Nothing But the Blood
Robert Lowry wrote one of the great classic hymns of all time - which talks about the only 'fount' which can cleanse our sin stains.
Welcome to Friday Classic Hymns. Today we're looking at one of the most beautiful hymns ever written, a song that says over and over again: Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Many people know it by the first line: What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. To my surprise, as I read through all my usual books that I go to when I do these Friday Classic Hymn videos, the story behind the song wasn't in any of them. The author is more famous, it seems, for a different song—a hymn called "Shall We Gather at the River". That's what he is apparently more well known for. I don't know that one, but I know "Nothing but the Blood", and I think that's probably one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.
Do you have memories of singing one of these songs? Please share your thoughts on the song in the comments below. I'd love to read them. Let's get into the history behind this amazing song.
The Story Behind "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus"
Robert Lowry is the author of "Nothing but the Blood". He was born in 1826 and as a young boy showed an immediate ability to play musical instruments. You could put him in front of an instrument and he would make it work.
Lowry joined a local Baptist Church at the age of 17 and started to do some ministry. He taught in a Sunday school and organised the choir, getting involved with the music. Before long, people were realising this man's got a lot of potential. He felt a call to go into the ministry, so he studied, excelled—he was top of his class—and was ordained into the Baptist ministry as a 28-year-old.
Lowry was a very successful pastor. The churches that he would take over would thrive. He was a brilliant speaker with an amazing sense of humour. It seems as if he had a particular talent for painting pictures with his words, so people would come to hear this man preach. He was gentle in a way that endeared him to his people.
Preaching was actually his main ministry. Once he said this: "I would rather preach a gospel sermon to an appreciative, receptive congregation than write a hymn." Yet it is as a hymn writer that he is most fondly remembered. He wrote hundreds of hymns which were translated into many different languages. Later in life he became a music editor and would compile hymn books for different types of contexts. With a musical mind like his, he knew what hymns to put where. He just had a gift for that type of thing.
He described his own musical ability this way: "My brain is a sort of spinning machine, I think, for there is music running through it all the time. I do not pick out my music on the keys of an instrument. The tunes of nearly all the hymns I've written have been completed on paper before I tried them on the organ."
I think many musicians can relate to this. They have music running through their mind all day long, and even before they try it on the instrument, they know exactly how it sounds and how it can come out.
Lowry died in 1899 after a good life doing good things for God. At his funeral, somebody said these touching words: "His melodies and songs were but the expression of the man's heart and his character, and they attracted all to him." In fact, a few years later, one biographer of his wrote: "His hymns have gone on and on. What he had thought in his inmost soul has become a part of the emotions of the whole Christian world. We are all his debtors."
Certainly we are his debtors because of great songs like "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus". Let's have a look at these words, because I think these are precious indeed.
What Do the Lyrics of "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus" Mean?
Verse 1: What can wash away my sin?
Verse 1 says: What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
I love this simple writing. We all need something to wash away our stains, our sins, because they separate us from God. Don't these words from Psalm 51 capture this? When David realised that his soul had been stained by sin, this is what he wrote:
"Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love. According to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin."
Do you get a sense of how stained, how soiled he felt because of his sin? He wanted God to blot it out, to wash it away, to cleanse him. You know what? We all need that cleansing. All of us have sin that we need cleansing of. The Scriptures say that all have fallen short—everybody has fallen short of the glory of God and needs a cleansing agent. We need somebody or something to wash away the stains that have messed us up.
You know what? Sin also has a way of breaking us. It breaks our hearts, it breaks our spirits. But there is one thing that can cleanse us and heal us, and it's the blood of Jesus. When He died on the cross, it wasn't just a martyr's death. It was the very God of the universe shedding His blood for our salvation and for our cleansing.
When Lowry published the song, he had the Scripture Hebrews 9:22 written underneath the title. That Scripture says: "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin."
In the Old Testament system, sin could be cleansed by shedding the blood of an animal. The Jewish people had to sacrifice an animal and that would atone for their sins. The bloodshed would atone for their sins. But Jesus became the Lamb of God, meaning He was the perfect, sinless sacrifice. He was slain on the cross, and when He shed His blood, that blood became effective to cleanse us. Just as the old animals used to do in the Old Testament, all we have to do if we want to receive cleansing for our sin-soiled souls is to place our faith in Him and believe that His blood cleanses us.
Chorus: Oh! precious is the flow
The chorus goes like this: Oh! precious is the flow that makes me white as snow; no other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Only the precious blood that He spilt on the cross, flowing like a river, like a fountain, can wash away the stains of the world. In Isaiah 1, the prophet has this conversation with God and he realises how sinful he is. In this beautiful verse, God says:
"Come now, let's settle the matter," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."
