Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-book ‎#208

208. By grace I'm saved--grace free and boundless!

1 BY grace I'm saved--grace free and boundless!
My heart, believ'st thou this or not?
Why tremblest thou with terror groundless?
Has Scripture e'er a falsehood taught?
Then this word also true must be:
By grace there is a crown for thee.

2 By grace! our works are all rejected,
All claims of merit pass for naught;
The mighty Saviour, long expected,
To us this blissful truth has brought,
That He by death redeems our race,
And we are saved alone by grace.

3 By grace! mark well these words' true meaning,
When thou dost sorrow sin-oppressed,
When Satan threats with pride o'erweening,
When troubled conscience sighs for rest;
What reason cannot comprehend
It pleases God by grace to send.

4 By grace His Son, on earth appearing,
Vouchsafed beneath thy woe to bend;
Hadst thou, damnation justly fearing,
Done aught to render Him thy friend?
Was't not that He thy welfare sought,
And but by grace deliverance wrought?

5 By grace! this ground of our salvation,
As long as God is true, endures:
What saints have penned by inspiration,
What God by His own Word assures,
What all our faith must rest upon,
Is grace, free grace, through His dear Son.

6 By grace! but think not, thou who livest
Securely on in godless ways,
That thou,--though all are called,--receivest
The promised rest that wakes our praise;
By grace none find in heaven a place
Who live in sin in hope of grace.

7 By grace! they who have heard this sentence
Must bid hypocrisy farewell;
For only after deep repentance
The soul what grace imports can tell,
To sin while grace a trifle seems,
To faith it bright with glory beams.

8 By grace the timid hearts that languish,
Find access to the Father's heart,
When conflicts fierce and bitter anguish
Bid all their joy and hopes depart.
Where, ofttimes, should I strength obtain,
Did grace my anchor not remain!

9 By grace! on this in death I'll rest me,
Rejoicing e'en though feeling naught;
I know my sin--it oft oppressed me--
But Him, too, who salvation brought:
My heart exults—-grief flees apace--
Because my soul is saved by grace.

10 By grace! may sin and Satan hearken!
I bear my flag of faith in hand,
And pass--for doubts my joy can't darken--
The Red Sea to the Promised Land.
I cling to what my Saviour taught,
And trust it, whether felt or not.

Text Information

• First Line: By grace I'm saved--grace free and boundless!
• Meter: 9, 8, 8.
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1893
• Topic: Faith and Justification
• Notes: M. Loy, Tr. a.; German: Aus Gnaden soll ich selig werden - C. L. Scheidt, 1742

Tune Information

(No tune information)