Himself He could not save

Amen. Praise the Lord!!!!!

Blasphemed and Mocked

Matthew 27:39-40 says, “Those who were passing by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, You who destroy the temple and build it up in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross! ” This was a repetition of the devil’s temptation in the wilderness. The chief priests, scribes, and elders also mocked Him by saying, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. He is King of Israel; let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe on Him” (v. 42). If He had saved Himself, He could not save us.

Life-study of Matthew

Message 70 (LSM)

The line "Himself He could not save" is likely taken from a verse in the New Testament. Matthew 27:42 (kjv) says, "He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him." Luke 22:42 (nsab) says, "... 'Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done. '" It was the Father's will. There was no other way for Him to save us. He was (and still is) the perfect, obedient Son of God. He came to take all God's punishment for our sins so that we could be saved. Praise His holy name! "'For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. '"

Thank you Steve Miller for citing two original stanzas. I especially appreciate the last line - ’For Jesus liveth who was dead’.

John 10:17-18: “…I lay down my life that I may take it again…No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have the authority to lay it down and I have the authority to take it again. ” How true that He would not save Himself as

Santoso Adhiwana noted.

Thank you, Steve Miller, for those two additional verses that I am familiar with.

I am excited by the wise/inspired note from Santoso Adhiwana that it wasn't so much "Himself He could not save, but rather, Himself He would not save."

This song is true Amen!

Midlane was born at Newport, Isle of Wight and was engaged in business in that town for many years. To his Sunday school teacher he ascribes the honor of prompting him to poetic efforts: and the same teacher did much to shape his early life. His first printed hymn, "Hark! in the presence of our God," was written in September, 1842, at Carisbrooke Castle, and printed in the Youth’s Magazine in November of the same year. Since then he has written over 300, many of them for children. He was with the Plymouth Brethren - Dictionary of Hymnology by Julian

------------------

The 4th stanza above is not part of the original, but I think it is an improvement. The original 4th and 5th stanzas are:

4 Himself He could not save,
Love's stream too deeply flowed,
In love Himself He gave,
To pay the debt we owed.
Obedience to His Father's will,
And love to Him did all fulfil.
--------------
5 And now exalted high: ---
A Prince and Saviour He,
That sinners might draw nigh
And drink of mercy free,
Of mercy now so richly shed,
For Jesus liveth who was dead.

It is indeed one of the best spiritual songs. If I may make a suggestion I would change "Himself He could not save" into "Himself He wouldn't save" for the following reasons:

John 10:30 says:"I and (my) Father are one." ; and John 3:16 says:"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life,"

From these two verses we know that not "Himself He could not save" but "Himself He wouldn't save". So in many Christians believe that crucifixion was actually pre-ordained beforehand, as part of a divine plan in which Jesus had to suffer and die as sacrifice to pay for everyone's sins.

This song is true... let us all praise Him for this.