This one is a guess who? And I truly do not know who said it. I know who quotes it, but I assume it is not his own composition. So half-credit goes to anyone who recognizes where I got it from, but full credit (and my deep thanks) to anyone who can locate where the original came from:
The Master dies instead of the servant;
In place of the debtors, the Faithful One;
The Physician dies for the good of the patient;
The Shepherd rescues His sheep;
The King dies for the sins of His subjects;
The Peace-maker for the warriors;
The Creator dies for His creation;
God Himself wins man's salvation!
What now should the servant, the debtor,
the sick one, the sheep, the nation, the multitude do?
What should the creatures, mankind, do?
In love extol his Redeemer!
It sounds on the one hand like Melito and on the other like Augustine.
ReplyDeleteNo one else wants to chime in?
ReplyDeleteWell, it is cited by Johann Gehard in the intro to his *An Explanation of the History of the Suffering and Death of our Lord Jesus Christ*. He cites no source for it, but the way it is printed leads one to think that it is something he is citing rather than composing.
Sounds like Ephrem the Syrian to me, but I don't know.
ReplyDelete