SONG STUDIES: BIBLE STUDIES BASED ON HYMNS AND SONGS

SONG STUDY (28) THE OLD RUGGED CROSS

George Bennard

“The inspiration came to me one day in 1913, when I was staying in Albion, Michigan. I began to write “The Old Rugged Cross.” I composed the melody first. The words that I first wrote were imperfect. The words of the finished hymn were put into my heart in answer to my own need. Shortly thereafter it was introduced at special meetings in Pokagon, Michigan on June 7, 1913. The first occasion where it was heard outside of the church at Pokagon was at the Chicago Evangelistic Institute. There it was introduced before a large convention and soon it became extremely popular throughout the country.”

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,

The emblem of suffering and shame;

And I love that old cross where the dearest and best

For a world of lost sinners was slain.

Chorus

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,

Till my trophies at last I lay down;

I will cling to the old rugged cross,

And exchange it some day for a crown.

O the old rugged cross, so despised by the world,

Has a wondrous attraction for me;

For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above

To bear it to dark Calvary.

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,

A wondrous beauty I see,

For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,

To pardon and sanctify me.

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;

Its shame and reproach gladly bear;

Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,

Where His glory forever I’ll share.

View this video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seVi9TKoylc

Questions

Because of its emphasis on the cross, some people reject this hymn as “idol worship”. What do you think of this?
Understanding the words: rugged, emblem, cherish, trophies, Calvary, divine, sanctify, reproach.
Verse 1. Why is the cross an “emblem of suffering and shame”? See Hebrews 12:1-2, Ephesians 2:8 and 1 Peter 4:12-17.
Who is the “dearest and best”?
Explain what the chorus means. See James 1:12 and Revelation 2:10.
Verse 2. “A wondrous attraction for me”. See Colossians 1:21-27.
“Dark Calvary”. Explain. See Matthew 27:41-46 and Luke 23:44-46.
Verse 3. Why was the blood of Jesus “so divine”? See 1 John 1:5-7 and Revelation 1:4-6.
“Pardon and sanctify me”. Why are both necessary for us to be acceptable to God? See Isaiah 55:7 and John 17:13-19.
Verse 4. “My home far away”. What does the writer mean? See John 14:1-4 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.