"ride on to die"

sense the sorrow untold
as you look down the road
at the clamoring crowd drawing near.
feel the heat of the day,
as you look down the way,
hear the shouts of hosanna the king.

oh, daughter of zion,
your time's drawing near,
don't forsake him. oh, don't pass it by.
on the foal of a donkey
as the prophets had said,
passing by you, he rides on to die.

come now, little foal,
though you're not very old,
come and bear your first burden bravely.
walk so softly upon
all the coats and the palms,
bear the one on your back, oh, so gently.

midst the shouting so loud,
and the joy of the crowd,
there is one who is riding in silence.
for he knows the ones here
will be fleeing in fear
when their shepherd is taken away.

soon the thorn-cursed ground
will bring forth a crown,
and this jesus will seem to be beaten.
but he'll conquer alone,
both the shroud and the stone,
and the prophecies will be completed.

oh, daughter of zion,
your time's drawing near,
don't forsake him. oh, don't pass it by.
on the foal of a donkey
as the prophets had said,
passing by you, he rides on to die.

(michael card, "ride on to die," from known by the scars (1983), as reprinted in immanuel: reflections on the life of christ (nashville: thomas nelson, 1990))