Friday, June 16, 2017

Comments on a Hymn

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

This hymn is a simple meditation on Jesus' death. The hymn writer speaks of a 'wondrous cross'. I'm quite sure that the women who actually saw Jesus nailed to that cross on that first Good Friday didn't think that it was very 'wondrous'. And yet, it is. On the cross, we see the extent to which the holy God goes to rescue unholy people like us. It is the cross that strips away our pride, exposes the vanity of so much of this life and demands our souls, our lives, our all.


When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

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