Salvation Sound - April 2007

Posted on April 2, 2007

The Foot of The Cross

I was there at the foot of the cross. I couldn't understand
Why following Him should be banned; I was just a young impressionable youth.
I was still searching for the truth.
Céasar was our living God; but we had many another.
I had come here to visit, the Tribune, my brother.
Jerusalem,.... this place, full of Jews. They talk of a Messiah;
A bringer of 'Good News', A deliverer, a shepherd for His sheep.
This place is so boring - I'm almost asleep!.
I came because a crucifixion meant at last some small measure of excitement.
But now I feel it's time to go home, life's far more entertaining
When I'm in Rome......

I was there at the foot of the cross, I am a Jew,
I had nothing better that day to do; I had to come here for the feast,
Go to the Temple, buy lamb from the priest;
There was a trial, Pilate asked, and sought an answer,
Are you a Lord, Man from Galilee?" Later he said, "Take Him to Herod,
He this farce will oversee". "Kill Him", we cried, "Let Him be crucified".
Me, a goldsmith, I went along with the crowd,and I saw the sad look on Jesus' face
And I knew then that that hill was a sacred place. We killed Him, the Nazarene
Son of God; that man had seen......

I was there at the foot of the cross, I saw his agony, felt the people's loss,
I heard Him call to His Father that day, "Forgive them", he said,
"They know not what they do or say".... The sky was black just as of night,
Lightning, wind, rain, the people took fright. The Temple curtain rent in two.
He called,"Father, I am cometh to You". After that, I too, went on my way,
But I'll not forget what I saw that day; for this was a man, full of love, I'm told,
A carpenter's son, who made so bold as to teach and promise a Spirit from God,
A life everlasting, washed by His blood!..A merchant I am, with spices to sell,
And time truth to tell, is something I cannot afford, to talk of someone who called
Himself, 'The Son of the Lord'.

I was there at the foot of the cross, I saw the soldiers as dice they did toss,
They were gambling for His cloak. He hung and died upon that tree,
To take the sin from you and me. 'Twas to His Father that He spoke;
But I was His MOTHER:...Oh,don't you see, why didn't He say a last word to me?.
My tears, they fell and mingled with His blood, as it ran down the hill,
And mixed with the mud... The heavens were dark, storm filled the air.
Where were His friends? Did they not care? He was my firstborn, my eldest son.
Why did they crucify Him? What had He done? He was so gentle, good and kind,
How could the people be so blind? They tested Him and put Him on trial,
Made Him carry that cross, mile upon mile. They scourged His back with many a whip
And gave Him vinegar, when He asked for water to sip.
They put on His head a crown of thorn, was this really why He was born?
On each of His sides they hung a thief; His life on this earth, had been so brief...
I was there at the foot of the cross; for it's with my mind that I can see.
I know when He died it was for me. That far away day yet very near.
I'm filled with wonder, and yes, sometimes fear; for my faith is not strong,
'Though it is sincere. Today it is to me that He calls. He lifts me when I stumble,
or fall. His presence is always at my side, and it's in His love, that I abide.

Yes, I am here at the foot of the cross, but I am not filled with a sense of loss,
For I know that He will come again,and when He does there will be no pain.
We will laugh and shout, and full of joy we'll sing, for He is coming again,
Coming as King....I am here standing at the foot of the cross, for it is here
Wherever we meet; the foot of the cross, the mercy seat.
The thought of love, its undying ember, I can't forget............ DO YOU REMEMBER...?

Maureen Richardson

Source: Focus, April 2007