“Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, . . . If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand ? But there is forgiveness with thee” (Psalm 130:1,3,4).

The fact that we have been forgiven of our grievous sin is remembered in verse two of the well-loved hymn, “He Ransomed Me.”

From the depth of sin and sadness To the heights of joy and gladness Jesus lifted me, in mercy full and free; With His precious blood He hath bo’t me, When I knew him not, He sought me, And in love divine He ransomed me.

“There is none that doeth good, no, not one. . . . Their throat is an open sepulcher; . . . Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood” (Romans 3:12-15). “Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:14,15). A sad state indeed.

Yet we are promised that we may “rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls” (I Peter 1:8,9). Such heights of joy and gladness are available only to those who have been lifted out of their sinful state and made alive or “quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). It was “according to His mercy He saved us . . . shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:5,6).

We “were not redeemed [or ransomed] with corruptible things. . . . But with the precious blood of Christ” (I Peter 1:18,19). What makes this transaction even more remarkable, is that we didn’t deserve it, didn’t want it, and were even “enemies of the cross of Christ” (Philippians 3:18). Yet He paid the ransom price anyway. “When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son” (Romans 5:10). Hallelujah! Jesus ransomed me. JDM