Alas! And did my Savior bleed,
And did my Sovereign die!
Would He devote that sacred head
For sinners such as I?
Was it for crimes that I have done,
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! Grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!
Well might the sun in darkness hide,
And shut its glories in,
When God, the mighty maker, died
For His own creature's sin.
Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears;
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
and melt mine eyes to tears.
But drops of tears can ne'er repay
The debt of love I owe.
Here, Lord, I give myself away;
Tis all that I can do.
I guess you despise that worm theology like many modern "evangelicals." Somehow I do not think that the hymn writer would have softened the language by using for sinners such as I. I still maintain that He devoted His sacred head for such a worm as I. And what worms we are.
ReplyDeleteIs this Tristan Glyberd?
ReplyDeleteBonnie
NOPE....Isaac Watts.
ReplyDeleteWe sang this at the noon service
today. I'm sure Tristan has some poetry though!
Bonnie
Steve: No, I do not despise the "worm theology." it is very apt. Interestingly, "sinner" was used by Watts, though "worm" may have been the original. Clearly, he meant the words as synonyms.
ReplyDeleteBonnie: Tristan does indeed have an Easter poem or two up his sleeve. I'll try to get him to let me post them.
The last two lines, "Here, Lord, I give myself away; tis all that I can do," are so poignant. I find it so unbelievable how one-sided the divine romance between God and man is.
ReplyDeleteHe died for us.
He suffered for us.
And the only thing we are at all capable of doing is absolutely nothing.
On a different note, I have so missed church over the past week. Though Colorado was beautiful (in fact, I'm in the Denver airport), few things are quite as beautiful as fellowship.
I truly hope to be there tomorrow, the health of my family permitting--Dad is pretty harshly under the weather and the others are plagued with joint pain--to partake in the Easter service.
Actually, scratch that. Come health or high water, I'll be there. I hope that your Spring Break has been at least mildly restful and I will see you tomorrow.