“ …and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them” – John 19:17-18. The classic hymn ‘There is a green hill far away’ takes us in our mind’s eye to Golgotha, the hill where Jesus died. Taking up the theme, this song expresses our daily need to be taken to the cross as the place where our guilt and shame are taken away, and our enemy, Satan, is defeated: “But there my wounded victor stood and crushed the serpent’s head that day”¹. I hope you enjoy this hymn by Joyful Noise UK 🙂

Take me to that ancient hill
For towering waves of guilt engulf;
But there your steadfast mercy still
Is certain as your wounds of love.

Take me to that sacred tree,
For weary loads of shame oppress’
But there you bore it all for me,
And gave me life and joy and rest.

Refrain
There I stand in awe
At your love for me.
Give my life and all
At the cross of Calvary.

Take me to that splintered wood,
For still the Tempter leads astray;
But there my wounded victor stood
And crushed the serpent’s head that day.

Refrain

Take me to that ancient hill
And stay there all my earthly days.
Rejoicing in your love until
I join with heaven’s eternal praise.

Refrain

¹youtube.com/watch?v=ZlSHDRVzsGA

Stuart Townend wrote this song with Keith Getty, and it’s one of a number of story songs they have written together. Stuart feels it’s important we understand that our faith is not merely a philosophy, a series of transcendent thoughts about what God might be like, or even a collection of fables and allegories – our faith is rooted in history, in things that have actually happened on this planet, and are backed up by evidence. We have a true story to tell. The song paints the picture of that Good Friday when Christ was tried, beaten, nailed to a cross, suffered and died, and the chorus tries to explain the significance of it all. Then the last verse effectively paints us into that picture, for it is our name written in His wounds.¹

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

This, the power of the cross:
Christ became sin for us,
Took the blame, bore the wrath:
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face
Bearing the awesome weight of sin;
Every bitter thought,
Every evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees,
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
‘Finished!’ the victory cry.

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death,
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

This, the power of the cross:
Son of God, slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

¹stuarttownend.co.uk/song/the-power-of-the-cross/

On a hot summer Sunday morning in 1865, Mrs. Elvina Hall (1820-1889) was found in her accustomed place in the church choir loft. But as the minister Reverend Schrick’s prayer continued, her thoughts drifted to other things. She pondered the meaning of the cross, and wrote the first lines in the back of her hymnal. Afterward, she presented the pastor with some simple lines of poetry which reminded the pastor that the church organist, John Grape (1835-1915) had composed a new hymn tune, with no words in mind. Stepping into his study, the pastor laid Mrs. Hall’s poem next to the lines of music. In surprise, he saw they fit one another like hand in glove. “Indeed, God works in mysterious ways!” he thought. The words and tune have been partners ever since, in the hymn, “Jesus Paid It All.”¹

I hear the Saviour say,
“Thy strength indeed is small,
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”

Refrain:
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy pow’r and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone.

Refrain

For nothing good have I
Where-by Thy grace to claim;
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.

Refrain

And when, before the throne,
I stand in Him complete,
“Jesus died my soul to save,”
My lips shall still repeat.

Refrain

¹independentbaptist.com/jesus-paid-it-all1/