1
I am crucified with Christ,
And the cross hath set me free;
I have ris'n again with Christ,
And He lives and reigns in me.
Oh! it is so sweet to die with Christ,
To the world, and self, and sin;
Oh! it is so sweet to live with Christ,
As He lives and reigns within.
2
Mystery hid from ancient ages!
But at length to faith made plain:
Christ in me the Hope of Glory,
Tell it o'er and o'er again.
Oh! it is so sweet to die with Christ,
To the world, and self, and sin;
Oh! it is so sweet to live with Christ,
As He lives and reigns within.
3
This the secret nature hideth,
Harvest grows from buried grain;
A poor tree with better grafted,
Richer, sweeter life doth gain.
Oh! it is so sweet to die with Christ,
To the world, and self, and sin;
Oh! it is so sweet to live with Christ,
As He lives and reigns within.
4
This the secret of the holy,
Not our holiness, but Him;
O Lord! empty us and fill us,
With Thy fulness to the brim.
Oh! it is so sweet to die with Christ,
To the world, and self, and sin;
Oh! it is so sweet to live with Christ,
As He lives and reigns within.
5
This the balm for pain and sickness,
Just to all our strength to die,
And to find His life and fulness,
All our being's need supply.
Oh! it is so sweet to die with Christ,
To the world, and self, and sin;
Oh! it is so sweet to live with Christ,
As He lives and reigns within.
6
This the story of the Master,
Thru the Cross, He reached the Throne,
And like Him our path to glory,
Ever leads through death alone.
Oh! it is so sweet to die with Christ,
To the world, and self, and sin;
Oh! it is so sweet to live with Christ,
As He lives and reigns within.
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Richmond, VA, United States
Thanks WI for those kind words. And thanks Ana Lara for your constant enlightening comments about the authors of the hymns. As I recall AB Simpson’s biography, he became deathly ill in his 30s with either tuberculosis or some other respiratory ailment. This was around the time of a major revival, and he was expecting his own healing by the Holy Spirit. However, the healing never came, but instead, he felt that the Lord was healing him each morning, one day at a time. From here, he learned the concept of breathing in the Lord daily, from which we get one of his most famous and touching hymns: “oh Lord, breathe thy spirit in me“. For me, his hymns remain the deepest and most touching in the entire Christian hymn repertoire.
Crescent City, CA, United States
This is such a great picture of the holy anointing oil of Ex. 30.
To die with Christ from the world and self and sin is typified by the myrrh, but the sweetness is typified by the cinnamon. It is so sweet to die with Christ.
The experience of living with Christ in resurrection is typified by the calamus, which is a reed that shoots up out of a marsh. And in resurrection is the serpent and insect repelling cassia in which we reign with Christ, and Satan is crushed under our feet. All of this is compounded into the Spirit (oil) who is joined to our spirit making us one with the incarnated, crucified, resurrected, and exalted One. This is the Spirit of Jesus Christ whose bountiful supply turns all things out to our salvation (Pp. 1:19-20). Thank-You, Lord, for the Spirit of Jesus Christ in our spirit.
Tustin, California, United States
Oh! it is so sweet to die with Christ,
To the world, and self, and sin;
Oh! it is so sweet to live with Christ,
As He lives and reigns within.
Cape Town, South Africa
This the story of the Master,
Thru the Cross, He reached the Throne,
And like Him our path to glory,
Ever leads through death alone.
Oh Lord Jesus! May we continuely come to the cross just as You went through the cross!
Mansfield, Ohio, United States
This is a rich song. It is full of the experience of Christ (the riches). This hymn addresses the way to live a Christian life and abide in Him. I do see the sweetness of dying a little. Joy is the fruit of the cross. It is Christ's enjoyable life in resurrection. This is the only way to live and abide in Him. This not a shallow hymn. It is written by one of Christ's many lovers.
Storrs, Connecticut, United States
Albert Benjamin Simpson authored more than 70 books and many hymns and gospel songs. He founded the Christian and Missionary Alliance to send missionaries around the world. He established a publishing house, founded a college, and became a voice for Christian oneness in his generation.
December 15, 1843, on Prince Edward Island, A. B. Simpson was born to James and Jane Simpson. In 1865, he graduated from Knox College in Toronto and married Margaret Henry. They had six children. Despite the difficulties of obtaining a good education and suffering from serious health problems, Simpson became a Presbyterian minister and served congregations in Ontario, Kentucky, and New York.
But Simpson’s heart of obedience to the Lord and his overwhelming burden to preach the gospel to the masses, caused him to become stifled by and dissatisfied with the coldness and divisiveness found in the culture of formal Christianity. Simpson became burdened for two main matters: the gospel outreach to the world, and the inner-life experiences that most Christians were missing. Simpson became a beacon of light pointing believers to Christ and Christ alone. Albert Benjamin learned how to live a resurrection life, and how to maintain a moment by moment, contact with the Lord. His “in breathing of the fullness of God” became his “daily renewal of life. ” Indeed, after spending several hours of fervent prayer for missionaries in Jamaica and abroad, he greeted the Lord in glory the following morning morning, Wednesday, October 29, 1919, the age of 76, having lived twice as long as doctors predicted.
(Hidden Pearl-Chapter 8)
Fremont, California, United States
Thanks Tom for your comments that not only touched many in past ten years, but also will remain a testimony as amazing and as sweet as this hymn.
Columbus, Ohio, United States
I have baptized you in water, but He Himself will baptize you in the Holy Sprit.
Mark 1:8
Oh how sweet it is to die with Christ and be raised with Him!
San Marcos, TX, United States
O it is so sweet to die with Christ!
To the world, to the self and sin!
Hallelujah it is so sweet to live with Christ as He Lives and Reigns within!
Milwaukee
Jesus points right to this beautiful life in these verses:
John 12:24-50 The Message (MSG)
24-25 “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal.
26 “If any of you wants to serve me, then follow me. Then you’ll be where I am, ready to serve at a moment’s notice. The Father will honor and reward anyone who serves me.