See, world, thy Life assailèd,
On the accursed tree nailèd;
Thy Savior sinks in death!
The mighty Prince from heaven
Himself hath freely given
To shame and blows and cruel wrath.
2. Come hither now and ponder,
’Twill fill thy soul with wonder,
Blood streams from every pore.
Through grief whose depth none knoweth,
From His great heart there floweth
Sigh after sigh of anguish o’er.
3. Who is it that afflicts Thee?
My Savior, what dejects Thee
And causeth all Thy woe?
Sin Thou committedst never,
As we and our seed ever,
Of deeds of evil naught dost know.
4. I, many times transgressing,
In number far surpassing
The sand upon the coast,
I thus the cause have given
That Thou with grief art riven
And with afflictions’ scourging host.
5. I’ve done it, and deliver
Me hand and foot forever
Thou justly might’st to hell.
The mocking to Thee offered,
The scourging Thou hast suffered,
My soul it was deserved it well.
6. The load Thou takest on Thee,
That pressed so sorely on me
Than stone more heavily.
A curse, Lord, Thou becamest,
Thus blessings for me claimest;
Thy pain must all my comfort be.
7. Not death itself Thou fearest,
As Surety Thou appearest
For all my debts and me.
For me Thy brow is crownèd
With thorns, and Thou’rt disownèd
By men and bear’st all patiently.
8. Into death’s jaws Thou springest,
Deliverance to me bringest
From such a monster dire.
My death away Thou takest,
Thy grave its grave Thou makest;
O love, O unexampled fire!
9. I’m bound, my Savior, ever
By ties most sacred never
Thy service to forsake;
With soul and body ever,
With all my powers t’ endeavor,
In praise and service joy to take.
10. Not much can I be giving
In this poor life I’m living,
But one thing do I say:
Thy death and sorrows ever,
Till soul from body sever,
My heart remember shall for aye.
11. Before mine eyes I’ll place them
And joyfully embrace them,
Wherever I may be;
They’ll be a glass revealing
Pure innocence and sealing
Love and unfeigned sincerity.
12. Of sin, how great the danger;
How it excites God’s anger;
How doth His vengeance burn;
How sternly He chastiseth;
How His wrath’s flood ariseth:—
Shall I from all Thy suff’rings learn.
13. From them shall I be learning
How I may be adorning
My heart with quietness,
And how I still should love them
Whose malice aye doth move them
To grieve me by their wickedness.
14. When tongues of bad men grieve me,
Of peace and name deprive me,
My restive heart I’ll still,
Their evil deeds enduring,
Of pardon free assuring
My neighbor for his every ill.
15. Upon the cross I’ll nail me
With Thee; when sins assail me
Thou shalt my Refuge be.
Forsaking sins that grieve Thee,
Lord, let me never leave Thee,
And let me find my strength in Thee.
16. Thy groaning and Thy sighing,
Thy thousand tears and crying,
That once were heard from Thee,
They’ll lead me to Thy glory,
Where I shall joy before Thee
And evermore at rest shall be!

Paul Gerhardt, 1653; J. Kelly, tr., a.

206

L. M.

Thy soul, O Jesus, hallow me,
Thy Spirit steep me all in Thee,
Thy body, pierced by ruthless steel,
My wretched soul and body heal.
2. The water from Thy side that poured
For me a cleansing bath afford,
And all Thy blood, with life divine,
Revive this weakened heart of mine.
3. The sweat of death upon Thy face
Deliver me from death’s embrace,
And all Thy Passion, cross, and pain,
With strength my feebleness sustain.
4. O Christ, turn not away from me,
Receive and hide me all in Thee,
Within Thy holy wounds inclose,
And keep me safe from all my foes.
5. In death’s dark hour with me abide
And place me, Savior, at Thy side,
Where with Thy saints I shall adore
And praise Thee, Lord, forevermore.

