He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Isaiah 53:11-12
Though Charles Gabriel never had formal music training, he taught himself to play the piano and organ. He used his musical talents to express his faith and glorify God, working for many years with the leading hymn publishers of his day. Because he wrote many of his works under various pseudonyms, it is difficult to determine precisely how many songs he wrote, but it is believed to be between 7,000 and 8,000. One of the best-known is “My Savior’s Love” which was first published in 1905. The third verse and refrain read as follows:
He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them His very own;
He bore the burden to Calv’ry,
And suffered, and died alone.How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! How wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!
The central focus and purpose of the life and ministry of Jesus was to be the Lamb of God slain for the sins of lost mankind. Centuries before He came into the world the ancient prophets foretold not just His arrival but His redemption of the lost. Jesus knew exactly what was coming, but because of His great love for us He walked the path God had set before Him. “And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,” (Luke 9:51).
We must never lose sight of the price that Christ willingly paid for our salvation. Those of us who have accepted God’s offer by grace through faith should never doubt His love and care for us.
