Well might the sun in darkness hide
And shut His glories in
When Christ the mighty Maker died
For man the creature’s sin

Alas And Did My Savior Bleed 1707
By: Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
ref. by Ralph E. Hudson, 1885

Listen to this modern version of this penitent hymn as you prepare to ponder the lyrics. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.

Below is video content always available as part of an extensive archive of resources. We have lots of tools and options designed to help you be Resonant!  Check them out today and please consider becoming a Subscriber to support our mission of providing these tools to everyone with access to the internet!!

Everyone, enjoy this video, and the transcript below.

Transcript may be found below, at the end of the blog.

As we continue our journey through this penitent text and hymn, make each stanza your own by praying through it. Let’s tune our hearts.

Was It An Eclipse?

Though there has been much speculation over whether this was an actual eclipse, a partial eclipse or something else, one thing seems certain, something happened to the sun in the middle of the day. Some translations go so far as to particularly mention the sun, but many do not. This leads me to believe there was a darkening happening, and it certainly had a physical dimension, but it seems to have been much more.

Well might the sun in darkness hide

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. Matthew 27:45 ESV

As Jesus hung on the cross a darkness covered the whole land. Though we do not know exactly what the gospel writers mean by this, it seems more than just poetic. A heaviness undoubtedly permeated those three hours while Jesus suffered on the cross. Think about that.

From noon until 3 in the afternoon the sun hid, as Jesus hung on the cross and became sin for us. Imagine what that must have been like for those first disciples. So catastrophic was Jesus’ suffering and death even the celestial orbs took note. Thank Him for enduring that darkness.

RESONATE!
If Jesus had not surrendered to the Father’s will this darkness would not have come. If it had not, we would still be in darkness with no hope of ever reaching God’s light. Jesus changed that. Thank Jesus for enduring that darkness. 

Or A Much Deeper Darkness

Though it seems there was a physical darkness that occurred during those last hours on the cross for Jesus, it may have been the expression of a much deeper and more sinister darkness. A spiritual one. Good swallowing up evil, but evil was not going down without a fight.

And shut His glories in

For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. Hebrews 2:10 ESV

It was fitting that this darkness would be paralleled by that which Jesus was battling. He was about to experience separation from the Father as He became sin for us. The suffering of the One who made all things would bring many to glory. Thank Him if you are one of them.

His glory somehow became shut up as He bore our curse upon that tree. Since the opening of the skies at His baptism, on through His transfiguration there had been a glory which rested on Jesus throughout His ministry. Something happened to it during this period so significant was these moments on the cross.

RESONATE!
Take a few moments to ponder the weightiness of these hours. Eternity hung in the balance and Jesus was open wide the gates of heaven through the work He was doing. Bless the Father for allowing it.

Jesus, thank You for enduring the darkness of the cross. Your sacrifice allows You to bring me to glory, along with everyone else who believes. May I never grow weary of giving You praise. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

Grateful Tuning!

Keep coming back, and we will work to help you remove the things that may hinder your longing for His return by cultivating an awareness of God’s presence. We will help you tune your heart to live out your worship by providing resources like this to help you acknowledge the greatness of God as you become more Resonant, 7 days a week.

Like what you’re finding here?  Fill out the form to the right to get an email with each fresh post and updates of new tools to help you be Resonant.

Please comment below and share if you have found this helpful in your journey of being more resonant.

Video 49.3 Transcript, 26.3 Reframed

Welcome to Tuesday Tunings at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s tune our hearts.

Well might the sun in darkness hide
And shut His glories in
When Christ the mighty Maker died
For man the creature’s sin

And hide it did from noon until 3 in the afternoon, as Jesus hung on the cross and became sin for us. Imagine what that must have been like for those first disciples. So catastrophic was Jesus’ suffering and death even the celestial orbs took note. Thank Him for enduring that darkness.

Jesus, thank You for enduring that darkness.

But even worse than the darkening of the land would have been the spiritual darkness that must have settled in with it as Jesus suffered. His glory somehow became shut up as He bore our curse upon that tree. Separation from the Father had to be the worst. Bless the Father for allowing it.

Father, thank You for allowing this agony.

