Hymn Desk
Hymn Texts /

Jesus in Thy Dying Woes

Jesus in Thy dying woes

Jesus in Thy Dying Woes is a hymn text by Johann Heermann (1630) in L.M. (8.8.8.8) meter. Translated by Catherine Winkworth. Found in CW21 435, CW93 139, elw 352, lbw 113. Sung to PASSION CHORALE.

This hymn embodies Lutheran theology by connecting Christ's vicarious suffering to the forgiveness of sins, emphasizing both divine justice and mercy. It reflects the centrality of the cross in Lutheran soteriology and the believer's participation in Christ's redemptive work through faith.

History & Background

Johann Heermann composed this hymn in German as part of his passion meditation poetry during the Thirty Years' War. Catherine Winkworth translated it into English in 1869, and it has been a standard Holy Week hymn in Lutheran hymnals since the nineteenth century.

Hymnal Appearances

  • Christian Worship: Hymnal — 435
  • Christian Worship — 139
  • Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 352
  • Lutheran Book of Worship — 113
  • Lutheran Service Book — 447
  • Lutheran Worship — 112
  • The Lutheran Hymnal — 180

Translation

Catherine Winkworth

Bulletin Note

Composed in 1630 by Johann Heermann, a Lutheran pastor who survived the Thirty Years' War. This hymn anchors the believer's confidence not in personal piety but in Christ's finished work and present intercession before the Father.

Preaching Connection

This hymn crystallizes the Lutheran understanding of vicarious atonement: Christ's dying woes become the Word that silences the law's accusation and declares us forgiven—a proclamation the sermon must echo and the hearer must receive by faith.

Catechism & Confessional Connections

Stanza Arc

The narrative or theological arc traced by this tune's stanzas: Christological meditation moving from Christ's suffering, to personal appropriation of redemption, to grateful response, to covenantal commitment

Background Research

AI-assisted draft This background note was researched with AI from published hymnal sources and has not yet been checked line by line. Please verify details such as dates before relying on them.

Thomas Benson Pollock (1836–1896), Trinity College Dublin, ordained 1861. He was curate at Leek and Stamford Hill, then St Alban's, Birmingham, a slum Anglo-Catholic mission parish (from memory: run with his brother James, where he spent the rest of his life and refused preferment). He was the great writer of metrical litanies; his Metrical Litanies for Special Services and General Use came out in 1870 (Mowbray). This one is built on the Seven Words from the Cross, seven parts of three stanzas each, each part headed by its Word (Luke 23:34, 43; John 19:26–27; Matt 27:46; John 19:28, 30; Luke 23:46). Every stanza ends with the same plea, in the litany form. Fit for a Good Friday Tre Ore devotion; TLH selects. Tunes: SEPTEM VOCES (Hoyte), SWEDISH LITANY.

Sources: hymnary.org 'Jesus, in thy dying woes'.

In the Church Year

Suggested in the three-year series

  • Good Friday (1×)

From LCMS Worship's published hymn suggestions, 2014–2026. The count is how many of those yearly lists suggested this hymn for that day.

AI-assisted draft These study notes were drafted with AI from the hymn text and have not yet been reviewed line by line. Treat them as a starting point and check them against the sources.

Overview

Thomas Benson Pollock's litany on the Seven Words from the Cross (1870) is arranged in seven sections of three stanzas, each ending 'Hear us, holy Jesus.' The CCEL transcription of TLH 180 contains only the first section, on the first Word: 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do' (Luke 23:34). It asks Jesus, who prayed for his foes while his blood flowed, to hear us (st. 1); to plead for our pardon when our sins renew his pangs, since we too know not what we do (st. 2); and to make us like him in forgiving those who wrong us (st. 3). LSB 447 prints the whole litany; check the printed TLH to see whether more sections should be added to the master.

Central theme: Christ's prayer for his enemies as the ground of our pardon and the pattern for our forgiving

Structure

Three triplets with refrain (7.7.7.5). Christ praying (1) — praying for us (2) — making us like him (3).

