Who believes what we have heard

1 Who believes what we have heard,
who has seen God's power made known?
when the Servant of the Lord
grew unnoticed and alone;
undesired by those around
and unlovely in their eyes,
like a root in desert ground
which men trample and despise.

2 Yet for us the Servant grieved,
all our sorrows he endured;
his the torment unrelieved,
his the bruising from the Lord;
here is all our guilt engraved,
here are all our wrongs revealed;
by his suffering we are saved,
by his tortures we are healed.

3 Far away like sheep we strayed,
by our own desires misled,
but the Lord our God has laid
all our sins upon his head;
to the slaughter once he came
see the willing victim stand
as a sacrificial lamb
silent at the killer's hand.

4 So he spent his final breath,
all his life for us he gave;
men of violence shared his death
and a rich man lent his grave;
target of his people's hate,
by oppression snatched away
who was mindful of his fate,
who considered it that day?

5 But he now prolongs his days,
raised from darkness into light;
sees his children bring their praise,
vindicates and sets them right;
for the criminals he prayed,
for their crimes he bled and died;
now the sacrifice is made
and the Servant satisfied.

Christopher Idle from Isaiah 53
© Christopher Idle/Jubilate Hymns Ltd
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