Hymn
Looking at the Cross
- Writer
- John Newton
- Theme
- The Cross
In evil long I took delight,
Unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object met my sight,
And stopp’d my wild career.
Oh, the Lamb, the bleeding Lamb,
The Lamb on Calvary,
The Lamb that was slain and liveth again
To intercede for me.
I saw One hanging on a tree
In agonies and blood,
Who fixed His languid eyes on me,
As near the cross I stood.
Sure never till my latest breath
Can I forget that look,
It seem’d to charge me with His death,
Tho’ not a word He spoke.
My conscience felt and owned my guilt,
And plung’d me in despair,
I saw my sins His blood had spilt,
And helped to nail Him there.
A second look He gave, which said,
“I freely all forgive,
This blood is for thy ransom paid,
I die, that thou may’st live.”
Thus, while His death my sins displays
In all its blackest hue,
Such is the mystery of grace,
It seals my pardon too.
Looking at the Cross — Text from Sunday School and Revival, 1907. Public domain. https://yeshuanow.com/hymns/looking-at-the-cross
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Questions about this hymn
Who wrote Looking at the Cross?
The words of Looking at the Cross were written by John Newton; the version here was published in 1907. The library holds 37 more hymns by John Newton, including I Will Trust and Not Be Afraid and The Lord Will Provide.
Is Looking at the Cross public domain?
Yes. The words here are taken from Sunday School and Revival, published in 1907. Works published before 1931 are out of copyright in the United States, so you can print, project, perform and record this hymn freely. How we source and check every hymn.
What is the meter of Looking at the Cross?
Looking at the Cross is in Common Meter (8.6.8.6). Hymns in the same meter can usually be sung to the same tunes — for example, Almighty God, Thy Word is Cast, Jesus, These Eyes Have Never Seen and The Bible, the light of the world.