Holy Week: Saturday (Lent 40)

Ave Verum Corpus (Hail, True Body)

Text: 14th c., attr. to Innocent VI (d. 1362)

Tune/Choral Settings: Various composers, notably Byrd, Mozart, and Elgar


Ave verum corpus, natum
De Maria Virgine,
Vere passum, immolatum
In cruce pro homine,
Cujus latus perforatum
Unda fluxit et sanguine,
Esto nobis praegustatum
In mortis examine.

English Translation:
Hail, true Body,
Born of the Virgin Mary,
Who truly suffered, sacrificed
On the cross for humanity,
Whose pierced side
Flowed with water and blood,
Be for us a foretaste
Of death's trial.

Holy Week: Maundy Thursday (Lent 38)

Bread of the World

Text: Reginald Heber, 1827
Tune: EUCHARISTIC HYMN, John S. B. Hodges, 1868

Bread of the world, in mercy broken,
Wine of the soul, in mercy shed,
By whom the words of life were spoken,
And in whose death our sins are dead.

Look on the heart by sorrow broken,
Look on the tears by sinners shed;
And be thy feast to us the token,
That by thy grace our souls are fed.

Holy Week: Tuesday (Lent 36)

Ah, Holy Jesus

Text: Johann Heermann, 1630; tr. Robert Bridges, 1899
Tune: HERZLIEBSTER JESU, Johann Crueger, 1640

Ah, holy Jesus, how hast thou offended,
That we to judge thee have in hate pretended?
By foes derided, by thine own rejected,
O most afflicted.

Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee.
’Twas I, Lord, Jesus, I it was denied thee!
I crucified thee.

Lo, the Good Shepherd for the sheep is offered;
The slave hath sinned, and the Son hath suffered;
For our atonement, while he nothing heedeth,
God intercedeth.

For me, kind Jesus, was thy incarnation,
Thy mortal sorrow, and thy life’s oblation;
Thy death of anguish and thy bitter passion,
For my salvation.

Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay thee,
I do adore thee, and will ever pray thee,
Think on thy pity and thy love unswerving,
Not my deserving.

Lent: Day 30

"When I Survey the Wondrous Cross"

Text: Isaac Watts, 1707
Tune: HAMBURG, Lowell Mason, 1824


When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Lent: Day 14

"Arise, My Soul, Arise"

Text: Charles Wesley, Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1742

Tune: LENOX, Lewis Edsen, 1782

Here's another largely unfamiliar hymn, finally one from within the "family" of the Methodist movement. Charles Wesley reported amazing numbers of people who received assurance of their salvation while singing this hymn. Leave it to "Daddy Charles" to portray so personal an experience of a difficult concept--the atonement--in a (then) popular hymn!

Arise, my soul, arise; shake off thy guilty fears;
The bleeding sacrifice in my behalf appears:
Before the throne my surety stands,
Before the throne my surety stands,
My name is written on His hands.

He ever lives above, for me to intercede;
His all redeeming love, His precious blood, to plead:
His blood atoned for all our race,
His blood atoned for all our race,
And sprinkles now the throne of grace.

Five bleeding wounds He bears; received on Calvary;
They pour effectual prayers; they strongly plead for me:
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,
“Nor let that ransomed sinner die!”

The Father hears Him pray, His dear anointed One;
He cannot turn away, the presence of His Son;
His Spirit answers to the blood,
His Spirit answers to the blood,
And tells me I am born of God.

My God is reconciled; His pardoning voice I hear;
He owns me for His child; I can no longer fear:
With confidence I now draw nigh,
With confidence I now draw nigh,
And “Father, Abba, Father,” cry.

Lent: Day 13

"I Lay My Sins on Jesus"

Text: Horatius Bonar, 1843
Music: Sung to a variety of tunes including MISSIONARY SONG (MASON) and AURELIA

I lay my sins on Jesus,
the spotless Lamb of God;
he bears them all, and frees us
from the accursed load;
I bring my guilt to Jesus,
to wash my crimson stains
white in his blood most precious,
till not a stain remains.

I lay my wants on Jesus;
all fullness dwells in him;
he heals all my diseases,
he doth my soul redeem:
I lay my griefs on Jesus,
my burdens and my cares;
he from them all releases,
he all my sorrows shares.

I rest my soul on Jesus,
this weary soul of mine;
his right hand me embraces,
I on his breast recline.
I love the name of Jesus--
Immanuel, Christ, the Lord;
like fragrance on the breezes
his name abroad is poured.

I long to be like Jesus,
meek, loving, lowly, mild;
I long to be like Jesus,
the Father's holy Child:
I long to be with Jesus,
amid the heavenly throng,
to sing with saints his praises,
to learn the angels' song.

