The Garden Of Agony

The Garden Of Agony

Gethsemane! How He who had not where
To lay His head, would often linger there,
To sleep beneath the stars, to watch and pray
Till sunlight brought the dewy dawn of day.
But on that night of terror long ago
He languished in an agony of woe. There in the Garden, prostrate in His pain
His blessed brow bled sweat as He again
Besought His God in dreadful misery
And then again, cried out entreatingly,
“My Father, cause this cup to pass from Me
But nonetheless, do that which pleaseth Thee.” So as He prayed a shining one was sent
To strengthen Him in His resolved intent
To drain that cup down to the bitter lees
That Heaven’s thirst for vengeance be appeased
When Christ had drunk the vengeful, woeful wine
Of lawful wrath and righteousness divine. His anguish eased, He rose with dignity
To caution those who in naivety
Had claimed that they would sooner rather die
Than for a moment cravenly deny
His Name though faced with foes and certain death.
Meanwhile apostate Judas furtively
Drew near with glozing words of treachery. But not alone, the base betrayer came
In vile hypocrisy and hateful shame.
Deep in the shadows lurked a hell-bent horde
With swords and spears to seize our blessed Lord
As if He were Barabbas on the run
And not God’s spotless, blameless, sinless Son. Oh, with what treachery the traitor kissed
And kissed again, for fear the hunters missed
Their quarry hidden by the olive wood!
How little they perceived He understood
That He must yield though He had power to call
Ten thousand angels to destroy them all! But what of those who vehemently vowed
That they would die with Him, when now the crowd
Had seized their Lord and bound Him like a thief?
They fled the scene with Peter as the chief
Of scattered lambs, or did John overtake
The older man with Andrew in his wake? They all forsook and fled, as likewise we
Recoiled in horror from that cursed Tree.
But though His God forsook Him at the last
It was not nails but love which held Him fast.
Nor was it aught but sins which we had done
Which made the Lord desert His darling Son. But if our sins demanded banishment
And anguish in eternal chastisement
Then He who could not sin must rise again
To come in power eternally to reign.
So God has raised our Savior from the dead
And placed the crown of glory on His head. God justified His Son that He might make
The unjust righteous for His mercy’s sake.
God gave His Son who took our place that we
Might share the Father’s House eternally.
Christ has prepared a place in Heaven for those
Once reckoned as His hell-deserving foes. And so we watch against the blessed hour
When He shall come in resurrection power
To catch us up to meet Him in the air
That One who in the agony of prayer
Pre-tasted that ascetic, unmixed wine
Yet added, “Not My will be done, but Thine.” By Tom Summerhill