The blood of Jesus is precious to those who belong to Jesus. It was His blood that redeemed us as it was shed for us on the cross. It is the blood of the Lamb of God that we remember every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. It is the blood that was the price paid to ransom us from slavery to sin and to an eternity in hell, and has given us instead the forgiveness of all of our sins and the assurance of everlasting joy in the courts of heaven in the presence of our God and all his angels and saints.
There have been those who would argue for a Christianity without that blood. But without the blood, there is no Christianity. Had Jesus’ blood not been shed, we would be left with a religion just as useless as all the religions in history. We would have a Jesus whose life was lived as a model for good, ethical living that we have to imitate as an example for our working our way to heaven. There is no gospel in that, since our sins have rendered us spiritually dead and unable to follow even the most perfect example. No, the blood of Jesus is absolutely essential to biblical Christianity, and to our eternal life.
We sing of that blood in such hymns as “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood,” “There’s Power in the Blood,” and “Nothing But the Blood.” In the Old Testament, from the time of the Garden of Eden, it was necessary for blood to be shed in order to atone for sin. The shedding of the blood of countless sacrifices took place repeatedly throughout the millennia from the patriarchs to the temple. Blood was central to the greatest festival of Israel in the Passover. With that final miracle of the Exodus deliverance, it was the blood of the lamb on the doorpost of the houses of the Israelites that shielded them from the angel that passed over Egypt that night. Without the blood, there was no hope. And even in heaven, we will worship the Lamb who has slain, being forever reminded by His scars of the blood that opened the way for us to be there.
One of the greatest of the hymns about the blood of Jesus is John Newton’s 1774 composition, “Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder.” Near the end of each of the stanzas, we have the phrase that Jesus has washed us in His blood. It is based on the doxology in Revelation 1:5-6, “To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
John Newton found release from sin through the blood of Jesus, and proclaimed it throughout his 18th century ministry. It became precious to him, as it has to all believers. There is a marble tablet on a tomb in the yard of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Olney, England. The man who was buried there asked that this inscription be placed as a testimony to the grace of God. He said, “And I earnestly desire that no other monument, and no inscription but to this import, may be attempted for me. (Note below: “clerk” meant cleric, or preacher.)
JOHN NEWTON, Clerk
Once an Infidel and Libertine,
A Servant of Slaves in Africa,
Was, by the Rich Mercy of
Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
Preserved, pardoned, and appointed to preach
The Faith he had long labored to destroy.
As John Newton (1725-1807) wrote in his most famous hymn, “Amazing Grace,” God’s grace had brought him “through many dangers, toils, and snares.” He wrote of them in his own autobiography, “Out of the Depths,” and many excellent accounts of his life have been published by other authors.
He certainly experienced enormous “dangers, toils, and snares” in his life, beatings on board a naval vessel, near starvation at the hands of the African mistress of a slave trader, and near death by drowning during a fierce hurricane at sea. He also addressed these in his hymn, “Though Troubles Assail Us.” Christians in every generation and culture have faced hardships of many kinds, and have found courage and comfort from the Lord who provides. The Bible is full of accounts of God’s sustaining hand caring for His people, from Abraham and Daniel to Paul and John. The letters of 1 and 2 Peter are directed to believers experiencing doubts and persecution.
John Newton’s father was a moral but non-religious sea-going man. His mother, a wonderful godly woman, a Dissenter, who taught John biblical truths in his childhood, died when he was only seven years old. His father married again within a year, but when his new wife gave birth to her first child, young John was neglected. His father sent him away to a boarding school where he came under the influence of bad company. At the age of eleven, he left school to join his father at sea where he accompanied him for the next four years, years in which John drifted further away from the principles his mother had taught him.
On three or four occasions he committed himself to turn back to the Lord, fasting and praying and reading the Scriptures. But these self-empowered attempts at moral reform did not last. He felt this was futile and in dismal failure gave himself up to the godless lifestyle of a typical 18th century seaman. His father secured opportunities for him, but he wasted them, even winding up being arrested as a deserter and forced aboard a naval “man-of-war.” That offense and his further rebellious spirit led to a severe flogging before he was “traded” to a slave ship. Things only got worse when he got terribly sick and was left behind on the African coast by the captain. Because of the lack of care by that captain’s black mistress, John nearly starved to death before being “rescued” by another ship in the port (at the behest of his father) and sent back to England.
On their journey, they encountered a terrible storm – perhaps a hurricane – and the ship’s sails and rigging were torn apart. During that time when he feared they would all perish, the Holy Spirit worked in John’s heart to turn him to the Lord. This time it was genuine and lasting, despite a few brief lapses in the years ahead. He was especially influenced by the classic devotional book by Thomas à Kempis, “The Imitation of Christ.” Amazingly, though he only had two years of formal schooling, he taught himself Latin, Hebrew, and Greek, and read much Christian devotional literature, including the classic by Philip Doddridge, “The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul.” Through all these years he was sustained in part by a deep love for Polly Catlett, whom he had met when he was 17 and she was 13. In those dark times, he maintained a powerful hope to see her again. They were finally wed in 1750. Their love story is a marvelous tale in itself.
