Arise, my soul arise, shake off thy guilty fears; The bleeding sacrifice in my behalf appears: Before the throne my surety stands, Before the throne my surety stands, My name is written on His hands.
He ever lives above, for me to intercede; His all-redeeming love, His precious blood, to plead: His blood atoned for all our race, His blood atoned for all our race, And sprinkles now the throne of grace.
Five bleeding wounds He bears, received on Calvary; They pour effectual prayers;they strongly plead for me: "Forgive him, O forgive,"they cry, "Forgive him, O forgive,"they cry, "Nor let the ransomed sinner die!"
The Father hears Him pray, His dear anointed One; He cannot turn away the presence of His Son: His spirit answers to the blood, His spirit answers to the blood, And tells me I am born of God.
My God is reconciled; His pardoning voice I hear; He owns me for His child; I can no longer fear: With confidence I now draw nigh, With confidence I now draw nigh, And,"Father, Abba, Father,"cry. Charles Wesley 1707-1788
One Methodist Minister said he knew of more than two hundred people who had come to Christ through singing this hymn. The story of one young boy is typical of many. He had gone to a revival meeting, and when the sermon was over, he dropped to his knees. "I knew I was sorry for my sins,"he said later," and I wanted Jesus to forgive me." The congregation sang this hymn of Charles Wesley, and the boy listened carefully. Some of the stanzas he did not understand very well, but when they came to the last stanza, joy exploded inside him. The words"with confidence" changed his life. "It was just life being introduced to someone," he said. "From a penitent, weeping boy, I arose happy and smiling." And that's what Jesus does. He brings us to the point of denouncing our sinful lives, but then gives us the confidence to enter a relationship with Him.
