• The Song

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

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

See from his head, his hands, his feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did ever such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown

O the wonderful cross, O the wonderful cross
Bids me come and die and find that I may truly live
O the wonderful cross, O the wonderful cross
All who gather here by grace draw near
and bless Your name

Sorrow and love His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er His body on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.

Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

• 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.”