Those of you who came out of
religion will recognize that hymn. I used to sing it a lot,
and I still do, as an altar call, so-called, so to speak, at the
end of a service, you know, invitation, altar call, come down to the
altar. I used to have a bench, a mourner's
bench, and a table altar call, you know. Well, we sang that
before the message, didn't we? We don't give altar calls. We don't have an altar down here. We do. God's people have an altar.
It's not a piece of wood. It's a person. There's a bench, all right, for
mourners. It's called the mercy seat. And
it's in heaven itself, and it is a person. We don't give invitations. God doesn't say by invitation,
he says by command. Come, he says come, not down
front, but to Christ. Don't move a muscle, Scott Richardson
would say. Come to cry, but don't get out
of your seat. And the message is how God calls
people. The message. That's the call. That's the powerful call. God
pleased him by this foolishness the world calls, or what the
world calls foolishness. Foolishness of preaching. All
right, back in our text. The Lord Jesus Christ was and is God Almighty, God
manifest in the flesh. Peter preached at Pentecost one
time. He said, you men of Israel hear
these words, a man, Jesus of Nazareth, a man, approved of
God among you by miracles and wonders and signs which God did
by him in the midst of you. He saw these signs and wonders
and miracles done by this man, and you have to know that he's
more than a man. Nicodemus one time came to him
and said, We know that God's with you. No man could do the
things you do unless God was with him, in him. These miracles prove who he was. That he's God. But all these
miracles were performed by him and written down for us to read
to show us a greater miracle, a much greater miracle. Everyone
whom the Lord healed physically died later of something. These weren't permanent, that
is, their physical healing at If they were blind, they kept
their eyesight, but they died of something, disease, sickness,
something. These miracles were performed
by our Lord and written down for us to read to show us the
greatest miracle of all, a miracle of salvation. Which only, they said, no man
can do these things that God do them through him. And this
is what we're talking about this morning what we're going to look
at is only one that can perform this. With man this is impossible.
The Jews of old said who can forgive sin but God. This John when John one time
was in prison and sent word to the Lord. through a couple of
disciples and said, Are you the one we look for? Do we look for
another? Are you the Christ? And the Lord sent word back to
him to say to John, Go, go show John again. Go show John again. Here's how you know I am who
I am. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers,
I mean, rotten. The lepers are cleansed, the
deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have that gospel
preached to them, time and again. Well, our Lord here, it says
in verse 1, it says, after this there was a feast of the Jews,
and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. You know, in the story right
before this, it says he must needs go through some area. He must needs go through some
area. Why did he have to go through some area? He had an appointment. There was somebody going to be
there. See, our Lord came to seek and to save that which was
lost. The father named him Jesus. Call his name Jesus, but he shall
save his people from their sin. He's the good shepherd who left
the ninety and nine and went into the wilderness to seek that
one lost sheep. Did he find them? Every one of
them. In the end, he said, none of
them is lost. I found them all. That's my name.
That's why I came. I've come to seek and to save
that which was lost. And so he did. This is a faithful
Savior. Christ came into the world to
save sinners. And that's what he did. If you're a faithful
preacher, that's what you'll preach. That he did what he came
to do. That he's the Savior. And I love
the thought that every step our Lord took was in the direction
of finding one of these lost sheep. And if you're one, he's
going to have you. And said he must need to go through
Samaria. Well, here it says he went up
to Jerusalem. Why is he going to Jerusalem?
This is in the first part of his earthly ministry. He's about 30 years old. This
was about three years before he went to Jerusalem to be crucified.
But he's going up to Jerusalem. Why? He's got another appointment. There's somebody there that he's
going to see. Somebody needs him. Somebody
doesn't even know him. He knows him, a certain man. Well, in verse 2 it says, there
is at Jerusalem by the sheep market or gate a pool, which
is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda. It had five porches. Everything in God's word is significant. God, this is God's work. And
things are written. Christ said, My word is spirit.
As a spiritual man, Jerusalem always has always represented
the church. God's true people. The place
of worship, Jerusalem, the house where the temple is, the church
of God. That's where Christ will be. That's where you're going
to find him. Where two or three are gathered
in my name, he said, that's where I will be. That's where I will
dwell. Sheep gate. Sheep gate. It mentions this sheep gate. Christ said, did not he say,
I am the door or gate of the sheep? Straight is the gate and
narrow is the way that leadeth unto life. What is that gate? It's not of what? It's of mercy.
