See, world, upon the shameful tree

See, world, upon the shameful tree

Author: Paul Gerhardt; Translator: Philipp H. Molther
Tune: BALERMA (Barthélemon)
Published in 6 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, Noteworthy Composer
Audio files: MIDI

Representative Text

1 See, world, upon the bloody tree
Thy life there sinks in death;
Covered with stripes and wounds for thee,
Thy Savior yields His breath.

2 Thou Prince of Glory knew’st no sin;
What caused, Thee, then Thy pain?
Thou harmless, undefiled and clean,
What caused Thee to be slain?

3 My sins, as numerous as the sands,
Upon the ocean shore,
Have been the cruel murderous hands
That wounded Thee so sore.

4 Thy anguish, Thy tormenting pain,
And every dreadful woe,
Thou didst so willingly sustain,
My soul should undergo.

5 Thou on Thy shoulders tak’st the whole,
To ease my burdened heart:
Thou bear’st the curse, to bless my soul,
And heal’st me with Thy smart.

6 Thy wondrous love to evidence,
Thou wouldst my surety be;
Thyself would’st pay my debt immense,
Thereby to set me free.

7 Thou art destruction to the grave;
Death’s enemy severe;
That each who was before his slave,
Might now be saved from fear.

8 My debt to Thee, Thou God of Love!
Weak words cannot express;
I cannot here, if there above,
Show proper thankfulness.

9 Grant me but this while I am here,
Since I can nothing give,
Thy sufferings in my heart to bear,
And in Thy death to live!

Source: The Cyber Hymnal #9803

Author: Paul Gerhardt

Paul Gerhardt (b. Gräfenheinichen, Saxony, Germany, 1607; d. Lubben, Germany, 1676), famous author of Lutheran evangelical hymns, studied theology and hymnody at the University of Wittenberg and then was a tutor in Berlin, where he became friends with Johann Crüger. He served the Lutheran parish of Mittenwalde near Berlin (1651-1657) and the great St. Nicholas' Church in Berlin (1657-1666). Friederich William, the Calvinist elector, had issued an edict that forbade the various Protestant groups to fight each other. Although Gerhardt did not want strife between the churches, he refused to comply with the edict because he thought it opposed the Lutheran "Formula of Concord," which con­demned some Calvinist doctrines. Consequently, he was r… Go to person page >

Translator: Philipp H. Molther

(no biographical information available about Philipp H. Molther.) Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: See, world, upon the shameful tree
German Title: O Welt, sieh hier dein Leben
Author: Paul Gerhardt
Translator: Philipp H. Molther
Meter: 8.6.8.6
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Timeline

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #9803
  • PDF (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer Score (NWC)

Instances

Instances (1 - 6 of 6)

A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the Protestant Church of the United Brethren. Rev. ed. #d631

Page Scan

A Hymn and Prayer-Book #34

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #9803

Exclude 5 pre-1979 instances
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