PASSION-TIDE.

The Way of Sorrows Thou hast trod,

Dear suffering Saviour, Lamb of God!

And now, O nameless agony!

They nail Thee to the cruel Tree.

With bleeding brow and breaking heart,

Thou bearest, Lord, Thy baleful part;—

And sorer far than we can see,

Thy Passion’s painful mystery.

Yet here, triumphant o’er our sins,

Thy blessed reign on earth begins,—

And boundless empire waits for Thee,

O thorn-crowned King of Calvary!

Before Thy Cross the world shall bow;

Victor, because the Victim, Thou:—

Thy dying love, O Christ, shall be

The bond that draws all hearts to Thee.