Inspirational Readings|57 Songs:Devotional of Beloved Hymns ♫ Victory In Jesus ♫

Oh victory in Jesus, my Savior forever; He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood. He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my love is due Him. He plunged me to victory, beneath the cleansing flood.

In the above refrain of the hymn, “Victory In Jesus”, it’s all about the blood. All throughout the hymn and the refrain, it is reiterated that it is through the blood of Jesus that we have the victory both in life and in death. Some people have serious issues with all this blood, but even in our everyday lives we all know that anything good or excellent in our lives always comes at a great price or sacrifice to someone. Our parents oftentimes slaved on jobs and worked for employers who were often thankless and cruel and they sometimes had to accept dangerous positions that paid very little. They did it to insure that we, their children could eat, have a roof over our heads and hopefully have a better future than they did.

In the same way, because God knew that we would eventually ruin and lay waste to our own lives as well as the the world he created for us, had a plan ready to send his son Jesus to be our safety net of redemption. He sent Jesus to live among us and then to die for us providing the sacrifice of a perfect life that none of us would ever be able to live. It was His shed blood that made the way for us to have the victory expressed in the hymn.

The hymn, Victory in Jesus may present the picture of a gruesome bloody sight, but that blood is our sure hope. It’s done, the contract or requirement of the law has been met, but not by us but by Jesus, who loved us enough to go through with God’s plan. And He did this while we were yet in our sins (Romans 5:8); while we were still busy lying, cheating and participating in the wide gulf and variety of human sin. The hymn’s words, ‘he loved me ere I knew him and all my love is due him’ are true and a comfort to millions around the world. He loved us and made a decision to carry out His Father’s plan to save us even though He knew how ungrateful many would be concerning His sacrifice. He knew many wouldn't recognize the wondrous gift and treat His loving gesture as worthless garbage to be ignored or thrown away. But he also knew those who would rejoice in the gift and quickly grab hold of the offer and promise, valuing it to be more precious than anything the world has to offer.

Victory in Jesus is one of those songs I learned as an adult. I knew Jesus growing up and was firm in my belief, but as I became an adult and began encountering adult-sized, messy problems, I needed a bigger vision and a firmer foundation of who God was and how to respond to life and it’s seemingly impossible dilemmas. I needed to know that no matter what I encountered in life, that God would always be there, and that my victory would always be in Jesus Christ. I found that in the truth of God’s Word. It’s a wonderful freedom for me to know that regardless of the failures in my life, that I already have a victory stored up for me in Jesus, already paid for. It covers me today, tomorrow, on a day when I receive a phone call about the sickness or death of a loved one or a discouraging doctor’s report about my own health. The knowledge of my victory in Jesus, guards my mind and emotions in every area of life.

As I look to Jesus, the source of my victory, He insulates me from the panic that many feel from reports of stock market crashes, inflation, terrorists and any other calamity that threatens to come upon this world. My victory is secure in Jesus, stored up and put away for me and for anyone who chooses to put their faith in Him.

The hymn’s writer, E.M. Bartlett, wrote ‘Victory In Jesus’ while bedridden. He was no longer able to travel but was able to continue studying his Bible. He drew his comfort and inspiration from it as he lay there, and this hymn was the result. It was the last one he penned out of the more than 800 others he wrote in his lifetime. It is a fitting epitaph, a last will and testament that can speak to each of us as we ponder the many struggles we have today and wonder what is waiting for us at the end of this earthly life.

It’s often interesting to consider and take notice of what individuals do at the end of their lives. Usually one only takes the time to do those things that are of vital importance. This last hymn of E.M. Bartlett’s was written for the benefit of many; those who would love it; who would encounter the truth and power of it’s life-giving words for the first time and to anyone who is hurting or discouraged, thinking all is lost. We can be grateful to God for giving E.M. Bartlett the strength and the inclination to write the hymn. For although Bartlett was never able to sing the time honored hymn himself due to a stroke that left him unable to speak, he didn't allow it to deter him from offering us one of the greatest hymns of all time. A hymn that boldly declares, Victory In Jesus.

Written by Eugene Monroe Bartlett(1885-1941)

1. I heard an old, old story,

how a Savior came from glory,

How He gave His life on Calvary,

to save a wretch like me;

I heard about His groaning,

of His precious blood's atoning,

Then I repented of my sins

and won the victory.

*Refrain:

2. I heard about His healing,

of His cleansing pow'r revealing,

How He made the lame

to walk again and caused the blind to see;

And then I cried, "Dear Jesus,

come and heal my broken spirit,"

And somehow Jesus came

and brought to me the victory.

*Refrain:

3. I heard about a mansion

He has built for me in glory,

And I heard about the streets of gold

beyond the crystal sea;

About the angels singing

and the old redemption story

And some sweet day I'll sing up there

the song of victory.

*Refrain:

Oh victory in Jesus, my Savior, forever!

He sought me and bought me

with His redeeming blood;

He loved me ere I knew Him,

and all my love is due Him

He plunged me to victory

beneath the cleansing flood.

© 'Victory In Jesus' 1939 Mrs. E.M. Bartlett.

Renewed 1967 by permission of Albert E. Brumley

And sons (Admin. By Integrated Copyright Group,Inc.)

Have A Blessed And Peaceful Week!

2015 Barb Johnson (Babbyii)