1
When we survey the wondrous cross
On which the Lord of glory died,
Our richest gain we count but loss,
And pour contempt on all our pride.
On which the Lord of glory died,
Our richest gain we count but loss,
And pour contempt on all our pride.
2
Our God forbid that we should boast,
Save in the death of Christ, our Lord;
All the vain things that charm us most,
We’d sacrifice them to His blood.
Save in the death of Christ, our Lord;
All the vain things that charm us most,
We’d sacrifice them to His blood.
3
There from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flowed mingled down;
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Sorrow and love flowed mingled down;
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
4
His dying crimson, from His head
Spreads o’er His body on the tree;
To all the world then am I dead,
And all the world is dead to me.
Spreads o’er His body on the tree;
To all the world then am I dead,
And all the world is dead to me.
5
Were the whole realm of nature ours,
That were an offering far too small;
Love that transcends our highest pow’rs,
Demands our heart, our life, our all.
That were an offering far too small;
Love that transcends our highest pow’rs,
Demands our heart, our life, our all.
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Jomtien Beach, Chonburi, Thailand
Isaac Watts has penned such absolutely awe-inspiring words which have been a beacon of light and a compass of hope to me in my 60 years of missionary service. Rev. Charles Wesley reportedly said he would “give up all his other hymns to have written this one. His words bring boldness in the face of Satan's attacks, and comfort and solace in times of discouragement.”
Watts expresses his reverence, respect, wonder, sublimity and gratitude when contemplating the cross. It is indeed, a holy cross, but in this hymn, it is "wondrous". It leaves us speechless when we contemplate this wonder of wonders. In what does this wonder consist? On this undignified, ignominious cruel object, the wooden cross, placed between another two which bore the bodies of criminals, on this ignominious object we do not have a criminal but the "Prince of Glory".
Words like these far surpass the limits of our human reasoning. Why should a prince, THE Prince, die on such a symbol of ignominity? Everything fades into oblivion as we try to understand, as we contemplate: "my richest gain I count but loss". Our pride, the pride of us mortals, is so absurd, when placed in this context, as to be contemptible, "pour contempt on all my pride". If anyone deserved to be proud and exalted it is this Prince of Glory that chose to die with such humility. It has been a lesson in humility for me as I have served the poor and needy. A person contemplating the cross loses all sense of pride. He stands naked before the cross, stripped of whatever in which He takes pride.
The blood flowing from His head, hands and feet becomes of the mingling of sorrow and love. It becomes sorrow for the pain and suffering and love because He bore this for each one of us. Sorrow and love "flow down", down to those who stand at the foot of the cross, to those who boast in the cross, those that embrace the life-giving cross.
May the words of this greatest of hymns and the other great hymns of the church bless and inspired you as the have me in my years of service in the Lord’s kingdom.--Dr Johannes Maas, president, Worldwide Faith Missions