The hymn, "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross", was written by Isaac Watts, and published in Hymns and Spiritual Songs in 1707. It is significant for being an innovative departure from the early English hymn style of only using paraphrased biblical texts, although the first two lines of the second verse do paraphrase St Paul at Galatians 6:14. The poetry of "When I survey..." may be seen as English literary baroque.
Text
The second line of the first stanza originally read "Where the young Prince of Glory dy'd". Watts himself altered that line in the 1709 edition of Hymns and Spiritual Songs, to prevent it from being mistaken as an allusion to Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, the heir to the throne who died at age 11. The hymn's fourth stanza is commonly omitted in printed versions, a practice that began with George Whitefield in 1757. In the final stanza, some modern variations substitute the word "offering" for "present". 1. When I survey the wond'rous Cross On which the Prince of Glory dy'd, My richest Gain I count but Loss, And pour Contempt on all my Pride. 2. 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. 3. 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? 4. His dying Crimson, like a Robe, Spreads o'er his Body on the Tree; Then am I dead to all the Globe, And all the Globe is dead to me. 5. 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.
Musical settings
The hymn is usually sung to either "Rockingham" or "Hamburg", the former being more closely associated with the text in British and Commonwealth hymnals. Another alternative, associated with the text in the 19th and 20th centuries, is "Eucharist" by Isaac B. Woodbury. "Rockingham" was written by Edward Miller, the son of a stone mason who ran away from home to become a musician, being a flutist in Händel's orchestra. It has long been associated with Watt's text in British and Commonwealth hymnals, first being associated with the text in the seminal Hymns Ancient and Modern, and appearing again in the 1906 English Hymnal: << << \new Staff \new Staff >> >> \layout \midi
"Hamburg" is an adaptation of a plainchant melody by American composer Lowell Mason, and it remains the most frequent pairing in the United States. First written in 1824 and published a year later, it was not set to this text until The Sabbath Hymn and Tune Book, and even then it did not gain wide traction until late in the 19th century. Paul Westermeyer notes, however, that the tune is sometimes seen as less than an ideal match for the text, and that it is "dull to the analyst, but often appreciated by congregations." \new Staff << \clef treble \key f \major %\new Lyrics \lyricmode >> \layout \midi
Other uses
Sung to the tune 'Rockingham', it has been used for many years by the BBC to introduce its 7am broadcast on Good Friday.
