’Twas for Thy Sake, Eternal God

’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.