There is Life for a Look– 9 February 2024, Anno Domini

  

 

L

OOK unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

(Isaiah 45:22)

 

            This is a hymn of hope with a very appealing musical score (Latakia). It was composed in 1832 by Amelia Hull (1812-1884)  - a twenty-year old English girl who would go on to write scores of additional hymns over a lifetime, many for children. It draws our attention to the depth of God’s plan in preparing a meet sacrifice for us reflected across the entire canon of Scripture. This hymn is taken from the Presbyterian Book of Praise, #148.

 

There is Life for a Look

 

There is life for a look at the Crucified One,

There is life at this moment for thee;

Then look, sinner, look unto Him and be saved,

Unto Him who was nailed to the tree.

Refrain

Look! Look! Look and live!

There is life for a look at the Crucified One,

There is life at this moment for thee.

 

Oh, why was He there as the bearer of sin,

If on Jesus thy guilt was not laid?

Oh, why from His side flowed the sin-cleansing blood,

If His dying thy debt has not paid?

Refrain

 

It is not thy tears of repentance or prayers,

But the blood, that atones for the soul;

On Him, then, who shed it, thou mayest at once

Thy weight of iniquities roll.

Refrain

 

Then doubt not thy welcome, since God has declared

There remaineth no more to be done;

That once in the end of the world He appeared,

And completed the work He begun.

Refrain

 

Then take with rejoicing from Jesus at once

The life everlasting He gives;

And know with assurance thou needst never die,

Since Jesus, thy righteousness, lives.

 Refrain

 

There is life for a look at the Crucified One, There is life at this moment for thee; Then look, sinner, look unto Him and be saved, Unto Him who was nailed to the tree. Look unto Christ – the Living One as well as unto Christ who bore our sins upon the Cross at Golgotha. Christ provides us with a perfect illustration of that sacrifice in the account of the Brazen Serpent which represented the sins of Israel crucified on a pole. 8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. (Numbers 21:8-9) Our Lord Jesus Christ used this account as a picture of His own sacrifice: 14 ¶ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:14) and, 32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.  (John 12:32) Sin leaves scars. The snake-bite of sin is painful and leaves scars as well; however, looking unto Christ on the Cross, we shall not surely die, but LIVE!

 

Oh, why was He there as the bearer of sin, If on Jesus thy guilt was not laid? Oh, why from His side flowed the sin-cleansing blood, If His dying thy debt has not paid? There was a great void of sinlessness on the cross. That void was filled by Our sinless Savior who took upon Himself the sins of the world – the only Man who was worthy to die in our stead for our sins, being sinless. At His crucifixion, He was lifted up between Heaven on earth on the cross, and became our Intercessor and Intermediary between Heaven and the elect. Like the Rock of Horeb, our Lord was cleft in the side by the Roman Sword, and outflowed the symbolic Water of Life for us.

 

It is not thy tears of repentance or prayers, But the blood, that atones for the soul; On Him, then, who shed it, thou mayest at once Thy weight of iniquities roll. The broad shoulders of Christ are sufficient to bear all our burdens of sin. 28 ¶ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-29)

 

Then doubt not thy welcome, since God has declared There remaineth no more to be done; That once in the end of the world He appeared, And completed the work He begun. Jesus spoke to the anguishing Jairus whose daughter had died,  Be not afraid, only believe. (Mark 5:36) he says the same to every sinner who has felt the quickening of the Holy Ghost in his heart. The fear of God will bring us near to Christ, but it will not hold us there. Fear is the beginning of knowledge, but not the end. Our fear is transformed into a love that echoes back to our Lord the love He has shed upon us. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 19 We love him, because he first loved us. (1 John 4:18-19)

 

Then take with rejoicing from Jesus at once The life everlasting He gives; And know with assurance thou needst never die, Since Jesus, thy righteousness, lives. There can exist no death in Christ, and if we are in Christ, we can never see death. 25 I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (John 11:25-26) Those who die in Christ merely sleep and live on in the spirit with God. But the heart must first respond to the quickening beckon of the Holy Ghost while life yet remains. We must be called and chosen while life remains, and we must respond to that call.