Text: Exodus 24:3-8, Romans 5:6-11, Hebrews 9:15-22
The hymn “Nothing but the Blood” was composed by Robert Lowry (1826-1899), a university professor and Baptist preacher from New England.
Although an accomplished musician, Lowry wanted most to be known as a preacher. He said, “Music, with me has been a side issue… I would rather preach a gospel sermon to an appreciative audience than write a hymn. I have always looked upon myself as a preacher and felt a sort of depreciation when I began to be known more as a composer” (Butterworth 165).
His preference for preaching comes through in the way his most popular hymn plays like a sermon. The hymn utilizes a call-and-response pattern similar to that of Psalm 136, in which the leader of the assembly makes a statement about God, and the people respond, “His steadfast love endures forever.”
The lines of the hymn alternate—the odd lines asking essential questions about what reconciles us to God, while the even lines respond with the same refrain: “Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” The chorus, then, draws the musical sermon together, reminding us why the blood of Jesus is so necessary: “Precious is the flow that makes me white as snow. No other fount I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
By design, call-and-response hymns lead believers to confess their faith together. May we sing such songs over one another. And may “the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16).
Nothing but the Blood
Robert Lowry
What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Refrain:
O precious is the flow
that makes me white as snow;
no other fount I know;
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
For my pardon this I see:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
For my cleansing this my plea:
nothing but the blood of Jesus. [Refrain]
Nothing can for sin atone:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Naught of good that I have done:
nothing but the blood of Jesus. [Refrain]
This is all my hope and peace:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This is all my righteousness:
nothing but the blood of Jesus. [Refrain]
Butterworth, Hezekiah. Story of the Tunes. New York, NY: American Tract Society, 1890.
Russ Ramsey and his wife and four children make their home in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a pastor at Christ Presbyterian Church and the author of Struck: One Christian’s Reflections on Encountering Death (forthcoming, IVP, 2017), Behold the Lamb of God: An Advent Narrative, and Behold the King of Glory: A Narrative of the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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67 thoughts on "Nothing but the Blood"
Michelle & Searching, praise be to God for that comment encouraging you! And praise be to God for the blood! ❤️
I love that many of these hymns are taking me back to the church of my childhood and youth. I clearly remember the congregation singing with meaning, “Nothing but the Blood.” The comments and insight that all of you give help to bring even more meaning to these old songs. It’s nice to feel uplifted and held by God when I read your comments. Thank you to all of you for sharing your hearts. I am praying for all of your requests, and trusting God to work in each situation. May we all be blessed by our Father today.
Happy Wednesday she’s
Like CINDY HANNA, I was stopped on my track at “Nothing can for sin atone,…, Naught of good that I have done”. I repeated to myself again and again. Where have I gone astray trying to earn grace by my own self-righteousness rags? Where have I been led by religion and pride? I cannot explain but it feels like a ton of bricks lifted up. Thank you Lord for the blood that made a way that I can come into your presence worthily and rightfully. Great is your mercy. Great is your loving kindness for me, day after day. Thank you ladies for your prayers, update: our family has got much better and so fast!!!
@TERESA DONLEY: praise God for the bumped up date, prayers for a good upcoming report then, resulting in more and more praise to our Miracle Healer.
@DAWN PRENATT: ❤️
@RHONDA: prayers for your jail day to go by with flying colors.
@FOSTER MAMA: may God establish your heart strong with hopeful expectation, yet to take the matters of life lightly. Wait on the Lord.. and keep His way.
@MICHELLE P: ❤️
Be blessed dear sisters.
MICHELLE PATIRE – I, too, was touched by your testimony and meant to mention it in my previous comment.
I am doing a study, Leaning on Jesus, by Deb Burma. I am only on Day 3, but I am getting so much out of it. A verse in today’s reading fits today’s discussion here:
1 Corinthians 1:30b-
Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.
I love this song. I remember it from when I was a kid. I appreciate reading the background behind it. What a blessing!
@Michelle Patire love your testimony! Happy Wednesday ladies! Praying for you all today!
Hello, my precious sisters!
