“Fully absolved through these I am.”

Hymn: “Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness” – Nicolaus L. von Zinzendorf (1700-1760)
              [Translated by John Wesley]
Common Tunes: ST. CRISPIN, GERMANY

Count Zinzendorf was a German Moravian who wrote several hymns. This one and “Jesus, Still Lead On” are probably his two most famous. He also wrote “Christian Hearts, in Love United” and “O Thou to Whose All-Searching Sight.”

Here, he makes a simple, forthright statement of our redeemed condition: We have been fully absolved through the blood and righteousness of Jesus. Here is the full hymnline:

    Fully absolved through these I am
    From sin and fear, from guilt and shame.

We Protestants shy away from the use of the term “absolution” because it has been connected with the Roman Catholic Church since the 13th Century. In that tradition, the priest pronounces the penitent one – the sinner – forgiven. By its basic definition, however, it is the act of forgiving someone for wrongs done. We would understand this to be a pronouncement from the High Priest – Christ himself.

FULL absolution… complete pardon…total remission… amnesty without strings attached. In the modern court system, we use the word “exoneration” to express this act.

When I stand and sing with boldness, “Fully absolved through these I am,” there a definite sense of assurance in my voice and in my spirit. It could almost be followed by “no doubt about it.”

May we never lose sight of the significance of the fact that we are absolutely absolved.




This Hymn Sung to the ST. CRISPIN Tune