Contemplations

THE GREATEST P AIN OF ALL (Based on Psalm 22:14-18) A pack of villains lay me on a cross,   Though the beatings have taken their toll. They drive a nail through each hand and my feet, Lift the cross and drop it in a hole. My blood pours out like water, While people gloat and point. The weight of my body pulls me apart, ‘Til my bones are out of joint. My mouth is chapped and swollen, I have never felt such thirst. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth, While with other men’s tongues I am cursed. Wild, hungry dogs surround me, Drawn by my blood’s appeal. They wait for my body to drop, So they can have their next meal. I can count all of my bones, For they are on display. But no matter how much I suffer, This is the price I must pay. My clothes are divided among them; They try to humiliate me. They cast lots for my outer garment. I’m exposed for the world to see. My heart is weak and aching, Under the weight of man’s sin, Fo

The mountains envied Mt. Zion, Where Christ would fulfill God’s will. Tho’ the mountains thought themselves mighty, They fell short of that little hill.   They watched as Jesus carried His cross, And their stones cried out in vain. They witnessed the crucifixion. And they heard Him cry out in pain.   They stood arrayed in beauty, That came from heaven above, By the man on the cross, the Son of God, And He formed them with great love.   They wept when He breathed His last, Forming streams, waterfalls and fountains. They thought their Creator was gone forever, When He died on the little mountain.   They could see from where they towered, That Christ was placed in a tomb. They watched as His mother wailed, At the loss of the fruit of her womb.   All at once they began to tremble, As the earth began to quake. The sun refused to shine, And the dead began to awake.   Gloom filled up their valleys