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Monday, September 13, 2010

Christ the substance

HYMN 12 C. M.

Christ is the substance of the Levitical priesthood.

The true Messiah now appears,
The types are all withdrawn;
So fly the shadows and the stars
Before the rising dawn.

No smoking sweets, nor bleeding lambs,
Nor kid nor bullock slain;
Incense and spice of costly names
Would all be burnt in vain.

Aaron must lay his robes away,
His mitre and his vest,
When God himself comes down to be
The offering and the priest.

He took our mortal flesh, to show
The wonders of his love;
For us he paid his life below,
And prays for us above.

"Father," he cries, "forgive their sins,
For I myself have died;"
And then he shows his opened veins,
And pleads his wounded side.


Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
Hymns and Spiritual Songs, Book II, 1707

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What more of a symbolic gesture could be shown than for our Saviour to expose His veins and side which were torn apart by His own?

Man constantly seeks to symbolize, either through his personal actions or objects he displays. Shall any of this compare to the symbolism our Saviour displaced at Calvary? Will man show forth his own veins and a pierced side for his fellow man?