Lord, we lift our hearts to praise you
For your love when we were lost.
In your final earthly days you
Did not flee redemption’s cost.
You would pay the debt we owed, with
Your own life blood as the price
To fulfill the legal code, with
Its demand for sacrifice.

With their courage sorely tested,
Your disciples turned and fled
On the night you were arrested,
Fearing they would soon be dead.
They did not know your intention
For the world was coming true.
Your decisive intervention
Through the cross would make us new.

“Lifted up” was your prediction,
“from the earth” to save us all.
Lifted up in crucifixion,
You extended mercy’s call.
Risen from the tomb, you gave us
Faith and hope when death comes near.
Now ascended high, you save us
From our sorrow, sin, and fear.

So, with fervent jubilation,
Lord, we lift our voices high
As we sing in celebration
Of the love that came to die
To redeem us and transform us!
Holy Jesus, we are awed
By this passion, this enormous
Gift you give us, Lord our God!

Words: James Ayers © 1998. Tune: Hymn to Joy, Ludwig van Beethoven, 1824 [“Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”]