Tis Midnight and On Olive’s Brow

‘Tis midnight, and on Olive’s brow, the star is dimmed that lately shone;
‘Tis midnight in the garden now, the suff’ring Savior prays alone.

‘Tis midnight, and from all removed, the Savior wrestles lone with fears—
E’en that disciple whom He loved, heeds not his Master’s grief and tears.

‘Tis midnight, and for other’s guilt, the Man of Sorrows weeps in blood;
Yet He that hath in anguish knelt, is not forsaken by His God.

‘Tis midnight, and from ether-plains, is borne the song that angels know
Unheard by mortals are the strains, that sweetly soothe the Savior’s woe.

I was not familiar with this particular hymn, but I felt like it provided an important picture surrounding one of the key events of Passion week – Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.   I found the song in an old hymnal and it was written in 1822.  For those of you that have seen the movie “The Passion of the Christ,” you will recall that the movie starts in the Garden with Jesus praying.  The intensity of that scene was unbelievable, and really set the tone for the entire film.  This hymn is a reminder to all of us of the pain and agony that took place in the Garden, but is also a reminder of what we should do when facing difficult times.  Pray and spend time with the Lord.  In the “midnight” hour of our lives, there is no other place to be.

Couple of phrases worth spending some time on:

• “Alone” – One of the saddest words in this hymn is the word – alone.  Have you ever been up at midnight worried about a difficult situation? Wouldn’t it have been nice to have someone to talk to?  Someone to pray with you and for you.  Someone to cry with you.  Someone just to listen.  It was no different for Christ.  He asked His closest friends to “tarry with Him” while He prayed, but they let Him down.  At His lowest moment, His friends abandoned Him and left Him alone.  How difficult it must have been to be deserted by the men that you had spent the last 3 years with.  Can you hear the pain in Jesus voice when He says “Couldn’t you tarry with me one hour?”

• “Weeps in blood”  – I don’t know the medical term for the sweat drops of blood the Bible refers to here.  I do know that scientists have confirmed that this can truly happen to an individual.  The phrase, however, the author uses is “weeps in blood,” not sweats in blood.  I don’t think he had his Bible facts mixed up.  I think he acknowledged what truly happened that night.  The pain of sin that Christ was carrying.  The burden of bearing the sin of all mankind was combined with the unbelievable grief and sorrow and loneliness had to bring Him to the point of weeping.  Can’t you see how easily those tears would have been mixed with blood?

• “Sweetly soothe the Savior’s woe” – I realize that there may not be any solid Scriptural basis for the idea found in the last verse.  A picture of angels comforting Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane with song.  But I also realize that it is not be far-fetched for that to have happened.  In a moment when His earthly friends have abandoned Him, would it be out of God’s character to send messengers to Jesus to comfort Him?  Doesn’t God do that for us?  Does He send Christian people or does the Holy Spirit come and visit us during times of deep pain and sorrow?  If God would do that for us, wouldn’t it be in His character to do that for His only begotten Son?  I definitely think so.

If you have been receiving the “Hymn of the week” emails for awhile, you probably know that I am a fan of the some of the “Old English” phrases that you find in some of these old hymns.  Hymns like “O Love that wilt not let me go” or “Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne” are some of my favorites because I love how people used to talk.  In this week’s hymn, the Old English phrase that is used several times is ‘Tis – a way of saying “It is.”  It reminded me of the most important “It is” in the Bible.  The words Jesus spoke while hanging on the Cross 2,000 years ago – “It is finished. So I want to leave you with a few “‘Tis'” as we approach Good Friday: 

‘Tis finished – The payment for the debt of sin for all mankind.  

• ‘Tis  finished – The end of the old sacrificial system because the Perfect Lamb has become that One and Only sacrifice for us. 
• ‘Tis finished – The veil of the Temple has been rent in two, and we can now approach God directly.
• ‘Tis finished – “O Death where is thy victory? O Grave where is thy sting?”

Here’s a link to the song if you aren’t familiar with the tune.