Scripture Verse

Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. Matthew 8:20

Introduction

portrait
Thomas Lynch (1818–1871)

Words: Tho­mas T. Lynch, The Ri­vu­let, third edi­tion, en­larged (Lon­don: Long­mans, Green, Read­er & Dyer, 1868), num­ber 112.

Music: Hein­lein Nürn­berg­isch­es Ge­sang­buch, 1676. Me­lo­dy at­trib­ut­ed to Mar­tin Herbst (1654–1681). Har­mo­ny by Will­iam H. Monk (1823–1889) (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tunes:

Lyrics

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Lamentation over the Dead Christ
Andrea Mantegna, 1490

What! Is this the on­ly rest
Earth af­fords her hea­ven­ly guest?
For the Child she had no room,
To the Man she gives—a tomb.

O, Thou wea­ry Man of Love,
Here is stone around, above;
’Tis the dark world’s sto­ny heart,
Enter, and ful­fill Thy part.

Tender lin­en swathes Thee round,
And a nap­kin soft is bound
O’er Thy fea­tures sor­row-worn,
And Thy brow so sharp­ly torn.

Such a day de­serves its night,
O, sleep on and ga­ther might;
When it pleas­es Thee to wake,
Tomb and world alike shall shake.