Christ said, I am the door of the sheep. The straight gate.
He said, I am the way. I am the way. By which sheep enter into the
fold. You get into the fold, it will be through me. It was a pool of Bethesda, it's
called, a pool, a place where sheep wash, a pool, a place where
the sheep wash. Bethesda means a house of kindness. So there's a pool here, and in
this house of kindness, where sheep can wash. What's that? That's Christ, isn't it? House
of Kindness. This is the place God has chosen
to put his name there, where Christ is found. You'll find
a pool. Sheep, that is, will find a pool,
a fountain, for sin and the unclean, where you can wash. Oh, is it
kindness, if God has you lying there in his good pleasure. Now look
at verse three. In these porches, and the five
porches, what do those represent? I'm not sure I don't know. I
know probably what came to your mind immediately. Five porches
anything five points come to your mind. In the in the house of kindness
you'll hear five points of that all make up the truth. Man's
utter and total depravity. God's eternal, unconditional
election of people, choices of people, Christ's particular effectual
saving redemption of those people, the irresistible sovereign power
of the Holy Spirit to save everyone whom Christ died for, and every
one of them will be saved in the end, persevere in the end.
You can just lie right there, rest right there. That all represents
the person and the work of our God and our Savior. Well, verse 3 says, Now in these
torches lay a great multitude of impotent folk. One time our Lord went to Jerusalem. I don't know if it's at this
time, but it's not in this chapter. He went to Jerusalem I didn't
look it up, whether it's a separate time or not. The first time that
he went to Jerusalem, this may have been it, but the first time
he went to Jerusalem, he went straight to the temple. You remember
that? And he went into the temple and what he found there were
Pharisees and scribes and lawyers and doctors and religious people.
What were they doing? It says they were making money. That's what they were doing.
They were in it. They were in that place to make money, to
extort people for money. Get money from common people. And our Lord took a whip. He
didn't go there in a mission of mercy. He didn't go there
with an act of kindness. He went there and he platted
a whip of anger and wrath. And he cleaned that place out.
He said, this has become a den of thieves. That's all it is. And religion
is just that today. But our Lord came to this place
on a mission of mercy. And what you'll find, who you'll
find in this place at this particular time, to whom the Lord came on
a mission of mercy, why this is a house of kindness, what
will you find there? Not doctors and lawyers, not the righteous,
not the whole. It says everybody there, look
at that, verse three, of impotent folk, of blind, haught, blind
haught, saying there was no government, blind haught, withered, and they
were all waiting on something, waiting on a miracle to happen. Impotent folk. impotent mean
we speak of God being omnipotent that means all power potent potency
is power these people were impotent that means they had no power
male and female had no power they were powerless. They were
unable to do anything for them so they were completely helpless. powerless, impotent. That's who
was here. That was this man, this certain
man. He goes on to say they were blind. That means you can't see. I can't see. I'd like to say
I can't see. Can't see. Blind means can't
see a thing. Halt. Halt means you've been
stopped dead in your tracks. means you're lame, means you
can't take a step, can't crawl even, you're halted, you can't
move. Paralyzed is what that means.
Paralyzed, an old military term you fellas used to hear all the
time. You ever stand guard duty, Brother Henry? Somebody approach,
what's the first thing you say? Halt! Stop right where you're
at. But you better halt. Hall these
they were stopped day and they couldn't move and they couldn't
crawl they wanted this man he said I can't I can't I can't
move. Look at the next thing he says
they were withered. Withered. That means everything
about them they're they're they're faculty. Every one of their natural
fact that their bodily, their flesh, in their flesh, dwelt
no good thing. Nothing worked. They had hands,
but they couldn't perform anything with them. They had feet, but
they wouldn't walk. They wouldn't work. They were
withered. They had a mind, but it was gone. It was withered.
What's all this talking about? Everybody here was like that.
Great. That's who Christ came into this
world. It's a faithful saying Christ
came in the world to save center. What kind of. That means you can't save yourself
no matter what you do no matter how hard you try. You can't do
it. You tried and you failed miserably.
try to do it try to work up some kind of repentance work up some
kind of work up some kind of goodness and morality try to
keep the law track can't I can't I can't. And now before I go any further. God's people they. When Paul wrote Romans seven.
