2 Midnight-and still the oppressive load
Upon Thy tortured Heart doth lie;
Still the abhorred procession winds
Before Thy Spirit's quailing eye.
3 Deep waters have come in, O Lord!
All darkly on Thy Human Soul;
And clouds of supernatural gloom
Around Thee are allowed to roll.
4 The weight of the eternal wrath
Drives over Thee with pressure dread:
And forced upon the olive roots,
In death-like sadness droops Thy Head.
5 Thy Spirit weighs the sins of men ;
Thy science fathoms all their guilt;
Thou sickenest heavily at Thy Heart,
And the pores open,-blood is spilt.
6 And Thou hast struggled with it, Lord!
Even to the limit of Thy strength,
While hours, whose minutes were as years,
Slowly fulfilled their weary length.
7 And Thou hast shuddered at each act,
And shrunk with an astonished fear,
As if Thou couldst not bear to see
The loathsomeness of sin so near.
8 Sin and the Father's anger, they
Have made Thy lower nature faint:
All, save the love within Thy Heart,
Seemed for the moment to be spent.
9 My God! My God! and can it be
That I should sin so lightly now,
And think no more of evil thoughts
Than of the wind that waves the bough?
10 I sin, and heaven and earth go round,
As if no dreadful deed were done,
As if God's Blood had never flowed
To hinder sin, or to atone.
11 I walk the earth with lightsome step,
Smile at the sunshine, breathe the air,
Do my own will. nor ever heed
Gethsemane and Thy long prayer.
12 Shall it be alway thus, O Lord?
Wilt thou not work this hour in me
The grace Thy Passion merited,
Hatred of self and love of Thee?
13 O by the pains of Thy pure love,
Grant me the gift of holy fear;
And give me of Thy Bloody Sweat
To wash my guilty conscience clear!
14 Ever when tempted, make me see,
Beneath the olive's moon-pierced shade,
My God, alone, outstretched, and bruised,
And bleeding, on the earth He made.
15 And make me feel it was my sin,
As though no other sins there were,
That was to Him who bears the world
A load that He could scarcely bear!
10 COME and mourn with me awhile;
See, Mary calls us to her side;
O come and let us mourn with her:
Jesus, our Love, is crucified !
2 Have we no tears to shed for Him,
While soldiers scoff and Jews deride?
Ah, look how patiently He hangs :
Jesus, our Love, is crucified!
3 How fast His hands and feet are nailed;
His Blessed Tongue with thirst is tied;
His failing Eyes are blind with blood:
Jesus, our Love, is crucified !
4 His Mother cannot reach His face;
She stands in helplessness beside;
Her heart is martyred with her Son's:
Jesus, our Love, is crucified !
5 Seven times He spoke, seven words of love,
And all three hours His silence cried
For mercy on the souls of men
Jesus, our Love, is crucified!
6 What was Thy crime, my dearest Lord ?
By earth, by heaven, Thou hast been tried,
And guilty found of too much love:
Jesus, our Love, is crucified!
7 Found guilty of excess of love,
It was Thine own sweet will that tied
Thee tighter far than helpless nails :
Jesus, our Love, is crucified!
8 Death came, and Jesus meekly bowed;
His falling Eyes he strove to guide
With mindful love to Mary's face:
Jesus, our Love, is crucified!
9 O break, O break, hard heart of mine!
Thy weak self-love and guilty pride
His Pilate and His Judas were:
Jesus, our Love, is crucified!
10 Come, take thy stand beneath the Cross,
And let the Blood from out that Side
Fall gently on thee drop by drop:
Jesus, our Love is crucified!
11 A broken heart, a fount of tears,
Ask, and they will not be denied ;
A broken heart love's cradle is :
Jesus, our Love, is crucified!
12 O Love of God! O Sin of man!
In this dread act your strength is tried;
And victory remains with love,
For He, our Love, is crucified!
The Descent of Jesus to Limbus.
1 Thousands of years had come and gone,
And slow the ages seemed to move
To those expectant souls that filled
That prison-house of patient love.
2 It was a weary watch of theirs,
But onward still their hopes would press;
Captives they were, yet happy too
In their contented weariness.
3 As noiseless tides the ample depths
Of some capacious harbour fill,
So grew the calm of that dread place
Each day with increase swift and still.
4 Sweet tidings there St. Joseph took;
The Saviour's work had then begun,
And of His three-and-thirty years
But three alone were left to run.
5 And Eve, like Joseph's shadow, hung
About him wheresoe'er he went;
She lived on thoughts of Mary's child,
Trembled with hope, and was content.
6 But see! how hushed the crowd of souls!
Whence comes the light of upper day?
What glorious Form is this that finds
Through central earth its ready way?
7 'Tis God! 'tis Man! the living Soul
Of Jesus, beautiful and bright,
The first-born of created things,
Flushed with a pure resplendent light.
8 'Twas Mary's child! Eve saw Him come;
She flew from Joseph's haunted side,
And worshipped, first of all that crowd,
The Soul of Jesus Crucified.
9 So after four long thousand years,
Faith reached her end, and Hope her aim;
And from them, as they passed away,
Love lit her everlasting flame!
1 ALL hail! dear Conqueror! all hail! O what a victory is thine!
How beautiful Thy strength appears, Thy crimson wounds how bright they shine! 2 Thou camest at the dawn of day; Armies of souls around Thee were, Blest spirits thronging to adore
Thy Flesh, so marvellous, so fair.
3 The everlasting Godhead lay
Shrouded within those Limbs Divine, Nor left untenanted one hour
That Sacred Human Heart of Thine.
4 They worshipped Thee, those ransomed souls,
With the fresh strength of love set free;
They worshipped joyously, and thought
Of Mary while they looked on Thee.
5 And Thou too, Soul of Jesus! Thou
Towards that sacred Flesh didst yearn,
And for the beatings of that Heart
How ardently Thy love did burn!
6 They worshipped, while the beauteous Soul
Paused by the Body's wounded Side:-
Bright flashed the cave-before them stood
The Living Jesus Glorified.
7 Down, down, all lofty things on earth, And worship Him with joyous dread! O Sin! thou art undone by love!
O Death! thou art discomfited!
8 Ye Heavens, how sang they in your courts, How sang the angelic choirs that day, When from His tomb the imprisoned God, Like the strong sunrise, broke away!
9 O I am burning so with love,
I fear lest I should make too free;
Let me lie silent and adore
Thy glorified Humanity.
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