HH, Sir Godfrey Gregg D.Div
“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” Zechariah 12:10
I had my part and lot in bringing the unutterable anguish on the Lamb of God. Not the chief priests alone, and Judas the false disciple, the rough Roman legionaries, and the fickle multitudes — not these alone were His crucifiers.
- I wove the crown of thorns for His brow!
- I nailed Him to the shameful Tree!
- My disobedience and my guilt led Him out to His bitter death!
But I am healed with His stripes. If I am humbled and convicted of sin when I consider Calvary — I am gladdened also. After the midnight of poignant self-accusation — there is the dawn of a divine and endless peace. It was for me that my Lord’s unblemished body was bared and broken! He assumed my misery and reaped the harvest I had sown. Thus I, once Graceless of the City of Destruction — but now Christian of the Pilgrim’s narrow way — I have rest by His sorrow and life by His death.
And all that I have to do, is to look upon Him. Not by works of righteousness, not by tears and penances and prayers and gifts, do I with difficulty and after long delays, attain salvation. My redemption is fulfilled already, and I need simply to turn with a trustful spirit to Him who has accomplished it. This is the medicine of Heaven which ends my disease and despair.
First I am stricken with self-reproach. But, as I linger on the Hill of the Cross — my sorrow is changed into song, and I go on my way with a merry heart.
