Lyrics
Not what my hands have done
Can save my guilty soul;
Not what my toiling flesh has borne
Can make my spirit whole
Not what I feel or do
Can give me peace with God;
Not all my prayers and sighs and tears
Can bear my awful load.
Thy work alone, O Christ,
Can ease this weight of sin;
Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God
Can give me peace within.
Thy love to me, O God,
Not mine, O Lord, to Thee,
Can rid me of this dark unrest,
And set my spirit free.
Thy grace alone, O God,
To me can pardon speak;
Thy power alone, O Son of God,
Can this sore bondage break.
No other work, save Thine,
No other blood will do;
No strength, save that which is divine,
Can bear me safely through
I bless the Christ of God;
I rest on love divine;
And with unfaltering lip and heart,
I call this Savior mine.
His cross dispels each doubt;
I bury in His tomb
Each thought of unbelief and fear
Each lingering shade of gloom.
I praise the God of grace;
I trust His truth and might;
He calls me His, I call Him mine,
My God, my joy, my light.
'Tis He who saveth me,
And freely pardon gives;
I love because He loveth me,
I live because He lives.
Song History & Meaning
Composer / Hymnodist: Horatius Bonar
It is easy to fall into the trap of believing our own efforts, prayers, or good deeds can earn us peace with God. Yet this timeless hymn gently redirects our gaze from our weak hands to the strong hands of Jesus. Salvation is not a reward we achieve, but a grace we receive through Christ’s finished work on the cross. Today, you are invited to lay down the burden of self-reliance and simply rest in the complete, saving love of the Lamb of God.
📖 Related Scripture Passages:
- Ephesians 2:8: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,”
- Ephesians 2:9: “not of works, that no one would boast.”
- Titus 3:5: “not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,”