This is such a picture of what Christ does. He takes our stained souls—I'll say it again—and makes them white as snow or white as wool, cleanses away the darkness. Oh, this is precious! Do you know how precious it is to receive this cleansing?
No other fount can wash away your sins. No other cleansing agent will work. It's only the blood of Jesus.
Verse 2: For my pardon, this I see
Verse 2 says this: For my cleansing this I see, nothing but the blood of Jesus; for my pardon, this my plea, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Again, the same themes: cleansing comes only through the blood of Christ, and pardon—forgiveness of our sins—comes through the blood of Christ. We can plead and beg with God to forgive our sins, but nothing that we can bring will ever qualify us to actually receive that. It's only Christ's blood that qualifies us. If we have our faith in Christ's blood, not in our own pleas or our own good works, we can be cleansed.
Verse 3: Nothing can for sin atone
That same theme is again found in verse 3: Nothing can for sin atone, nothing but the blood of Jesus; naught of good that I have done, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
You know, many people cling to this thought that if I just do enough good in this life, God will look on me with favour. If I'm a good person, if I'm kind, if I'm generous, if I'm compassionate, then God will favour me. But the Bible is clear: no good deeds can save us.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says: "It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast."
So no good that you've done can cleanse those stains. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Many people try all their lives to atone for their own sins by being good. God says nothing but the blood of Jesus can wash away your stains. Where are you looking for atonement? Through your good deeds or through the blood of the Lamb that was slain?
Verse 4: This is all my hope and peace
Verse 4 says: This is all my hope and peace, nothing but the blood of Jesus; this is all my righteousness, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
You want hope and peace in this life? Be cleansed by the blood of Christ. It will come. Nothing else will really bring it.
You want to be righteous and holy and good? Your works won't do it. It's the blood of Christ that makes us righteous. Yes, we still do good things—of course we do—but we don't do it to try and atone. We do it because Christ has atoned for our sins, so our motive is love, not fear. Our righteousness is because Christ's blood has cleansed us.
Have you received it?
Verse 5: Now by this I'll overcome
Verse 5 says: Now by this I'll overcome, nothing but the blood of Jesus; now by this I'll reach my home, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
The blood of Christ helps us to overcome. You know, Paul talks about how in Christ we are more than conquerors in this life. Whatever comes our way, we cannot be taken down because the blood of Christ has cleansed us. Not even death, in fact, can separate us from God if we are cleansed by the blood.
Are you a conqueror because you are cleansed by the blood?
I love how he says: Now by this I'll reach my home. My final destination has been prepared for me not because of what I've done, but by the blood of Christ. Because I'm cleansed by the blood of Christ, I will reach my final home.
If we die and we are covered in His blood and cleansed by Him, we will have a place. Oh, be covered in the blood before it's too late, before you reach your final home, because that's going to make all the difference—not what you've done, but the blood of Christ applied to your soul or not.
Verse 6: Glory! Glory! This I sing
Verse 6 says: Glory! Glory! This I sing, nothing but the blood of Jesus; all my praise for this I bring, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
All these wonders that the blood of Christ brings—the cleansing, the pardoning, the conquering, all of that—makes us praise. Why do we go to church? It's because we're cleansed by the blood of Christ and we can't wait to sing His praise because of what He's done.
You know, I was walking in the village where our church is, and I bumped into one of our congregation members. We had a chat and he said to me, with tears in his eyes: "I can hardly fathom what Christ has done for me. I cannot get my head around the sacrifice that He made for me and what that means. It's amazing that He would love me like that."
I thought, yes! When you get it, when you realise that His blood was shed to cleanse your soul and to set you free and reconcile you to God, it will change everything in your life for the good. You'll sing, you'll sing Glory, you'll sing His praise day by day, week by week, because your soul just has to respond to what He's done.
Conclusion
Let the words of this great hymn draw you nearer to Christ. If you're already cleansed, sing this with joy as you remember what He's done for you. But if you're not, sing this with an open heart and ask Jesus to affect this in your life. It is faith in Him that will do it, nothing else. Maybe God is drawing you to this moment so that you can come to Him and say: "Cleanse me by Your blood. Forgive me, wash away my stains and make me new." He'll do it.
If you enjoyed this video, please consider subscribing to my channel. You can also support this ministry through Patreon or PayPal.
References
Full lyrics of "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus" by Robert Lowry
