Above the hills of time the cross is gleaming,
Fair as the sun when night has turned to day;
And from it love’s pure light is richly streaming,
To cleanse the heart and banish sin away.
To this dear cross the eyes of men are turning,
Today as in the ages lost to sight;
And for Thee, O Christ, men’s hearts are yearning,
As shipwrecked seamen yearn for morning light.

The cross, O Christ, Thy wondrous love revealing,
Awakes our hearts as with the light of morn,
And pardon o’er our sinful spirits stealing,
Tells us that we, in Thee, have been reborn.
Like echoes to sweet temple bells replying
Our hearts, O Lord, make answer to Thy love;
And we will love Thee with a love undying,
Till we are gathered to Thy home above.

Blest Jesus, when Thy cross I view,
That mystery to th’angelic host,
I gaze with grief and rapture, too,
And all my soul’s in wonder lost.

What strange compassion filled Thy breast,
That brought Thee from Thy throne on high,
To woes that cannot be expressed,
To be despised, to groan and die!

For man didst Thou forsake the sky,
To bleed upon the accursed tree?
And didst Thou taste of death, to buy
Immortal life and bliss for me?

Had I a voice to praise Thy Name,
Loud as the trump that wakes the dead,
Had I the raptured seraph’s flame,
My debt of love could ne’er be paid.

Yet Lord, a sinner’s heart receive,
This burdened, contrite heart of mine;
Thou knowest I’ve naught beside to give;
And let it be for ever Thine.

Cross of Jesus, cross of sorrow,
Where the blood of Christ was shed,
Perfect Man on thee did suffer,
Perfect God on thee has bled!

Here the King of all the ages,
Throned in light ere worlds could be,
Robed in mortal flesh is dying,
Crucified by sin for me.

O mysterious condescending!
O abandonment sublime!
Very God Himself is bearing
All the sufferings of time!

Evermore for human failure
By His passion we can plead;
God has born all mortal anguish,
Surely He will know our need.

This—all human thought surpassing—
This is earth’s most awful hour,
God has taken mortal weakness!
God has laid aside His Power!

Once the Lord of brilliant seraphs,
Winged with love to do His will,
Now the scorn of all His creatures,
And the aim of every ill.

Up in Heaven, sublimest glory
Circled round Him from the first;
But the earth finds none to serve Him,
None to quench His raging thirst.

Who shall fathom that descending,
From the rainbow circled throne,
Down to earth’s most base profaning,
Dying desolate alone.

From the “Holy, Holy, Holy,
We adore Thee, O most High,”
Down to earth’s blaspheming voices
And the shout of “Crucify.”

Cross of Jesus, cross of sorrow,
Where the blood of Christ was shed,
Perfect Man on thee did suffer,
Perfect God on thee has bled!

The cross, it standeth fast—
Hallelujah, hallelujah!
Defying every blast—
Hallelujah, hallelujah!
The winds of hell have blown,
The world its hate hath shown,
Yet it is not overthrown—
Hallelujah for the cross!

Refrain

Hallelujah, hallelujah,
Hallelujah for the cross;
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
It shall never suffer loss!

It is the old cross still—
Hallelujah, hallelujah!
Its triumph let us tell—
Hallelujah, hallelujah!
The grace of God here shone
Thru Christ, the blessèd Son,
Who did for sin atone—
Hallelujah for the cross!

Refrain

’Twas here the debt was paid—
Hallelujah, hallelujah!
Our sins on Jesus laid—
Hallelujah, hallelujah!
So round the cross we sing
Of Christ, our offering,
Of Christ, our living King—
Hallelujah for the cross!

Refrain

When the night is o’er and the shadows past,
And eternal dawn dispels the gloom of earthly care;
In the home of God I shall rest at last,
In the land of Eden I shall dwell forever there.

Refrain

I shall walk the streets of the city of God
With its tree of life so bright, so fair,
There will be no night—Jesus is the light,
I shall dwell forever there.

Tho’ my sky be filled with the clouds of time,
And my soul is burdened with forebodings of despair,
Yet, my heart is cheered, for the hope is mine,
If I trust in Jesus I shall dwell forever there.

Refrain

How my heart will sing when I see the King,
For there is no sovereign that with Jesus can compare;
So the sacrifice of a life I’ll bring,
And with Him in glory, I shall dwell forever there.

Refrain

In the cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o’er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.

When the woes of life o’ertake me,
Hopes deceive, and fears annoy,
Never shall the cross forsake me,
Lo! it glows with peace and joy.

When the sun of bliss is beaming
Light and love upon my way,
From the cross the radiance streaming
Adds more luster to the day.

Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure,
By the cross are sanctified;
Peace is there that knows no measure,
Joys that through all time abide.

In the cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o’er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.

Refrain

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.

Refrain

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.

Refrain

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.

Refrain

The sign of the cross I triumphantly bear,
Though none of my kindred that emblem may wear.
I joyfully follow the champions of right,
Who march on to glory, who march on to glory,
Who march on to glory with weapons of might.

The Pillar that guides us through peril and strife,
The Rock that is cleft, giving waters of life,
Is Christ and His cross. By His Spirit and Word
The heart He refreshes, the heart He refreshes,
The heart He refreshes, our Savior and Lord.

O Shepherd, abide with us, care for us still,
And feed us and lead us, and teach us Thy will,
And when in Thy heavenly fold we shall be,
Our thanks and our praises, our thanks and our praises,
Our thanks and our praises we’ll render to Thee.

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 a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

To Christ, who won for sinners grace
By bitter grief and anguish sore,
Be praise from all the ransomed race
Forever and forevermore.