He wrote that later on, after he'd been a believer for years.
He said, the things that I would do, I can't do. I'm impotent. Later on, he even said that.
He said, God's people need Christ every day of their life. It's not like a one-time thing.
You know, he comes and then he leaves us to ourselves. No, no,
no, no. God's people are blind. All people are blind by nature,
but when God comes and finds his people, they're blind. The
ones he finds, the ones he heals, are blind, can't see. You remember
the Ethiopian eunuch that God sent Philip all the way out in
the wilderness? One heathen fellow from Ethiopia. He was out there
reading Isaiah 53. And he read that and read that.
He just came back from church. He came back from the services
and he heard message after message after message. He didn't get
a thing out of it. It all sounded good. You know, they were reading from
the Bible. And so he started opening his Bible and he was
reading his Bible and going along in his chariot and he was reading
and he didn't get a thing out of it. He's one of God's chosen, one
of God's elect. God sent him a preacher. His name was Philip
Deacon. And Philip went out there and
said, Do you understand what you're reading? He said, How
can I? No, I'm reading it, but I don't
understand. I see it, but I don't see it. I see it, but I'm blind. Whoever
this is talking about, whatever this is talking about, I don't
understand. Would you show me? I'll show you. Got your mind
halt. Couldn't go any further. Oh,
my boy, that doesn't if that doesn't describe. Even the old
believer. Lord, if I'm not going, I can't
I can't seem to make any progress. I seem to be exactly where I
started. Anybody. Lord, after all these
years, here I find myself impotent, blind, halt. It looks like, I
feel like that I should have, but at this time, made some amount
of progress. I can't seem to, it looks like,
I feel like I'm going backward. Anybody? Halt. Withered. Withered. Their arm, their hands couldn't
work. Who shall enter into the holy
place? He's got clean hands. How about you? Oh Lord. These hands. Your hand offended, cut it off. My hands. You have clean hands,
withered feet, can't walk, can't walk, stumble and fall, stumble
and fall, feet that won't work, mine withered up. Anybody like
that in here? Anybody? Well, you've come to the right
place. The pool of Bethesda, house of
kindness, where someone comes to find such people as that.
Anyone. About no one for the unclean.
Church is a hospital for centers. That's what the church is. Church is a hospital for center
where only sick people, I mean, centers. Will find. Mercy, this is what every human
being needs at the hands of a holy God. Mercy. And you know, people wander in
here, according to the purpose of God, sovereign purpose of
God. They wander in here and other
churches, local churches, and they will hear. When you go into
the church house where God has put his name, where the gospel
is, where God's people are, where Christ is promised to be, what
you'll hear is an old message. You'll hear it over and over
again. You'll hear it every time. And you will hear it. If you
don't hear it, you're not in God's church. You'll hear a message
of a holy God. You'll hear a message of fallen
man. You'll hear a message, when we
talk about fallen man, you'll hear, I mean dead in trespass
and sin. Helpless, hopeless, you'll hear
these things all the time, constantly said, that man is dead. That
man is wretched. We sing that song, Amazing Grace,
that saved us. What? Everybody everywhere sings
that hymn, don't they? But they've changed that word
wretch. to say does man like me you know that. But Romans 7 says, O wretched
man that I am. God only saves wretches. He said even to his people in
the church. He said, You don't know. You've
forgotten. These people whom the gospel
had ceased to be sweet to, who've become lukewarm, who could take
it or leave it. He said, You don't know that
you're wretched. That's the first thing he said
to them. Wretched. That means sinful. stinking in yourself. Richard
God looked down says they're all stinking. That's what you'll
hear when you come in. You'll hear that you'll hear
about how man is miserable. A poor naked blind halt lane
you'll hear man spoken of like this from God's work. He's a
worm. He's a worm. You'll hear you'll
hear man talked about like a dog, a dead dog. That's what the Scripture
says. You ever seen a dead dog? Is
this crude? This is Bible. You ever seen
a dead dog on the side of the road? Do you need that? Do you
want that? Is it good, nice to you, sweet
smelling to you? Is it something you can't live
without? That's man to God. That's what God doesn't say anything
good about man in this book. Nothing. Dog, worm, wretched,
poor, miserable, blind, naked, hawk, lame, lepers, unclean,
stinking. That's what you'll hear every
time you come in the church of God. Wow, it's a hospital. Who's here? Wretched, miserable,
poor, blind, naked dogs. worms, sinners. And people walk in and they hear
that and they walk out and never come back. Why? They must not
be wretched, poor, miserable, naked, blind, haunt, lame, a
sinner. Must not be a sinner. This gospel
is for sinners. Those that know, I can't do anything
good in my flesh, dwelleth, no. Good thing. God be merciful to
me, the most miserable sinner on the face of the earth. I've
got good news for you. You mean you can't do anything? No. Well, listen up. You're in the right place. You've
come to a house of kindness. It's the most, it's the kindness
of God to make you realize you're a dog. That's not being cruel. That's not being, it's being
truthful. You remember that woman, that
Syrophoenician woman that came to the Lord? And he ignored her. He said,
Lord, help me, help me. He ignored her. He didn't pay
anything. He ignored her like she wasn't even there. And she kept that. He ignored
her. And finally, he said, I'm not going to give the children's
bread to dogs. And he turned away. What'd she say? Truth. It's truth. Everything you say
and do and are is truth. What about you? When you heard
all of these, I just told you what the Bible says about man.
