Astonishing Answer

"My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? Why art Thou so far from helping Me?.... They pierced My hands and My feet.... For He hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, neither hath He hid His face from him, but when he cried unto Him, He heard.... They shall come, and shall declare... that He hath done this" (Psalm 22:1-31). "The prayer of the upright is His delight.... Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?" (Proverbs 15:8,11).

O Lord, we view the awful pain
Of Christ our Savior on the cross
That He would suffer for our gain
To spare us from eternal loss.

We hear His words of agony,
"My God, My God", we hear Him pray,
"Why hast Thou forsaken Me?"
And wait to hear what God will say.

The answer is astonishing!
He knew that hell was opened wide;
He saw that we were perishing
And would not brush our prayer aside!

The thief who cried, "Remember me!"
Could never hope for paradise
Without the grace that sets us free
And saves the sinner when he cries.

O Lord, we thank You and declare
The work of grace that You have done,
That other souls may lift their prayer
And put their trust in God the Son.