He Dies! He Dies!
The Lowly Man of Sorrows

He dies! He dies! The lowly Man of Sorrows,
On whom were laid our many griefs and woes;
Our sins He bore, beneath God's awful billows,
And He hath triumphed over all our foes.

"I am He that liveth, that liveth, and was dead;
I am He that liveth, that liveth, and was dead;
And behold I am alive for evermore,
Behold, I am alive for evermore.
I am He that liveth, that liveth, and was dead,
And behold, I am alive for evermore."

He lives! He lives! what glorious consolation!
Exalted at His Father's own right hand;
He pleads for us, and by His intercession,
Enables all His saints by grace to stand.

He comes! He comes! Oh, blest anticipation!
In keeping with His true and faithful word;
To call us to our heav'nly consummation—
Caught up, to be "forever with the Lord."

These words were penned by C.Russell Hurditch (1839‑1908). He was born in Exeter in England and was later Secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association in London. It was first published in 1865 in 'The London Hymn Book for Prayer Meetings and Special Services'. It was observed that his hymns were 'characterised by great simplicity and eagerness'.

Here are some scriptures which are believed to have inspired the writer;

Isaiah 53:3‑12 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions,….and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, …and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Jonah 2:3 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.

Colossians 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Revelation 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore.

Philippians 2:7‑9 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.

Acts 2:33 (NKJV) Therefore exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.

Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

Romans 5:1‑2 Our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Acts 1:11 This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

1 Thessalonians 4:16‑17 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

The tune of the same name is in five flats. Like other tunes for hymns in five flats it has an emotional and oft‑times melancholy quality.