Behold The Savior Of Mankind
Behold the Savior of Mankind
Behold the Savior of mankind
Nailed to the shameful tree!
How vast the love that Him inclined
To bleed and die for thee!
Hark, how He groans, while nature shakes,
And earth’s strong pillars bend!
The temple’s veil in sunder breaks;
The solid marbles rend.
’Tis done! the precious ransom’s paid!
“Receive my soul!” He cries;
See where He bows His sacred head!
He bows His head and dies!
But soon He’ll break death’s envious chain,
And in full glory shine;
O Lamb of God, was ever pain,
Was ever love, like Thine?
ON FEBRUARY 9, 1709, a fire ripped through a rectory in the village of Epworth, England. The Wesley family lost nearly everything. Miraculously, their six-year-old boy named John (who would later found the Methodist church) was saved from the fire, as was a piece of paper bearing this hymn, written by the rector, Samuel Wesley.
Samuel Wesley, father of John and Charles (and seventeen other children), was scholarly and stern. His major academic project was a study of the book of Job. And he faced a great deal of suffering himself.
This hymn, however, shows us a slightly different side of Samuel Wesley. The theme of suffering is strong, but there’s an attitude of love, of devotion. Apparently he taught his famous sons more than just discipline, but also a deep appreciation for what Christ accomplished through His suffering.
By this time it was noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle. Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!”
Luke 23:44-46
From the book
