LORD, when I lift mine eyes to Thee, And see Thy bitter woe, I ask, why should the Holy One Such sorrows undergo? LORD, who are they that thus inflict Those oft-repeated blows Upon Thy virgin Form, that still No human sin-stain knows? Who are the foes that drag Thee on To undeservéd woe, -- That will not, or for shame, or fear, One vengeance-stroke forego? The first of all, Thy boundless Love, That could not rest within While man remain'd apart from GOD; -- The next, my own deep sin. These two, dear LORD, have drawn Thee on Through all Thou didst endure; Let not Thy Love be spent in vain, The curse of sin to cure. Oh! never let me wound again The Love that set me free; Nor ever crucify afresh The GOD Who died for me! |