When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (Part 1)
As a young man growing up in a church in Scotland, Isaac Watts expressed dissatisfaction with the current hymns of the late 1600s. They lacked spiritual richness and depth. They failed to move the soul. And so, in jest, some older members said in effect, "Well, if you don't like them, you write something." And so he did. And among the epic hymns from his pen - "Joy to the World," "Alas, and did My Savior Bleed?", "How Shall the Young Secure Their Hearts?", "We're Marching on to Zion," and "I'm Not Ashamed to Own My Lord" - my absolute favorite, not only of his, but of all hymns, is "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross." And so, allow me to share some brief thoughts on the rich words of the song over the coming weeks, beginning with the first verse.
"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."
The weekend of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus marks the turning point in human history. It's the event Hebrews 9:26 calls "the consummation of the ages." The whole Old Testament points forward to that event, and most of the New Testament points back to it. When we survey the cross of our Lord, we find the King of Kings giving up the glory of Heaven to carry the weight of the sin of the world on His shoulders...and personally (the personal "I" is appropriate in the song), to see MY awful sin being put to death upon Him. We read these beautiful words in Isaiah 53:4-5 -- "Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God and afflicted. But He was pierced through for OUR transgressions, He was crushed for OUR iniquities; The chastening for OUR well-being fell upon Him, and by HIS scourging WE are healed." Realizing the magnitude of the cross event, Paul writes the words which Isaac Watts echoed -- "Whatever things WERE gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ" (Phil. 3:7). Don't take the wondrous cross lightly. Grace for your sin is freely offered, but it came at the ultimate cost. And therefore, it demands the laying aside of everything else in which I would take pride.
To His Glory,
Caleb
