Isaac Watts wrote the hymn, Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed. He draws the stark contrasts between the sacrificial death of the mighty Creator and the unworthiness of the sinful creature (you and I). Then, he concludes with words which, when spoken from a contrite heart, can eternally change one’s life: “Here, Lord, I give myself away---‘tis all that I can do.”
A young man who lived in the West wrote his former Sunday School teacher: “Do you remember that old hymn, ‘Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed’? I thought it rubbish at the time, but its lines have followed me like a detective. I haven’t been able to shake off the question: ‘Was it for crimes that I have done?’ So I finally decided to surrender my life to Him. ‘Here, Lord, I give myself away---’tis all that I can do.’”
There was also a thirty-year-old blind woman who heard a revival choir sing this simple hymn. Stanza after stanza stirred her heart, and when the choir came to the line “Here, Lord, I give myself away,’ she gave herself to the Lord as well. When she did, she said, her “soul flooded with celestial light.” That blind woman was Fanny Crosby, who went on to pen some of our most beloved Gospel songs.
Alas! And did my Savior bleed
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For sinners such as I?
Was it for crimes (sins) that I have done
He suffered on the tree?
Amazing pity! Grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!
Well might the sun in darkness hide
And shut His glories in,
When Christ, the great Redeemer, died
For man the creature’s sin.
Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt mine eyes to tears
But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe;
Here, Lord, I give myself away---
‘Tis all that I can do.
Have you given yourself to Jesus? If not, will you consider the debt of love you owe Him this moment and give yourself away to Him? If you have given yourself away to Him, will you consider how He would have you give yourself away to help others come to know Him? Fanny Crosby gave herself to Jesus, and though she was blind, He used her to touch millions of people and open spiritually blinded eyes. Will you, with whatever limitations you might have, give yourself away to help others come to know Jesus?
