AT THE CROSS

• The Song

Alas and Did My Savior Bleed?
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred Head
For such a worm as I?

Refrain:
At the cross, At the cross
Where I first saw the Light
And the burden of my heart rolled away
It was there by Faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!

Was it for crimes that I have done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! Grace unknown!
And Love beyond degree!

But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of Love I owe:
Here, Lord, I give myself away
‘Tis all that I can do!

• The Author

Isaac Watts wrote many papers for places of higher learning but his most famous work is the hymn, “Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed.”  Watts was born July 17, 1674, at Southampton, England.  Such compelling lyrics came from a child born into a home of “non-Comformists” during the times when the Church of England persecuted Dissenters and Independents.  His father was jailed twice during this time of persecution.  Despite the fact that this era of intolerance lasted only a short while; it had a significant effect on Watts.  In 1707, Watts wrote the lyrics to “Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed.”