What do you say about all that? Everything about it? I mean about
yourself. Is it truth? Is that the truth
about you? God said it. You don't just believe
it because God said it. You believe it because you feel
it. Because you know it from experience. truth or she said
truth but you know dogs. Dogs all I can expect and hope
to have is a few crumbs. My dog doesn't eat crumbs, you
know that? My dog doesn't eat crumbs. I know people have dogs that,
there's a man down in Crossfield, Tennessee, who has a dog. I think his wife passed away
and his dog is his best friend, companion, takes that dog everywhere
with him. Every single day of his life,
he goes to McDonald's to the drive-thru and buys his dog a
Big Mac. That ain't fit for dogs. Dogs
are supposed to eat bones and all that. Oh, if you're one of
the Lord's dog and our Lord marveled what he said was, oh, woman,
oh, woman, great is that thing. So I haven't found like faith
like this in all of history. Got all these good people, you
know, all these expect me, they think I'm just waiting to drop
everything so I can save those good people. And here I have
ignored you, not paid any attention to you whatsoever, and said you
don't deserve anything from my hand, and you said it's the truth.
So therefore, I'm not going to withhold anything
from you. You're not getting crumbs. You're
going to sit at the table. Isn't that what Mufinda Shep
did? And what did he say? Who am I? That's the only ones that will. My pastor preached that message
one time on all dogs go to heaven. Real dogs. So people come in
and they leave. They hear these offensive things.
They're offended by it because they're not sinners. This gospel
is for sinners. Christ came, he said, to save
sinners. What kind? It doesn't say. That means no matter how bad. Not used to be. Now Paul said I am the worst
right now. Oh my that's so this gospel is
good news to send it well they were waiting though these people
all of them waiting on something to happen. The legend had it,
the story had it, that an angel went down, verse 4, a certain
season into the pool and troubled the water. And whoever got in
first, something happened, this miracle happened, and whoever
got in first was, whatever they were, they had, they were healed
of it. They were waiting on a miracle,
something to happen. And I wish I had more compassion on the
people of this world. I really do. I really, really
do. I wish I did. May the Lord give it to me in
the years to come, if I have any. But there are a multitude
of people all over this world waiting on something to happen. And they go into these houses,
these various religious houses, you know, looking for something.