This hymn is sometimes on the "hit list" of those who accuse women of "feminizing" the church. They seem to think that a "manly man" wouldn't be caught dead resting in Jesus and seeking to emulate his meekness, lowliness, mildness, and love (see final verse). As I read it, we strong, self-sufficient humans must become like little children, climbing into Jesus' lap at his invitation; what little child is reluctant to snuggle trustingly into the embrace of a beloved adult? I'm sorry for the people who have such a worldly view of masculinity, that this hymn says nothing to them. It is speaking to them, of course; it's only that their ears are closed to its message. To the rest of my readers, I commend it to you. It's not a perfect hymn, no. I don't know if I've ever read or sung a perfect hymn. I'm content to let heaven hold that unique joy. Meanwhile, there's much to commend "I Lay My Sins on Jesus."

Lent: Day 8

Lamb of God

Music and Text: Twila Paris (from the Kingdom Seekers album)

This is one of those remarkable songs that I wish everyone could hear and know. I'll be singing it this Sunday. Here is the second verse:

Your only Son, no sin to hide,
But you have sent him from Your side
To walk upon this guilty sod
And to become the Lamb of God.

The refrain is a prayer that I might be washed in "his precious blood, my Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God." And in the final verse, there is a sense of wonder that despite my lostness, the Lamb-also-Shepherd calls me to his side to be called "a lamb of God."

Whatever else we may presume to be, the fact is, we're all simply lambs in the flock of God's perfect Lamb, who takes away the sins of the world.

Misere nobis.

Note: Twila Paris doesn't have "freebies" available for either the recordings or the texts, so I don't have a link where you can see the full text for "Lamb of God." If you're interested in purchasing it, it appears you need to buy an album. While this song is available on several different albums, I'd recommend A Heart That Knows You, which can be ordered through her official website here.

Twelve Days of Christmas: Day 8

January 1, 2007 (New Year's Day)

Adoration of Magi, by unknown Chinese artist; period unknown.

At my church this morning, we elected to celebrate Epiphany Sunday. I thought it would be appropriate to share an Adoration of the Magi today. I wish I could find out more about this particular representation, and that it were of better quality.

I have a love-hate relationship with the carol "We Three Kings." First of all, the magi were not kings! Secondly, very few verse-refrain hymns remain interesting by the third or fourth time we sing the refrains. This one is a good example. (We sang it this morning, and sang the refrain only after the first and last verses. We also used a "brisk" rather than "stately" tempo, which helps a great deal.)

What I genuinely like about the carol, however, is what it has to teach us about the nature of the gifts the magi brought to the holy Child. Here are those interior verses:

"Born a king on Bethlehem's plain, gold I bring to crown him again;
King forever, ceasing never, over us all to reign.

"Frankincense to offer have I; incense owns a Deity nigh;
Prayer and praising, voices raising, worshiping God on high.

"Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume breathes a life of gathering gloom;
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying, laid in the stone-cold tomb."

This carol is yet another reminder that the Christmas story is not pretty, neat, or sentimental. We Christians celebrate the coming of God, the Sovereign of the Universe, into human history. He was born like any other human being, but into poverty, violence, and political chaos. Christ did not come into the world in order to be a cute little baby we can cuddle for a few days each year, then forget about until it's time for Easter lilies. Mary's infant grew up to set his face toward Jerusalem and the cross that awaited him there. Baby Jesus was born to die. The King of Kings, whose coming was announced by the herald angel, would be mocked as "King of the Jews" just before his execution. And this King, God, and Sacrifice calls us with his eternal "Follow Me."

Am I willing to lay at the cradle of the little King the gold that I would prefer to hoard? The incense of prayer and praise as the God he is, when I find myself yet again on the throne of my own life? The anointing essence of the confession of my sin, that I may be crucified with him so that he lives in me?

Or will I merely sing, bored, about the star with royal beauty bright? Will I miss entirely the Savior to whom that star showed a band of determined Gentile astrologers the way so long ago?

Alleluia! Alleluia! Sounds through the earth and skies--and through me.

Side note:

In reviewing the past week's posts, I was struck by how exclusively Western European the art has been. It's been an education for me to hunt for good art which is in the public domain, in which Nativity themes portray non-European figures. There is a great deal of excellent work being done (and this is also true of North American and European art), but copyright issues make it illegal or unethical for me to post most of them here. In fact, I was careless about this with my post for December 25; I'll be removing the Ina Hecker icon detail in a few minutes and replacing it with something from the public domain.

If anyone reading this would like to suggest good Nativity-theme art for me to consider for the remainder of this series, I'd love to check out any links you may have.