For such a very important day on the Christian calender, I thought I'd make special note with this hymn..
When I survey the wondrous cross on which the prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast save in the death of Christ, my God;
All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood.
See, from his head, his hands, his feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mind, that were a tribute far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all!
(Text: Isaac Watts, 1674-1748 Tune: adapted by Edward Miler, 1731-1807)
"Thou has loved me everlastingly, unchangeably, may I love thee as I am loved.." The Valley of the Vision
A special thanks to my excellent and amazing friend, Elmer's Brother, for the video....what a gift! Thanks xx
z
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23 comments:
happy easter z! sing for joy!
Thanks, Pat! On Sunday...and that post will be joyous!
"Sorrow and love flow mingled down"
I think this is one of the most anguishing and beautiful lines ever written. Thanks Z. A wonderful Easter to you and Mr. Z.
HE IS RISEN!
He is risen indeed!
I do love that version of the song...and the regular version as well. This song is very emotional for me.
"He is risen indeed" always makes me realize that, also, "He is risen in DEED" He surely is.
thanks, Pops and Elbro...these days, knowing Christian men like you is at least as empowering, inspiring and touching to me as any hymn...right? xxx
A beautiful classic hymn. What more can be said.
Peaceful and joyous Easter to you, Z.
I want to watch The Passion again this Easter. It's a tradition I have.
Love to you.
Shoprat, I'm glad you like it, too.HAPPY EASTER!
Pinky...same to YOU, heartbeat...(i have a special affection for Pinky, folks!) Will write when I get home this afternoon...The Passion is an excellent thing to watch, especially at Easter. I wish I had a copy!
Z -
Thanks for this column and those wonderful lyrics. Again, a joyous Easter to you, Mr.Z, your families and all the contributors to this blog.
MGM
Praise God for Jesus! Because He is teh Glorious God-Man & gave His precious lifeblood to pay for our sins, we can through simple childlike faith in Him have eternal salvation from the hell I so richly deserve! Oh thank You Jesus!! Thank you Z for the wonderful reminder! Rev.22:17!
Oh! This is one of my favorite hymns!
Sadly, many of today's young people have never even heard this hymn. I discovered that sad lack when I mentioned the hymn to my class a few years ago.
BTW, I believe that this was the first standard, four-part hymn I ever learned to play on the piano.
Simply beautiful. So sad that America has turned away from Christ to the point that our president fails to see His hand on our nation. Happy Easter to all the brothers and sisters in Him.
Thank you Z. Beautiful, food for the soul.
Yes, He will be with us always.
Pris
Such a beautiful hymn, filled with His love which we only begin to understand just a little.
I love the addition that has been written to it.
A blessed Easter to you. He is risen!
I've sung both versions in choir...and they are both beautiful!
It's good to remember our Passover Lamb!
And may the glorious joy of HIS Resurrection be to all who love HIM!
tmw
Thanks for that, z. My husband and I always attend Good Friday services at noon. It seemed to be appropriate with gloomy, rainy weather.
My favorite has always been
The Old Rugged Cross.
O, sacred Head, now wounded,
With grief and shame
weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded
With thorns,
Thine only crown;
O, Sacred Head, what glory,
What bliss till now was Thine!
Yet, though despised and gory,
I joy to call Thee mine.
What Thou, my Lord, hath suffered,
Was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression,
But Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior! ’Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor,
Vouchsafe to me Thy grace.
Men mock and taunt and jeer Thee,
Thou noble countenance,
Though mighty worlds shall fear Thee
And flee before Thy glance.
How art thou pale with anguish,
With sore abuse and scorn!
How doth Thy visage languish
That once was bright as morn!
Now from Thy cheeks has vanished
Their color once so fair;
From Thy red lips is banished
The splendor that was there.
Grim death, with cruel rigor,
Hath robbed Thee of Thy life;
Thus Thou hast lost Thy vigor,
Thy strength in this sad strife.
My burden in Thy Passion,
Lord, Thou hast borne for me,
For it was my transgression
Which brought this woe on Thee.
I cast me down before Thee,
Wrath were my rightful lot;
Have mercy, I implore Thee;
Redeemer, spurn me not!
What language shall I borrow
To thank Thee, dearest Friend,
For this Thy dying sorrow,
Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever,
And should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never
Outlive my love to Thee.
My Shepherd, now receive me;
My Guardian, own me Thine.
Great blessings Thou didst give me,
O source of gifts divine.
Thy lips have often fed me
With words of truth and love;
Thy Spirit oft hath led me
To heavenly joys above.
Here I will stand beside Thee,
From Thee I will not part;
O Savior, do not chide me!
When breaks Thy loving heart,
When soul and body languish
In death’s cold, cruel grasp,
Then, in Thy deepest anguish,
Thee in mine arms I’ll clasp.
The joy can ne'er be spoken,
Above all joys beside,
When in Thy body broken
I thus with safety hide.
O Lord of Life, desiring
Thy glory now to see,
Beside Thy cross expiring,
I’d breathe my soul to Thee.
My Savior, be Thou near me.
When death is at my door;
Then let Thy presence cheer me,
Forsake me nevermore!
When soul and body languish,
Oh, leave me not alone,
But take away mine anguish
By virtue of Thine own!
Be Thou my consolation,
My shield when I must die;
Remind me of Thy Passion
When my last hour draws nigh.
