O suffering friend of human kind

O suffering friend of human kind. Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch* (1809-1870).  This unusual hymn is from Bulfinch’s Contemplations of the Saviour: a series of extracts from the Gospel history, with reflections and original and selected hymns (Boston, 1832). For the structure and arrangement of this book, see the entry on ‘Hail to the Sabbath day’*. In Contemplations it was from Part VI, ‘To the Departure of Jesus from Galilee’: it forms section xxxv (the sections were numbered separately). The title of the section is ‘Peter’s confession of Christ’, Matthew 16:13-28 (the reflection is on ‘Whom do men say that I am? from verse 13). Having identified Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living...