Lent 5: O Sacred Head

Put away whatever other version of this chorale you happen to be holding right now. THESE are the words you should be singing:

O sacred head, sore wounded,
defiled and put to scorn;
O kingly head surrounded
with mocking crown of thorn:
What sorrow mars thy grandeur?
Can death thy bloom deflower?
O countenance whose splendor
the hosts of heaven adore!

Thy beauty, long-desirèd,
hath vanished from our sight;
thy power is all expirèd,
and quenched the light of light.
Ah me! for whom thou diest,
hide not so far thy grace:
show me, O Love most highest,
the brightness of thy face.

I pray thee, Jesus, own me,
me, Shepherd good, for thine;
who to thy fold hast won me,
and fed with truth divine.
Me guilty, me refuse not,
incline thy face to me,
this comfort that I lose not,
on earth to comfort thee.

In thy most bitter passion
my heart to share doth cry,
with thee for my salvation
upon the cross to die.
Ah, keep my heart thus moved
to stand thy cross beneath,
to mourn thee, well-beloved,
yet thank thee for thy death.

My days are few, O fail not,
with thine immortal power,
to hold me that I quail not
in death's most fearful hour;
that I may fight befriended,
and see in my last strife
to me thine arms extended
upon the cross of life.

Thank you, Oremus Hymnal, for getting it right.

These words are, as I now learn via Wikipedia, a "fresh translation" by the English poet Robert Bridges, in 1899, of a Latin text, often but apparently erroneously attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux, meditating on various aspects of Christ's crucified Body. This hymn, obviously, is taken from the part about His Head. This section was translated into German, as "O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden," by the 17th-century hymn-writer Paul Gerhardt, and set to the melody of a secular love song, composed by Hans Leo Hassler. J.S. Bach arranged the harmonies for Gerhardt's hymn, which was subsequently translated into English, as "O Head So Full of Bruises," by an Anglican vicar in Oxfordshire, the Revd. John Gambold. From Gambold's 1752 translation resulted a succession of English versions: "O Sacred Head Now Wounded," by the American Presbyterian minister J.W. Alexander, in 1830; "O Sacred Head Surrounded," by Sir Henry Baker in 1861; and Bridges' sublime poem in 1899, which borrows somewhat from Alexander's much longer translation:

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!

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! ’Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

Men mock and taunt and jeer Thee, Thou noble countenance,
Though mighty worlds shall fear Thee and flee before Thy glance.
How art thou pale with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn!
How doth Thy visage languish that once was bright as morn!

Now from Thy cheeks has vanished their color once so fair;
From Thy red lips is banished the splendor that was there.
Grim death, with cruel rigor, hath robbed Thee of Thy life;
Thus Thou hast lost Thy vigor, Thy strength in this sad strife.

My burden in Thy Passion, Lord, Thou hast borne for me,
For it was my transgression which brought this woe on Thee.
I cast me down before Thee, wrath were my rightful lot;
Have mercy, I implore Thee; Redeemer, spurn me not!

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 to Thee.

My Shepherd, now receive me; my Guardian, own me Thine.
Great blessings Thou didst give me, O source of gifts divine.
Thy lips have often fed me with words of truth and love;
Thy Spirit oft hath led me to heavenly joys above.

Here I will stand beside Thee, from Thee I will not part;
O Savior, do not chide me! When breaks Thy loving heart,
When soul and body languish in death’s cold, cruel grasp,
Then, in Thy deepest anguish, Thee in mine arms I’ll clasp.

The joy can never be spoken, above all joys beside,
When in Thy body broken I thus with safety hide.
O Lord of Life, desiring Thy glory now to see,
Beside Thy cross expiring, I’d breathe my soul to Thee.

My Savior, be Thou near me when death is at my door;
Then let Thy presence cheer me, forsake me nevermore!
When soul and body languish, oh, leave me not alone,
But take away mine anguish by virtue of Thine own!

Be Thou my consolation, my shield when I must die;
Remind me of Thy passion when my last hour draws nigh.
Mine eyes shall then behold Thee, upon Thy cross shall dwell,
My heart by faith enfolds Thee. Who dieth thus dies well.

So if you haven't sung "O Sacred Head" this Lent, why don't you give it a try today? That hymnal: it's not just there for pew-ballast. Open it up and sing.

This Lenten message brought to you by the American Catholic-Choirs-of-Five-People Association. If We Can Sing It, Anybody Can.

P.S. If anyone should happen to know what word the Revd. Mr. Gambold chose to rhyme with "bruises," do please let us know. Enquiring minds, &c.

PPS: I should add, too, that in the 1982 Episcopal Hymnal, Bridges' fourth stanza is replaced with Alexander's "What language shall I borrow" stanza, which is more beautiful and singable than Bridges'. I only now noticed this . . .