Propitiation
Like a traitor, scorning justice,
Head unbowed before God’s Law,
Given glimpses of the Holy,
Tyranny was all I saw.
Soul infused with serpents’ venom,
Purposing unholy war,
Hands devising clever mischief,
All of this was I, and more.
He, dispensing awful justice
Haled me up before His throne,
Bound on me the grave indictment
Of commandments hewn in stone.
“Answer now,” the judge demanded,
“Justify yourself to me.
Saints and angels wait your answer—
Enter your judicial plea.”
I, exposed by blinding justice,
Naked in its righteous glare,
Stripped of every self-deception,
Stood with nothing to declare.
“Guilty!” uttered heaven’s ruler.
“Guilty!” echoed hosts on high.
“Guilty!” charged my trembling conscience.
Guilty, and condemned to die.
Then the shouting storm grew soft, the
Shuddering of the earth grew still,
Blazing glory darkened, smoldered,
Waiting for the judge’s will.
Crushed beneath the graven statutes,
Prostrate in the judgment hall,
Cringed I from impending judgment—
Dreadful fire about to fall.
Multitudes in glooming silence,
Wrath inscribed on every face—
Heard each one a small voice utter,
“I will take this sinner’s place.”
“Lay his guilt on my account, and
Let Thy righteous will be done.
May Thy Law be satisfied!” Thus
Pled for me the Judge’s Son.
“Thou art My Beloved Son, Thou
Firstborn from eternity.”
These words spake the Holy One, then
Turned His loving gaze toward me.
“Strip this sinner of his guilt, and
Grant My Son as He has prayed.
Lay on Him the Law’s demand—now,
LET THE PRICE BE PAID.”
Thirsty whips and thudding hammers,
Iron nails and angry thorns—
Darkness grows as guiltless suffers;
Stunned to blackness, Heaven mourns.
Like a Lamb, offered to justice,
Bloodied, broken by God’s Law,
In His person, ever holy,
Guilt—my guilt—was all God saw.
* * *
Stands the sacrifice complete, for
Justice has been satisfied.
Vengeance here is spent, exhausted,
Once the Lamb of God has died.
Now again the Mighty Savior
Lives enthroned as God the Son:
Goodness, justice, judgment, mercy
Reconcile in Him as one.
My whole duty now to trust, for
He alone can free the soul.
Rightly seeks He my submission
Lovingly I yield, heart-whole.
Here I kneel in adoration,
Fear displaced by grateful trust,
In the Captain of Salvation—
Justifier, yes! and just.
This essay is by Dr. Kevin T. Bauder, president of Central Baptist Theological Seminary (Plymouth, MN). Not every professor, student, or alumnus of Central Seminary necessarily agrees with every opinion that it expresses.
- 7 views
I’m guessing that you must be the author since no other is named. This is beautiful truth beautifully expressed.
(Had to look up “haled.” For anyone else wondering—yes, it’s a real word)
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
Father of three, husband of one, servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. I blog at mattolmstead.com.
Seems like we need a reflective tune, not merely a triumphal one, probably in 3/4.
What about the tune CHARLESTON from Southern Harmony (1835)? Carleton Young arranged this for “Cross of Jesus, Cross of Sorrow in the Methodist Hymnal (1964).
Or, if looking for something more familiar to the congregation, what about Ithmar Conkey’s RATHBUN, the tune usually used for “In the Cross of Christ I Glory”?
I tried the Ballad of Gilligan’s Island, but alas, that’s 8.6.8.6.
On second thought, Rathbun sounds a bit too light for me. The first half of this needs a bit of heaviness.
Edit:
I rather like this tune: “Sebastian (Hodges)” http://www.hymntime.com/tch/mid/s/e/b/sebastian_hodges.mid
Some other possibilities…
Newton Ferns http://www.hymntime.com/tch/mid/n/e/newton_ferns.mid
Ad Infernos http://www.hymntime.com/tch/mid/a/d/i/ad_infernos.mid
Grafton Street (minor) http://www.hymntime.com/tch/mid/g/r/a/grafton_street.mid
Oxford Stainer (kind of plodding and emotionally ambiguous) http://www.hymntime.com/tch/mid/o/x/oxford_stainer.mid
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
Senior Pastor, Harvest Bible Chapel, Fort Wayne, IN
Seems like some combination (w/a few alterations) of two of those short 8.7.8.7 tunes would be more interesting and moving. And then you have 9 verses.
[size=8]
1. Like a traitor, scorning justice, //Head unbowed before God’s Law,
Given glimpses of the Holy, //Tyranny was all I saw.
Soul infused with serpents’ venom, //Purposing unholy war,
Hands devising clever mischief, //All of this was I, and more.[/size]
[size=8]
2. He, dispensing awful justice //Haled me up before His throne,
Bound on me the grave indictment //Of commandments hewn in stone.
“Answer now,” the judge demanded, //“Justify yourself to me.
Saints and angels wait your answer— //Enter your judicial plea.”[/size]
[size=8]
3. I, exposed by blinding justice, //Naked in its righteous glare,
Stripped of every self-deception, //Stood with nothing to declare.
