Chief Of Sinners

Paul's confession in 1 Timothy 1:15, that Christ came to save sinners "of whom I am chief," gives the hymn its first line, and the very next line answers it: "Jesus shed His blood for me." The opening verse is built from paired reversals, "died that I might live on high, lived that I might never die," and closes on the vine-and-branch picture from John 15:5: "I am His, and He is mine."

The second verse measures Jesus' love in every direction, "higher than the heavens above, deeper than the depths of sea," then lands on its most personal line, a love that "found me when I sought Him not." The third lists what only He can give, from "balm to heal the smitten heart" to the faith to walk with God "in the way that Enoch trod."

The fourth verse brings back the opening confession with one change, "Christ is All in all to me," and speaks of "the hidden life," language close to Colossians 3:3. The last verse becomes a prayer to be kept "in the narrow way," asking for "grace in time of need" as Hebrews 4:16 puts it, "while I live and when I die." Fountainview Academy's recording keeps all five verses.