Scripture Verse

My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? Psalm 22:1

Introduction

portrait
Isaac Watts (1674–1748)

Words: Is­aac Watts, The Psalms of Da­vid 1719. Christ’s suf­fer­ings and ex­al­ta­tion.

Music: An­gel­us Ge­org Jo­seph, Heil­ige Seel­en­lust od­er Geist­liche Hirt­en-Lied­er (Bres­lau [now Wrocław, Poland]: 1657), set to the words Du mein­er Seel­en güld­ne Ziehr (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pic­ture of Joseph (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

Now let our mournful songs record
The dying sorrows of our Lord,
When He complained in tears and blood,
As one forsaken of his God.

The Jews beheld Him thus forlorn,
And shake their heads, and laugh in scorn:
“He rescued others from the grave;
Now let Him try Himself to save.

This is the man did once pretend
God was His Fa­ther and His Friend;
If God the blessèd loved Him so,
Why doth He fail to help Him now?

Barbarous people! cruel priests!
How they stood round like savage beasts!
Like lions gaping to devour,
When God had left Him in their power.

They wound His head, His hands, His feet,
Till streams of blood each other meet;
By lot His garments they divide,
And mock the pangs in which He died.

But God, the Fa­ther, heard His cry;
Raised from the dead, He reigns on high;
The nations learn His right­eous­ness,
And humble sinners taste His grace.