Who sung this?

I found these lyrics the other day:

I was blinded by the devil
Born already ruined
Stone-cold dead
As I stepped out of the womb

By His grace I have been touched
By His word I have been healed
By His hand I have been delivered
By His spirit I Have been sealed.

I've been saved
By the blood of the lamb
Saved
By the blood of the lamb
Saved
Saved
And I'm so glad
Yes, I'm so glad
I'm so glad
So glad
I want to thank you, Lord
I just want to thank You Lord
Thank You, Lord.

By his truth I can be upright
By his strength I do endure
By His power I've been lifted
In His love I am secure
He bought me with a price
Freed me from the pit
Full of emptiness and wrath
And the fire that burns in it.

I've been saved
By the blood of the lamb
Saved
By the blood of the lamb
Saved
Saved
And I'm so glad
Yes, I'm so glad
I'm so glad
So glad
I want to thank you, Lord
I just want to thank You Lord
Thank You, Lord.
Nobody to rescue me
Nobody would dare
I was going down for the last time
But by His Mercy I've been spared
Not by works
But by faith in Him who called
For so long I've been hindered
For so long I've been stalled.

I've been saved
By the blood of the lamb
Saved
By the blood of the lamb
Saved
Saved
And I'm so glad
Yes, I'm so glad
I'm so glad
So glad
I want to thank you, Lord
I just want to thank You Lord
Thank You, Lord.

What is really fascinating about them is that they were written by Bob Dylan, who turned 70 today, way back when I was just 5 years old. I recall seeing Dylan as a teenager at some music awards for the first time. His singing that night sounded like a Russian 2 stroke motorbike and he seemed to have had something that made him a little less than sober! 

But he is a gifted song writer and based on the lyrics of the song seems to have had a very real encounter with Jesus. What is important is not a 1978 encounter with Jesus, but a constant encounter with Jesus and I pray that Bob Dylan still has the faith he proclaimed way back then.

James reminds us: "The one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing."

May we not be hearers only but doers of God's Word and may we persevere to the end.