This Son Of God

Seems appropriate, with the Easter season upon us, to dredge up this old favorite . Written WHILE IN CHURCH on the flyleaf of a hymnal!

 

 

 

THIS SON OF GOD

 

When the priests to Pilate brought

This Jesus, and of him besought

A verdict, that He might be slain,

Pilate’s heart was rent in twain.

 

By questions and by wife’s dream warned,

Their envious motives seen and scorned;

“I find your rancorous rantings flawed;

“I will not slay This Son Of God!”

 

 

When the Earth began to shake,

And the stones in twain did break;

When the brightness of day went,

And the Veil in twain was rent,

 

Then did the soldiers quake, and rend

Their garments, and to Heaven send

Repentant prayers, in voices awed:

“In truth, this was The Son Of God!”

 

 

How many folk, throughout the years,

By deeds done, or forgot,

Have moved the Lord to angry tears

For error lived or taught?

 

Do I then sit by needless

Of the Grace my Lord has taught?

Persisting in pain, heedless

Of the Grace His Blood has bought?

 

 When my life came before Christ,

Did He languish by the side?

Or did He seize my sin foursquare,

Dispelling it as He died?

 

 When Christ’s life comes before me,

What then shall my answer be?

Will I then cowardly slink away,

Or embrace Him, and be free?

Author's Note

If parsing meter according to strict standards, it would be helpful to consider each PAIR of lines, rather than each line individually; the accents will then fall into place.

Reviews

[Jennifer Elizabeth]

"Though I do not agree with what you say, I will defend to the death your right to say it."

I'm not a religious person, but I still enjoyed this piece thoroughly. The flow was flawless and a the sentiment was beautiful. It's still lovely to see that some people view their faith as that -- as faith -- rather than as a pedestal.

[lessa (kenzie)]

I really love this write, as I am battling feelings I have now for God, I believe in God, i just want to know where he is when one is hurting, or why their are so many hypocrites in the church. It hurts to believe in the church but I think as long as I have God I will be fine.
I love this write, makes me ponder

[Susan 🦋]

The hope is I hear, "well done faithful servant." Now rest...

Then did the soldiers quake, and rend
Their garments, and to Heaven send
Repentant prayers, in voices awed:
“In truth, this was The Son Of God!”
I can't even imagine what that had to feel like...
An appropriate read this Easter season.:-)

[Happyg44]

Awesome poem depicting the love God demonstrated for us by sending Jesus to die for our sins! It's awesome to find another writer who writes about God and his amazing love!

[KC]

I enjoyed your piece a lot.
Your testimony is priceless. Thank you for publishing such a piece

[Mark]

Thank you, KC. I try to keep a balance between the sublime and the saturnine--it's one of my favorites as well!

[wildn0226]

wasn't sure where you were going with your beautiful story and so eloquently stated , I certainly enjoyed the ride. Love it!!

[Mark]

Thank you, Wild. It's an old'un, but a good'un!

[A. Amos]

Praise the Lord, simply amazing. I like your work deep and profound; your poetic talent shines in every verse my friend. Look forward to read more of your work...

[Allen Smuckler]

questions, questions, questions…
I don't know about all of that…I suppose no-one really does…that's why they call it faith
But your message of goodness and kindness was not lost on this heathen…
We need to take onus for our actions and accept consequences or praise for them…though our actions should never be contingent upon either…but based on what is good or not in our hearts…
Thoughtful and sincere write Mark
I've come to expect nothing less from you
Al

[Muse]

This was an inspirational read my friend. Your line:
“I will not slay This Son Of God!”
Very thought provoking, wanting to protect the very sacrifice that was needed to rescue us all. It's this human way of thinking that makes this story more that just another page in history.

[Tate Morgan]

A very true to heart rendition from you my friend

[knowman]

I spend more time in the Spiritual world than this one so I agree with your words very much, and I do know the story about Pilate's wife, and the healing of his and her son. Great Write!