HYMN FOR EPIPHANY IV When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
- Gracia Grindal
- 9 hours ago
- 4 min read
Text: Isaac Watts (1674-1748) Tune: Lowell Mason (1792-1872)
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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?
4. 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.
Isaac Watts 1674-1748
REFLECTION
(I am sorry I confused the texts for this Sunday with last Sundays. This one goes with the epistle for next Sunday.)
The cross is the darkest moment in human history. It is also the most glorious. We
crucify God’s Son, and he turns that death into a victory that will save us from death. That is a paradox that horrifies and amazes us. “Sorrow and love flow mingled down.” Sorrow for how we have treated him and his love for us “while we were yet sinners.” How can this be?
While reading the accounts of Jesus’ passion, we see that everything that is done to get rid of Jesus God uses to bring us salvation. Judas betrays Jesus into the hands of the religious leaders. He wants a revolution, but Jesus is not that kind of revolutionary. So Judas betrays him, bringing Jesus to his death and resurrection. Jesus was leading a revolution of a different kind, one that would change life for the world forever.
The high priests ridicule him for hinting he is God, just as he is about to prove he is.
The mockers beneath the cross cry out, “He saved others, he cannot save himself.”
But he remains on the cross until “it is finished” so he can save us. Pilate puts a superscription on the cross, in three languages, the King of the Jews, mocking the very idea of this poos man as a king. And yet, these words on the cross become the first missionary epistle. All can read the announcement and wonder.
The soldiers hired to keep the disciples from coming to steal the body and lie about
his resurrection ironically see his rising and become the only witnesses to the resurrection. The cross baffles us and shocks us even as we run to it for succor. Here is something we cannot fathom. All of God’s power and wisdom suffer humiliation on the cross in order to save us. As Paul notes, “The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing but for us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
As Watts says, nothing we have, not even our own beings—“our all”—can equal
God’s gift. We cannot pay the debt we owe, but we can live in thanksgiving and
praise. Even if we owned all creation, “the whole realm of nature,” we could not pay him back. What he wants is you. He died to make it possible for us to be in relationship with God. Only through him can we be reconciled to God and live with him. Give yourself over to the Lord and relish this new life.
HYMN INFO
Watts is known as the Father of English hymnody. He took the Calvinist tradition of
paraphrasing the Psalms that had outlived its time and began writing hymns based
on Scripture and about it. His sturdy language and masterful use of the conventions
of English poetic forms became models that taught many English writers like William Blake and Emily Dickinson how to write poetry. Many consider this his greatest
hymn, but it is hard to rank them, there are many great ones. Meanwhile, below are some of the most thrilling versions of the hymn.
LINKS
Luther College’s Nordic Choir under the direction of Weston Noble sang this hymn
as a closing anthem. Here we can enjoy it and see Weston at the Crystal Cathedral in
a thrilling performance. Weston used the tune Hamburg by Lowell Mason; the King’s College choir uses Rockingham. Both are well loved.
LINKS
Nordic Choir/Weston Noble/Hamburg
Festival choirs with Weston/Hamburg
The King’s College Easter Service/Rockingham
My hymn on the MIcah reading. Roy Hopp set this for my hymns on the A Cycle of OT texts. This is an attempt to put into hymn language the questions of MIcah. It is filled with questions, but I hope it teaches as well as it concludes with a reference back to the 1 Corinthians lesson.
For your Lenten reading
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"With these 366 sonnets, remarkable in artistry and number, Gracia Grindal has made literary history. The scriptural and theological knowledge that supports these poems is vast, but it is the imagination infused with the holy in poem after poem that reveals the poet's grace and skill and the astonishing work of the Spirit." --Jill Baumgartner, Poetry Editor, Christian Century, and professor of English emerita, Wheaton College