Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken

 

"The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, my Deliverer; my God,
my keen and firm Strength in Whom I will trust and take refuge,
my Shield, and the Horn of my salvation, my High Tower."
(Psalm 18:2)

16th Century Smailholm Tower near Kelso, Scotland
Photograph courtesy/Visit Scotland

Jesus, I my cross have taken,

All to leave and follow Thee.

Destitute, despised, forsaken,

Thou from hence my all shalt be.

Perish, every fond ambition,

All I've sought, and hoped, and known.

Yet how rich is my condition-

God and Heav'n are still mine own!

Let the world despise and leave me-

They have left my Savior, too-

Human hearts and looks deceive me;

Thou art not, like them, untrue;

And while Thou shalt smile upon me,

God of wisdom, love and might,

Foes may hate and friends disown me;

Show Thy face, and all is bright.

Go then, earthly fame and treasure!

Come, disaster, scorn, and pain!

In Thy service, pain is pleasure;

With Thy favor, loss is gain.

I have called Thee "Abba, Father";

I have set my heart on Thee:

Storms may howl, and clouds may gather,

All must work for good to me.

Man may trouble and distress me,

Twill but drive me to Thy breast.

Life with trials hard may press me;

Heav'n will bring me sweeter rest.

Oh, 'tis not in grief to harm me

While Thy love is left to me!

Oh, 'twere not in joy to charm me,

Were that joy unmixed with Thee.


Take, my soul, thy full salvation;

Rise o'er sin, and fear, and care;

Joy to find in every station

Something still to do or bear!

Think what Spirit dwells within thee;

What a Father's smile is thine;

What a Savior died to win thee-

Child of Heaven, shouldst thou repine?

Haste then on from grace to glory,

Armed by faith, and winged by prayer,

Heaven's eternal day's before thee,

God's own hand shall guide thee there.

Soon shall close thy earthly mission;

Swift shall pass thy pilgrim days;

Hope soon change to glad fruition,

Faith to sight, and prayer to praise.

Corresponding Scripture

"I will declare Your name to my brethren; in the midst
of the congregation I will praise You."
(Psalm 22:22)

"And I will wait for the Lord, Who is hiding His face from
the house of Jacob; and I will look for and hope in Him.
Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has give me
are signs and wonders that are to take place in Israel
from the Lord of hosts, Who dwells on Mount Zion."
(Isaiah 8:17-18)

"Jesus said to her, Do not cling to Me for I have not yet
ascended to the Father. But go to My brethren and tell
them, I am ascending to My Father and your Father,
and to My God and your God."
(John 20:17)

"For those whom He foreknew ( of whom He was aware
and loved beforehand). He also destined from the beginning
(foreordaining them) to be molded into the image of His Son
and share inwardly His likeness, that He might become
the firstborn among many brethren."
(Romans 8:29)

"For He says, I will declare Your Father's name to My brethren;
in the midst of the worshiping congregation I will sing hymns
of praise to You.  And again He says, My trust and assured reliance
and confident hope shall be fixed in Him. And yet again, Here I am,
I and the children whom God has given Me."
(Hebrews 2:12-13)

"For because He Himself in His humanity has suffered
in being tempted, (tested and tried) He is able to run
to the cry of those being tempted and tested and tried
and who therefore are being exposed to suffering."
(Hebrews 2:18)

Image courtesy:Cyberhymnal

"Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken"
(1824)
 Reverend Henry Francis Lyte
(1793-1847)
Scottish-born poet and Anglican clergyman, hymnodist.
For most of his career he was the pastor of All Saints Church
in Lower Brixham, Devonshire, England.