GHS 82 : When I Survey The Wondrous Cross Lyrics
GHS 82, “When I Survey The Wondrous Cross,” is among the most celebrated hymns ever written. Composed in 1707 by Isaac Watts, an English minister and theologian often called the father of English hymnody, the hymn was born out of a meditation on Galatians 6:14, where Paul declares the cross of Christ is the only thing worth boasting in. It moves in four stanzas from wonder at the cross, to the forsaking of earthly pride, to amazement at Christ’s suffering, and finally to total surrender.
Its closing line, calling on God’s love to demand the singer’s soul, life, and all, remains one of the most powerful conclusions in congregational worship. This hymn appears as number 82 in the Gospel Hymns and Songs (GHS) collection, used in Deeper Life Bible Church and related assemblies across West Africa.
Hymn Lyrics – GHS 82: When I Survey The Wondrous Cross
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
