“The Pelican Song”
As a favor to a parishioner, we are singing Aquinas’ great Eucharist hymn, Adoro Te Devote, tomorrow at Divine Service. It actually fits nicely with the Gospel appointed for the day (Trinity 22), the Parable of the Unforgiving Slave (Matthew 18:21-35), especially in this line: “Blood whereof a single drop has power to win All the world forgiveness of its world of sin.”
Our wonderful choir director has taken to calling this hymn “The Pelican Song” from the reference in the sixth stanza. I fear it’s catching on!
I’ve published it before, but I will never tire of it. Here it is in full:
Godhead here in hiding, whom I do adore,
Masked by these bare shadows, shape and nothing more,
See, Lord, at thy service low lies here a heart
Lost, all lost in wonder at the God thou art.
Seeing, touching, tasting are in thee deceived:
How says trusty hearing? that shall be believed;
What God’s Son has told me, take for truth I do;
Truth himself speaks truly or there’s nothing true.
On the cross thy godhead made no sign to men,
Here thy very manhood steals from human ken:
Both are my confession, both are my belief,
And I pray the prayer of the dying thief.
I am not like Thomas, wounds I cannot see,
But can plainly call thee Lord and God as he;
Let me to a deeper faith daily nearer move,
Daily make me harder hope and dearer love.
O thou our reminder of Christ crucified,
Living Bread, the life of us for whom he died,
Lend this life to me then: feed and feast my mind,
There be thou the sweetness man was meant to find.
Bring the tender tale true of the Pelican;
Bathe me, Jesu Lord, in what thy bosom ran—
Blood whereof a single drop has power to win
All the world forgiveness of its world of sin.
Jesu, whom I look at shrouded here below,
I beseech thee send me what I thirst for so,
Some day to gaze on thee face to face in light
And be blest for ever with thy glory’s sight. Amen.
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It is I think the favorite for my six year old. We sing about pelicans a lot around here.
Rev. Esget,
My friend Herberger has an interesting bit on this you might enjoy:
"You gave up Your precious blood for us. You sprinkled blood all over Yourself (Isa. 63:3).You let Your side be opened, through Your blood gave us the eternal life that we had lost, and healed all our injuries. In 1598, my dear old professor Valentinus Florianus described this as follows:
Christe tuus sanguis
mortem quibus intulit anguis
Dedit vitam pullis,
dum noxia crimina tollis.
Suscitat ut stratos
Pelicanus sanguine natos:
Participes lucis
sic nos ex morte reducis.
('Thy blood, Lord Jesus Christ, doth all Thy children quicken
Who by the serpent’s lies were stricken unto death,
And as the pelican doth give its offspring stricken
New life by its own blood: So giv’st Thou us new breath.')"
– Valerius Herberger: Magnalia Dei, pt. 1, medit. 10.
That is beautiful. Thanks for posting it.