Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed
Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed is a hymn text. Found in CW21 410, CW93 129, ELH 282, elw 337. Sung to MARTYRDOM.
Hymnal Appearances
- Christian Worship: Hymnal — 410
- Christian Worship — 129
- Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary — 282
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 337
- Lutheran Book of Worship — 98
- Lutheran Service Book — 437
- Lutheran Worship — 97
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 154
Stanza Arc
The narrative or theological arc traced by this tune's stanzas: Law (conviction of sin and Christ's sacrifice) to Gospel (amazement at grace, personal response of self-surrender)
Background Research
Watts, Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1707), headed 'Godly sorrow arising from the Sufferings of Christ'; six stanzas, the 2nd usually omitted. Stanza 1's 'for such a worm as I' is often softened ('such a one', 'sinners such as I'); David Music defends it as biblical (Ps 22:6). Ralph Hudson added the camp-meeting refrain 'At the Cross' in 1885. Famous story (not in this source): Fanny Crosby said she was converted while this hymn was sung at a revival in 1850. Source: Wikipedia 'Alas! and Did My Saviour Bleed'.
Overview
Watts's meditation on the cross moves from astonished question (st. 1-2), through cosmic wonder at God's death (st. 3), to personal shame and gratitude (st. 4), and finally to self-surrender because grief cannot repay love (st. 5). TLH preserves Watts's 'such a worm as I' (Ps 22:6), which many later books softened.
Central theme: Astonished, grateful self-surrender before the God who died for sinners
Structure
Questions (1-2); the darkened sun (3); response of tears (4); tears insufficient, self given (5).
Law & Gospel Shape
Law in the confession of crimes and worm-like unworthiness; Gospel in 'amazing pity, grace unknown.' St. 5 guards against tears as repayment.
Confessional Connections
'When God, the mighty Maker, died' — communication of attributes (FC VIII). St. 5 rightly denies that contrition merits anything (Apology XII).
Liturgical Use (Study Notes)
Lent; Holy Week; Good Friday.
Historical Notes
In 'Hymns and Spiritual Songs' (1707). Fanny Crosby is said to have come to faith while hearing it sung in 1850.
About the Tune
SOUTHWELL in TLH; MARTYRDOM (Hugh Wilson, c. 1800) in LSB/LW.
Scripture References
Ps 22:6 Isa 53:5 Rom 5:8 Luke 23:44-45 Acts 20:28 Rom 12:1 2 Cor 5:14-15
Stanza by Stanza
Did my Savior and Sovereign really bleed and die? Would he give his sacred head for a worm like me?
Questions of astonishment. 'Savior' and 'Sovereign' — he is both rescuer and king. 'Devote that sacred head' — consecrate as a sacrifice. 'Such a worm as I' quotes Ps 22:6 ('I am a worm and not a man'), the psalm of the crucifixion in which Christ himself speaks those words. The singer takes Christ's lowliness as his own true description before God — not self-loathing, but honest humility.
- Scripture
- Ps 22:6, Rom 5:6-8, Isa 53:12, Job 25:6
- Imagery & language
- Bleeding; sacred head; worm.
- Law / Gospel
- Law (unworthiness) and Gospel (he died for me).
- Connection to previous
- Opening question.
Was it for my crimes he groaned on the cross? What amazing pity, unknown grace, and boundless love!
The answer is implied: yes (Isa 53:5; Rom 4:25). Recognition of one's own sin as the cause of the cross is the right use of the Passion (cf. 'Jesus, I Will Ponder Now' st. 3). The exclamations name the Gospel: 'pity' (mercy), 'grace unknown' (beyond human experience), 'love beyond degree' (Eph 3:19).
- Scripture
- Isa 53:5, Rom 4:25, Eph 3:18-19, 1 John 4:10
- Imagery & language
- Crimes; tree; groaning.
- Law / Gospel
- Law (my crimes) and Gospel (grace).
- Connection to previous
- Answers the first question with confession and wonder.
Well might the sun hide in darkness when God, the mighty Maker, died for the sin of his creature.
The darkness at the crucifixion (Luke 23:44-45) is interpreted as creation's reaction to the death of its Creator. 'God, the mighty Maker, died' is bold language Lutherans fully affirm: because of the personal union, what the human nature suffers is truly said of the person who is God (Acts 20:28, 'the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood'; FC VIII). The inversion — Maker dying for creature — is the heart of the Gospel.
- Scripture
- Luke 23:44-45, Acts 20:28, 1 Cor 2:8, John 1:3
- Imagery & language
- Darkened sun; Maker and creature.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — the death of God for man.
- Connection to previous
- Widens the view to creation.
Likewise the singer would hide his blushing face as the cross appears, let his heart dissolve in thankfulness and his eyes melt into tears.
As the sun hid, so the sinner hides his face in shame (Ezra 9:6; Luke 18:13). But shame is mingled with thankfulness — this is evangelical contrition, not despair. The 'dissolving' heart recalls Ezek 36:26 (a heart of flesh). The Passion produces both sorrow and gratitude.
- Scripture
- Ezra 9:6, Luke 18:13, Zech 12:10, Ezek 36:26
- Imagery & language
- Blushing face; dissolving heart; melting eyes.
- Law / Gospel
- Contrition and gratitude.
- Connection to previous
- Personal response paralleling st. 3.
But tears can never repay the debt of love; so the singer gives himself away, which is all he can do.
A crucial correction: tears and emotions are not payment (Apology XII rejects contrition as merit). The debt of love can never be repaid — grace stays grace. The only fitting response is self-offering (Rom 12:1; 2 Cor 5:14-15), itself a fruit of the love received. 'Tis all that I can do' — even this is offered in weakness. Popular revival versions add a refrain ('At the cross'), absent from Watts and from TLH.
- Scripture
- Rom 12:1, 2 Cor 5:14-15, Rom 13:8, Luke 17:10
- Imagery & language
- Debt; drops of grief; giving oneself.
- Law / Gospel
- Response of faith; no repayment possible.
- Connection to previous
- Corrects any idea that st. 4's tears suffice.