Isaac Watts looked at the cross and wrote a hymn that Charles Wesley reportedly envied: “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”

“When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of glory died.” Few opening lines in English hymnody are so well known.

Isaac Watts published the hymn in 1707. Three centuries later, it is still sung in churches around the world, especially in the days before Easter.

Watts and the Bible

Isaac Watts was an English minister and writer, often called the father of English hymnody. In his time, many churches sang only metrical psalms. Watts believed Christians should also sing new hymns expressing the gospel. He wrote hundreds, including “Joy to the World” and “O God, Our Help in Ages Past”. The hymn is based on Galatians 6:14: “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Watts wrote it for use at communion, when believers remember Christ’s death.

The words

The singer looks at the cross and counts all earthly gains as loss. Pride melts away. The hymn describes the blood and sorrow of the crucifixion, “sorrow and love flow mingled down”, and ends with total surrender: “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.” According to a story often repeated, Charles Wesley, himself a great hymn writer, said he would give up all his own hymns to have written this one. Whether or not he said those exact words, the story shows how highly the hymn was regarded.

Tunes and Good Friday

In Britain, the hymn is usually sung to “Rockingham”. In the United States, it is often sung to “Hamburg”, arranged by Lowell Mason. Both are slow, reflective tunes that suit the words. The hymn is a favourite during Lent and on Good Friday. In Ghana and Nigeria, it is sung at Good Friday services, where congregations meditate on the suffering of Christ.

A hymn for reflection

Watts’s original included a verse, often left out of modern hymnals, describing Christ’s body “like a robe” dyed with his blood. Some churches restore it for Good Friday because of its vivid imagery. “When I Survey” is not a hymn to be rushed. It asks the singer to stop and look, and to consider what the cross demands.

The last line is one of the most demanding in any hymn. Congregations sing it every Easter, and every year the words ask the same question: how much of it do we mean?