Heart That Was Broken for Me is a southern gospel song by Judson W. Van DeVenter (1855-1939) written in 1914.


Van DeVenter at­tend­ed Hill­sdale Coll­ege, Mi­chi­gan, then taught art in Shar­on, Penn­syl­van­ia. Af­ter sev­er­al years, he de­cid­ed to switch to a ca­reer in evan­gel­ism, work­ing with Wil­bur Chap­man and others in Amer­i­ca and Eng­land. To­ward the end of his life, he lived in St. Pe­ters­burg, Flor­i­da, then moved to Tam­pa, Flor­i­da, around 1923. He was pro­fess­or of hymn­ol­o­gy at the Flor­i­da Bi­ble In­sti­tute (now Trin­i­ty Bi­ble Coll­ege) for four years.

Probably his best know gospel song is "I Surrender All"

THE HEART THAT WAS BROKEN FOR ME- Carter Family 1938

There came from the skies
In the days long ago
The Lord with a message of love
The world knew Him not
He was treated with scorn
This wonderful Gift from above

   They crowned Him with thorns
   He was beaten with straps
   He was wounded and nailed to the tree
   But the pain in His heart
   Was the hardest to bear
   The heart that was broken for me

He came to His own
To his owners He loved
The sheep that had wandered astray
They heard not His voice
But the Friend of mankind
Was halted and driven away


I will take up my cross
I will walk by His side
For the pathway of duty I see
I will follow my Lord
And abide in His heart
The heart that was broken for me