It was done, the deed of horror;
Christ had died upon the cross,
And within an upper chamber
The disciples mourned their loss.
Peter’s eyes were full of anguish,
Thinking sadly of the trial
When his boasted self-reliance
Ended in his Lord’s denial.
Disappointment, deep and heavy,
Shrouded every heart with gloom,
As the hopes so fondly cherished
Died around the garden tomb.
And they thought with shame and sorrow
How they fled in that dark hour,
When they saw their Lord and Master
In the clutch of Roman power.
We had hoped, they sadly uttered,
He would over Israel reign,
But to-day he lies sepulchred.
And our cherished hopes are vain.
In the humble home of Mary
Slowly waned the hours away,
Till she rose to seek the garden
And the place where Jesus lay.
Not the cross with all its anguish
Could her loving heart restrain,
But the tomb she sought was empty,
And her heart o’erflowed with pain.
To embalm my Lord and Master
To this garden I have strayed.
But, behold, I miss his body.
And I know not where he’s laid.
Then a wave of strange emotion
Swept her soul, as angels said,
“Wherefore do ye seek the living
’Mid the chambers of the dead?”
Unperceived, her Lord stood by her,
Silent witness of her grief,
Bearing on his lips the tidings
Sure to bring a glad relief.
But her tear-dimmed eyes were holden
When she heard the Master speak;
Thought she, only ’tis the gardener
Asking whom her soul did seek.
Then a sudden flush of gladness
O’er her grief-worn features spread;
When she knew the voice of Jesus
All her bitter anguish fled.
Forth she reached hands in rapture.
Touch me not, the Saviour said;
Take the message to my brethren,
I have risen from the dead.
Take them words of joy and comfort,
Which will all their mourning end;
To their Father and my Father,
Tell them that I will ascend.
“Brethren, I have seen the Master:
He is risen from the dead.”
But like words of idle meaning
Seemed the glorious words she said.
Soon they saw the revelation
Which would bid their mourning cease;
Christ, the risen, stood before them
Breathing words of love and peace.
Timid men were changed to heroes,
Weakness turned to wondrous might.
And the cross became their standard,
Luminous with love and light.
From that lonely upper chamber,
Holding up the rugged cross,
With a glad and bold surrender
They encountered shame and loss.
In these days of doubt and error,
In the conflict for the right,
May our hearts be ever strengthened
By the resurrection’s might.