LENT - WEEK OF MARCH 20, 2022

OUR BLOODY PLUNGING

Each of the articles in this resource reflects on a piece of music to explore the meaning of the Cross and the Resurrection.

"There Is A Fountain" - Willie Nelson

"There Is A Fountain" - With Lyrics By Selah

THERE IS A FOUNTAIN FILLED WITH BLOOD

There is a fountain filled with blood

Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;

And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,

Lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see

That fountain in his day;

And there may I, though vile as he,

Wash all my sins away.

Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood

Shall never lose its pow’r,

’Til all the ransomed church of God

Be saved, to sin no more.

E’er since by faith I saw the stream

Thy flowing wounds supply,

Redeeming love has been my theme,

And shall be till I die.

When this poor lisping, stamm’ring tongue

Lies silent in the grave,

Then in a nobler, sweeter song

I’ll sing thy pow’r to save.

Also called “Praise for the Fountain Opened” | William Cowper

OUR BLOODING PLUNGING Study Questions

• What’s your candid reaction to reading or singing “There Is

a Fountain Filled with Blood”?

• Rachel Gilson describes the discomfort the song can provoke,

saying, “This embodied darkness, this celebrated violence,

stands in stark contrast to what is prized in contemporary

spirituality.” How so? What modern sensibilities—even

among Christians—does it challenge?

• “The power of ‘There Is a Fountain’ is its repeated insistence

that the death of Jesus was real, messy, and made all the difference,”

Gilson writes. Read Isaiah 53. What phrase or idea

is the Spirit drawing your attention to? What does it convey

about Christ and his sacrifice?

• In the Old Testament, animals were sacrificed in order to

cover sin, to rescue, to remove guilt. Read John 1:29, 1 Peter

2:24, and 1 John 2:2. What does it really mean that Jesus is

the Lamb of God? How would you explain this to a younger

Christian or to a spiritual seeker?

• Read Luke 23:32–43. What does this encounter with “the

dying thief” reveal about Jesus? How does it speak to your

own relationship with him?

• How do you desire redeeming love to be an even greater

theme in your life?

This study is from "The Wondrous Cross: Reflections on Christ’s Sacrifice Drawn from the Songs and Hymns of Easter"