J. Scheffler, † 1677; M. Loy, tr., a.

207

8, 8, 7, 8, 7

Sev’n times our blessed Savior spoke
When on the cross our sins He took
And died lest man should perish.
Let us His last and dying words
In our remembrance cherish.
2. “Father, forgive these men, for, lo,
They truly know not what they do.”
So far His love extended.
Forgive us, Lord, for we, too, have
Through ignorance offended.
3. Now to the contrite thief He cries:
“Thou, verily, in Paradise
Shalt meet me ere to-morrow.”
Lord, take us to Thy kingdom soon,
Who linger here in sorrow.
4. To weeping Mary, standing by,
“Behold thy Son!” now hear Him cry;
To John, “Behold thy mother!”
Provide, O Lord, for those we leave,
Let each befriend the other.
5. The Savior’s fourth word was, “I thirst!”
O mighty Prince of Life, Thy thirst
For us and our salvation
Is truly great; do help us, then,
That we escape damnation.
6. The fifth, “My God, my God, O why
Forsake me?” Hark, the awful cry!
Lord, Thou wast here forsaken
That we might be received on high;
Let this hope not be shaken.
7. The sixth, when victory was won,
“’Tis finished!” for Thy work was done.
Grant, Lord, that, onward pressing,
We may the work Thou dost impose
Fulfil with Thine own blessing.
8. The last, as woe and sufferings end,
“O God, My Father, I commend
Into Thy hands My spirit.”
Be this, dear Lord, my dying wish;
O heavenly Father, hear it!
9. Whoe’er, by sense of sin opprest,
Upon these words his thoughts will rest,
He joy and hope obtaineth
And, through God’s love and boundless grace,
A peaceful conscience gaineth.
10. O Jesus Christ, Thou Crucified,
Who hast for our offenses died,
Grant that we e’er may ponder
Thy wounds, Thy cross, Thy bitter death,
Both here below and yonder.

Johann Boeschenstein, 15th cent.; tr., anon.

208

6, 5, 6, 5

Glory be to Jesus,
Who in bitter pains
Poured for me the life-blood
From His sacred veins!
2. Grace and life eternal
In that blood I find;
Blest be His compassion,
Infinitely kind!
3. Blest through endless ages
Be the precious stream
Which from endless torments
Did the world redeem!
4. Abel’s blood for vengeance
Pleaded to the skies;
But the blood of Jesus
For our pardon cries.
5. Oft as earth exulting
Wafts its praise on high,
Angel hosts rejoicing
Make their glad reply.
6. Lift we, then, our voices,
Swell the mighty flood;
Louder still and louder
Praise the precious blood!

Italian, 18th cent.; E. Caswall, tr., 1857.

209

8, 7, 8 l

Stricken, smitten, and afflicted,
See Him dying on the tree!
’Tis the Christ by man rejected;
Yes, my soul, ’tis He! ’tis He!
’Tis the long-expected Prophet,
David’s Son, yet David’s Lord;
Proofs I see sufficient of it:
’Tis the true and faithful Word.
2. Tell me, ye who hear Him groaning,
Was there ever grief like His?
Friends through fear His cause disowning,
Foes insulting His distress;
Many hands were raised to wound Him,
None would interpose to save;
But the deepest stroke that pierced Him
Was the stroke that Justice gave.
3. Ye who think of sin but lightly,
Nor suppose the evil great,
Here may view its nature rightly,
Here its guilt may estimate.
Mark the Sacrifice appointed!
See who bears the awful load;
’Tis the Word, the Lord’s Anointed,
Son of Man and Son of God.
4. Here we have a firm foundation;
Here the refuge of the lost;
Christ’s the Rock of our salvation:
His the name of which we boast;
Lamb of God, for sinners wounded!
Sacrifice to cancel guilt!
None shall ever be confounded
Who on Him their hope have built.

Thomas Kelly, 1804.

210

8, 7, 8 l

Jesus, Refuge of the weary,
Object of the spirit’s love,
Fountain in life’s desert dreary,
Savior from the world above;
O how oft Thine eyes, offended,
Gaze upon the sinner’s fall!
Yet, upon the cross extended,
Thou didst bear the pain of all.
2. Do we pass that cross unheeding,
Breathing no repentant vow,
Though we see Thee wounded, bleeding,
See Thy thorn-encircled brow?
Yet Thy sinless death hath brought us
Life eternal, peace, and rest;
Only what Thy grace hath taught us
Calms the sinner’s stormy breast.
3. Jesus, may our hearts be burning
With more fervent love for Thee;
May our eyes be ever turning
To Thy cross of agony;
Till in glory, parted never
From the blessed Savior’s side,
Graven in our hearts forever
Dwell the cross, the Crucified!

Jerome Savonarola, † 1498.

211

C. M.

Behold the Savior of mankind
Nailed to the shameful tree!
How vast the love that Him inclined
To bleed and die for thee!
2. Hark how He groans while nature shakes
And earth’s strong pillars bend!
The Temple’s veil in sunder breaks,
The solid marbles rend.
3. ’Tis done; the precious ransom’s paid;
“Receive my soul!” He cries:
See where He bows His sacred head!
He bows His head and dies.
4. But soon He’ll break death’s envious chain
And in full glory shine.
O Lamb of God, was ever pain,
Was ever love, like Thine?

Samuel Wesley, Sr., 1700.

