that selfless act, the sinless God-man dying for the sinful people. God didn't wait for us to "get better" or become sinless on our own - He knew that was impossible, and as sinners, we really had no hope in the world. Even so, Jesus went to the cross while we were still in our sin-sick condition.

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

God's redeeming love sent Jesus to the cross to pay for the world's sin once and for all. In the "old way," unblemished animals would be sacrificed for different sins - there were all kinds of offerings dependent on the situation. These offerings are described by God to His people as a "soothing aroma." In the new plan, Jesus took the place of the lambs, bulls, goats and doves. He gave Himself up for us, offering Himself as a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma!

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. Ephesians 5:1-2

I will sing of my Redeemer!

I Will Sing of my Redeemer
Words by Philip Bliss

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His wondrous love to me;
On the cruel cross He suffered,
From the curse to set me free.

Refrain
Sing, oh sing, of my Redeemer,
With His blood, He purchased me.
On the cross, He sealed my pardon,
Paid the debt, and made me free.

I will tell the wondrous story,
How my lost estate to save,
In His boundless love and mercy,
He the ransom freely gave.

I will praise my dear Redeemer,
His triumphant power I’ll tell,
How the victory He giveth
Over sin, and death, and hell.

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His heav’nly love to me;
He from death to life hath brought me,
Son of God with Him to be.