Mine eyes shall then behold Thee,
Upon Thy cross shall dwell,
My heart by faith enfolds Thee.
Who dieth thus dies well.
Words: Attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux, 1153 (Sal ve ca put cru en ta tum); translated from Latin to German by Paul Ger hardt, 1656 (O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden).
Music: "Passion Chorale," Hans Leo Hassler, Lust gar ten neu er teutsch er Gesäng, 1601; harmony by Johann S. Bach, 1729. This tune was originally set to secular words Mein Gmüt ist mir ver wir ret, das mächt ein Jung frau zart (My heart belongs to a fair young maiden).
~ FreeThinke
sorry about the TS Eliot, FT....real not good today, but thanks.
You would have LOVED our Good Friday service tonight. We sang O Sacred Heart Now Wounded, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed, Stricken, Smitten and Afflicted, O Dearest Jesus, What Law Have you Broken? , and a few others...only 3 verses of each ..with scripture in between.>REALLY nice.
My accompaniment to my friend the singer for Via Dolorosa went very well..she did REALLY well, too...everyone gets misty when we do that, which I love..nice to move people!
T.S. Eliot CENSORED?
My goodness! That may be a first.
I guess all of us have a tendency to want to eradicate that which does not fit our peculiar understanding and personal worldview --- I know I do --- often --- but I try to fight the impulse, because stifling freedom of sincere, heartfelt expression --- as opposed to cynical, manipulative, deliberately insulting, misleading, merely provocative material --- is in my opinion as ungodly as it is unconstitutional.
Jesus, Himself, was "censored" for precisely this reason --- His words and deeeds made the Establishment of His time profoundly uncomfortable. Jesus was the personification and perfect example of of Truth among other things.
Truth (God) is so powerful that most people can't stand it, because it shocks, wounds, dismays and perplexes --- even as it heals. [“For He is like a refiner’s fire, and who shall stand when He appeareth?”]
The events of so-called Good Friday --- the term is truly an oxymoron, if you stop to think about it --- are the primary example of the worst that mortal Man can do.
Easter Sunday, of course, is the single most significant example of the power of God (Truth, Love, Principle, Spirit, Intelligence, etc.) to triumph. Easter is the antithesis of the events that took place on Good Friday.
There could be nothing "good" about Good Friday, except its necessary function as the prelude to Christ's Resurrection --- the ultimate triumph of Spirit over flesh, Love over brutality, Courage over cruelty, Truth over deceit, and Life over death.
Just because one individual's understanding is not congruent with that of others doesn't make anyone wrong. It should indicate, however, that no matter where we are or what believe we know, there is always a great deal more to learn about Truth. Instead of reacting defensively to something challenging or disturbing, we should cultivate curiosity about it, ask each other about it’s implications, and learn more before we dare to react reflexively, and dismiss it out of hand.
Not to lecture, but we really should not say the T.S. Eliot piece form Four Quartets --- a widely acknowledged masterpiece in English literature for decades --- is "not good," we are only entitled to say, "We didn't like it," or "We feel it's inappropriate to present it on Good Friday, because ..." and then list our reasons.
The authorities in Jesus' time didn't like HIM --- they perceived Him as a threat to their grip on power --- so they had Him brutally slaughtered.
Isn't it odd that an act of barbarism like the Crucifixion --- surely an ultimate form of "censorship" if ever there was one --- gave rise to Christ's Immortality and everlasting, worldwide renown?
The harder we try to stamp out Truth, the stronger, tougher, more resilient and widespread it becomes. Countless millions have been slaughtered in many attempts to put Truth in its place, and still Truth marches on infecting people of good will and earnest intent who seek freedom and joy with its great unstoppable power.
[PERSONAL NOTE: I happen to have been born on Good Friday, April 11, 1941. Today, therefore, is my sixty-eighth birthday. As a result, Passion Week and Easter have always held special meaning for me --- not that that has any theological significance. ;-]
HAPPY EASTER, everyone, even if I do say it a day too early.
~ FreeThinke
I neglected to mention that one of my great favorite sacred songs for Good Friday is the Negro Spiritual --- Were You There When They Crucified Mh Lord? It can raise goose bumps and break your heart, IF it is sung by an artist with the love, understanding, and vocal power of someone like Marian Anderson whose artistry far exceeded mere "professionalism."
When Marian Anderson sang about Jesus, it really was about JESUS ---- never about Marian. And that, I think, is probably what separates the great from the rank and file in any field. The most complex, ingenious brilliant works are worthless without the presence of Love (i.e. the Holy Ghost).
May the true joy and significance of Easter come to you tomorrow --- and always.
~ FreeThinke
Oh, please, FT. you say "I guess all of us have a tendency to want to eradicate that which does not fit our peculiar understanding and personal worldview"?
Again, my blog...I'm eradicating something I found offensive to the blog on Good Friday..
I don't have a PECULIAR UNDERSTANDING, trust me.
I found Eliot borderlined on something I don't want here..so, it being my blog, off it goes.!! But, thanks, anyway!
Happy Birthday!! We sang "Were you there.." at services last night...I've always loved it.
Z-Thank you ---
I'll 'swipe' this - when I write my Easter post...
and will add a little known fact about our 1776 Revolution and the hymns of Watts...
We worshiped at a Passover Seder service last night! So wonderful to see how our Lord Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament! Praise HIS Name! God Bless you Z, & happy birthday, FT.
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