The Yoke

This song is very dear to my heart. It began as a poem that I wrote many years ago. Then as we were considering a setting for an Easter song, the ideas of the poem came back to me and I decided to incorporate them.

The metaphor of the song--the Yoke--refers to Christ's promise to carry our burdens, a promise that was made possible through the atonement, which included Christ's willingness to shoulder the cross. Although often the cross is portrayed as something that resembles a plus sign, in actuality, Christ bore only the heavy cross beam through the streets of Jerusalem on his way to Calvary, and in my mind it seems as a kind of yoke.

And so I portray Him as a child, learning the carpenter's craft from his father, and then as a man fashioning a "yoke" that would bear all of our burdens.

There is a lot to think about in the words, but aside from that, I hope that the loveliness of the song can carry its message even on a superficial level.

Diane has done a wonderful job setting the emotions of the words to music, steadily building to the climax, and then delivering it with tenderness.

Most importantly, we hope that the words and music encourage people to accept the Lord's invitation, "Come unto Me."

Link to "The Yoke"