Preaching to the Poor

"The ransom of a man's life are his riches... Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction" (Proverbs 13:8,18).  "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord... This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears" (Luke 4:18-21). 

The ransom that our Savior paid

Enriches sinners who are poor. 

Upon the cross His life was laid;

He surely could have paid no more!

He took our poverty and shame

And bore our sorrows on His path.

Apart from Christ, no other name

Can save our souls from holy wrath. 

Our Savior read Isaiah's scroll

Regarding what He came to do:

He brought salvation for the soul;

In Him this prophecy came true.

The Gospel that our Lord imparted

Was preached to souls in poverty.

He came to cure the brokenhearted;

He came to set the captives free. 

He came to give the blind their sight,

To liberate those who were bruised,

To preach to those who looked for light,

Who in the darkness were confused. 

The darkness is a place of fear,

And all the more where danger lurks! 

The Lord proclaimed salvation's year

And set us free from fruitless works. 

Religious works can never save;

There's not one sin they can erase,

But Christ has risen from the grave

And ever lives to save by grace.   

O Lord, we thank You for Your love

Compelling You to leave Your throne

To open heaven's doors above

And make Your great salvation known. 

How poor we were without You, Lord,

And hopeless then without salvation! 

How helplessly we looked toward

Eternity and condemnation! 

Lord, all of that has now been changed; 

We see Your riches on display! 

We speak to souls from You estranged;

We're preaching to the poor today.