Saturday, April 7, 2012

"O Sacred Head"

Yesterday (Good Friday), a friend posted as a Facebook status, "My friend was murdered today, 2000 years ago.  And it happened because of me." Some of us teased her for scaring us with the first part of that. The update later reminded me of this well-known hymn dating back to Bernard of Clairvaux, used by Bach in the St. Matthew's Passion, and found in contemporary hymnals.  This version is from the a book I purchased at John Wesley's house last summer, the British Methodist collection Hymns and Psalms (Peterborough: Methodist Publishing House, 1983).

O sacred head, sore wounded,
With grief and pain weighed down,
How scornfully surrounded
With thorns, thine only crown.
How pale art thou with anguish,
With sore abuse and Scorn.
How does that visage languish
Which once was bright as morn.

O Lord of life and glory,
What bliss till now was thine.
I read the wondrous story,
I joy to call thee mine.
Thy grief and thy compassion
Were all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression,

But thine the deadly pain.

What language shall I borrow
To praise thee, dearest friend,
For this thy dying sorrow,
Thy pity without end?
Lord, make me thine for ever,
Nor let me faithless prove;
O let me never, never
Abuse such dying love!

Be near me, Lord, when dying;
O show thy cross to me,
That I, for succour flying,
My eyes may fix on thee;
And then, thy grace receiving,
Let faith my fears dispel,
For whoso dies believing
In thee, dear Lord, dies well.

2 comments:

  1. Here's another:
    1. Alas! and did my Savior bleed,
    and did my Sovereign die!
    Would he devote that sacred head
    for sinners such as I?

    2. Was it for crimes that I have done,
    he groaned upon the tree?
    Amazing pity! Grace unknown!
    And love beyond degree!

    3. Well might the sun in darkness hide,
    and shut its glories in,
    when God, the mighty maker, died
    for his own creature's sin.

    Or this one:

    Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
    Let me hide myself in Thee;

    Or this contemporary one by Jeremy Camp:
    "This Man"


    In only a moment truth
    Was seen revealed this mystery
    The crown that showed no dignity he wore
    And the king was placed for all the world
    To show disgrace but only beauty flowed from this place

    Would you take the place of this man
    Would you take the nails from his hands
    Would you take the place of this man
    Would you take the nails from his hands

    He held the weight of impurity
    The father would not see
    The reasons had finally come to be to
    Show the depth of his grace flowed with
    Every sin erased he knew that this was
    Why he came

    Would you take the place of this man
    Would you take the nails from his hands
    Would you take the place of this man
    Would you take the nails from his hands

    And we just don't know the blood and
    Water flowed and in it all
    He showes just how much he cares
    And the veil was torn so we could have
    This open door and all these things have
    Finally been complete

    Would you take the place of this man
    Would you take the nails from his hands
    Would you take the place of this man
    Would you take the nails from his hands
    From his hands
    From his hands

    BUT! Here is a very thoughtful article that dispells the theology that "we killed Jesus." I agree with the writer of this article. And to clarify, I did not say that I killed Jesus, but that "it happened because of me." minor difference? maybe not. I posted this on a whim on Friday morning without putting much thought into it, but the responses were interesting. Paul, you posted "good theology." Maybe it really was! WE (those of us living today or after Christ's death) did not kill him, but he did die FOR us (or BECAUSE OF US). But as this writer says, or makes clear, HE did it FOR us! We did not take his life, He gave it willingly. And God, His Father, was commanding the whole thing, not Satan. A beautiful distinction. It was an act of pure love, NOT an act of my own evil. Praise the Lord! Jesus is risen and is alive! He walks with me and talks with me and tells me I am His own!

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  2. Oops, I forgot to post the link to the article: here it is:
    http://www.ccel.us/GodDidItAll.html

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