“Guilty!” uttered heaven’s ruler. //“Guilty!” echoed hosts on high.
“Guilty!” charged my trembling conscience. //Guilty, and condemned to die.[/size]
[size=8]
4. Then the shouting storm grew soft, the //Shuddering of the earth grew still,
Blazing glory darkened, smoldered, //Waiting for the judge’s will.
Crushed beneath the graven statutes, //Prostrate in the judgment hall,
Cringed I from impending judgment— //Dreadful fire about to fall.[/size]
[size=8]
5. Multitudes in glooming silence, //Wrath inscribed on every face—
Heard each one a small voice utter, //“I will take this sinner’s place.”
“Lay his guilt on my account, and //Let Thy righteous will be done.
May Thy Law be satisfied!” Thus //Pled for me the Judge’s Son.[/size]
[size=8]
6. “Thou art My Beloved Son, Thou //Firstborn from eternity.”
These words spake the Holy One, then //Turned His loving gaze toward me.
“Strip this sinner of his guilt, and //Grant My Son as He has prayed.
Lay on Him the Law’s demand—now, //LET THE PRICE BE PAID.”[/size]
[size=8]
7. Thirsty whips and thudding hammers, //Iron nails and angry thorns—
Darkness grows as guiltless suffers; //Stunned to blackness, Heaven mourns.
Like a Lamb, offered to justice, //Bloodied, broken by God’s Law,
In His person, ever holy, //Guilt—my guilt—was all God saw.
* * *[/size]
[size=8]
8. Stands the sacrifice complete, for //Justice has been satisfied.
Vengeance here is spent, exhausted, //Once the Lamb of God has died.
Now again the Mighty Savior //Lives enthroned as God the Son:
Goodness, justice, judgment, mercy //Reconcile in Him as one.[/size]
[size=8]
9. My whole duty now to trust, for //He alone can free the soul.
Rightly seeks He my submission //Lovingly I yield, heart-whole.
Here I kneel in adoration, //Fear displaced by grateful trust,
In the Captain of Salvation— //Justifier, yes! and just.[/size]
And, since all Baptists skip the third verse of every song, we can soften all that guilt stuff a little that way. ;)
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
Uh, that is, if the “other” Kevin agrees that combining his stanzas does justice to his intentions.
Your adjustment would make HYFRYDOL an accessible choice (though it doesn’t seem to fit every stanza).
If I were the betting sort, I’d bet that Bauder was thinking about RATHBUN when he wrote this. But perhaps he’ll weigh in and tell us a bit more.
Father of three, husband of one, servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. I blog at mattolmstead.com.
[Matthew Olmstead] I’m thinking of double with the first part (before the asterisks) to O MEIN JESU, ICH MUSS STERBEN (“Smitten, Stricken, and Afflicted); then the second part (doubled) as a separate hymn to PRAISE JEHOVAH (“Praise the Lord, Sing Halellujah”).I’m not familiar with Ich Muss Sterben. Would love to hear it. Got a link? Doesn’t seem to be in the collection at Cyberhymnal.
Edit: nevermind. Found it here: http://www.lutheran-hymnal.com/lutheranworship/lw116.mid
It’s beautiful, but there would be a learning curve there for most congregations I’m familiar with. (Actually, I’m having a hard time making this particular rendition fit the lyrics)
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
[Aaron Blumer] Found it here: http://www.lutheran-hymnal.com/lutheranworship/lw116.midUnfortunately, that’s true. Every time I run into something like this, I get reminded that musically speaking, I’m most definitely NOT baptist! I prefer true worship to good music, but I’d really like both!
It’s beautiful, but there would be a learning curve there for most congregations I’m familiar with.
Dave Barnhart
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
Since “Tis the Christ” is no longer copyrighted, I’ve posted a pdf here.
EDIT: Ick! the formatting of the text is not great, but the music is legible. Sorry!
Father of three, husband of one, servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. I blog at mattolmstead.com.
[Matthew Olmstead]… Perhaps you are hearing the movement in the harmony and that is throwing you off? Take a look at “Hymns for Grace and Glory.” It’s in there.That’s a factor, but, comparing the MIDI to the sheet music, I think they have done something odd to the timing in the MIDI rendition (not all that unusual. I’m sure you know how the Lutherans messed up the timing of A Mighty Fortress! ;) )
I’m almost sold. So Matthew, when are you going to write up your arrangement of “Propitiation”?
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
Thanks for thinking of me! Just catching up here…
I like Kevin’s suggestion of “In the Cross of Christ I Glory.”
‘Bout time we get a new Baptist Lenten hymn to use!! :) :)
Church Ministries Representative, serving in the Midwest, for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry
[Aaron Blumer] I’m almost sold. So Matthew, when are you going to write up your arrangement of “Propitiation”?I’ve already done it! (though it’s not technically an “arrangement”—I matched an existing text with an existing tune. No talent there, just software.) I received permission from Kevin to use it so we are using it tomorrow morning. I’m looking forward to it.
Father of three, husband of one, servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. I blog at mattolmstead.com.
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