scripture and prayer reflection
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Lyrics
Come, ye sinners, poor and needy
Weak and wounded, sick and sore
Jesus ready, stands to save you
Full of pity, love and power
I will arise and go to Jesus
He will embrace me in His arms
In the arms of my dear Savior
Oh, there are ten thousand charms
Come, ye thirsty, come and welcome
God's free bounty glorify
True belief and true repentance
Every grace that brings you nigh
Come, ye weary, heavy-laden
Lost and ruined by the fall
If you tarry 'til you're better
You will never come at all
I will arise and go to Jesus
He will embrace me in His arms
In the arms of my dear Savior
Oh, there are ten thousand charms
View Him prostrate in the garden
On the ground your Maker lies
On the bloody tree, behold him
Sinner, will this not suffice?
Lo, the incarnate God ascended
Pleads the merit of his blood
Venture on him, venture wholly
Let no other trust intrude
I will arise and go to Jesus
He will embrace me in His arms
In the arms of my dear Savior
In the arms of my dear Savior
In the arms of my dear Savior
Oh, there are ten thousand charms
Luke 15:20
20 And [the prodigal son] arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
Matthew 11:28-30
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Romans 8:31-38
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Reflection
The text of Come Ye Sinners was originally penned by Joseph Hart, who in 1757 experienced a spiritual awakening at the age of 45. This song is an open invitation, drawing us to reflect particularly on the key moment in Jesus’ parable of the Lost Son. The son, having rejected his father and demanded his inheritance, has squandered everything and is now destitute. In his dire need, he decides to return to the father and beg him for a job, but fears what his reception might be.
In the moments when we feel the weight of our sin, and understand the magnitude of our rebellion against the sovereign God, we might likewise be tempted to fear. Like the son, we may feel the need to prepare a carefully crafted speech to beg God to have pity and take us in once more. However, as Jesus’ parable makes clear in the father’s response, our heavenly Father is eager for our return, and rejoices to see us come once again to Him.
This is possible only because of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. In the moments when we feel tempted to despair under the weight of our sin, or to fear that God would greet us with anger or resentment, Hart invites us to remember the lengths to which Christ went to purchase us back from sin and death. The new stillness in the music provides a feeling of solemnity as Hart rhetorically asks, “will this not be sufficient for you?” — sufficient to meet our desperate need, sufficient proof to us of God’s steadfast love. If, as Paul writes in Romans, God is willing to give up even His Son for us, what else wouldn’t He do for our sake?
Take some time to reflect on the unshakable love of God for you as described in Romans 8. May the invitation of this song enter deep into your heart as you consider the joyful warmth of the Father’s greeting and the sufficiency of Christ.