Hymn History: Jesus Paid It All

On a Sunday in 1865 at Monument Street Methodist Church in Baltimore, a choir member, Mrs. Hall, was so moved by a sermon on the crucifixion that she wrote a hymn in the margin of her hymnal. Her words were later paired perfectly with a melody by their church organist John Grape, creating the classic hymn "Jesus Paid It All." Christ paid the full penalty for sin and that fact calls believers to grateful surrender. This account reminds us that ordinary, surrendered lives can leave an extraordinary legacy of faith.