Scripture clearly tells us that Christ made all things and in Him all things hold together. To think that the One who made it all would die for His creation is almost more than our feeble minds can comprehend, yet we know it is true. Thank Jesus for dying.

Jesus, thank You for dying.

If the Spirit did not reveal to us the significance of Christ’s work in our redemption we would not believe it, would not even realize our need for a Savior. But thanks be to God, He has revealed it to us. Thank the Spirit for doing His work of revealing our sin and Christ’s salvation.

Spirit, thank You for revealing my sin and Christ’s salvation.

Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has surfaced in your heart, or just listen to what He is saying to you, then we will sing once more.

Sing

Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond.  Until next time, Be Resonant.

The post That Time the Middle of the Day Was Dark appeared first on Resonant 7.

Image Attributions
Well Might the Sun in Darkness Hide – https://pixabay.com/photos/eclipses-solar-sun-astronomy-434338/
And Shut His Glories In – https://pixabay.com/photos/solar-eclipse-sun-clouds-astronomy-2667048/

Was it for crimes that I have done
He groaned upon the tree
Amazing pity grace unknown
And love beyond degree

Alas And Did My Savior Bleed 1707
By: Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
ref. by Ralph E. Hudson, 1885

Listen to this modern version of this penitent hymn as you prepare to ponder the lyrics. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.

Below is video content always available as part of an extensive archive of resources. We have lots of tools and options designed to help you be Resonant!  Check them out today and please consider becoming a Subscriber to support our mission of providing these tools to everyone with access to the internet!!

Everyone, enjoy this video, and the transcript below.

Transcript may be found below, at the end of the blog.

As we conclude our journey through this ancient text and hymn, make each stanza your own by praying through it. Let’s tune our hearts.

NOT Guilty

Imagine it. The case is presented. Every charge brought against you is proven true. Your presence at the scene of each crime is confirmed, without a shadow of a doubt, by your fingerprints. The jury needs no time to deliberate, so clear is the evidence against you. The judge asks them for their decision, and the foreman rises and states boldly, “We find the defendant NOT guilty.”

As you sit in stunned amazement, the judge explains that someone else has agreed to take your punishment. All you have to do is accept their offer and you are free, the guilt and punishment for it being entirely imputed to them. You agree and are released immediately.

Sound too good to be true? That is effectively what Jesus did for you.

Was it for crimes that I have done

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. 1 Peter 2:24 ESV 

Yes! An emphatic yes! Christ bore the punishment for our crimes, our sins, when He went to the cross. He had never sinned and was crucified without reason, which is why Pilate washed his hands of the matter. The Sinless died for the sinful, the Innocent for the guilty.

As we journey through this season toward Holy Week and our celebration of His resurrection, consider again all for which you have been forgiven. That forgiveness was only possible through Christ’s work on the cross, that dreadful tree. He made it possible to die to sin and live to righteousness. Will you walk along with Him on your own sojourn of self-denial?

RESONATE!
Recall when you first realized you needed a Savior. Maybe you found it hard to believe. Maybe you wept at the wonder of it. Whatever your reaction, remember it today, then thank Him for taking your punishment.

Ninth-Hour Groaning

Though the Scriptures tell us Jesus was mostly silent before His accusers at the mockery they deemed a trial, it just as clearly tells us He was not silent on the cross. He spoke to John, instructing him to care for Mary, His mother. He admitted His thirst, revealing His humanity. He spoke to and pardoned one of the thieves hanging there with Him. But that is not all He said.

His most heart-wrenching statement may well have been the one where He confessed the separation He felt from the Father, with whom He had existed eternally. Jesus felt forsaken by Him. He groaned in anguish as the weight of the  sin of the world pressed down upon Him, and He felt alone.

He groaned upon the tree

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Mark 15:34ESV

Jesus said several things from the cross, but this expression may have seemed most like a groan. Again, in His humanity, Christ felt forsaken as He died on the cross. He endured that shame and separation from the Father for our good.

Jesus was God, and man. Crucifixion is a tortuous way to die. The Scripture clearly records that Jesus groaned while He hung on that cruel device. He cried out to the Father, suffered with thirst, and announced His work was finished.

