“Man of Sorrows” Lyrics: Hymn by Philip Bliss

“Man of Sorrows! What a Name” is a Christian hymn written and composed by Philip P. Bliss in 1875. The hymn presents Jesus Christ as the Son of God who came to reclaim ruined sinners, bear their shame, provide atonement through His blood, rise to heavenly exaltation, and return as the glorious King.

The hymn is also known by the opening words “Man of Sorrows, what a name.” In the hymn book Psalms & Hymns of Reformed Worship, it is listed as hymn 246, with the tune “Gethsemane,” also composed by Philip Bliss.

“Man of Sorrows” Lyrics

1 “Man of Sorrows,” what a name
For the Son of God who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim!
Hallelujah! what a Savior!

2 Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood;
Hallelujah! what a Savior!

3 Guilty, vile, and helpless, we,
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
Full redemption-can it be?
Hallelujah! what a Savior!

4 Lifted up was He to die,
“It is finished!” was His cry;
Now in heaven exalted high;
Hallelujah! what a Savior!

5 When He comes, our glorious King,
To His kingdom us to bring,
Then anew this song we’ll sing
Hallelujah! what a Savior!

Author and tune

“Man of Sorrows” was the last hymn Ira Sankey ever heard Bliss sing. Bliss’s name is on the top left and right of this hymn. The words and the tune came from him. The focus, however, is entirely on Jesus.

The meaning of the hymn

“Man of Sorrows”-the suffering Son of God

The opening line, “Man of Sorrows,” identifies Jesus with the suffering and grief associated with His earthly ministry and crucifixion. The hymn immediately joins Christ’s suffering to His divine identity: He is the Son of God who came to reclaim ruined sinners.

The first stanza therefore connects the incarnation, human sin, salvation, and praise. Jesus came with a definite purpose, and the response to that saving work is repeated in the refrain: “Hallelujah! what a Savior!”

Christ bears shame in the sinner’s place

The second stanza focuses on substitution. “In my place condemned He stood” expresses the central claim that Christ bore condemnation on behalf of sinners. The hymn describes His humiliation in the words “shame and scoffing rude,” then turns to the result of His sacrifice: “Sealed my pardon with His blood.”

The personal language of this stanza is important. The hymn does not speak only of a general act of redemption; it declares, “In my place.” The singer responds to Christ’s completed work with wonder and praise.

Guilty, vile, and helpless sinners

The third stanza describes humanity as “Guilty, vile, and helpless.” Against this description stands the “Spotless Lamb of God.” The contrast is between sinful people and the sinless Christ who offers Himself for them.

The question “Full redemption-can it be?” expresses astonishment at the completeness of Christ’s saving work. The hymn answers the question through its recurring refrain, praising Jesus as the Savior whose work is sufficient for those who cannot rescue themselves.

“It is finished!”

The fourth stanza turns directly to the cross: “Lifted up was He to die.” It then quotes Christ’s cry, “It is finished!” The line points to the completion of His sacrificial work rather than to defeat.

The stanza continues beyond death and crucifixion: “Now in heaven exalted high.” The hymn therefore moves from the cross to Christ’s exaltation, presenting His death and heavenly glory as parts of one saving work.

The promised return of the King

The final stanza looks forward to the future coming of Christ. He is described as “our glorious King,” and the hymn anticipates the gathering of His redeemed people into His kingdom.

When Christ comes, the redeemed will sing the same song anew: “Hallelujah! what a Savior!” The final stanza gives the hymn an explicitly future dimension, moving from Christ’s past suffering and present exaltation to His promised return.

Philip Bliss and the history of the hymn

Bliss spent his early years working as a music teacher but became an itinerant evangelist in his mid-thirties on the advice of D. L. Moody. He wrote “Man of Sorrows” in 1875, shortly after this career change.

Bliss was gifted with natural talent and blessed by the kindness and support of others. He knew poverty and he knew riches. His work has endured far beyond his life, even though his life ended so young.

“Man of Sorrows” was written shortly before Bliss’s death. On December 29, 1876, a trestle bridge collapsed as the train carrying him and his wife passed over it. Most of the carriages disappeared into the snow-covered Ashtabula River valley below.

Bliss himself survived the fall but was last seen heading back into the wreckage to rescue his wife from the flames. Neither body was ever found. Bliss would never see his fortieth birthday.

Bliss as both lyricist and composer

When you open a hymnbook, the name on the top left of a page typically indicates who wrote the words to the song. The name on the top right indicates who wrote the tune. Sometimes one person is responsible for both, but generally the song is the result of multiple artists.

Bliss’s name appears on both sides of “Man of Sorrows” because he wrote the words and composed the tune. This makes the hymn a particularly direct expression of his musical and theological work.

As I read more about Bliss’s work, I learned he wrote the tune to one of the most beloved hymns of the English language-“It Is Well with My Soul.” Horatio Spafford wrote the words, so his name appears on the top left of the published hymn.

Bliss, whose name appears on the top right, composed the song masterfully. It’s hard to imagine it with another tune. In 1876, he published it with Ira Sankey in Gospel Hymns No. 2.

Related hymns and worship context

“Man of Sorrows” is commonly sung in worship focused on the sufferings, death, resurrection, exaltation, and return of Jesus Christ. Its five stanzas provide a complete movement from the incarnation to the final gathering of the redeemed.

The hymn is included among songs on the Lord Jesus Christ, His sufferings and death, alongside:

• “Behold the amazing sight”
• “Extended on a cursed tree”
• “Many woes had He endured”
• “There is a fountain filled with blood”
• “Awake, my soul, and rise”
• “Alas! And did my Saviour bleed?”
• “My song is love unknown”

Sung during Sunday worship at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, “Man of Sorrows” is identified there as hymn 246 from Psalms & Hymns of Reformed Worship.

Bliss’s other hymns

Although “Man of Sorrows” centers entirely on Jesus, Bliss’s wider work also includes hymns connected with redemption, faith, and the victory of Christ over sin and death.

Although Bliss and his wife, Lucy, were never recovered, his trunk somehow survived the crash and ensuing fire. A manuscript found in the trunk contained the words to “I Will Sing of My Redeemer.” In Bliss’s honor, James McGranahan composed the tune, and the song was later published.

God used him to come alongside others like Spafford and help their work flourish. God also used others to take up Bliss’s unfinished work and complete it so the world could be blessed through it.

Why the hymn remains significant

The loss was profound. It was unexpected. Bliss was young, and his work and gifts were beginning to have a broad reach. He was becoming so commercially successful that he began taking money from royalties and giving them in support of charity and evangelism.

Moody even felt compelled to defend Bliss’s reputation because his popularity resulted in jealousy and envy in some. The circumstances of Bliss’s death made the themes of suffering, death, redemption, and eternal life especially poignant when his hymns continued to be sung.

It’s hard to discern the “triumphant power” of the Redeemer in the Ashtabula Train Disaster, as it came to be known. Can we sing about the “victory he giveth over sin and death and hell” when such tragedies continue to happen?

Christ’s victory over sin and death and hell, however, still belonged to Bliss. The victory doesn’t take away the reality or inevitability of our death, but it secures for us eternal life beyond death.

Although Bliss never made it to Chicago on that December trip, he never missed a moment of worshiping the Redeemer who sealed his pardon, paid his debt, and made him free.

Hymnbook references

The hymn is also listed as “Man of Sorrows, what a name” and appears in Piano Hymns as hymn 108 and in Hymns h as 108 19.

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