I am spending most of my time in “Mourning and Dancing” but do check in here almost daily to read the hymn (majority of which I have not known) and as many comments as I can.
Praying for your requests!
Please pray for steadfastness in my heart in trusting Jesus’s timing and waiting for Him to lead my heart and actions.
For some reason this part of the song hit me between the eyes: “Nothing can for sin atone.” Bam!
There isn’t anything that can atone for my sins.”
What a lot of weight that statement expresses. My efforts to be the perfect Christian amount to nothing. I can’t ever do enough good things.
Peace joy and Righteousness only come through Jesus’s life, death and resurrection.
I think to myself… I know this! And yet (if I’m honest) I repeatedly find myself relying on my own efforts to be “good” time and time again.
I’m finding a new appreciation for this old song. Preach it!
There is nothing I could possibly add but just to say I rejoice in the fact that it is “Nothing But The Blood of Jesus!” Where would we be?
“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”
Colossians 3:16 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/col.3.16.NIV
So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. Romans 5:11 NLT
This is the blood of the covenant that God has ordained for you. 21 In the same way, he sprinkled the tabernacle and all the articles of worship with blood. 22 According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
KELLY NEO – Amen to your comment about our blood not being sufficient – only the perfect, lure blood of Jesus!
SEARCHING – I had pasted the 2 passages above as I read. I see your mind went where mine did, I think. It makes me so weary to read about the steps the people/priests had to take EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. to be ‘cleansed’ of their sins. And I think it’s hard to just acknowledge and simply ASK for forgiveness and cleansing!!! I, too, thought of the song you mentioned. It was one of my favorites when I sang in a quartet. ❤
TERESA DONLEY – Answered prayer for sure as our sister MICHELLE said!!! Praise God!
KRISTINE LOUGHMAN- Hope you are enjoying your break from that tight schedule and love hearing your missionary kid stories! Keep those coming!
ADRIENNE – I agree!!! I find that a worship song we sing before the sermon sometimes sticks with me for days!!! Our pastor preaches great sermons and I always am blessed (or convicted) by them, but music just touches my soul and stays longer.
The devo touched on something that has been on my heart for a while: responsive readings. I loved those when I was growing up in church and only remember doing one in the past 5 years at our current church. Most churches don’t use the hymnal for singing anymore so I guess they just disregard those great readings in the back.
LAURA, MOLLY R – praying for your families!
Continued prayers for each of you precious sisters! God sees and knows and hears the cries of our hearts!
Aha!I hymn that I know well! Growing up in a Methodist church the first 18 years of my life, I thought I knew all the hymns. This one was sung quite often and is already on my “hymns” list that I have made in the past. Nothing but the blood! Nothing is right, nothing else can get us into heaven, not being a good person in the great balance of good vs bad as the world often thinks, ONLY by the blood of Jesus Christ! That makes it a pretty important song! Naught of good that I have done:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
It’s a rainy cloudy day here in sunny SW Florida. It’s usually my bike and stretch by the dock day, but looks like the doggy will be happy to get snuggles all morning instead BUT it is Jail day, which is a high light of my week, and I wish we could sing this song. Because as lost and broken as they are, we know by the blood of Jesus, those who believe and put their hope in Him, are made NEW! Hallelujah HE gives us fresh chances and the choice to come to Him, even when we mess up over and over again, He washes us anew with that precious blood. There is no greater gift. Thank you Jesus for the blood.
When at times, I feel the lack of words I want to say as I pray, I turn to song. Turn up the music and let God know this is on my heart. Lifting you all in prayer and giving thanks for each one of you.
One of my absolute favorites! It resonated with me, even as a child, that the only thing that could do the trick was the blood of Jesus. And I enjoyed the corporate, question/answer feel it had -like we were all being asked and we were all giving the one and only answer!
We’ve had a weather shift here in the PNW – the rain is back, which I love! But as a first time gardener I was hoping for one of our more epic Indian Summers we can have – beautiful warm days into October. But now that we have a reason to observe and be intentional about each season, it’s really helped us embrace anew each change we are given. We’re busy preparing our home for the days of being inside more, and together doing inside activities like more reading under cozy blankets, baking, games, puzzles. God is so gracious in His gifts of seasons and change.