Finally back in England, his father secured a position for him aboard a slave ship. In time John rose to become captain of his own slave ship. During the next five years, he made several voyages, carrying supplies to the African coast, taking on board hundreds of slaves to transport to America, where they were sold, and where cargo was then loaded to sail back to England. It was only gradually that he grew to understand the wickedness of that business in which about 20% of the slaves usually died during the trans-Atlantic crossing.
He left the sea and found employment as a tide surveyor in the port of Liverpool. The Lord continued to work in his life as he studied the Scriptures, under the influence of George Whitefield and the Wesleys. Sensing that God was calling him to become a pastor, it was some time before he was able to secure approval for ordination as an Anglican priest. He was assigned as curate of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in the small village of Olney. During his sixteen years there, the congregation swelled under his preaching so that they had to add a gallery for additional seating. Visitors to the church today can see the pulpit from which he preached and view the stained glass window created as a memorial to his ministry there.
It was while he was here that he collaborated with William Cowper to write hymns for the church’s Tuesday night prayer meeting and Bible study. The 1779 “Olney Hymns” contained 281 of his own compositions and 67 by William Cowper. Cowper found lodging in the home of Mrs. Mary Unwin, directly behind the manse. He struggled all his life with terrible bouts of depression, often feeling that there was no hope of salvation for him. He often came to Newton’s study in the manse where he found good counsel. It was there that the two of them wrote many of their hymns. In the garden that separated the two house stood a gardener’s shed with benches where the two often sat to visit and collaborate on their hymns. Among Cowper’s hymns are “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood,” “God Moves in a Mysterious Way,” and “O for a Closer Walk with God.”
After a lengthy and very effective ministry in Olney, Newton was assigned to the prominent St. Mary Woolnoth Church in London, where he served from 1780 until his death in 1807, at the age of 82. There and in Olney, he often brought stories from his experiences in the slave trade to communicate the depravity of human hearts and the need for God’s powerful transforming grace. One the members of the London church who listened to these message was William Wilberforce, a Member of Parliament, who championed the cause of the abolition of the slave trade in England.
Throughout his years in ministry, Newton maintained an amazing correspondence with hundreds of people who wrote to him for advice. Many of those letters have been published, along with Newton’s own autobiography. His collected works fill six volumes and include a series of sermons he preached on the Scripture texts in Handel’s oratorio “Messiah” during the time it was becoming popular in performances in England. He was concerned that people not miss the glorious truths of redemption by being distracted in admiration of the music.
It is that glorious truth of redemption that causes the Christian to “Love and Sing and Wonder.” It did that for Newton, and it should do so for us. What a wonderful encapsulation of the heart of the gospel, a truth that causes us to have an ever-increasing love for the Lord, an ever-increasing spirit of song before Him, and an ever-increasing sense of wonder before the God who has given the life, even the blood, of His own dear Son to make us His own forever! In this hymn, the first four stanzas are an exhortation from one believer to others to consider the gracious works of God and to respond to them accordingly. The hymn was written in 1774 while Newton was still in Olney, before moving the London church where he spent the rest of his life.
This is a good example of a hymn that doesn’t merely tell us to praise God; it tells us why we should praise Him by reminding us what He has done for us. He has washed us by the blood of Jesus. We should never just be “sort of” praising God in the abstract. There are biblical reasons given for praising God in a good hymn like this one.
Stanza 1 explains that He is the Savior. This stanza calls us to love and sing and wonder at the work of the Lord Jesus, who has “hushed the law’s loud thunder.” In other words, He’s quenched, or satisfied, the penalty of the law. And this was deeply concrete and personal to John Newton. He knew that God had quenched the penalty of His law, which Newton deserved, by the death of His own Son on the cross. The final thought of that opening line is that Jesus has brought us near to God, and that theme will be repeated throughout the hymn.
Let us love and sing and wonder, Let us praise the Savior’s name!
He has hushed the law’s loud thunder, He has quenched Mount Sinai’s flame:
He has washed us with His blood, He has brought us nigh to God.
Stanza 2 explains that He is the Lord who bought us. This takes up the first of stanza one’s three imperatives, so here the second stanza has us saying “Let us love…;” the third stanza, “Let us sing…;” the fourth stanza, “Let us wonder.” So Newton presents love, sing, and wonder, and then works each out in each of the stanzas. Five things are mentioned in the second stanza to supply motivation for our appreciation of Christ, because we are asked to focus ourselves on the task of displaying our love to Christ in that second stanza. So we’re reminded that 1) He pitied us when we were still His enemies, 2) that He was gracious in calling us to salvation, 3) that He taught us the truth, giving us the ability to understand, 4) that He cleansed us by His blood, and 5) that He presents our souls to God. Each of these thoughts is eminently suitable for kindling our love to Christ. So when we’re asked, “Let us love,” reasons are given for our doing this.
Let us love the Lord Who bought us, Pitied us when enemies,
Called us by His grace and taught us, Gave us ears and gave us eyes
He has washed us with His blood, He presents our souls to God.
