MY GRATITUDE FOR
THE COST OF THE 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.
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?
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 off'ring far too small;Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.
By Isaac Watts 1707
Summed up in these lyrics is a man’s heart that is filled with gratitude for he recognized the cost of the Cross.
The bible says that from the ‘foundation of the world Christ was crucified.’ Before man was created the love of God compelled Him to provide an atoning sacrifice so that we ‘who have sinned and come short of the glory of God’ might become ‘sons of God’ through faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross of Calvary.
Isaac Watts compels us to survey the wonder of the Cross. It is the pivotal point in history of mankind as God reached down into humanity, became like one of us and gives His life a sacrifice for all humanity for the purpose of reconciling man back to God.
As I reflect on the cross I come to some understanding of the cost of the cross.. It cost the Father His Son, it cost the Son absolute humility and brokenness and for a time in history an abandonment from the Father as He cries out My God, My God why have You forsaken Me? In that moment in Jesus last act of sacrificial love on the Cross, the perfect Lamb of God takes on Himself my abandonment, my forsakenness, my orphanness. Because of His act of love for us, each individual who comes to Christ will never know forsakenness again for He has promised, “I will never leave nor forsake you.” It cost the Holy Spirit, as the Son of Glory takes on Himself the sin of all mankind and suffers alone. The greatest suffering ever known was borne by the Godhead, yet it was done out of love for you and for me.
When I glimpse the truth of the ‘cost of the cross’ I too respond, “Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God..” My heart bows in absolute gratitude. For His cost became my greatest gain.
The writer goes on to say, “All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.” When I see this beautiful Man giving Himself so completely I am compelled to lay aside everything this world has to offer for it cannot compete with the power of the Blood of Christ. “What shall wash away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus.” The writer of Hebrews says, “without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.” Oh the cost of the cross, the wonder of the cross. When once I see, my heart is constrained to follow this Man where ever He might lead.
As we find ourselves at the foot of the cross, bowed in humility the writer admonishes us to look up and, “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?” It was at the cross that, Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed. (Psalms 85:10) So rich a gift from the Father’s hand that we who believe have become ‘heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.’ When I see this lovely Man broken, pierced, humiliated and scorned and I realize it was for me, my heart cries out, “Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were an off'ring far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all. And I come and bow down to worship with a heart filled with such gratitude for the infinite cost of the cross.
THE COST OF THE 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.
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?
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 off'ring far too small;Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.
By Isaac Watts 1707
Summed up in these lyrics is a man’s heart that is filled with gratitude for he recognized the cost of the Cross.
The bible says that from the ‘foundation of the world Christ was crucified.’ Before man was created the love of God compelled Him to provide an atoning sacrifice so that we ‘who have sinned and come short of the glory of God’ might become ‘sons of God’ through faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross of Calvary.
Isaac Watts compels us to survey the wonder of the Cross. It is the pivotal point in history of mankind as God reached down into humanity, became like one of us and gives His life a sacrifice for all humanity for the purpose of reconciling man back to God.
As I reflect on the cross I come to some understanding of the cost of the cross.. It cost the Father His Son, it cost the Son absolute humility and brokenness and for a time in history an abandonment from the Father as He cries out My God, My God why have You forsaken Me? In that moment in Jesus last act of sacrificial love on the Cross, the perfect Lamb of God takes on Himself my abandonment, my forsakenness, my orphanness. Because of His act of love for us, each individual who comes to Christ will never know forsakenness again for He has promised, “I will never leave nor forsake you.” It cost the Holy Spirit, as the Son of Glory takes on Himself the sin of all mankind and suffers alone. The greatest suffering ever known was borne by the Godhead, yet it was done out of love for you and for me.
When I glimpse the truth of the ‘cost of the cross’ I too respond, “Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God..” My heart bows in absolute gratitude. For His cost became my greatest gain.
The writer goes on to say, “All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.” When I see this beautiful Man giving Himself so completely I am compelled to lay aside everything this world has to offer for it cannot compete with the power of the Blood of Christ. “What shall wash away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus.” The writer of Hebrews says, “without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.” Oh the cost of the cross, the wonder of the cross. When once I see, my heart is constrained to follow this Man where ever He might lead.
As we find ourselves at the foot of the cross, bowed in humility the writer admonishes us to look up and, “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?” It was at the cross that, Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed. (Psalms 85:10) So rich a gift from the Father’s hand that we who believe have become ‘heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.’ When I see this lovely Man broken, pierced, humiliated and scorned and I realize it was for me, my heart cries out, “Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were an off'ring far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all. And I come and bow down to worship with a heart filled with such gratitude for the infinite cost of the cross.
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