This is perhaps my favorite hymn. It changed my life when I was deeply questioning the person of Jesus. Those of you who heard my testimony know that this song was sung at my church in New York and it led me to my knees, one day. I confessed to God that I doubted the power of the blood anymore but knew that wasn’t okay. Days later, the Lord used Scripture (Acts 9, Paul’s testimony) with His grace and the scales of deception fell from my eyes. This song is powerful – may we always rejoice in our salvation!
@Krystle Scott- thank you for sharing that yesterday and thinking of me. I appreciated that a lot. I did respond last night, but wanted to say thank you again. Also glad to see it helped @Searching, too! :)
@Teresa Donley- praise God for a sooner appointment!! That is an answered prayer!
@Laura — continuing to pray for your family. I’ve been thinking a lot recently about Jesus’s command to “abide in His love” – and trying to live that. I pray that you would be able to receive that and meditate on His love more, as He draws You near to Him. It is such a sweet thing to meditate on God’s love for us. How great and mysterious it is, but how near and special. I pray you and your husband abide in His love throughout life’s challenges and questions. <3 God bless.
@Dawn Prenatt- love @Mercy's response to you, yesterday. May God give you peace as you walk this out and process it.
@Sharon, JG- thankful you are able to walk so soon!! Wow!! That's crazy to me. Praying for continued healing from pain and smooth recovery!
I love when I read familiar words in the Bible but they hit in a fresh way. They are new every morning! Today this is what stopped me: “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” – Romans 5:10
Growing up in a Christian house, I always knew that Jesus had died on the cross for me. My missionary dad has made it his life’s work to share this good news with people all over the world. But it always felt the death on the cross was the most important part of that story. Jesus died to save ME, even “while we were enemies”. But as I get older I realize that it’s Jesus’s LIFE, along with death and resurrection, that is going to save me. Living and loving like Jesus did. It makes Jesus less of my ticket to heaven, and more an example of how to live these precious days.
TERESA DONELY – praises that your appointment got moved up
MOLLY R- I sympathize with you in the need to keep a schedule. We teachers (homeschool or not) are ruled by it. May the Lord bless your ability to pivot and be present for your little one. I used to pray that God would “stretch the day” and give me more time so I could get it all done.
ALEIDA- so much transition in your lives! May God grant you moments of peace and certainty as you continue to journey into the new, with your home and Victor.
KIMBERLY Z- same! It’s easy to ask, harder to remember to praise. ❤️
A musical sermon… I like that! That’s what hymns are… musical sermons! We need to digest the words more fully when we sing.I am a “visual learner”, and I get so much more out of a hymn sometimes than I do listening to a sermon. Both are important, of course, but a hymn can get stuck in my head, which makes me ruminate on it throughout the day.
Blessings on you all, sweet she’s!
Over and over (and over …) sacrifices were made throughout the history revealed in the Old Testament, never enough to cover even the next day’s sins – but Christ’s sacrifice is everlasting, covering our sins as we believe, confess, repent and follow Him. Hallelujah!
Hebrews 10:11 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. NKJV
Reminded of another song today, There is Power in the Blood (Lewis E Jones, 1899).
LYNNE FROM AL, NANCY S, LINDA FROM NC – praying for each of you and your husbands ❤️
TERESA DONLEY – wonderful news on your appointment change, almost 2 months sooner!
DAWN PRENATT – praying for your friendship loss. I think KELLY (NEO) had a really good idea to write a letter, for closure and begin the healing process. Also praying for your friend.
SHARON JERSEY GIRL – praying for continued healing, and for Arian to secure a FT job
CEE GEE – love the song you shared yesterday, one of my favorites. ❤️
LAURA – praying for your time spent in praise ❤️
KRYSTLE SCOTT – the quote you shared to MICHELLE PATIRE from the Deuteronomy devo yesterday, so good. It resonated with me too.
