Anguish over Absalom

“And a certain man saw… and said, Behold, I saw Absalom (Heb. Father/Head of Peace) hanged in an oak… And the king said… Is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi answered, The enemies of my lord the king…be as that young man is.  And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!” (2 Samuel 18:10,32,33). 

In words of such anguish for Absalom spoken

By David when mourning the loss of his son,

How clearly portrayed is a father heartbroken,

Though justice and judgment for sin had been done.

How deep was that anguish, as tears burned his face,

“Would God I had died for thee!” mourning his loss.

Since David would rather have died in his place,

How much more the Father for Christ on the cross?

The man who saw Absalom hanged in a tree,

Was certainly sure of his father’s great fears.

So how is it, then, we could fail to see

The sorrow that moved God the Father to tears?

O Father in heaven, we can’t know the grief

That flooded Your heart as You heard Your Son’s cries.

We ponder the sorrow, yet joy with that thief

Who called upon You, Lord, and found paradise!