They don't know what they're looking for. They're looking
for something. They're waiting on something to happen, a miracle,
a sign, a wonder. But there's no cure, no miracle,
no salvation in signs and wonders. People go to a, you know, a man,
here's a man who's had a bad, rotten life and he He thinks
if I can just start going to church I'll be all right. No,
that won't make you all right. He thinks if I just get baptized,
that'll do it. Baptize. I'm convinced it says
be baptized. I'll be baptized. No, you'll
be a sinner when you come out of that water. It won't change
you. Well, activities, programs, music,
tongues, miracles, none of that will do it. There's only one
hope for a sinner. Only one hope for a sinner. That the Lord Jesus Christ, in
sovereign mercy, he doesn't have to, but in sovereign mercy that
he will look on you. Find you where you are, come
to you, call you, reveal himself to you, redeem you, raise you
up, have mercy upon you, put away your sins by his precious
blood, cover your shame and your nakedness and your guilt with
his righteousness. There's only one hope for one, for a sinner. Only one hope. Christ. I thought about the you know
the only hope for someone who does not even know what they're
looking for. These people didn't know they
were waiting on something and people everywhere now all over. Waiting on something to happen
seeking something to happen is only one hope for someone who
does not know what they're looking for and it is that he is looking
for them. You know that they won't be found
They're lost and they won't be found unless he finds them. And I tell you how the Lord said
it's done. It's this right here. It's preaching. Compel them to
come in. This is the message. We don't tell people what to
do here. We tell them who did what. We don't necessarily tell people
how to walk. We tell them who walked this
earth and why. Well, this is what happened to
a certain man. Certainly I know you saw that
you're a certain man verse five says there was a certain man
there had to get there. Well this is his lucky day one. No such thing as luck. Scripture
says this so many times a certain man a certain woman which had
an infirmity. Certain man had an infirmity
a certain man God's salvation is for certain individuals. Salvation
is something that God Almighty has purposed before the world
began, a fixed purpose, certain, ordered in all things and sure.
According to His will and His counsel on a covenant, He wrote
that. Foundation of God's standards, certain or sure. Having this
seal. Boy, some people don't like this.
I do. If my name is in that book, it's
sealed. He found me in Christ, one of
God's chosen, in the ark. What did God do to that door?
Sealed it, inside and out. Sealed. It's standard having
to seal the Lord knoweth them there is. He said, I know my
sheep, and I'm coming to find them. And he does. Coming to find them. Oh, my. Oh, may one of his sheep be in
here this morning. A certain man said he had an
infirmity, thirty-eight years. It wouldn't say he was impotent
is what it said, infirmity. I believe he was all these things.
You know when the scripture says he healed the lepers, he healed
the blind, he healed the deaf, he healed the lame, he healed
those cast out devils. God's people are all of those
things. They have all of those infirmities. Thirty-eight years, long time
he lay in this land, was helpless. He'd laid there, I don't know
how old he was, maybe thirty-nine, thirty-eight. All he'd laid there
helpless like this. And he would have died. Listen
to me. Stay with me. A few more minutes.
The end of this is wonderful. He would have died. He would
have laid right there until he died. Unless. Somebody came to me. We have people that were concerned
about our children, our spouses, our parents and so forth. And
we've talked to them. We've done all we can do, you
know, with man. It's impossible, isn't it? You've talked to your father,
your mother, your husband, your wife, your children. So you blew
in the face and you you quoted all the scripture you can quote.
You've given all the tapes you can give them. You haven't you? I can't do it. We can't do it. What's their hope? If he does
it, or if he doesn't, it's done. Well, the Lord, look at mercy. When Jesus saw him, When the Lord saw him, the Lord
Jesus Christ came to him, the Lord looked upon him, the Lord
spoke unto him. This was a confrontation. The
Lord himself came to where this man was personally, and it was
a personal confrontation. And that's what it will be for
you, for me, for us, everyone. Christ said, My sheep hear my
voice. And you tell me if it's not so
with you. Those of you whom Christ has revealed himself to through
the preaching of the gospel, when you first heard it and when
you continue to really hear it, does it not seem to you that
he's speaking to you and you only? I don't know how many times
you've said to me, not only at first, but now, when you hear
a message, you say, that was for me and me only. Juanita,
you say that to me all the time. say now Paul and I'll tell you
that's good for you and. That's what she said. She said
that was for me nobody else. Well that's the way it's supposed
to be if the Lord speaks. You speak to you. And he saw him Lord he said my
feet here my boy only when Christ is pleased to speak will we hear My father and mother, you know,
I heard message after message after message. I grew up under
the sound of the word and, you know, I seemed like I was interested. One day, one day, I thought I was the only one in
there. I thought, he's speaking to me. Only when the Spirit of Christ
wrestles with us like Jacob, came a time finally when a man
came to Jacob and got him down on the ground and said, what's
your name? Well, this man, it happened.
Verse six, it says, When the Lord saw him lie a long time
in that case, you know, the Lord said, Before I formed you in
the belly, I knew you. How long has he known his people
before the world began? He knew a long time. Now, he
said in verse seven or verse six to the man, Wilt thou be
made whole? Now, the Lord is not saying to
this man, like these false preachers do to everybody, will you accept
me as your personal Savior? Are you willing? I'm willing.
