1 'Twas for our sake, eternal God,
Thy Son sustain'd that heavy load
Of base reproach and sore disgrace,
And shame defil'd his sacred face.

2 The Jews, his brethren and his kin,
Abus'd him when he check'd their sin;
While he fulfill'd thy holy laws,
They hate him, but without a cause.

3 Zeal for the temple of his God
Consum'd his life, expos'd his blood;
Reproaches at thy glory thrown
He felt, and mourn'd them as his own.

4 His friends forsook, his followers fled,
While foes and arms surround his head;
They nail him to the shameful tree;
There hung my Lord, who died for me.

5 But God his Father heard his cry;
Rais'd from the dead, he reigns on high;
The nations learn his righteousness,
And humble sinners taste his grace.