Scripture Verse

For Thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered My face. Psalm 69:7

Introduction

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Isaac Watts (1674–1748)

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

Music: St. Cris­pin George J. El­vey, 1862 (🔊 pdf nwc).

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George J. Elvey (1816–1893)
National Portrait Gallery

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Lyrics

’Twas for Thy sake, eter­nal God,
Thy Son sustained that heavy load
Of base reproach and sore disgrace,
And shame defiled His sacred face.

The Jews, His brethren and His kin,
Abused the Man that checked their sin;
While He fulfilled Thy holy laws,
They hate Him, but without a cause.

My Fa­ther’s house, said He, was made
A place for worship, not for trade
;
Then scattering all their gold and brass,
He scourged the merchants from the place.

Zeal for the temple of His God
Consumed His life, exposed His blood;
Reproaches at Thy glo­ry thrown
He felt, and mourned them as His own.

His friends forsook, His followers fled,
While foes and arms surround His head;
They curse Him with a slanderous tongue,
And the false judge maintains the wrong.

His life they load with hateful lies,
And charge His lips with blasphemies;
They nail Him to the shameful tree:
There hung the Man that died for me.

Wretches with hearts as hard as stones
Insult His piety and His groans;
Gall was the food they gave Him there,
And mocked His thirst with vinegar.

But God beheld, and from His throne
Marks out the men that hate His Son;
The hand that raised Him from the dead,
Shall pour the vengeance on their head.