XI

Bought back

like a lamb from the slaughter.

I did not have a name for my fear.

I had no name for hope.

There was no dream of a saviour.

It was an empty sound.

You came with Your ringing voice

Death is dead.

Your crimes forgotten.

I, like another convict, had my soul

bought back for God.

O Lord how rich you are!

Your wealth overflows the stretches of the universe

and yet in all those wide reaches

it was not enough.

For me, for the buying of my soul,

You ravished the secret coffers.

The heart of Your heart, You opened.

Out of your greatest treasure

You gave this, wonder unimaginable.

For me, Your son.

For a grain of sand, the light of a thousand suns.

What a gift, inconceivable.

Such a price to be paid, unthinkable.

Yet here I stand,

arms outstretched, shackles broken, heart free,

and You ask me this only-

Love Me.

How deep my debt and light my payment.

To make my comfort, my duty.

My joy, my recompense.

How blessed You are Lord and sweet to serve.

May my soul rejoice in Your Presence all the days of my life.