“O Sacred Neck, Now Wounded”—New Song Worships George Floyd

“The old hymn worshiped Jesus while the new one worships George Floyd.”

The “worship” band Porter’s Gate, which describes itself as “a sacred ecumenical arts collective reimagining and recreating worship that welcomes, reflects and impacts both the community and the church,” is releasing a new album of lament songs. One of the songs featured in this new album will be a new rendition of “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded,” entitled “O Sacred Neck, Now Wounded.” The difference between the two versions? As one reporter has pointed out, “the old hymn worshiped Jesus while the new one worships George Floyd.”3 Throughout the “hymn,” they clearly conflate Jesus and Floyd, and you can’t tell when they are speaking of Jesus and when they’re speaking of Floyd.

Here are the first and third verses of the song:

O Sacred Neck, now wounded, pressed down by blows and knees,
this son of God surrounded by silent enemies.
Will no one stop and listen? Will no one rise and speak
of violence and oppression which hanged You from that tree?

O Sacred Body, wounded, now breathless in the street,
Your people here press onward to be Your hands and feet,
Your mouth to speak Your justice, Your heartbeat for the poor;
Your life, it flows within us to break down prison doors!

If you’re confused why George Floyd is replacing Jesus in this hymn—and being given capitalized pronouns and called “Sacred,” typically reserved for use in referring to the divine—the band released a statement about it (after receiving “questions and inquiries”).

One of the most consistent themes in both traditional hymns and more contemporary worship music is the theme of seeking the face of Jesus—of turning our eyes to Him and asking Him to open the eyes of our hearts that we might more fully see Him in our midst. And the good news for us is that Jesus spoke very clearly about the kinds of places that we will find Him. He tells us that when we visit the hospital, that we will see His face in the face of the sick, that when we feed those who are hungry, that we will see His face in the face of the poor, and that when we visit criminals in their incarceration, that we will see His face in the face of the prisoner . . .

It is for these reasons we decided to release this original song which draws from the hymn “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded” in pondering the suffering of Christ, but also asking us as listeners and worshippers to contemplate where Jesus is still revealing His presence to us.

Here is the Bible passage they are referring to:

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” Then the righteous will answer him, saying, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?” And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:35–40)

This statement from Porter’s Gate is a complete misrepresentation and twisting of Scripture to try and rationalize what is nothing short of blasphemy.

Jesus said that when we help the hungry, thirsty, sick, naked, and imprisoned, we are really doing it for him. But that does not mean Jesus is literally each of those troubled people—or that when we look at a hungry person we are looking into the very eyes of Jesus and should start singing worship songs directed towards them. This statement from Porter’s Gate is a complete misrepresentation and twisting of Scripture to try and rationalize what is nothing short of blasphemy. I hope more Christians will judge this song (yes, we need to judge according to God’s standards) for what it is and call this group to account.

God alone is worthy of our worship (Luke 4:8). Regardless of our feelings about any human being, cause, or event (and all of those should be compared against the authority of God’s Word!)—God alone is worthy of our worship. This new reimagining of the classic hymn directs worship to a human being, instead of the holy God. And no “statement” on their reasons will ever rationalize such a wicked offense.

Get More Answers on Answers News

This item was discussed Wednesday on Answers News with cohosts Avery Foley, Bryan Osborne, and Bodie Hodge. Answers News is our weekly news program filmed live before a studio audience here at the Creation Museum and broadcast on my Facebook page and the Answers in Genesis Facebook page. We also covered the following topics:

• “Once-in-a-lifetime” archaeological discovery made in Jerusalem.
• “Mammoth” numbers of mammoth skeletons discovered.
• “How to Overthrow the State”—coming to a university near you?
• And more!

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Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.