Stanza 3 explains that He is the conqueror who helps us overcome temptation. Here Newton picked up the second imperative: “Let us sing.” And that line asks us to sing to the Lord even in the midst of severe trials. We should notice how Newton’s trials keep coming up in this song. This is in stark contrast to so much of the material that was written for praise, especially in the 70’s and 80’s and early 90’s. For about thirty years, trials dropped out of most of the sung praise that was being used in the majority of the English-speaking Protestant churches. But here it is. This line asks us to sing to the Lord, even in the midst of trials: “Though fierce temptation threaten hard to bear us down!” How can we sing at such a time? Newton has the answer: “For the Lord, our strong salvation, hold in view the conqu’ror’s crown.” In other words, we need to keep our focus on the Lord Jesus Christ, seated at the Father’s right hand, holding up the conqueror’s crown.
And so we must sing, because Jesus “soon will bring us home to God.” We thus persevere in our trials with joy and song because of the future grace of the victory of Jesus Christ and our nearness to the Lord.
Let us sing, though fierce temptation Threatens hard to bear us down!
For the Lord, our strong salvation, Holds in view the conqueror’s crown:
He, Who washed us with His blood Soon will bring us home to God.
Stanza 4 explains that He is the expression of the perfect combination of God’s grace and His justice. This should cause us to pause in wonder, reflecting on the certainty that God will judge, even the wicked, with righteousness in pure, divine justice. A part of that sense of awe is that in God’s way of redemption, grace and justice work together to secure our salvation. God in His grace freely saves us by His mercy as we trust in Christ, and so simultaneously He saves us by His justice in meting out upon His own beloved Son the precise punishment due to us. And so “when through grace in Christ our trust is, justice smiles and asks no more.” What a beautiful phrase that is! Divine justice does not glare on us in anger, but smiles on us in grace! This is from the One who has secured our way to God.
Let us wonder; grace and justice Join and point to mercy’s store;
When through grace in Christ our trust is, Justice smiles and asks no more:
He Who washed us with His blood Has secured our way to God.
Stanza 5 explains that He is the Lamb who is praised above. And that’s not just something far off in time and distance. We’re connected to it. When we worship, we worship both as a church militant here on earth, but also along with the church triumphant in heaven, picking up the theme in Hebrews 12 of the general assembly of the church of the first-born. Worship is now being offered not just with the body of believers that we can see, but also with the invisible body of angels and archangels and the saints who have gone before us. And notice how this fifth stanza (which is also the final stanza in some hymnals) ends by moving from the third person to the second person: “He who washed us with His blood” now becomes “You have washed us with Your blood, You are worthy Lamb of God.”
Let us praise, and join the chorus Of the saints enthroned on high;
Here they trusted Him before us, Now their praises fill the sky;
“Thou hast washed us with Thy blood; Thou art worthy Lamb of God!”
Stanza 6 explains that He is the one who pardons sin purely because of His grace, not because of any merit in our character or conduct. Anytime divine grace toward is attributed to anything in or about us, it is no longer grace. The great “wonder” associated with this theme is due to the pollution of sin which we recognize to be continually present within our hearts. Why would a God of infinite perfection and holiness take notice of, much less smile kindly on, such beings as we? And yet, wonder of wonders, despite knowing our frame, He has granted pardon and taken pity on us, and is glad to “wash our souls and songs with blood.”
Yes, we praise Thee, gracious Savior, Wonder, love, and bless Thy Name.
Pardon, Lord our poor endeavor; Pity for Thou knowest our frame.
Wash our souls and songs with blood, For by Thee, we come to God.
Stanza 7 explains that He is the one whose name is above all names. Newton obviously wanted us to think of the passage in Philippians 2:10-11 which informs us that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of the Father. Such divine transcendence and magnificence and grace should indeed cause us to “love and sing and wonder.” And especially to wonder at something and someone so marvelous as this. As Newton wisely wrote, “we blush, and are confounded” as we realize how inadequate and cold our praises are, compared to what He deserves. We conclude by praying once again that He would wash both our souls and our songs with His blood.
Hark! the Name of Jesus, sounded Loud, from golden harps above!
Lord, we blush, and are confounded, Faint our praises, cold our love!
Wash our souls and songs with blood, For by Thee we come to God.
The text is found in our hymnals to the tune, ALL SAINTS OLD (also known as DARMSTADT), and is one of the many hymns in which tune and text are from entirely different sources. This tune comes from a hymn collection in Darmstadt, Germany. Dated in 1698 (and could be even older than that!), it is almost a century older than Newton’s words, which means that the words would have been sung to a tune already familiar to Newton’s congregation. Musicians regard this as a joyful tune, one that almost resembles a peal of bells as it starts on a high note before descending down the scale. The first two lines are repeated (a common A-A-B pattern) before a change in the final line, making it easier to learn. This tune is also used in many hymnals with the text, “Who Are These Like Stars Appearing.”
Here is a link to the singing of the hymn from Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Tabernacle in London.
There is also a newer contemporary tune to the text from “Indelible Grace” music.