Law & Gospel Shape

Law: our sins 'renew' his pangs; we 'know not what we do.' Gospel: Christ intercedes for our pardon.

Confessional Connections

Christ's priestly intercession (Heb 7:25; Ap XXI: Christ alone is our mediator and intercessor). Ignorance does not excuse sin, but Christ's prayer covers it. Forgiving others as fruit of being forgiven (Fifth Petition).

Liturgical Use (Study Notes)

Good Friday (Tre Ore / Seven Words services); Lent.

Historical Notes

Pollock (1836-1896), Anglican priest in Birmingham, wrote many metrical litanies.

About the Tune

SEPTEM VERBA (Bernhard Schumacher, 1939), composed for TLH.

Scripture References

Luke 23:34 Isa 53:12 Heb 7:25 1 John 2:1 Heb 6:6 Acts 3:17 1 Pet 2:21-23 Matt 5:44 Acts 7:60 Eph 4:32

Stanza by Stanza

1 Jesus, in Thy dying woes…

Jesus, in your dying sorrows, even while your lifeblood flows, asking pardon for your enemies: hear us, holy Jesus.

The first Word: 'Father, forgive them' (Luke 23:34). Isa 53:12 foretold that he would make 'intercession for the transgressors.' The timing is striking: 'even while Thy life-blood flows' — at the moment of greatest injury, Christ prays for those inflicting it. The refrain 'Hear us, holy Jesus' is the Church's litany response; the One who prayed for enemies will surely hear his own.

Scripture
Luke 23:34, Isa 53:12, Rom 5:10
Imagery & language
Flowing blood; prayer for foes; litany refrain.
Law / Gospel
Gospel — Christ prays for his enemies.
Connection to previous
Opening of the first Word.
intercession of Christ Seven Words love for enemies
2 Savior, for our pardon sue…

Savior, plead for our pardon when our sins renew your pain, for we do not know what we do: hear us, holy Jesus.

The prayer applies the Word to us. 'When our sins Thy pangs renew' — a strong image (cf. Heb 6:6): our sins are responsible for his suffering just as the soldiers' were. 'For we know not what we do' — we confess that we too act in blindness; sin always involves self-deception (Jer 17:9). The ignorance does not excuse but is covered by his intercession. Christ continues to 'sue' (plead) for us at the Father's right hand (Heb 7:25; 1 John 2:1).

Scripture
Heb 6:6, Jer 17:9, Acts 3:17, Heb 7:25, 1 John 2:1, Rom 8:34
Imagery & language
Legal pleading; renewed pangs.
Law / Gospel
Law — we cause his pain; Gospel — he pleads for our pardon.
Connection to previous
Applies the Word to the singers.
intercession sin of ignorance forgiveness
3 Oh, may we who mercy need…

May we who need mercy become like you in heart and deed when our spirits bleed from wrongs done to us: hear us, holy Jesus.

The forgiven are to forgive (Matt 6:12; 18:33; Eph 4:32). Stephen prayed Christ's prayer as he died (Acts 7:60). 'We who mercy need' — our forgiving others rests on our own need of mercy, not our superiority. 'When with wrong our spirits bleed' — Christ's blood flowed; ours 'bleeds' from lesser wounds, and he enables us to forgive as he did (1 Pet 2:21-23). The prayer asks for likeness 'in heart and deed' — inward forgiveness and outward kindness.

Scripture
Matt 6:12, Matt 18:33, Eph 4:32, Acts 7:60, 1 Pet 2:21-23, Luke 6:27-28
Imagery & language
Bleeding spirits; likeness.
Law / Gospel
Gospel — prayer to forgive as forgiven.
Connection to previous
From his pardon to our forgiving.
forgiveness of others Christ as example Fifth Petition

Themes

Christ's passion and suffering Substitutionary atonement Penitence and forgiveness Seven Words from the Cross Intercessory prayer

Look Further