Jesus I will ponder now on Your holy passion; with Your Spirit me endow for such meditation. Grant that I in love and faith may the image cherish of Your suff’ring, pain and death that I may not perish.
Make me see Your great distress, anguish and affliction, bonds and stripes and wretchedness and Your crucifixion; Make me see how scourge and rod, spear and nails did wound You, how for them You died, O God, who with thorns had crowned You.
Yet, O Lord, not thus alone make me see Your passion, but its cause to me make known and its termination. Ah! I also and my sin wrought Your deep affliction; this indeed the cause has been of Your crucifixion.
Grant that I Your passion view with repentant grieving. Let me not bring shame to You by unholy living. How could I refuse to shun every sinful pleasure since for me God’s only Son suffered without measure?
If my sins give me alarm and my conscience grieve me, let Your cross my fear disarm; peace of conscience give me. Help me see forgiveness won by Your holy passion. If for me He slays His Son, God must have compassion!
Graciously my faith renew; Help me bear my crosses, learning humbleness from You, peace mid pain and losses. May I give You love for love! Hear me, O my Savior, that I may in heav’n above sing Your praise forever.
Hymn text by Sigismund von Birken, 1626-1681
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:31-32
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