RESONATE!
Jesus groaned to spare you from the separation He felt on the cross. Thank Him for bearing the cross for you. Thank Him for enduring the cross.

Jesus, thank You for bearing the punishment for my crimes on that cruel tree. Help me to die to sin and live to righteousness, as one who is not guilty. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

Guiltless Tuning!

Keep coming back, and we will work to help you remove the things that may hinder your longing for His return by cultivating an awareness of God’s presence. We will help you tune your heart to live out your worship by providing resources like this to help you acknowledge the greatness of God as you become more Resonant, 7 days a week.

Like what you’re finding here?  Fill out the form to the right to get an email with each fresh post and updates of new tools to help you be Resonant.

Please comment below and share if you have found this helpful in your journey of being more resonant.

Video 49.2 Transcript (26.2 Reframed)

Welcome to Tuesday Tunings at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s tune our hearts.

Was it for crimes that I have done
He groaned upon the tree
Amazing pity grace unknown
And love beyond degree

Another question, and another answer. Yes, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, because of the crimes or sins I have committed. He was without fault or blemish and yet took the punishment that we deserved upon Himself. Thank Him for taking your punishment.

Jesus, thank You for taking my punishment.

Jesus was God, and man. The crucifixion is a tortuous way to die. The Scripture clearly records that Jesus groaned while He hung on that cruel device. He cried out to the Father, suffered with thirst, and announced His work was finished. Thank Him for enduring the cross.

Jesus, thank You for enduring the cross.

Grace like that which was on display on the cross had never been seen before it. The Father saw that we were suffering in sin, He pitied us, and then did something about it. He sent His only Son, the only one who could, to bear the penalty for our sins. Give Him praise!

Father, I praise You for Your grace and pity.

The cross is an expression of love that we can not even truly fathom. For Christ to bear the weight of all sin for all time requires a love that is truly incomprehensible, yet the Spirit makes it known to us. Thank the Spirit for giving you the capacity to see and receive God’s love there.

Spirit, thank You for allowing me to see and receive God’s love at the cross.

Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has surfaced in your heart, or just listen to what He is saying to you, then we will sing once more.

Sing

Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond.  Until next time,
Be Resonant.

The post We Find the Defendant NOT Guilty (Reframed) appeared first on Resonant 7.

Image Attributions
Was It For Crimes That I Had Done – https://pixabay.com/photos/fingerprint-daktylogramm-papillary-255904/
He Groaned Upon That Tree – https://pixabay.com/photos/cross-jesus-wood-church-christ-77999/

Alas and did my Savior bleed
And did my Sov’reign die
Would He devote that sacred head
For sinners such as I

Alas And Did My Savior Bleed 1707
By: Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
ref. by Ralph E. Hudson, 1885

Listen to this modern version of this penitent hymn as you prepare to ponder the lyrics. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.

Below is video content always available as part of an extensive archive of resources. We have lots of tools and options designed to help you be Resonant!  Check them out today and please consider becoming a Subscriber to support our mission of providing these tools to everyone with access to the internet!!

Everyone, enjoy this video, and the transcript below.

Transcript may be found below, at the end of the blog.

As we begin our journey through this ancient text and hymn, make each stanza your own by praying through it. Let’s tune our hearts.

Yes He Did

This hymn begins with some questions. “Did He”…? And again, “Did He”…? Followed by, “Would He”…?

I think the questioning nature is a good way to express the grief of the opening word, “Alas”. Not in common usage today, the emotion of if may be lost a little on us, but not for Watts contemporaries. It invited them from that opening word to enter into the wonder of God bleeding and dying for our sins.

The words may be a little archaic at times, but the ageless truth of Christ’s sacrifice shines through clearly. It does so all the while evoking a wonder from the worshipper. We take these next weeks of Lent, as the days of spring lengthen as we journey to Easter, to consider our response to Jesus’ redemptive work. beginning here with His blood.

Alas and did my Savior bleed

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, Ephesians 1:7 ESV

As we journey through this hymn during the season of Lent we will answer a lot of questions. Yes, the Savior bled for us. And His blood purchased our redemption, our forgiveness. As we begin our journey, thank Him for the riches of His grace poured on your life.

