26. In Rags and in Ruin, Without and Within

4-11s.
1
In rags and in ruin, without and within,
 
One terrible mass of pollution and sin;
 
By false friends deserted, of fortune bereft,
 
He turns to the home he once eagerly left.
2
Oh! none can restore, nor such deep sin efface,
 
But the One who comes forth in such infinite grace;
 
For grace is above all his sin and distress,
 
And he’s nothing to do — save his sin to confess!
3
What an earnest and seal of unspeakable bliss
 
Is conveyed in the Father’s affectionate kiss!
 
The lost one is found, and the servants must bring,
 
At the Father’s command, the shoes and the ring.
4
And the very best robe, and the fatling, and wine,
 
(What a change from the rags, and the husks, and the swine!)
 
With music and dancing — ’tis something so new,
 
Such a fullness of blessing — and nothing to do!
5
Ah! nothing to do, for the sinner that’s dead
 
Must needs have another to work in his stead:
 
And Jesus, in Calvary’s terrible hour,
 
Redemption accomplished in marvelous power,
6
Which shut up the world to its folly and strife,
 
But opened a passage from death unto life.
 
Are you ruined and helpless? God offers to you
 
A free, full salvation — and nothing to do!
Echoes of Grace Hymnbook Index