The Wondrous Cross
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. Isaac Watts
This hymn, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, was written in 1707 by Isaac Watts at a time when only the psalms were sung during the church's worship service. He felt that the story of Jesus and what He did for us was a necessary part of our worship. So he started writing hymns that expressed our faith in Jesus Christ and the grace, love and salvation that have been so freely given to us through Jesus’ death and resurrection. This hymn was one of over 700 hymns he wrote.
This beautiful hymn is one of my favourites. It captures Christ’s suffering on the cross in a magnificent way and illustrates so profoundly what our response to His suffering and immeasurable love for us should be. Today, as we turn our eyes and hearts to the cross of Christ, let us look at some of the profound words in this hymn, firstly from the 1st stanza.
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
Watts uses the word “survey,” which has a much deeper meaning than just looking at or observing. It means to ponder, to contemplate what our Prince of glory did for us on that wondrous (marvellous, amazing, incredible) cross. When our contemplation has brought us to that place of understanding what Jesus has done, we can do nothing but stand in awe of the cross. We realise that our richest gain – our greatest achievements in life, our greatest material possessions, our wealth- are paltry in comparison to what Jesus has done. They are, in fact, worth nothing. Worthless! And the pride that comes from our achievements in life needs to be brought to nothing, treated with disdain in the light of Christ’s magnanimous sacrifice for us, when He died on the cross (Philippians 3:8).
3rd stanza:
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?
Watts invites us again to come and see. To ponder. To look at His hands and feet that were nailed to the cross. And when we look, we see the blood that He shed on the cross for you and for me. As His blood flowed for us, His immense sorrow and immeasurably deep love for us became intertwined. His sorrow for a dying world that weighed so heavily on Him could only be remedied by His love, which He so powerfully, yet graciously, demonstrated when He died on the cross, wearing that crown of thorns. A crown of thorns that would henceforth represent a humble King whose Kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). The King who is the King of all Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16). The King whose rule and reign is eternal and indestructible (Daniel 7:14)
Reflection
Will you take time today to ponder what Jesus, our Prince of Glory, has done for you on the cross of Calvary? Think about the material things in your life, things that you have achieved and allow Jesus to help you count this as lost compared to the richest gain of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Reflect on Galatians 6:14 and Philippians 3:8.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I thank You for leaving Your heavenly home and coming down to earth to save me. Thank You for Your immeasurable love for me that You would die a cruel and shameful death for me. Help me, Lord, to see that my achievements, my worldly possessions, do not measure up to what You have done for me. Help me not to measure my worth by them, but by what You have done for me on the cross. I pray that my worth and identity will be found in You alone. In Jesus’ name, amen.