“without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
My blood would never do. A lamb’s blood is only a substitute. Jesus’ blood is holy and absolute!
SEARCHING-Thanks for the correction yesterday.
SHARON, JERSEY GIRL – thanks for the update on you and your sister
TERESA DONLEY – glad to hear your appt. was moved up. Praying you rest in Jesus’ peace as you wait
DAWN PRENATT – keep on praying, friend transitions are so hard. Maybe write a letter (by hand) expressing how much the relationship has ment to you and that you understand seasons change but will miss it? I have often been surprised when a seemingly close, long-term friendship has ended. God has been faithful to bring another, not to replace but to enrich.
Love this song and I love that there’s so much power in the blood of the Lamb. Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice, where would I be if not for you…
This scripture and this Hymn… especially this Hymn and how beautifully raw it is written.. it is always a beautiful thing to be taken back to the saving & redeeming blood of Jesus.
Amen.
This is my ALL TIME favorite hymn. It is beautiful, the lyrics are so truthful!
Truly one of my favorite hymns. When everyone sings together during the chorus— the myriad of voices coming together as one— what a wonderful, beautiful moment. Gives me chills. Lord, thank you for sending Your only son down to earth to pay the ultimate price for our sins. “For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life?”. Such an impactful statement! Perfectly describes God’s all encompassing love for us, even while we were still sinners (and so undeserving). Thank you Lord for Your compassion, for Your grace!
One of my favorite hymns.
One of my favorite somg!
Loved listening to this song when I was little!
Nothing but the blood of Jesus! Amen!
Praise God. He is washing me, removing my stains and giving me himself. Praise God!
When I was little, I went to this I try bitty Church of Christ. It’s the first church I remember as a kid. We sang hymns out of the actual praise books instead of powerpoints, but the one song I knew by heart was Nothing But the Blood. I sang my heart out in my teeny little voice when that song was picked. Now I am at a bigger church, but we still sing Nothing But the Blood once in a while. But every time we do, I almost can’t sing because I’m smiling so big. God works in so many ways and he touched my heart with that song, even before I knew Him as well as I know him now. Jesus blessed our lives and cleansed us with his blood, and we ought to remember how much that should mean to us in every moment of everyday.
I love your story!
Only Jesus’ blood has the power to make us righteous. There’s nothing we can do ourselves to reach a state of righteousness.
This is the version we sing at church. The chorus reminds us we are bound by a debt we cannot pay. Thank you Lord Jesus for paying our debt.
https://emumusic.com/pages/nothing-but-the-blood-of-jesus
this is one of my favorites!! i close my eyes sing the hymn and hear my grandmother singing beside me!
I thank you for your word Lord. This was a great passage and I am so grateful and appreciative that God sent his son to die for my sin I don’t take anything for granted i’ll continue to walk in God’s word and getting ready for my ministry and Win souls for Christ.
My mom would sing this song to me when I was little- whenever I had a bad dream, or I was fully of worry, or could not seem to fall asleep, this song would drift from my mothers lips. I would repeat it in my head until I drifted off to sleep in peace. I always find this hym so beautiful
Thank you for this. My 9-year-old daughter is dealing with fear and anxiety over sleep almost every night. My husband and I are trying to give her tools to cope with these fears and we cover her in prayer. But we will start singing this song to her as well!
I will pray for her also Janae!! May the Lord cover her in peace and light!! May His gently hand touch her restless heart and clam her soul. May she find rest and comfort in His truths… may all the fear be left from her mind!!
Praying for her peace.. my baby girl now 10 had the same issues. After we pray with her every night we allowed her to put a worship playlist together and we would put it on a timer and she would sing until she fell asleep.. :) her favorite song is ‘You Make Me Brave’ by Amanda Cook.
Praying for your little girl’s covering.. God Bless!
This is all incredibly helpful for me as well. My 6 year old is just like I was (and sometimes still am) at night. I only just learned how powerful worship music was for me at redirecting my attention. I will be making a CD for my son very soon!
Prayed for her peace and rest. And you and your husband’s.
