What Is the Thing of Greatest Price?

What is the thing of great­est price

The whole cre­ation round?

That which was lost in para­dise

That which in Christ is found:

The soul of man

Je­ho­vah’s breath!

That keeps two worlds at strife:

Hell moves be­neath to work its death

Heav’n stoops to give it life.

God

to re­claim it

did not spare

His well-be­lov­èd Son;

Jesus

to save it

deigned to bear

The sins of all in One.

The Ho­ly Spir­it sealed the plan

And pledged the blood di­vine

To ran­som ev­ery soul of man;

That price was paid for mine.

And is this trea­sure borne be­low

In earth­en ves­sels frail?

Can none its ut­most val­ue know

Till flesh and spir­it fail?

Then let us ga­ther round the cross

That know­ledge to ob­tain;

Not by the soul’s eter­nal loss;

But ev­er­last­ing gain.