89

Our Hymnbook

Are You Washed in the Blood?

Elisha A. Hoffman, 1878

Verse 1

Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing

pow’r?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Chorus

Are you washed in the blood,

In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb?

Are your garments spotless? Are they white

as snow?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Verse 2

Are you walking daily by the Saviour’s side?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Verse 3

When the Bridegroom cometh will your robes

be white?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Will your soul be ready for the mansions

bright,

And be washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Verse 5

Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin,

And be washed in the blood of the Lamb;

There’s a fountain flowing for the soul

unclean,

O be washed in the blood of the Lamb!

For musicians

Open the Chords view to see the chords over the words, move the song into any key, and download the chart. Written in G.

Download chord chart

Behind the hymn

"Are You Washed in the Blood?" was written by Elisha Albright Hoffman in 1878, one of the most prolific gospel songwriters of the nineteenth century, who penned over two thousand hymns during his lifetime. Hoffman was a Presbyterian minister from Pennsylvania who served as a pastor and later as an editor for the Evangelical Association's publishing house. The hymn's direct, pointed question — "Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?" — reflects the evangelistic urgency that characterized nineteenth-century American revival preaching. The imagery comes from Revelation 7:14, where the great multitude in heaven is described as having "washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." The song's repetitive question format was designed for revival meetings and camp meetings, where the goal was to bring listeners to a point of personal decision about their relationship with Christ. Each verse addresses a different aspect of spiritual readiness — trusting in Christ, living under His cleansing, being prepared for His return — making it both an evangelistic appeal and a call to self-examination for believers.

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