IT IS FINISHED*
Nothing, either great or small—
Nothing, sinner, no;
Jesus died and paid it all,
Long, long ago.
“It is finished!” yes, indeed,
Finished, ev’ry jot;
Sinner, this is all you need,
Tell me, is it not?
When He, from His lofty throne,
Stooped to do and die,
Ev’rything was fully done;
Hearken to His cry!
Weary, working, burdened one,
Wherefore toil you so?
Cease your doing; all was done
Long, long ago.
Till to Jesus’ work you cling
By a simple faith,
“Doing” is a deadly thing—
“Doing” ends in death.
Cast your deadly “doing” down**
— Down at Jesus’ feet;
Stand in Him, in Him alone,
Gloriously complete.
James Proctor (1840-1908)
* This is not an admonition from ‘doing’ (letter of James, anyone?) out of a place of faith and worship, but to cease from earning favor and blessing from God by ‘doing’ out of a place of duty and obligation. In Christ you already have it! So, dear Christian…rest.
** I found an excerpt of this hymn in Tim Keller’s The Songs of Jesus daily devotional; I was so moved by that singular line I’ve used to title this post because I realize what Christ saved me from – and is still saving me from – with regard to my proclivity to work for mercy and rewards rather than finding my Reward as Christ Himself and entering His Rest already won and done.
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