And there He hung. Frederick
Whitfield, Christ Our Life, 1885. He loved me and gave himself
for me. Galatians 2.20. Mark the expression,
He loved me. not my sins, not my many transgressions,
not my willfulness, waywardness, and obstinacy, not my past life
of ingratitude and provocation. No, He looked upon all these
with righteous and holy abhorrence, He hated all these things, but
He loved me, He loved my soul." And what proof did He give of
this? The Apostle answers, He loved me and gave Himself for
me. O wondrous gift! He did not give
His kingdom, nor His crown, nor His glory, nor His boundless
wealth. He gave up these indeed, for
though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor, that we
through His poverty might become rich. But marvellous grace, he
gave himself, he gave himself, To Pilate's skewed judgment,
to Herod's cruel mockery, To the soldier's debased scorn,
to the people's mad frenzy. And there he hung, between two
thieves, His piercing cry rending the blackened vault above, My
God, my God, why have you forsaken me? There he hung, his face marred
more than any man's, There he hung, his head, his hands and
his feet pierced and bleeding, torn and mangled with the iron
fangs and the thorny crown. There he hung, under the frown
of heaven. There he hung, cast out by the
world, the taunt and sneer of the passerby, and the song of
the drunkard in the street. He gave himself to this. Oh, the love of God! Oh, the
grace of Jesus! Oh, that these words were written
on the portals of the sky, in the hues of the rainbow and the
brightness of the sun, so that every Christian on earth might
read them. He loved me and gave himself
for me. Precious, precious words! Christian,
perhaps you look back on your past life and see it stained
with crimes of the deepest dye. You see your sins, the very thought
of which suffuses your countenance with a blush. You see your sins
against light. willful sins, secret sins, open
sins, a multitude of sins which no man can number, rising like
a mountain to your view, and you are ready to exclaim, Can
God love me? Impossible! Yes, He does, He
loves you. He hated all these things, but
He loved you and loves you still. He loved you and gave Himself
for you. The secret of my love to you,
by time and change unmoved, its spring, its steadfastness, is
this, I know that I am loved, forever, yes, forever loved,
and evermore to be, in ages past, in days to come, throughout eternity.