The cabinet organ of the church had been moved to Grape's home during that period, and he took advantage of the access to the instrument to write this tune. It was written in 1868, while the church was undergoing renovation. Grape, is the composer of the tune ALL TO CHRIST, which is the only tune to which this hymn is sung. The theme of the text is the completeness of Jesus' work on the cross, and the fact that humans have done nothing to merit such mercy, which means that we are forever in debt to Christ. It is not known who is responsible for the modern version. The original text had five stanzas, but the standard text in modern hymnals contains four, some of which are substantially altered from the original.
It was first published in 1868 in Sabbath Carols. Hall wrote this hymn on the flyleaf of a hymnal, New Lute of Zion, during a Sunday morning service at a Methodist church in Baltimore.