Are you willing? I came and I can't do anything
unless you let me. He's impotent. He can't do anything
unless the Lord lets him. Lord came to this certain man,
he's not coming to ask him anything for information, he's not coming
to see if he'll have him, he's coming to have him. He's coming
to heal him, he came from heaven for that certain man. He's not asking him for information,
the Lord never asks anything for information. He's omniscient. Wilt thou me be made whole? It is God that worketh in us
both to will and to do of His pleasure in Scripture, His good
pleasure. Thy people are made willing in the day of His power.
It's not of Him that willeth, Him that runneth, but of God
that showeth mercy. We're not born of blood or of the will
of man or the will of the flesh, but of God. He's not saying,
Are you willing? If you're willing, I'm willing.
If you'll just let me do this, I want to do it. I'm standing
here. That's why I'm here. And if you won't let me do it,
I can't do it. Not what he's saying. What he's doing is demanding
a confession out of this fellow. Like Jacob. What's your name? He knew his name. He knew his
name. He came for him. This was the
God of Jacob. He came to Jacob to wrestle with
him. He said, What's your name? Not like he had found the fellow.
He didn't know who he was. He got him down and says, What's
your name? Jacob means cheat, scoundrel,
no good, usurper, sinner is what it means. What's your name? Confess
it right now. What's your name? Jacob. Esau
said that about his brother. His name Jacob, and that's just
what he is. Jacob didn't know it yet, Kelly,
until God got him down and said, What's your name? He said, Jacob.
That's my name. That's what I am. This man, the Lord said, wilt
thou be made whole? Here's his confession. He said,
sir, I have no man. But when the water is troubled
to put me into the pool, while I'm coming, when I make some
attempt to get in, somebody gets in before me. He's saying here,
I'm without help, I'm without strength, I'm without hope. Nobody
can help me. I have no one who can save me,
who can help me, put me in that pool. In fact, I'm less than
the least. I'm not first. Everybody else
seems to be able to get in the water. I can't move. I'm last. I'm always last. Let me get this
straight. You're saying that even if you were willing,
you couldn't? You're saying that there's no
one anywhere that can do anything for you and you can't do anything
for yourself. You're impotent. No power. That you're not the first. That
you're not the best. That everybody else is better
and faster and bigger and stronger than you. That you're the less
than the least. That you're last, the chief.
Is that what you're saying? Yes. Thank you. He did. Oh, you make you don't mean surely.
That surely is something I got. With a word. the Lord Jesus Christ
with one word. It's all his people. Of all their
past all their present are you hearing this is there a center
is there an impotent line a lame halt line no good wretched And with the word, he absolves
us of all our past. It's over. He said, I'll not
remember it anymore. It's not there. The past is not
there. Your present is not there. Your future is not there. Holy, unblameable, unreprovable
in God's sight, justified from all things, all manner of sin. freely forgiven justified by
his great freely through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus
our Lord. Is that the best news? Anybody
in here, what about the best news you've ever heard? It can't
get any better than that, not for a second. Take up your bed, that old bed
you were lying on, and all these years, pick it up, get out of
here, don't lie on that anymore. And he did. And it goes on, I don't have
time, but the rest of the story is he walked out of there and
some religious people immediately said to him, why it's a Sabbath
day, you can't do that on a Sabbath day. Now they'd seen him for thirty
eight years lie in that state and they all they could say was
you do your hair and wear your hair right. You can't cut your
grass on Sunday. And oh man. My sins are gone. And the Lord met him later on
and. And you know he said I'm doing
what I'm doing because he told me to. If he told me not to carry
it, I wouldn't. If he did, he told me. And the
Lord came to him and said, You're whole. Don't listen to what they
say. I've made you whole. Oh, my. If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive our sins. And the blood of Jesus
Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us. OK well the game come up with
what number is what number I didn't write it down. For fifty nine saying the first
two verses four hundred fifty nine first two verses stand. In loving kindness Jesus came
My soul in mercy to reclaim And from the depths of sin and shame
Through grace He lifted me From sinking sand He lifted me With
tender hand he lifted me From shades of night to plains of
light O praise his name, he lifted me Second as the last He called
me long before I heard Before my sinful heart was stirred And
when I took Him at His word For Him He lifted me From sinking
sand He lifted me tender hand he lifted me from shades of night
to plains of light oh praise his name he lifted me