Tune: HERZLICH TUT MICH VERLANGEN
Words: Medieval Latin, trans. Paul Gerhardt, 1656, and James Alexander, 1830, alt.
Music: Hans Leo Hassler, 1601
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VERSE 1:
O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown;
How pale Thou art with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn.
How does that visage languish which once was bright as morn!
VERSE 2:
What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered, was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior, for I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor and save me by Thy grace.
VERSE 3:
What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest friend,
For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever, and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never outlive my love for Thee.
O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown;
How pale Thou art with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn.
How does that visage languish which once was bright as morn!
VERSE 2:
What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered, was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior, for I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor and save me by Thy grace.
VERSE 3:
What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest friend,
For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever, and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never outlive my love for Thee.