Wow amazing story ! God bless you Robert
Oh and the songs amazing hymn
One of my absolute favorites.
Today I sat down to catch up on several missed days and spend some much-needed time in the Word. My dog is in the process of dying. My son is headed toward brain surgery. My God has it all under control. Praise Him!
Praying for you and your family. My cat died one year ago tomorrow. It was hard to watch something so innocent suffer so dearly. My heart goes out to you. I can’t say for certain if our fur babies go to heaven. But, I would like to think so because we cherish them so.
Remind yourself that technology has advanced so much. Your son will make it through surgery. It is very scary to not have our “own” control over a situation. You are right when you say God has it all under control. May His will be done. God bless you and your family.
Praying for you Bonnie and your family as you face these difficult situations at the same time. As Samone stated technology has greatly advanced. Yes, God has it under control-His will be done.
This is an article which I have kept because it brings hope. It talks about pets going to heaven: http://jimdaly.focusonthefamily.com/do-pets-go-to-heaven/
When I lost my dear dog my grandmother gave me revelation 5:13 which says:
13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”
I was struck that there is nothing more I could ask or imagine for him or I than to be praising the Lord.
Praying for you!
Today’s response reminds me of a friend who confidently spoke of our lives as being washed in the blood of Jesus. Others in our company would grow quiet when she said this.
Sadly, my instinctual sense was that they were either shocked to hear her say this each time, or they did not believe or understand what she said. I have hoped I was wrong, but because there would be no verbal agreement affirming her words, or the topic would be changed, I just have this sense they did not understand or agree with her words.
I understood what she meant whenever she’d say this; well sort of. Sometimes I would find it difficult to separate the physical, from the metaphorical, or the spiritual and biblical references. I love how today’s reading pulls together the places and reminders of the biblical references to her spoken words.
Here’s a few arrangement demos:
http://hymnbook.igracemusic.com/hymns/nothing-but-the-blood
https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/nt/1008
https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/1008
Isn’t it interesting how he thought of himself as more of a preacher than a songwriter, but God used his musical talents to write something that people will remember for years, probably much longer than his sermons. The important thing is that he trusted God and wrote the songs.
Ahhh, what a beautiful oldie!!!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mr7rT5CtcHo
Rend Collective has an awesome version of this! Thank you Lord for your sacrifice.
I love how they use the words ROYAL blood. It reminds me of our ‘promised eternal inheritance’ & that we are ‘co-heirs with Christ’.
I love this hymn. It’s such a wonderful and humbling reminder that we can do nothing to earn His love and grace. HIS blood is the answer. It’s so grounding to know this and to hold onto this truth. When I feel like I need to DO something to be loved, this song reminds me that He already loves me and He is ready to cleanse my heart!
http://www.littlelightonahill.com
The congregation I attend sings this chorus “pure as snow” to avoid associating whiteness with goodness…. it’s the same truth, though! All righteousness comes from Him.
ase and amen!
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Psalm 51:7
Such a Precious Reminder IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BLOOD!!
I like this version of the song. Thank you for your blood Jesus!
https://youtu.be/M7jB9dk14A4
All Sons and Daughter is my favorite! Thank you for sharing this :)
Beautiful version! Thanks for sharing.
This is a Hillsong United version, with only one verse. But very powerful video, as it shows the crucifixion scene….very, very difficult to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU4GFdjAmqo
Here is the entire song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aGJwAENQuk
This is one that we love to sing with our children. My husband remembers it as one he learned as a young child. So simple, yet so profound. Today, I especially need the line : This is all my hope and peace, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Jesus, let me look to you and your finished work alone for my hope and peace!
The unfailing love of Jesus
Well there you are. The gospel of salvation in this little repetitious hymn. Acknowledgment of sin. Request for pardon. Recognizing that nothing I do will ever be enough to atone for my sin. BUT the blood of Jesus is able – and so I have hope, peace and righteousness. Praise God! I’ll be singing this all day!
I wish he had put more of his sermons to music. This is one of his sermons that we’ve all memorized and carry in our hearts! Love this song sermon!
What a beautiful hymn!