Lent: Day 34

Adoramus Te, Christe

Text: anonymous Latin
Various tunes

Adoramus te, Christe,
Et benedicimus tibi,
Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum,
Qui passus es pro nobis.
Domine, miserere nobis.

English translation:
We adore Thee, O Christ,
And we bless Thee,
Who by the holy cross hast redeemed the world,
Who hast suffered for us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

(Perhaps the most familiar settings of this text are one by Palestrina, and with a different translation, by Theodore DuBois in the final chorale of The Seven Last Words of Christ.

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 29

Beneath the Cross of Jesus

Text: Elizabeth Clephane, 1868
Tune: ST. CHRISTOPHER, Frederick C. Maker, 1881

Beneath the cross of Jesus I fain would take my stand,
The shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land;
A home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way,
From the burning of the noontide heat, and the burden of the day.

Upon that cross of Jesus mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of One Who suffered there for me;
And from my stricken heart with tears two wonders I confess;
The wonders of redeeming love and my unworthiness.

I take, O cross, thy shadow for my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of His face;
Content to let the world go by to know no gain or loss,
My sinful self my only shame, my glory all the cross.

Lent: Day 23

"In the Cross of Christ I Glory

Text: John Bowring, 1825
Tune: RATHBUN, Ithamar B. Conkey, 1849 (most common tune among several)

In the cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o’er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.

When the woes of life o’ertake me,
Hopes deceive, and fears annoy,
Never shall the cross forsake me,
Lo! it glows with peace and joy.

When the sun of bliss is beaming
Light and love upon my way,
From the cross the radiance streaming
Adds more luster to the day.

Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure,
By the cross are sanctified;
Peace is there that knows no measure,
Joys that through all time abide.

In the cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o’er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.

Lent: Day 19

"Take Up Thy Cross"

Text: Charles W. Everest, 1833
Tune: GERMANY, William Gardiner, 1815

“Take up thy cross,” the Savior said,
“If thou wouldst my disciple be;
Deny thyself, the world forsake,
And humbly follow after me.

Take up thy cross, let not its weight
Fill thy weak spirit with alarm;
His strength shall bear thy spirit up,
And brace thy heart and nerve thine arm.

Take up thy cross, nor heed the shame,
Nor let thy foolish pride rebel;
Thy Lord for thee the cross endured,
And saved thy soul from death and hell.

Take up thy cross and follow Christ,
Nor think til death to lay it down;
For only those who bear the cross
May hope to wear the glorious crown.

Lent: Day 7

Lift High the Cross
Text: George W. Kitch­in; mod­i­fied by Mi­chael R. New­bolt in 1916, alt.
Music: Crucifer, Syd­ney H. Nicholson, 1916

Refrain

Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim,
Till all the world adore His sacred Name.

Come, Christians, follow this triumphant sign,
The hosts of God in unity combine.

Refrain

Each newborn servant of the Crucified
Bears on the brow the seal of Him Who died.

Refrain

O Lord, once lifted on the glorious tree,
As Thou hast promised, draw the world to Thee.

Refrain

So shall our song of triumph ever be:
Praise to the Crucified for victory.

Refrain