The Crimson Worm | Spirit and I

The Story

When Jesus cried out the opening words of Psalm 22 from the cross, He pointed to a psalm in which the sufferer calls himself a worm. The Hebrew word there, tola’at, means both worm and crimson. It is the word for the scarlet woven into the tabernacle and the high priest’s garments, the scarlet used to cleanse a leper, and the scarlet burned with the red heifer. Its root appears when Isaiah describes sin stained deep red. That dye came from a small insect. The wingless female fixes herself to an oak twig and never moves again. She lays thousands of eggs beneath her body, dies once, and her hardened body shelters her young until they hatch. The crimson came from crushing her.

Many have seen a picture of the cross here: One fixed to a tree once for all, giving up His life and crushed so that others could live. Whatever the psalmist had in mind, the gospel is plain. We would rather have a Jesus who helps us improve than One who had to be crushed in our place. But sin is not a small flaw to touch up. The old scarlet sacrifices could only point ahead. Christ, through suffering, offered Himself, and His blood cleanses what nothing else can.

So stop trying to cover your own stain with church attendance, good intentions, or comparing yourself to others. He did not come down from the cross until the work was finished, and on the third day He rose. Bring your stain to Him, and rest in a finished work.

Associated Scripture

Psalm 22:6 (ESV): "But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people."

Matthew 27:46 (ESV): "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’"

Isaiah 1:18 (ESV): "Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."

Isaiah 53:5 (ESV): "But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed."

Hebrews 9:13-14 (ESV): "For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God."

Suno Style Prompt: Modern worship ballad, acoustic guitar in a steady pulse, swelling cello lead, ambient pads and organ widening into thunderous drums and an anthemic choir; 70 BPM in D minor; passionate, dry male lead vocal that rises into soaring harmonies; cinematic production with a restrained opening and full, spacious final chorus

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Lyrics

[Intro] “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” An ancient cry upon a hill called Calvary. [Verse 1] In the pages of Psalm twenty-two, A deeper shadow walks the valley through. Down in verse six, where the broken bend low, A hidden mystery the humble come to know: “I am a worm, and I am not a man”— Tola’ath written by the Father’s hand. Not an earthworm crawling in defeat, A crimson mother making life complete. [Pre-Chorus] She climbs the trunk, she welds to the wood, Her choice is sealed, she will never descend, Dying for the children she defends. [Chorus] Crimson on the wood! Crimson on the tree! You bled out in the dark So we could finally breathe! Oh, the crimson on the wood, You died to set us free! Crimson on the wood! Crimson on the tree! [Verse 2] Three days shelter in the mother’s shell, A holy secret that the scriptures tell. She leaves her life in a river of red, Pouring out mercy on the branches spread. So hung the Savior as the noon turned black, Climbing the timber with no looking back. Not taken down till the work was complete, Love poured out at the cross’s feet. [Pre-Chorus] She climbs the trunk, she welds to the wood, Her choice was sealed, and the King didn’t flee— He took His throne upon the tree! [Chorus] Crimson on the wood! Crimson on the tree! You bled out in the dark So we could finally breathe! Oh, the crimson on the wood, You died to set us free! Crimson on the wood! Crimson on the tree! [Bridge] Though our sins were scarlet red, He took the crimson frame! Three days in the quiet tomb, He swallowed up the shame! The worm gave up her living breath— The Lamb walked out of death! The Lamb walked out of death! [Chorus] Crimson on the wood! Crimson on the tree! You bled out in the dark So we could finally breathe! Oh, the crimson on the wood, You died to set us free! Crimson on the wood! Setting children free! [Outro] Psalm twenty-two, the promise told... The crimson stain washed pure as gold. On the wood... You set us free.