There is a green hill far away

1
There is a green hill far away,
  Without a city wall,
Where the dear Lord was crucified,
  Who died to save us all.
  Oh, dearly, dearly has He loved,
  And died our sins to bear;
We trust in His redeeming blood,
    And life eternal share.
2
We may not know, we cannot tell,
  What pains He had to bear;
But we believe it was for us
  He hung and suffered there.
3
He died that we might be forgiven,
  He died to make us good,
That we might from our sins be freed,
  Saved by His precious blood.
4
There was no other good enough
  To pay the price of sin,
He only could divine life give
  And dwell Himself within.
2
Steve Miller

Detroit, Michigan, United States

Before her marriage to Dr. William Alexander, a distinguished Anglican churchman who later became archbishop for all of Ireland, Cecil Frances was actively involved in the Sunday school movement that was just beginning to spread throughout Great Britain at this time.

2 years before her marriage, Frances published a volume of children's hymns that probably has never been excelled by a similar collection. It covered a wide range of doctrinal subjects such as the 10 Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and many other biblical themes.

Since most of the 400 poems and hymns written by Mrs. Alexander throughout her life were intended for children, the language is always direct and easily understood.

This hymn was written for Mrs. Alexander's own Sunday school class to teach them the meaning of the phrase from the Apostles' Creed - "Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried."

Mrs Alexander said, "It was my intent to take this great truth regarding Christ's sacrificial atonement and make it have personal and practical meaning to our boys and girls. I especially wanted to personalize for each youngster such foundational truths of the gospel as 'He died that we might be forgiven, He died to make us good, that we might go at last to heav'n - saved by His precious blood'."

How important it is for each of us to allow the Holy Spirit to apply the precepts of God's Word to our daily living rather than giving a mere vague assent to such truths. And it is also vitally important that the songs we sing and hear teach the attributes of God with accuracy, clarity and scriptural integrity.

God's greatness, for example, far exceeds the thought of merely being "somebody bigger than you and I."

Prayer and communion with the Almighty are far more necessary than just "having a little talk with Jesus."

Or the anticipation of eternal glory for a child of God should do much more to thrill his soul than simply present the prospect of "I'll fly away."

Those who knew Mrs. Alexander intimately often claimed that her daily life style was even more beautiful than her lovely hymns and poetry. She was a very humble person who disdained praise for her many accomplishments.

On one occasion, however, when someone wrote to tell of the change in heart and life that had come to a wayward person through 1 of her hymns, she sprang to her feet, joyfully exclaiming, "Thank God, I do like to hear that!" - 52 Hymn Stories Dramatized by Kenneth W. Osbeck


Zoe Klopfenstein

Charlotte, North Carolina

Thank you Lord for loving us!