Dear friends,
Today I’ll share some thoughts about one of my favorite Christian hymns “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.” It was published in 1707 and written by Isaac Watts. Perhaps you are familiar with the hymn’s words that follow:
- 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. - 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. - 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? - 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.
The first two lines of the second verse reflect the New Testament scripture found in Galatians 6:14 where the apostle Paul writes:
“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
The words of this hymn express the amazing love of God; the amazing grace of Jesus Christ poured out to rescue me from my own sinful pride. The last verse is so powerful to me in that Watts expressed that if he was able to give to God a present of all that’s in the world, it could never start to acknowledge the sacrificial love of God giving His own Son for us.
Last night I saw an old Perry Mason where the defendant stated that money is the root of all evil. That’s not what the Bible says. Money itself is morally neutral. The scripture is I Timothy 6:10 and from the New International Version of the Bible, it states:
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
The Bible says the love of money is a root of evil. My website clearly has a financial focus. As I’ve written many times, The Bible has much to say about money. From the pages of the Bible, we can observe that money can grab our hearts away from God or it can be managed as an expression of our gratitude to Him.
The first verse of Watt’s hymn says “my richest gain I count but loss.” To accept Christ is to gain what can’t be lost because the sacrifice of Christ on the cross attained for you and me what could never be attained with silver and gold, namely eternal life to all who believe. It frees a person to write off the stresses of chasing after worldly gain that won’t last and to conversely live a life filled with gratitude toward God for His unspeakable gift, Jesus. It gives purpose and meaning to everything, including managing financial resources.
Beautiful
Hey, Perry. Some of the old hymns like this Watt’s hymn remain and teach and encourage for generations. Thanks, friend.
Dear Paul,
This really helps me put worldly things in their proper perspective. You are a blessing and encouragement to your readers. Thanks for sharing your wisdom and faith with us.
David
Dear David,
Thank you for the comments and I thank God the words spoke to you. Life is filled with struggle and there are so many distractions in this world to enable my eyes to look away from the finish line. Falling down is part of it (and a regular part of it for me, I might add); getting back up and moving forward is possible because of God’s truths. Where would we be without Jesus and His Word? Thanks again for the kind remarks and may God bless you.
Paul