Looking at the Cross: Newton’s autobiographical hymn

This hymn by John Newton (1725-1807) must be one of the greatest autobiographical hymns ever to be penned, yet sadly it is not well known.  It speaks both subjectively and objectively of the amazing grace Newton found in Christ.

In evil long I took delight,
Unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object struck my sight,
And stopped my wild career.
I saw One hanging on a tree,
In agony and blood,
Who fixed His languid eyes on me,
As near His cross I stood.

Sure never to my latest breath,
Can I forget that look;
It seemed to charge me with His death,
Though not a word He spoke.

My conscience felt, and owned the guilt,
And plunged me in despair,
I saw my sins His blood had spilt,
And helped to nail Him there.

Alas! I knew not what I did;
But now my tears are vain;
Where shall my trembling soul be hid?
For I the Lord have slain.

A second look He gave, which said,
“I freely all forgive;
This blood is for thy ransom paid;
I died, that thou may’st live.”

Thus, while His death my sin displays
In all its blackest hue,
(Such is the mystery of grace)
It seals my pardon too.

With pleasing grief and mournful joy
My spirit now is filled,
That I should such a life destroy,
Yet live by Him I killed.

(Public domain.  Reproduced from Classic Christian Hymn-writers by Elsie Houghton, 1982.  Fort Washington, Penn.: Christian Literature Crusade)

For God so loved

The angel who vied, once cast aside,
now turned snide snake, the tempter tried
to appeal to pride and to divide
the man and the woman from his side
from God in Whom they’d been satisfied

The fruit plied, they decide
Innocence died; their hopes subside
Open-eyed and mortified,
no more to abide by God’s side,
naked and afraid, they hide

Banished from Eden to the eastern side,
wishing they could undo their suicide,
turn the tide on their prolicide –
always with evil now allied,
as they realise what the fruit signified

Years went by while the Law applied;
still God’s people would backslide
Though priests preside and prophets chide,
they never could stay justified;
their sacrifices never satisfied

As God had promised, He did provide:
the Messiah, born in the countryside,
born in a stable — no room inside –
in Bethlehem, Judea — which was occupied –
while shepherds and Magi were notified

John the Baptist testified,
and baptised Jesus at the riverside
as the Father and Spirit ratified
that with Him they were satisfied,
and in Him God was glorified

The Jews’ expectations were belied
by this carpenter teaching on the mountainside
how God had now come to reside
with His people, with His Bride –
how man and God would again abide

Some Jews were jealous and decried
Jesus’ palm-paved donkey ride
to Jerusalem’s walls, where He cried
They began to plan the deicide,
and for thirty silver pieces, Judas complied

They brought Him bound and tied, inside,
where they had Him unjustly tried
They pronounced the curse, had Him crucified,
and as He hung there, bled and died,
He cried out, “It is done,” and sighed

Christ, with our sins identified, died:
God’s righteous wrath was satisfied
And as He died, the curtains divide,
and because He rose and was glorified,
He says that we are justified:
the bonds of sin and death untied,
God and man once more abide;
and man has no more need to hide
He sends a comforter, a guide –
the Holy Spirit, to dwell inside –
to help us to be sanctified,
and to fit us for His Bride.

You did this all for me

You set aside Your majesty
And took on human frailty
You walked the shores of Galilee
And said You’d come to set me free
You did this all for me

You showed the stark reality
Of my own depravity
But yet Your love and mercy
Led You to Gethsemane
You did this all for me

And there You honoured Heav’n's decree
You manifest Your glory
And You paid my sins’ penalty
Crucified on Calvary’s tree
You did this all for me

“Lama sabachtani”
Death seemed to claim the victory
But then You conquered on day three
The triumph of Your majesty
You did this all for me