Sunday Hymn: O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

O sacred head, now wounded,
With grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded
With thorns, Thine only crown;
O sacred head, what glory!
What bliss, till now was Thine!
Yet, though despised and gory,
I joy to call Thee mine.O noblest brow, and dearest!
In other days the world
All feared, when Thou appeared’st,
What shame on Thee is hurled!
How art Thou pale with anguish,
With sore abuse and scorn;
How does that visage languish,
When once was bright as morn.The blushes late residing
Upon that holy cheek,
The roses once abiding
Upon those lips so meek,
Alas! they have departed;
Wan Death has rifled all!
For weak and broken hearted,
I see Thy body fall.What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered,
Was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression,
But Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior!
’Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor,
Vouchsafe to me Thy grace.Receive me, my Redeemer,
My Shepherd, make me Thine;
Of every good the fountain,
Thou art the spring of mine.
Thy lips with love distilling,
And milk of truth sincere,
With Heaven’s bliss are filling
The soul that trembles here.Beside Thee, Lord, I’ve taken
My place—forbid me not!
Hence will I ne’er be shaken,
Though Thou to death be brought,
If pain’s last paleness hold Thee,
In agony oppressed,
Then, then will I enfold Thee
Within this arm and breast!The joy can ne’er be spoken,
Above all joys beside;
When in Thy body broken
I thus with safety hide.
My Lord of life, desiring
Thy glory now to see,
Beside the cross expiring,
I’d breathe my soul to Thee.What language shall I borrow,
To thank Thee, dearest Friend,
For this, Thy dying sorrow,
Thy pity without end?
Oh! make me Thine forever,
And should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never
Outlive my love to Thee.And when I am departing,
Oh! part not Thou from me;
When mortal pangs are darting,
Come, Lord, and set me free;
And when my heart must languish
Amidst the final throe,
Release me from mine anguish,
By Thine own pain and woe!Be near me when I am dying,
Oh! show Thy cross to me;
And for my succor flying,
Come, Lord, and set me free!
These eyes new faith receiving,
From Jesus shall not move,
For he who dies believing,
Dies safely through Thy love.— Attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux, 1153
Theological Term of the Week: Simul Justus et Peccator

Latin for “at the same time just and sinner,” a formula Martin Luther used to communicate “the objective reality of justification by faith alongside the Christian’s continual struggle against sin.”1
- From scripture:
And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness . . . . (Romans 4:5 ESV).
- From The Westminster Confession of Faith, Chaper 11:
1. Those whom God effectually calls, He also freely justifies; not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous; not for any thing wrought in them, or done by them, but for Christ’s sake alone; nor by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any other evangelical obedience to them, as their righteousness; but by imputing the obedience and satisfaction of Christ unto them, they receiving and resting on Him and His righteousness by faith; which faith they have not of themselves, it is the gift of God.
- From Daily Doctrine by Kevin DeYoung, page 255:
[T]he Reformers insisted that the formal cause of our justification is the righteousness and obedience of Christ imputed to believers by faith alone. An inherent righteousness cannot be the cause of or justification because our best deeds are always imperfect. The Pharisee confessed that he had done his good works by God’s grace, but still he could not be justified by them (Luke 18:9-14).
… Imputation is essential to the storyline of Scripture. Adam’s disobedience was imputed, our sin was imputed to Christ, and Christ’s obedience is imputed to the elect. Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness (Gen.15:6; Rom. 4:23-25; Gal. 3:6). The logic of 2 Corinthians 5:21 teaches the we must become righteous that same way Christ became sin. Righteousness is not the moral quality of the justified soul just like sin was not the moral quality of Christ’s soul. Though without sin, Christ was reckoned to be a sinner. In the same way, though still sinners, we are reckoned to be righteous.
… Righteousness is constituted of us—by imputation—in order for “righteous” to be justly declared of us. God did not set aside that law in judging us. He fulfilled it. Christ bore the curse of the law so that in him we might become the righteousness of God—sinners, but as the same time justified (simul justus et peccator).
Learn more:
- R. C. Sproul: What Does “Simul Justus et Peccator” Mean?
- R. C. Sproul: “Simul Justus et Peccator”
- Monergism.com: Simul Iustus et Peccator
- Kevin DeYoung: Five Key Concepts in the Reformation Understanding of Justification
Related terms:
1From Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed Faith by Kelly M. Kapic & Wesley Vander Lugt
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