Contents -BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

Alfred H. Miles, ed. The Sacred Poets of the Nineteenth Century. 1907.

By Hymns. III. Jesus Crucified (“O come and mourn”)

Frederick William Faber (1814–1863)

O 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!

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!

How fast His hands and feet are nailed;

His blessèd tongue with thirst is tied;

His failing eyes are blind with blood:

Jesus, our Love, is crucified!

His Mother cannot reach His face;

She stands in helplessness beside;

Her heart is martyred with her Son’s:

Jesus, our Love, is crucified!

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!

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!

Found guilty of excess of love,

It was Thine own sweet will that tied

The tighter far than helpless nails:

Jesus, our Love, is crucified!

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!

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!

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.

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!

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!