When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, a song written by Isaac Watts, gives a picture of what we should see when we think about the cross Jesus died on. The first verse states “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.”
Since “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23), it is evident that no one earns salvation (Eph. 2:8-9). Instead, we “earn” “the wages of sin,” which is eternal death (Rom. 6:23).
However, through Jesus, we can be saved from sin and death.
Through Jesus’ death on the cross, it is possible to be redeemed (Eph. 1:7). Christ’s blood paid the ransom price so that we might be released from sin’s bondage.
Through Jesus’ death on the cross, propitiation for sins is possible (1 Jn. 2:2). A perfectly just God does not let sin go unpunished. Christ’s death offers the appeasement of God’s wrath against sin.
Through Jesus’ death on the cross, it is possible for man to be justified (Rom. 5:9). The guilty can be pronounced “not guilty” because the “just” (Christ) died for the “unjust” (us) – 1 Pet. 3:18.
Through Jesus’ death on the cross, it is possible for man to be reconciled to God (Col. 1:20-21). Though sin has separated us from God, the blood of Christ allows us to be brought back into harmony with Him.
Our consideration of this should lead us to be “poor in spirit” (Matt. 5:3) and “pour contempt” on our pride. The cross should remind us of how powerless we are without Jesus.
The second verse of When I Survey the Wondrous Cross says, “Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ, my Lord; all the vain things that charm me most I sacrifice them to His blood.” The cross should remind us that all we have to boast in is what Christ has done for us (Gal. 6:14). Our own righteousness alone does not produce redemption, atonement, justification, and reconciliation.
The third verse of the song states, “See, from His head, His hands, His feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down; did [ever] such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?”
Jesus was “wounded for our transgressions” and “bruised for our iniquities” (Is. 53:5). It is hard to comprehend the love He showed and the love God showed by allowing Him to die for us (Rom. 5:6-8).
The love of God and Christ should cause us to recognize what a shame it is when we mistreat Him by sinning. Sin may offend others, but it is foremost a displeasure to God (cf. 2 Sam. 12:13).
We sin against God every time we are disobedient. When we sin, we contribute to the cause that led to Jesus’ death on the cross.
The fourth verse of the song When I Survey the Wondrous Cross says, “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.”
Even if the earth belonged to us, giving this to Jesus would not be an appropriate response to what He has done. The only reasonable response to His sacrifice is to surrender ourselves to His will (Rom. 12:1). As 2 Corinthians 5:15 says, Jesus “died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again.”
The benefits Christ made possible through His death are reaped by those who give their lives to Him who gave His life.
This first involves responding to the message of Christ with belief and confession of who He is, repentance, and baptism in the name of Christ “for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38).
After one becomes a Christian, the sacrifice of Christ motivates us to love God as He did (1 Jn. 4:19; 5:3), love others as He loved us (Jn. 13:34), and “walk in the light, as He is in the light.” In other words, obey Him. If we do so, the blood Christ shed on the cross “cleanseth us from all sin” (1 Jn. 1:7).
When what He expects of us seems difficult, think about what He did for us. It is hard not to be motivated to love and obey Him when we “survey the wondrous cross.”
– Michael Hickox