I WAS THERE
(an answer to the question asked in the great, old spiritual, "Were You There?)
Yes, I was there at Calvary
When Christ our Lord we crucified;
I pressed the thorns upon His head,
The stripes to His back I applied;
It was my tongue that mocked and scorned;
"Crucify Him!" rang from my lips;
I held the hammer in my hand,
The nails between my finger tips;
It was my might that drove them through
His hands and feet into the wood;
It was my strength that lifted high
His Cross until it upward stood;
With all the weight of all my sins—
And all mankind’s—His body hung
Upon three nails which tore his flesh
And from His wounds His life blood wrung;
My eyes beheld when, through His Son,
Jehovah met man face to face;
I heard the Son forgive our deed,
An act unparalleled in grace;
"If You’re the King You say You are,
Come down from that Cross!" I reviled,
But He stayed and paid sin’s full debt
As God and man He reconciled;
As if His death were not enough,
I thrust the spear that pierced his side;
Yes, I was there, not in the flesh,
But through my sins personified.
                                    ©2001 J. G. Braddock Sr.