The Suffering Countenance of Jesus Christ (abridged)

By Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676)

Translated from the German

O Head most foully wounded,

With blood and pain and scorn!

O Head, most cruelly rounded

With mockery and thorn!

O Head, else praised and feted

With beauty and renown,

Now shamefully derided

I reverence Thy crown

I know that what Thou suffered,

Should be my self-same woe,

That I have earned those buffets,

Deserve those self-same blows.

A wretched soul I stand here,

Thy wrath must chasten me;

And yet my gentle Savior,

Grant me Thy charity

Here I stand beside Thee,

And Thou my soul may take;

And I will never leave Thee,

Till when Thy heart shall break;

Till when Thy heart is emptied

And nearly done all harm,

Then I shall hold Thy body

Enwrapped within my arms

When time comes for my leaving,

Do not depart from me,

When time comes for my suffering,

Appear that I may see,

When fear fills up my vision

My heart by dread enchained,

Then free me from my prison

Dear Savior by Thy pain.

trans. Pavel Chichikov