“I Hear the Savior Say, ” is the title of this hymn, also known as “Jesus Paid it All. ”

“How long Pastor’s prayer is this morning, ” thought Elvina Hall. Sitting in the choir-loft, Elvina’s mind turned to man’s need for salvation, and the price Jesus paid for it. Words began to form themselves. She had to write them down. But she had no paper. She began scribbling on the flyleaf of her hymnbook, she wrote:

I hear the Savior say,

“Thy strength indeed is small;

Child of weakness, watch and pray,

Finding Me thine all in all. ”

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

After the service, she handed the words to her pastor. He connected her with the church’s organist, John Grape, who had recently shared a new tune he had written. Hall and Grape worked together to finish the hymn, and then, at the pastor’s urging, they sent the hymn to Professor Theodore Perkins, publisher of the Sabath Carols periodical, where it received its first publication. It has been a favorite of many Christians ever since.

Elvina was a church member for 40 years. Perhaps the pastor may have realized that she was writing instead of listening to him that day but what we do know is that an extraordinary “coincidence“ occurred at the Monument Street Methodist Church of Baltimore. Organist John Grape had recently written a new tune, and given it to the pastor. The pastor saw that the tune and the poem fit together extremely well. So he united the two and as a result, a most beloved hymn came into being.

Elvina Hall was 45 years old when she wrote this hymn. Born on June 4, 1820, to Captain David Reynolds. She was married first to Richard Hall. They had three children together that lived to adulthood: Agnes, Asenath and Ella, and two that died as infants: Benoni and Ada. When her husband Richard Hall died, she remarried a Methodist minister, Thomas Myers. She died on July 18, 1899. She was buried in the Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore.

Thank you Jesus for your saving grace. Forever grateful that you died for my sins. I am now redeemed and my future assured. Hallelujah.

True, were it not for Christ, life would be dull and chaotic. But there is hope in Christ.

Yes, JESUS paid it all on the Cross of Calvary for my sins. It reminds me of the suffering our LORD JESUS went through as a ransom. Thank you Jesus Christ for paying my sins through the shedding of your precious blood.

I love this so much because Jesus is the reason while are alive and till eternity

This song is so touching. I am guilty and my heart melt each time I sang this song tears often run through my cheek. Child of weakness watch and pray. 🙏

Lord Jesus is in Savior he’s Messiah

Even though our hearts were filled with sin, God loved us and has given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace. This song is such a blessing!

Oh, praise the one who paid my debt

And raised this life up from the dead

Happy New Year