Song Lyric of the Day (Isaac Watts, On the Crucifixion)

“There from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flowed mingled down;
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?”— “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” (1707), lyrics by English hymn writer Isaac Watts (1674-1748), music by Edward Miller (1735-1807)
 
The image accompanying this post, Christ on the Cross, is a 1631 oil-on-canvas painting by Rembrandt.

Quote of the Day (James Agee, on the Appeal of Lenten Hymns)

“The leaden melodies of the Lenten hymns had appealed to him as never before; lines in certain hymns seemed, during that time, to have been written especially for him. Jesus, I my Cross have taken, he would sing, already anticipating the lonely solace of tears concealed in public: all to leave and follow Thee; destitute, despis’d, forsaken, were words especially dear to him; Thou from hence my All shall be….he saw crowned God and Heaven shining and felt, in a humble kind of way, that he literally owned them.”—James Agee, The Morning Watch (1951)

Song Lyric of the Day (Charles Wesley, on the ‘Love Divine’)

“O Love divine, what hast thou done!

The immortal God hath died for me!

The Father's coeternal Son

bore all my sins upon the tree.

Th' immortal God for me hath died:

My Lord, my Love, is crucified!”—“O Love Divine, What Hast Thou Done,” lyrics by Charles Wesley, music by Isaac B. Woodbury

Charles Wesley (1707-1788) might have been the younger brother of John Wesley, the founder of Methodist faith, but he had his own unique voice within the movement, as well as within the history of Christianity. That comes from having written nearly 9,000 hymns—an average of 10 poetic lines a day for 50 years—a record that no other Christian composer (no, not even the ubiquitous Isaac Watts) has equaled. John might have made his listeners think, but Charles made them lift their voices.

On this date 225 years ago, Charles Wesley died. I think that he would have been glad at the thought that, on certain days (such as this one), the anniversary of his death has fallen on Good Friday, when Jesus “bore all my sins upon the tree.”

The image accompanying this post is Crucifixion with Sts. Mary Virgin, Mary Magdalen, John and Jerome (ca. 1503), an oil-on-panel work by the Italian Renaissance painter Raphael. This masterpiece now hangs in the National Gallery in London.