Student Poem:
Sing, Saints, of the Mercy

Sing, saints, of the mercy outpoured upon us sinners deep
When the Son of God expressed His love for wandering sheep.
When on that tree for all to see the Immanuel bled,
Mockery called Him from below to lift his weary head.
He cried in pain; all saw it, thinking vain teachings fore said.

Oh, where is the loyalty you disciples once professed?
You break and snap when your faith is challenged and put to test.
You people of Jerusalem who shout, “Crucify Him!”
You choose a murderer over a king, yourselves condemn
The holy light of this world to a death wholly unearned,
He who stilled your cries of grief, He is the one you spurned.
Truth, Grace, Beauty revealed is on the cross at your demand,
His blood and tears fall to the ground and grace this sin filled land.
The stones and ground cry out in fear as Jesus is lifted
Not to a throne but to a cross, righteous reward shifted.

See His head, His graceful brow adorned with thorns of cruelty.
That head deserves a greater crown wrought for divinity.
See the stripes upon his back, devoured to the bone,
And yet, sons of Adam, He suffered to call you His own.
Behold the wounds upon His head, the blood upon His face,
Cut by the very thorns He meant to banish from this place.
Oh, great compassion can be seen when viewing the trials
Of Jesus Christ amongst followers’ foolish denials.
See, His feet whose blest steps trod upon the waves and waters
Are pierced for our sins to make us fellow sons and daughters.
See His hands that healed thousands before, then, and yet to come:
The cursed nails now pierce the palms of He who calls us home.

All beheld the Innocence of Jesus the Nazarene,
And yet they still despised the One who came to make them clean.
Contemplate the sacrifice He has made for us all!
The recompense we all required since humanity’s fall.

He hangs there now like a lamb appointed for sacrifice,
The perfect, sinless, spotless Lamb takes on our sin and vice.
Silent He went to the cross, obedient to the end,
Like an offering He spills His blood to make me His friend.
Without blemish He suffers there, as a Passover Lamb,
Sacrifice of the temple, Abraham’s replacement Ram.
Legs unbroken, words unspoken, our bronze snake in the wild,
Our only ransom, blameless and innocent as a child.

Hear Him cry not to Elijah, but further to the LORD;
The angels wailed at the words, their sorrow of one accord,
As the Father turned away, His earthly death now assured.
His final words He uttered now and then His soul dismissed;
He raised His voice above the din and roared, “It is finished!”
His body broke, breathing now no more, heart of hearts now stilled,
He humbled Himself that He might do what the Father willed.
He took our place upon the cross and crucified our death,
And through the suffering and pain He gave us life and breath.

But Glory, Glory like a lion roars once more in pride,
Conquest over our great Lord is proven to be a lie!
Like the King of beasts leaping forth in fiery power,
Making all other creatures hide in fear and cower.
Saving His own, protecting His young, impossible to cage,
Blazing like a bear in all His indomitable rage.
As a leopard bursting on with great, fantastic speed,
Vanquishing His foes, loving us, meeting our every need.
Magnificent hope of hope, the power of sin is done,
Destroyed by our Savior, Judah’s unstoppable Lion!

“The grave is dead,” the saints proclaim throughout this sinful world:
“Like a scroll salvation’s banner is finally unfurled!
Our glorious Savior makes us clean from our earthly stains,
We now have nothing left to fear for the Living One now reigns!
We sinners deep are made right, so amazing can it be?
You break our chains, dry our tears, Hallelujah! We are free!
We may now live forever amongst angels and with Thee!
Blessed be the Lion and the Lamb, His is the Victory!”

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Gavin is a 17 year old sophomore from Texas.  He is hoping to remain there for college, but is willing to go elsewhere for Biblical studies, Mechanical Engineering, and Ethics.  He loves a rousing, civil debate on just about any matter of theology and is often found tinkering with his latest projects.

Each time we administer the CLT, the highest-scoring students from that test date are invited to contribute an essay or piece of creative writing to the Journal. Well done, Mr. Sims! If you’d like to see more of our students’ essays, stories, and poems, you can find them published here at the CLT Journal every Friday.

Published on 2nd June, 2022.