212

8, 7, 8, 7, 7, 7

Come to Calvary’s holy mountain,
Sinners, ruined by the Fall;
Here a pure and healing fountain
Flows to you, to me, to all,
In a full, perpetual tide,
Opened when our Savior died.
2. Come in poverty and meanness,
Come defiled, without, within;
From infection and uncleanness,
From the leprosy of sin,
Wash your robes and make them white;
Ye shall walk with God in light.
3. Come in sorrow and contrition,
Wounded, impotent, and blind;
Here the guilty free remission,
Here the troubled peace, may find.
Health this fountain will restore;
He that drinks shall thirst no more.
4. He that drinks shall live forever;
’Tis a soul-renewing flood.
God is faithful; God will never
Break His covenant of blood,
Signed when our Redeemer died,
Sealed when He was glorified.

James Montgomery, 1819.

213

7s 8 l

Savior, when in dust to Thee
Low we bow th’ adoring knee,
When, repentant, to the skies
Scarce we lift our weeping eyes,
Oh, by all Thy pains and woe,
Suffered once for man below,
Bending from Thy throne on high,
Hear our solemn litany!
2. By Thy helpless infant years,
By Thy life of want and tears,
By Thy days of sore distress
In the savage wilderness,
By the dread, mysterious hour
Of th’ insulting Tempter’s power:
Turn, O turn, a favoring eye,
Hear our solemn litany!
3. By Thine hour of dire despair,
By Thine agony of prayer,
By the cross, the nail, the thorn,
Piercing spear, and torturing scorn;
By the gloom that veiled the skies
O’er the dreadful sacrifice:
Listen to our humble cry,
Hear our solemn litany!
4. By Thy deep expiring groan;
By the sad sepulchral stone;
By the vault, whose dark abode
Held in vain the rising God:
Oh, from earth to heaven restored,
Mighty, reascended Lord,
Listen, listen to the cry
Of our solemn litany!

Robert Grant, 1815, a.

214

C. M.

Alas! and did my Savior bleed,
And did my Sov’reign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
2. Was it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity, grace unknown,
And love beyond degree!
3. Well might the sun in darkness hide
And shut his glories in
When God, the mighty Maker, died
For man the creature’s sin.
4. Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear Cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt my eyes in tears.
5. But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe;
Here, Lord, I give myself away,
’Tis all that I can do.

Isaac Watts, 1707.

BURIAL OF JESUS.

215

4, 4, 7, 7, 6

O darkest woe!
Ye tears, forth flow!
Has earth so sad a wonder?
God the Father’s only Son
Now is buried yonder!
2. O sorrow dread
Our God is dead!
But by His expiation
Of our guilt upon the cross
Gained for us salvation.
3. O child of man!
It was the ban
Of death on thee that brought Him
Down to suffer for thy sins,
And such woe hath wrought Him.
4. See, stained with blood,
The Lamb of God,
The Bridegroom, lies before thee,
Pouring out His life that He
May to life restore thee.
5. O Ground of faith,
Laid low in death,
Sweet lips now silent sleeping!
Surely all that live must mourn
Here with bitter weeping.
6. O Virgin-born,
Thy death we mourn,
Thou lovely Star of gladness!
Who could see Thy reeking blood
Without grief and sadness?
7. Yea, blest is he
Whose heart shall be
Fixed here, who apprehendeth
Why the Lord of Glory thus
To the grave descendeth.
8. O Jesus blest,
My Help and Rest,
With tears I now entreat Thee:
Make me love Thee to the last,
Till in heaven I greet Thee!

First stanza, anon.; J. Rist, 1641.

216

4, 4, 7, 7, 6

So rest, my Rest,
Thou Ever-blest!
Thy grave with sinners making;
By Thy precious death from sin
My dead soul awaking.
2. After Thy strife,
Life of my life,
Thou’rt in the tomb reposing,
Round Thee now a rock-hewn grave,
Rock of Ages, closing.
3. How cold art Thou,
My Savior, now!
Thy fervent love hath driven
Thee into the cold, dark grave
That I might gain heaven.
4. Breath of all breath!
I know from death
Thou wilt my dust awaken;
Wherefore should I dread the grave
Or my faith be shaken?
5. To me the tomb
Shall be a room
Where I lie down on roses;
Who by faith hath conquered death
Sweetly there reposes.
6. The body dies—
Naught else—and lies
In dust until victorious
From the grave it shall arise
Beautiful and glorious.
7. Meantime I will,
My Savior, still
Deep in my bosom lay Thee,
Ever musing on Thy death.
Leave me not, I pray Thee!

Sal. Franck, 1716.

217

L. M.

Lord Jesus, who, our souls to save,
Didst rest and slumber in the grave,
Now grant us all in Thee to rest
And here to live as seems Thee best.
2. Give us the strength, the dauntless faith,
That Thou hast purchased with Thy death
And lead us to that glorious place
Where we shall see the Father’s face.
3. O Lamb of God, who once wast slain,
We thank Thee for that bitter pain.
Let us share in Thy death that we
May enter into life with Thee.

G. Werner, 1638; C. Winkworth, tr., a.