🡅 🡇 🞮
▼

BEHOLD THE SAVIOR OF MANKIND

Scripture Verse

The curtain of the temple as torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit. Luke 23:45–46

Introduction

portrait
Samuel Wesley, Sr. (1662–1735)

Words: Sam­uel Wes­ley, Sr., 1700, alt. The ma­nu­script for this hymn bare­ly es­caped the flames when Wes­ley’s Ep­worth rec­to­ry burned on Feb­ru­ary 9, 1709. Sam­uel’s son John as al­so res­cued that day, as a brand pluck­ed out of the burn­ing. John lat­er pub­lished this hymn in A Col­lect­ion of Psalms and Hymns, titled On the Cru­ci­fixion.

Music: Mar­tyrdom Hugh Wil­son, 1800. Ar­ranged by Ralph E. Hud­son, cir­ca 1885 (🔊 ).

Alternate Tunes:

  • Asbury (Har­mo­nia) in Har­mon­ia Sac­ra, by Jo­seph Funk, fifth edi­tion, 1851 (🔊 )
  • Windsor Chris­topher Tye, 1533. Ar­ranged in the Booke of Mu­sicke, by Will­iam Da­man, 1591 (🔊 )

Lyrics

illustration
Crucifixion
Andrea Mantegna (1431–1506)

Behold the Sav­ior of man­kind
Nailed to the sham­eful tree!
How vast the love that Him in­clined
To bleed and die for thee!

Though far un­eq­ual our low praise
To Thy vast suf­fer­ings prove,
O Lamb of God, thus all our days,
Thus will we grieve and love.

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 here 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?

Thy loss our ru­in did re­pair;
And death by death is slain;
Thou wilt at length ex­alt us here
Thou dost in glo­ry reign.