Our Morning Offering – 14 April – Monday in Holy Week
Sing, My Tongue, The Saviour’s Glory
By St Venantius Fortunatus (c530 – c609)
Bishop, Father o the Church
Trans. Fr Edward Caswell CO (1814-1878)
Sing, my tongue, the Saviour’s glory;
Tell His triumph far and wide;
Tell aloud the famous story
Of His Body Crucified;
How upon the Cross a Victim,
Vanquishing in death, He Died.
Thus did Christ to perfect manhood
In our mortal flesh attain:
Then of His free choice He goeth
To a death of bitter pain;
And as a Lamb, upon the altar
Of the Cross, for us is slain.
Lo, with gall His thirst He quenches!
See the thorns upon His Brow!
Nails His tender Flesh are rending!
See, His Side is open’d now!
Whence, to cleanse the whole creation,
Streams of Blood and Water flow.
Faithful Cross, O Tree all beauteous!
Tree all peerless and Divine!
Not a grove on earth can shew us
Such a flower and leaf as thine.
Sweet the nails and sweet the wood,
Laden with so sweet a load!
Lofty Tree, bend down thy branches,
To embrace thy Sacred load;
Oh, relax the native tension
Of that all too rigid wood;
Gently, gently bear the Members
Of thy dying King and God.
Tree, which solely wast found worthy
The world’s great Victim to sustain;
Harbour from the raging tempest!
Ark, which sav’d the world again!
Tree, with sacred Blood anointed
Of the Lamb for sinners slain.
Blessing, honour everlasting,
To the immortal Deity;
To the Father, Son, and Spirit,
Equal praises ever be:
Glory through the earth and Heaven
To Trinity in Unity.
This Hymn is used for Passiontide and on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (14 Sept) in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Breviary.
This is the original text of this hymn as it appears in the Lyra Catholica (1849).
Part I is used for Matins and Part II is used for Lauds.
Tune (Church Hymns): “St Lawrence”
AnaStpaul 