1 O perfect life of love!
All, all is finished now;
All that He left His throne above
To do for us below.

2 No work is left undone
Of all the Father willed;
His toils, His sorrows, one by one,
The Scripture have fulfilled.

3 No pain that we can share
But He has felt its smart:
All forms of human grief and care
Have pierced that tender heart.

4 And on His thorn-crowned head,
And on His sinless soul,
Our sins in all their guilt were laid,
That He might make us whole.

5 In perfect love He dies;
For me He dies, for me:
O all-atoning Sacrifice,
I cling by faith to Thee.

6 In every time of need,
Before your judgment-throne
Thy work, O Lamb of God, I'll plead,
Thy merits, not my own.

7 Yet work O Lord, in me,
As Thou for me hast wrought;
And let my love the answer be
To grace Thy love hast brought.

Amen.

The Hymnal: Published by the authority of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 1895

Scripture References:
st. 1-5 = John 19:30

Because of how well biblical phrases and theological statements are packed into such short meter, John Julian calls this a text "of much merit." Written by Henry W. Baker (PHH 342) in seven stanzas, "O Perfect Life of Love" was first published in the 1875 edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern as a hymn for Passiontide.

The text meditates on the suffering and death of Christ, "that he might make us whole" (st. 1-5), confesses our total dependence on the merits of Christ (st. 6), and prays that our response to Christ's love may be a life of love and service (st. 7).

Liturgical Use:
Holy Week; stanzas 6 and 7 in worship services of confession/forgiveness or in other prayer services (including times other than Holy Week).

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook