Showing posts with label O Sacred Head Now Wounded. Show all posts
Showing posts with label O Sacred Head Now Wounded. Show all posts

Friday, April 6, 2012

What Language Shall I Borrow?


The words of the Bible and of this stirring Good Friday hymn say all that needs to be said today. They will do the talking.
What thou, my Lord, has suffered 
was all for sinners' gain;
mine, mine was the transgression,
but thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior!
'Tis I deserve thy place;
look on me with thy favor,
vouchsafe to me thy grace.

Psalm 103:9-12:
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

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.

From Revelation 7:9-12:

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”

All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying:

“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

The Story Behind O Sacred Head Now Wounded

The words to this most beautiful hymn were penned by Bernard of Clairvaux who lived from 1091-1153. Bernard founded the Cistercian order of monks in the early 12th century. The words come from his poem Salve Mundi Salutare.


The poem had seven sections, each focusing on a different part of Jesus' body: his feet, knees, hands, side, breast, heart and head. Paul Gerhardt, a German hymn writer from the 1600s translated the last section of the seven from Latin into German. Several men have been credited for the translation into English.

The music comes from Hans Leo Hassler, who wrote it for a funeral. The hymn appears in a 1656 hymnal. John Sebastian Bach used the tune 5 times throughout St. Matthew's Passion. Apparently, he loved the tune, because he also used it in 5 cantatas and in his Christmas Oratorio.

Monday, April 2, 2012

O Sacred Head Now Wounded

Every time I hear or sing this hymn, I'm so deeply moved by it's beauty and the thought-provoking lyrics that remind me of my Savior's suffering and his unending mercy.