Our Songs Confess Thee Sovereign Lord

This hymn, a particular favourite of St Bede, was sung on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Day. It speaks of the victory of Christ over the dark angels, of the continuing power of the sign of the cross, marked in oil on a Christian’s forehead at baptism, and of the descent of Christ into hell. The author, who is unknown, lived in the fifth or sixth century.

Tibi Redemptor Omnium

OUR songs confess thee sovereign Lord,
Redeemer of our rebel race;
Our sorrows plead thy mercy down,
Our tears implore thy boundless grace!

By cross of death thou treadst upon*
The powers of darkness even now;
The banner of thy faithfulness
We bear in chrism on our brow.*

For so ’tis worthy in thine eyes
To put the foe to daily flight,
Lest any ransomed by thy blood*
Should feel the serpent’s deadly bite.*

Thou hadst no need to walk in hell
Among the shades of guilty men:*
But to death’s debtors captive there
Thou gavest all the price of heaven.*

Our just Rewarder shalt thou be
When all things shall be made anew — *
When this world’s night shall pass away,*
And every man receive his due.*

O Christ! we beg thee, ’gainst that Day*
Come heal us from the wounds of sin!
That to the Blessed Trinity,
Shall glory evermore be given.

By Anonymous (?5th-6th century) ?5th-?6th century

* See Psalm 91:13, Baruch 4:25 and Luke 10:19.

* Chrism is olive oil combined with several aromatic essences, a tradition going back to Exodus 30:22-33. At baptism, chrism is traced on the forehead in the shape of a cross. This hymn emphasises that the protective power of the sign of the cross continues throughout the Christian’s life. Chrism is also used for the anointing of the sick and for the dedication of an altar: see The Holy Table of St Sophia.

* See Revelation 5:9.

* See Numbers 21:6-9: the Israelites in the wilderness were plagued by deadly snakes, so Moses made a ‘fiery serpent’ on a pole and when the people looked upon it they were cured. Jesus recalled this event in John 3:14-15, and promised that when he was lifted up on the cross those who looked upon it would not perish, but have eternal life.

* See 1 Peter 3:18-20. The passage appears to say that after his crucifixion Christ preached to the souls of the dead, rescuing them as God rescued Noah from the flood, and that baptism is a reminder of it.

* The idea that man owes an unpayable debt is found in e.g. Matthew 18:23-35. St John Damascene (?675-749) emphasised that this debt is owed to God, not to the devil or his servants, who have absolutely no rights in the matter: see also William Langland on The Harrowing of Hell.

* See Wisdom 7:27, Revelation 21:5.

* See 2 Peter 3:10, and St Bede’s commentary on Revelation 2:28 where he wrote: “Christ is that Morning Star which, when the night of this age shall be past, bringeth unto his saints the promised light of life, and openeth everlasting Day”. See also Some Prayers of St Bede.

* See Romans 2:6.

* See 1 Corinthians 3:13.

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