The exclamation of grief in the word “Alas” should characterize at least some of that journey. What is your visceral reaction, your gut response, when you ponder the Savior shedding His blood for you? Yes, the Savior bleed for us, for without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

RESONATE!
So how are you responding to the Savior shedding His blood for you? Begin to think on this and remember that response is more than singing the words of a song. To genuinely sing those words we must consider how our lives are reflecting that desire to respond to His love. Start with words of gratitude, then allow your life to math them. “Jesus, thank You for shedding Your blood.”

And Again, Yes

To think of our Savior bleeding for us evokes wonder and amazement, but to acknowledge that He, the Sovereign over all, died for us is almost more than we can comprehend. We look at the cross and see our Lord hanging there and are left bewildered, trying to take in the almost inconceivable nature of this transaction. The Ruler offering His life for those He rules.

Does that truth resonate with you? Does it cause your soul to reverberate with the life-altering awe it evokes? Take a moment right now as you read these words to let that truth echo deeply your being.

And did my Sov’reign die

Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. Luke 23:46 ESV

Can you imagine what those moments must have been like for those first disciples? We have the benefit of history, but their hearts must have been breaking. Try to empathize with the pain they had to have felt. It will only intensify the joy of our resurrection celebrations.

Jesus had to die. Our sin had to be atoned for, and His blood, the sacrifice of His life, was the only way to satisfy the just demands of our holy God. The Father gave the life of Jesus His Son to express His love for us and make a way for us to live eternally. Thanks be to God!

RESONATE!
So how will you respond right now to His sacrifice. Surely, you can start with words of gratitude, but how will you express that gratitude with your life? Give Him thanks. “Father, thank You for giving Your Son.” Then ask Him to show you how to live that out today. Be ready to respond when He does.

Jesus, thank You for shedding your blood and dying for me. I want to live my life responding to your sacrifice. Through this season of Lent, show me how to lengthen my periods gratitude until in becomes my way of life. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

Awestruck Tuning!

Keep coming back, and we will work to help you remove the things that may hinder your longing for His return by cultivating an awareness of God’s presence. We will help you tune your heart to live out your worship by providing resources like this to help you acknowledge the greatness of God as you become more Resonant, 7 days a week.

Like what you’re finding here?  Fill out the form to the right to get an email with each fresh post and updates of new tools to help you be Resonant.

Please comment below and share if you have found this helpful in your journey of being more resonant.

Video 49.1 Transcript (26.1 Reframed)

Welcome to Tuesday Tunings at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s tune our hearts.

Alas and did my Savior bleed
And did my Sov’reign die
Would He devote that sacred head
For sinners such as I

As we begin to make our long approach to Easter through Lent, let us begin asking these questions. The exclamation of grief in the word “Alas” should characterize at least some of that journey. Yes, the Savior bleed for us, for without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Jesus, thank You for shedding Your blood.

Jesus had to die. Our sin had to be atoned for, and His blood, the sacrifice of His life, was the only way to satisfy the just demands of our holy God. The Father gave the life of Jesus His Son to express His love for us and make a way for us to live eternally. Thanks be to God!

Father, thank You for giving Your Son.

Yes, God was so committed to our redemption that He was absolutely willing to devote, to commit a large portion of His resources, namely the sacred head of His beloved Son, to that purpose. He loved the world that much. May we be overwhelmed by it in this penitent season.

Lord, overwhelm me with Your sacrifice.

And that extravagant offering was devoted and offered while we were so undeserving. We were sinners, lost and hurling down a path toward eternal damnation and separation from a loving God. Then He intervened. Ask the Spirit to enliven the praise of your ransomed soul.

Spirit, enliven the praise of my ransomed soul.

Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has surfaced in your heart, or just listen to what He is saying to you, then we will sing once more.

Sing

Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond.  Until next time, Be Resonant.

The post Answering the Questions with My Life appeared first on Resonant 7.

Image Attributions
Alas And Did My Savior Bleed – https://pixabay.com/photos/jesus-blood-processions-easter-501757/
And Did My Sovereign Die – https://pixabay.com/photos/jesus-jesus-christ-crucifixion-5703825/