Not What My Hands Have Done

Everything I have ever seen written by Horatius Bonar (1808-1889) is outstanding. He composed over 600 hymns and preached hundreds of sermons - all of which are incredibly insightful about the sinfulness of sin and the graciousness of God.

Unfortunately, for our modern eye - this 19th century Scottish Presbyterian is not much of a "looker." I have searched far and wide to find a "kinder gentler" picture than my earlier blog post showed. This slightly more relaxed pose linked to this blog entry is the best that I have found.

I do not know if I have read a better description of a person's need to abandon all attempts at "self help" and to cast all of their hope on the atoning work of Christ than the following.

"Not what my hands have done, can save my guilty soul,

Not what my toiling flesh has bore, can make my spirit whole,

Not what I feel or do, can give me peace with God

Not all my prayers and sighs and tears, can bare my awful load

Not what my hands have done, can ease this weight of sin,

Thy blood alone, O lamb of God, can give me peace within.

Thy love to me O'God, not mine O Lord to thee

Can rid me of this dark unrest, and set my spirit free."

- Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)