1 There came from the skies in the days long ago,
The Lord with a message of love;
The world know Him not; He was treated with scorn—
This wonderful gift from above.
They crown’d Him with thorns,
He was beaten with stripes,
He was smitten and nailed to the tree;
But the pain in His heart was the hardest to bear,
The heart that was broken for me.
2 He came to His own—to the ones that He lov’d—
The sheep that had wander’d astray;
They heard not His voice; but the friend of mankind
Was hated and driven away.
They crown’d Him with thorns,
He was beaten with stripes,
He was smitten and nailed to the tree;
But the pain in His heart was the hardest to bear,
The heart that was broken for me.
3 The birds have their nest, and the foxes have holes,
But He had no place for His head;
A pallet of stone on the cold mountainside,
Was all that He had for His bed.
They crown’d Him with thorns,
He was beaten with stripes,
He was smitten and nailed to the tree;
But the pain in His heart was the hardest to bear,
The heart that was broken for me.
4 I cannot reject such a Saviour as He;
Dishonor and wound Him again;
I'll go to His feet and repent of my sin,
Be willing to suffer the pain.
I'll take up my cross, I will walk by His side,
For the pathway of duty I see;
I will follow my Lord and abide in His heart,
The heart that was broken for me.
Source: Favorites Number 3: A Collection of Gospel Songs #29
Judson W. Van DeVenter was born 15 December 1855 on a farm near the village of Dundee, Michigan. He was educated in the country and village schools, and at Hillsdale College. He later moved to St. Petersburg, Florida. He wrote about 100 hymns.
Dianne Shapiro, from "The Singers and Their Songs: sketches of living gospel hymn writers" by Charles Hutchinson Gabriel (Chicago: The Rodeheaver Company, 1916) Go to person page >| First Line: | There came from the skies in the days long ago |
| Title: | The Heart That Was Broken for Me |
| Author: | Judson W. Van De Venter (1914) |
| Language: | English |
| Refrain First Line: | They crowned Him with thorns |
| Copyright: | Public Domain |
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