’Tis finished.
Horatius Bonar was one of the most prolific hymn writers of his day, amassing a library of poems over 600 strong. Although many of his hymns have fallen out of modern use, Bonar’s hymns afford Christians of any age ample opportunity to deepen their faith and strengthen their resolve for Jesus Christ through his devotional verses. Integral to Bonar’s writings is a keen grasp of the freeness of God’s grace, which rescues sinners from the haunts of death and damnation and brings them into the light of his righteous love. This serves as the keynote of his theological and exegetical writings, as well. Nonetheless, Bonar’s hymns are worth revisiting and retrieving for the church of today, perhaps none better than the pastoral anthem, “It Is Finished,” the words of which are excerpted below:
Blessed be God, our God!
Who gave for us His well-beloved Son,
His gift of gifts, all other gifts in one.
Blessed be God, our God!
What will He not bestow?
Who freely gave this mighty gift, unbought,
Unmerited, unheeded, and unsought,
What will He not bestow?
He spared not His Son!
’Tis this that silences each rising fear,
’Tis this that bids the hard thought disappear,
He spared not His Son!
Who shall condemn us now?
Since Christ has died, and ris’n, and gone above,
For us to plead at the right hand of love,
Who shall condemn us now?
’Tis God that justifies!
Who shall recall the pardon or the grace,
Or who the broken chain of guilt replace?
’Tis God that justifies!
The victory is ours!
For us in might came forth the Mighty One,
For us He fought the fight, the triumph won;
The victory is ours!
(202–3)
It is finished. The triumph over sin and death has already been won by Christ himself who “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame” on the cross (Col. 2:15). His church now awaits the consummation of that victory at the End of Days, when all things will be brought to completion. Until then, you and I can rest assured in the peace and pardon of the Mighty One who was crucified in our stead. ’Tis finished, my friends.
Grace and peace to you.
Works cited:
Horatius Bonar, Hymns of Faith and Hope (London: James Nisbet & Co., 1858).