LAMB, PRECIOUS LAMB
Lamb, precious Lamb, Whose blood was shed for me,
Spread on the frame of Calvary’s cruel tree.
Thy paschal sacrifice is all my stay,
Dear Lamb Who came to take our sins away.
Lamb, spotless Lamb, for naught is wrong in Thee!
No mark or blemish, no impurity.
From the world’s founding Thou wast truly slain.
Come, purge my sin and cleanse my every stain.
Lamb, willing Lamb, Thou walked the suff’rer’s path,
Endured the shame, and drank our cup of wrath.
Still, vain and selfish, oft’ we disobey.
O faithful Shepherd, keep us in Thy Way.
Lamb, mighty Lamb, Who triumphed over sin;
Severed its chains to make us whole within.
Gentle in pow’r, both kind and strong Thou art;
O Lamb and Lion, conquer all my heart.
Lamb, worthy Lamb, Who reigns for endless days,
Maker, Redeemer, Thine be all the praise.
We join th’eternal choirs of Heav’n, great King;
“Glory and honor to the Lamb!” we sing.
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REFLECTION
The Bible refers to Jesus as the Lamb of God. What does this mean? While the New Testament is replete with references to Christ as the lamb (most of which are alluded to in this hymn), to understanding the import we must go back to the Old Testament. The title “Lamb of God” has connections with the Old Covenant practice of Passover. In the very first Passover, the Israelites were instructed to spread the blood of a lamb upon their door frame so that they would be passed over by Angel of Death. This is fulfilled at the cross where Christ, the perfect sacrifice, shed His blood for us that was then “spread on the frame of Calvary's cruel tree.” Just as the Israelites were spared, we are spared the wrath of God if we rest under the cross. All the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament were done away with when Christ came as the “lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:19). This was the climax of God's redemptive purpose—a perfect sacrifice to deal with sin once and for all. That’s why in Heaven, for an eternity to come, we will sing, “Worthy is the lamb who was slain!” (Rev. 5:12).
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