Notorious Nine

“Ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off… lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.  And when He saw them, He said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.  And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.  And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed?  But where are the nine?” (Luke 17:12-17).

Ten men, who were lepers, for healing had yearned;

They cried to the Lord, and He made them all whole.

Then nine of them went on their ways, but one turned

To give thanks to God with a heart that was full.

Were not there ten cleansed?  So then where were the nine?

Just one among ten of those lepers broke ranks.

The Lord met those men with His healing divine,

But only one turned to give glory and thanks.

Now how many times do we fail as well

To give thanks to God for His wondrous salvation?

We’re prone to forget how He saved us from hell  

By bearing our sins to remove condemnation.

If ever we think we have time to complain,

As thanksgiving stops and our grumbling begins,

We’ve surely forgotten the suffering and pain

Our Savior endured to remove all our sins.

So how many sins did He cleanse on the cross

As all of our sins before God were displayed?

We never could count or convey our great loss

If our soul’s redemption by Christ was not paid!

Those ungrateful lepers are much like ourselves

When we have forgotten to thank God our Savior.

There’s not enough room upon all the earth’s shelves

For books to record the long list of His favor.

O Lord, we consider those nine, so notorious,

And thus we confess we have been like them too.

Our reasons are endless to make Your praise glorious

And be like that leper who gave thanks to You!