Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted
Dear Hill Country Families,
As we head into Easter Weekend, I want to share one of my favorite Easter Hymns with you. It’s called Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted by Thomas Kelly. I’ve written the lyrics below for you to read for your own encouragement. But I want to draw your attention to a few specific lines. Before I recite some of my favorites, it is worth noting that this really stems from Isaiah 53:4, where Isaiah reminds us that the coming (long expected) prophet will be: “stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” Now for a few high (or low as they may be) points:
“Tis the long expected prophet, David’s son, yet David’s Lord”
Here we have the perfect example of human nature. Here is the man we’ve been waiting for for centuries. We’ve been longing for Him since Genesis 3, when God revealed His first hint of a Messiah to come. Yet instead of rejoicing at this long awaited Prophet, we find Him “stricken, smitten, and afflicted.” How did we miss it? How did we get so far off?
“Tell me—ye who hear him groaning, was there ever grief like this? Friends (Christ’s closest friends by the way) thru fear his cause disowning, (and his) foes insulting (at) his distress.” (emphasis mine). Lest any of us think we would be different, those who knew Him best rejected Him. With “none (who) would interpose to save.” Here, the one we’ve been longing for and waiting for arrives, and we abandon ship just like that. We get caught up in the bandwagon of the religious anger mob and reject the only One who can actually save us.
But fear not! “The awful stroke that pierced him was the stroke that justice gave.” This is why Isaiah says He was pierced for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities (Is. 53:5).
“Ye who think of sin but lightly, nor suppose the evil great; here may view its nature rightly here its guilt may estimate.” Should we ever wonder about the magnitude of our sin, we need to look no further than Christ and His suffering. God, in the form of His Son, left His throne in heaven to come and die a sinner’s death on our behalf. Our action in return can be none other than to “mark the sacrifice appointed. See who bears the awful load! ‘Tis The Word, the Lord’s anointed, Son of man, and Son of God.”
This is the good news of the Gospel, my friends. This is why we can live and breathe and go about our days as people of hope. He, the Lord’s Anointed, was stricken, smitten, and afflicted on our behalf. He’s the “refuge of the lost: Christ, the Rock of our salvation. (It is in) His name which we boast.” And “None shall ever be confounded who on Him their hope have built.”
As you head into your Easter weekend, may you be reminded that none of us who have placed our hope in Him shall ever be confounded. For He “was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5).
And for those of you who love sacred music, here is a beautiful version of this song.
Happy Easter,
Eric DeVries, Head of School
- Stricken, smitten and afflicted,
See him dying on the tree!
‘Tis the Christ by man rejected!
Yes, my soul, ’tis he! ’tis he!
‘Tis the long expected prophet,
David’s son, yet David’s Lord;
Proofs I see sufficient of it:
‘Tis a true and faithful word. - Tell me, ye who hear him groaning,
Was there ever grief like his?
Friends thru’ fear His cause disowning,
Foes insulting his distress:
Many hands were raised to wound him,
None would interpose to save;
But the awful stroke that pierced him
Was the stroke that justice gave. - Ye who think of sin but lightly,
Nor suppose the evil great;
Here may view its nature rightly,
Here its guilt may estimate.
Mark the sacrifice appointed!
See who bears the awful load!
‘Tis the Word, the Lord’s anointed,
Son of man, and Son of God. - Here we have a firm foundation;
Here’s the refuge of the lost:
Christ, the Rock of our salvation:
His the name of which we boast.
Lamb of God, for sinners wounded!
Sacrifice to cancel guilt!
None shall ever be confounded
Who on him their hope have built.