“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath
redeemed from the hand of the enemy. (Psalm 107:2)
The word, redeem, means to buy back or recover something. It assumes three
things: 1) the object to be redeemed is in someone else’s possession; 2) some
type of price or exchange is necessary to accomplish the redemption; and 3) the
object has no means of redeeming itself, else it would not have been in
bondage, in the first place.
In
this case, you and I were the objects
in need of redemption, in bondage to our enemy, Satan, with no redeeming
qualities of our own to call upon. And the price that was paid for the
redemption of our souls and bodies (Eph. 1:7) far exceeded their worth. But
then, love doesn’t look for a bargain.
The great Baptist preacher, A.J. Gordon (1836-1895), once told the story of
meeting a little boy carrying an old birdcage, containing several common field
birds. Curious, Gordon asked the boy what he intended to do with the birds.
“Oh, I guess I’ll just take ‘em home an play with ‘em for awhile,” came the
reply. “Then what?” asked the preacher. “I guess I’ll just feed ‘em to the old
cat we’ve got,” answered the boy. Impulsively, Gordon asked him how much he
would take for the birds and the cage. This surprised the boy. “Mister, you
don’t want these old birds. They can’t hardly sing at all.” But when Gordon
offered him the outrageous sum of two dollars, he quickly took the money,
saying, “It’s a deal, but you’re makin’ a bad bargain!” Gordon said that after
the boy had gone, he opened the cage, letting the frightened, hesitant birds
fly out; then he watched as they soared into the sky.
The next Sunday, the preacher took the cage into the pulpit with him and told
the story of the boy and the birds. He ended by saying, “That little boy said
the birds couldn’t sing very well, but when I opened the cage and released
them, they flew away singing. And it seemed to me the song they were singing
was, ‘Redeemed! Redeemed! Redeemed?’”
Today, I am as free as a bird out a cage, because of the blood-price of my
redemption that was paid by Jesus Christ two thousand years ago. The verse in
Psalms says, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so”; and that’s just what I’m
doing!
Redeemed, how I love to
proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of
the Lamb;
Redeemed through His
infinite mercy,
His child and forever I
am.
Redeemed, and so happy
in Jesus,
No language my rapture
can tell;
I know that the light of
His presence
With me doth continually
dwell.
I think of my blessed
Redeemer,
I think of Him all the
day long;
I sing, for I cannot be
silent;
His love is the theme of
my song.
Redeemed, redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of
the Lamb,
Redeemed through His
infinite mercy;
His child and forever I
am.
- Fanny J. Crosby
1820-1915
