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Forsaken—with Dan Forrest

A forthcoming choral anthem published by Beckenhorst Press features my lyrics and music by Dan Forrest. Dan wrote some sobering but powerful music that completely captures the grief Christ's sacrifice expressed in the text.

The text is written in a 1st-person narrative by Christ in the garden of Gethsemene and on the cross at Golgotha.

“How long, My God, will You neglect My prayer?
Will You forget these tears of dark despair?
Yet not My will, but Yours alone be done:
Forsake not man, but Me—Your sinless Son.
I, Christ the Son, obey Your great command,
Enduring punishment for sinful man.
As Son and silent Lamb, I choose this path:
Accept rejection to appease Your wrath.”

“O why, My God, have You forsaken Me?
Why have You now refused My final plea?
Though I cry out in sorrow, pain, and fear,
You turn Your back; in silence, disappear.
I, Christ the Son, bear all their sin alone,
Embracing judgment from Your glorious throne.
As Son and spotless Lamb, I shed My blood
To bring them boldly to Your face, My God.”

It is available Fall 2014 from Beckenhorst Press for SATB choir, piano, and optional violin and cello.

Click here to see the page from Dan Forrest's website. Click here to hear it on Beckenhorst Press's Soundcloud.

Comments

Unknown said…
Mr Battles
We have the privilege of singing your beautiful song, Forsaken. However we are struggling with the line, "Accept rejection to appease Your wrath." God's wrath was not appeased by God the Son's death, but rather man's sin was atoned by His death- the sinless God Man was the only worthy sacrifice for our salvation. Could you possibly consider, "Accept rejection to atone man's sin?"
Eagerly awaiting your response
12:33 AM
JB said…
Please do not consider changing the lyrics! God the Father's wrath was absolutely appeased by the Son's death. Atonement was necessary; a sacrifice was necessary BECAUSE of God's wrath justly kindled due to our sins. Your lyrics are beautiful and theologically accurate (Romans 3:25, Hebrews 2:17, 1 John 2:2 and 4:10, among others and understood that way through numerous confessions throughout church history). The theological and scriptural fidelity of the lyrics is one of my favorite aspects of the piece.
4:10 AM
Dustin Battles said…
Becky, sorry for the delayed response. My blog didn't notify me that there had been comments.

Sorry, no, I will not (and cannot) change the lyrics. Three reasons:

1. Christ *did* appease God’s wrath. This is essential to the cross work of Christ on our behalf as mentioned by JB, the other commenter.

Another verse:

[Rom. 5.9] Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!

Stuart Townend and Keith Getty's song "In Christ Alone" also affirms this: "on the cross when Jesus died the wrath of God was satisfied."

2. It totally messes up the rhyming scheme. "Path" and "wrath" rhyme, but "path" and "sin" don't.

3. I can't change the lyrics legally since I no longer own them. When they were copyrighted by Beckenhorst Press I signed over any rights to my text from then on.

Grace and peace to you.
8:14 AM
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