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The United Methodist Hymnal · No. 286 · Words: James W. Alexander (tr.) · Tune: PASSION CHORALE
O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
Create PowerPoint slides from this hymn →A Passion hymn meditating on Christ's suffering on the cross, drawn from a medieval Latin poem and translated into German by Paul Gerhardt (1656), then into English by James W. Alexander (1830). It is one of the most beloved Good Friday hymns in Western Christianity.
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!
’Tis I deserve
thy place;
look on me
with thy favor,
vouchsafe to
me 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.
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