Monday, December 5, 2016

Redeemed!

“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