1
We sing the praise of Him who died,
Of Him who died upon the Cross;
The sinner’s hope let men deride,
For this we count the world but loss.
Of Him who died upon the Cross;
The sinner’s hope let men deride,
For this we count the world but loss.
2
Inscribed upon the Cross we see
In shining letters, God is love!
He bears our sins upon the tree,
He brings us mercy from above.
In shining letters, God is love!
He bears our sins upon the tree,
He brings us mercy from above.
3
The Cross: it takes our guilt away;
It holds the fainting spirit up;
It cheers with hope the gloomy day,
And sweetens every bitter cup.
It holds the fainting spirit up;
It cheers with hope the gloomy day,
And sweetens every bitter cup.
4
The balm of life, the cure of woe,
The measure and the pledge of love,
The sinner’s refuge here below,
The angels’ theme in heav’n above.
The measure and the pledge of love,
The sinner’s refuge here below,
The angels’ theme in heav’n above.
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Accra, Greater Accra Region, Ghana
Thank you very much for making it possible for me to access this hymn upon a click of a button.
Indeed this is one of my favorite hymns. It's so inspiring and soul touching and also gives we the hope as Jesus Christ died on the cross to cleanse away our sin.
May the Lord help us to flee from sin and do His will.
May the good LORD bless you.
Amen.
Detroit, MI, United States
Thomas Kelly was the only son of Judge Kelly of Kellyville, Ireland. While studying to become a lawyer, he became convicted of sin. Eventually he found peace with God through justification by faith. In 1792, with several other evangelicals, he was ordained a minister of the Church of Ireland. Kelly met with great opposition from his family because he preached the doctrine of justification by faith alone and not by works. Apparently, he said it would have been less of a trial to go to the stake than to set himself against those he loved. He married at the age of 30. Soon after his ordination, he left the established church and became a Dissenter. He raised up a number of independent churches. He suffered a stroke at the age of 85 while preaching and died a year later. Most of his life he went from place to place in Ireland, preaching the gospel. He is credited with 765 hymns. Kelly is able to handle difficult meters with dexterity. Most of his hymns which are still in use today are hymns of praise. This hymn is one of his most popular. - Songs of the Spirit by Martin
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See Patrick's comment on 3/31/2010 for another stanza. It goes before the last stanza.
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Re. HopethroughJesus' comment 10/14/2011. I find it odd that "Cross" is capitalized. Most publications of this hymn do not capitalize it at all, but some do. The Little Flock Hymnbook of the Brethren capitalizes it in stanza 3, but not in stanzas 1 or 2, which makes sense because in stanzas 1 & 2 it refers to the instrument of His death, but in stanza 3 it refers to the Lord's death on our behalf.
Thank you, Patrick, for your very thoughtful comment. St John says, We beheld His glory, the glory of the only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. The disciples saw this glory in Jesus' life, death and resurrection. And this fullness we receive!
I like the tune, but believe some of the words should be altered to give Jesus praise for His sacrifice. It sounds like a piece of wood did everything which I don't believe the writer intended.
London, United Kingdom
"Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other" Psalm 85:10
This hymn is like that scripture. A beautiful tune and powerful words are joined together. There is another verse to this hymns that goes:
"It makes the coward spirit brave, and nerves the feeble arm for fight; it takes the terror from the grave, and gilds the bed of death with light."