Friday, April 6, 2007

For us, Christ was obedient unto death, even death on a cross

Faithful cross! above all other,
One and only noble tree!
None in foliage, none in blossom,
None in fruit thy peer may be:
Sweet the wood, and sweet the iron,
And thy load, most sweet is he.
Bend, O lofty tree, thy branches,
Thy too rigid sinews bend;
And awhile the stubborn hardness,
Which thy birth bestowed, suspend;
And the limbs of heaven's high Monarch
Gently on thine arms extend.
Thou alone was counted worthy
This world's ransom to sustain,
That a shipwrecked race for ever
Might a port of refuge gain,
With the sacred blood annointed
Of the Lamb for sinners slain.
Praise and honor to the Father,
Praise and honor to the Son,
Praise and honor to the Spirit,
Ever Three and ever One:
One in might and one in glory
While eternal ages run.