Chief of Sinners, LBW 306
1 Chief of sinners though I be,
Jesus shed his blood for me,
Died that I might live on high,
Lives that I might never die.
As the branch is to the vine,
I am his, and he is mine.
2 Oh, the height of Jesus' love!
Higher than the heav'ns above,
Deeper than the depths of sea,
Lasting as eternity.
Love that found me--wondrous thought--
Found me when I sought him not.
3 Only Jesus can impart
Balm to heal the wounded heart,
Peace that flows from sin forgiv'n,
Joy that lifts the soul to heav'n,
Faith and hope to walk with God
In the way that Enoch trod.
4 Chief of sinners though I be,
Christ is All-in-All to me;
All my wants to him are known,
All my sorrows are his own.
He sustains the hidden life
Safe with him from earthly strife.
5 O my Savior, help afford
By your Spirit and your Word!
When my wayward heart would stray,
Keep me in the narrow way;
Grace in time of need supply
While I live and when I die.
Devotion
Because Jesus’ call in Matthew is for us to follow him, and the Psalm reflects David’s words of righteousness, I felt the hymn “Chief of Sinners” would be empowering to each of us as sinners. If we have fallen, which every human has, we must not let Satan squelch our resolve to rise up out of our circumstances and again take up our cross and follow Jesus. If we come stumbling and full of bruises, Jesus will not refuse us. He wants us to be his servant, regardless of our battle wounds from life. Quoting from verse 5 (my favorite verse of the hymn):
O my Savior, help afford
By your Spirit and your Word!
When my wayward heart would stray,
Keep me in the narrow way;
Grace in time of need supply
While I live and when I die.
Amen.