O Sacred Head, Now Wounded | Lent Hymn of the Week

Lyrics

Verse 1
O sacred Head, now wounded,
with grief and shame weighed down,
now scornfully surrounded
with thorns, thine only crown!
O sacred Head, what glory,
what bliss till now was thine!
Yet, though despised and gory,
I joy to call thee mine.

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,
assist me with thy grace.

Verse 3
What language shall I borrow
to thank thee, dearest Friend,
for this, thy dying sorrow,
thy pity without end?
Oh, make me thine forever,
and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never
outlive my love to thee.

Scripture Reference: John 19, Isaiah 53:3-5
Text: Latin Hymn (14th cen.), translated by Paul Gerhardt (1656) and James W. Alexander (1830)
Music: PASSION CHORALE, Hans Leo Hassler (1601)
Meter: 7.6.7.6 D
Copyright: Public Domain

A quote from "O Sacred Head Now Wounded" reads "What thou, My Lord, has suffered was all for sinners' gain."

This hymn is featured in our 2022 Lent Worship Guide:

Videos

Word & Wonder Video

Wonder with us about this song and the story it tells of Jesus and his love for us.


Fernando Ortega Lryic Video


Lyric Video

This beautiful rendition has an alternate second verse.


additional resources

Hymnary

Hymnary has lots of helpful information on hymns, including scans of hymnal pages, and text comparisons.

Hymnology Archive

The Hymnology Archive has in-depth research on hymn texts, tunes, and authors.

GET $5 OFF!

Sign up for our mailing list to receive
$5 off your next order!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Share your love
Word & Wonder
Word & Wonder

Word & Wonder exists to help families grow in the truth of God's word and the wonder of his love.

Articles: 67

Leave a Reply

Skip to content