This will be a study of one musical composition and its connection to two different texts. There is nothing more important in the Christian faith than a right understanding of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and a personal saving trust in Him for what His death on the cross accomplished for our salvation. As Paul summarized the essential basics of “the gospel” in 1 Corinthians 15, he included the fact that Jesus “died for our sins, according to the scriptures.” And for almost 2000 years the church has used the Apostles’ Creed as the summary of our faith, including the key phrase that Jesus “suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried.”
This is true in the centrality of the cross in the Bible’s unfolding of the work of redemption. The very first promise of the hope of salvation was given in the Garden of Eden when God promised Adam after confronting him with that first sin that brought about “the fall,” that by the bruising of His heel (the crucifixion) the seed of the woman (Jesus) would crush the head of the seed of the serpent (the Devil). That centrality continued through the Old Testament with the sacrificial system that pointed ahead to the shedding of the blood of the perfect Lamb of God, and continued to the powerful prophecy in Isaiah 53 that made it clear that this death would be as a substitute (a “vicarious” sacrifice).
This is true in the theology of salvation. It is evident in the preaching, the evangelizing, and the literature of the gospel. The “good news” is that Jesus has paid the debt for the sin of His elect by taking their guilt on Himself and suffering the wrath of the Father in their place. The doctrine of penal substitution is central to the message of the atonement. Among the most thorough presentations of this are John Stott’s definitive book, “The Cross of Christ,” along with newer publications like William Lane Craig’s “Atonement and the Death of Christ” and Crossway Books’ “Pierced for Our Transgression.”
This is also true in the hymnody of the church. Any of us who have sung in churches for our whole lives will instantly think of passion hymns that Lift High the Cross. It will only take a moment to recall singing In the Cross of Christ I Glory; The Old Rugged Cross; Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross; Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted; Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed; There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood; Beneath the Cross of Jesus; When I Survey the Wondrous Cross; and O Sacred Head, Now Wounded.
If all that were not enough, what is the universally recognized symbol of the Christian faith? It is the cross. That message has been the subject of countless musical compositions, some of which have become classics. Think not only of Handel’s oratorio “Messiah,” but also of Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion.” Two of the enduring musical settings of this have been passed on from the Victorian era, and will be performed in many churches each year during the passion season: Theodore Dubois’s “The Seven Last Words of Christ” and John Stainer’s “The Crucifixion.”
Sir John Stainer (1840-1901) was organist at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. He was highly regarded as a church musician as he raised the performance standards at St. Paul’s. He was regarded as one of the foremost composers of cathedral music. He had a part in the compilation of the Anglican “Hymns Ancient and Modern.” But he is known today almost exclusively for this one composition, “The Crucifixion.” It was performed for the first time in February of 1887. His desire was to produce a work that would be within reach of the average church choir. It is scored for SATB choir with tenor and bass soloists, and organ accompaniment. He called on the librarian at St. Paul’s, Rev. William Sparrow-Simpson (1859-1952), to provide the text for the oratorio.
As a boy Stainer sang in the choir of St. Paul’s Cathedral (1847–56). At the age of 16 he was appointed organist at the newly opened St. Michael’s College, Tenbury, a school for church musicians. Named organist at St. Paul’s in 1872, Stainer served in that prestigious position until 1888, when he resigned because of failing eyesight. Knighted in 1888, Stainer was professor of music at the University of Oxford from 1889 to his death. He was influential as a musicologist and musical editor during his lifetime.
Like other passion oratorios, “The Crucifixion” tells the story from the Gospel accounts. Even for those who have never heard the oratorio, almost all have heard (or sung) one of the movements, “God So Loved the World.” One unique feature was the inclusion of five original hymns within the musical narrative. The closing chorus, “All for Jesus,” is found in most hymnals today and is the college hymn for Covenant College on Lookout Mountain, GA. And another of those hymns from “The Crucifixion” is the focus of this study, “Cross of Jesus,” movement number five in the oratorio, where it is titled “The Mystery of the Divine Humiliation.”
In its original setting in the oratorio, the hymn contains ten stanzas, the final stanza being a repetition of stanza one. In the hymnals where it has been placed in the section on Jesus’ death, usually just four stanzas are included. In the “Trinity Hymnal” another text has been used instead of the original words. The text “Sweet the Moments, Rich in Blessing” was written in 1757 by James Allen (1734-1804). It was one of the 100 hymns which came from his pen. It was altered in 1770 by Walter Shirley, a friend of the Wesleys and of George Whitefield. He was deeply saddened when his brother was executed after murdering a man in a quarrel. He found comfort in the words of Allen’s hymn and rewrote it in the present form we use today. In the midst of his suffering, he found strength in remembering what Jesus had suffered for him on the cross.
Here are the words to Shirley’s revision of the text by James Allen.
In stanza 1 we think of the benefits that come to the believer who pauses to meditate on the cross. We find greater appreciation for the Friend of sinners who gave Himself there to purchase “life and health and peace.”
Sweet the moments, rich in blessing, Which before the cross we spend.
Life and health and peace possessing From the sinner’s dying Friend.
In stanza 2 we delve into the depths of theology to see our sins laid on Jesus, as He who knew no sin became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21), accomplishing our redemption by becoming a sacrifice in our place.
Here we rest in wonder, viewing All our sins on Jesus laid;
Here we see redemption flowing From the sacrifice He made.
In stanza 3 we sing of the imagery of heaven’s beauty dawning upon us as we gaze on the cross. The fact that our trespasses have been forgiven because He has satisfied divine justice on our behalf leads to great “songs of triumph” being raised.
Here we find the dawn of heaven While upon the cross we gaze,
See our trespasses forgiven, And our songs of triumph raise.
In stanza 4 we move closer to the cross and to the Savior in loving devotion. And it includes a tough phrase grammatically, asking the Lord to keep us from having a divided heart, clinging only to Him, and being content to forsake all else to be found in Him.
Oh, that, near the cross abiding, We may to the Savior cleave,
Naught with Him our hearts dividing, All for Him content to leave!
In stanza 5 we sing of our future hope, that we might find increasing satisfaction in having our eyes fixed on Him until that day when we shall have the full installment of our salvation, seeing no longer through a glass darkly, but face to face with His unveiled glory.
Lord, in loving contemplation Fix our hearts and eyes on Thee
Till we taste Thy full salvation And Thine unveiled glory see.
And here are the words to four of the most frequently used stanzas of the hymn from Stainer’s “Crucifixion,” Cross of Jesus, Cross of Sorrow.
In stanza 1 we see the centrality of the blood of Christ, remembering that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. That’s because sin is a capital offense. And what an eloquent statement that our Redeemer was both Perfect Man and Perfect God.
Cross of Jesus, cross of sorrow, Where the blood of Christ was shed,
Perfect Man on thee did suffer, Perfect God on thee has bled!
In stanza 2 we sing of the stunning contrast between “the King of all the ages” and the one “robed in mortal flesh,” dying by the cursed act of crucifixion. And his is the one who was enthroned in light before creation.
Here the King of all the ages, Throned in light ere worlds could be,
Robed in mortal flesh is dying, Crucified by sin for me.
In stanza 3 we see an example of the florid Victorian literary style that has led to the oratorio’s being belittled by many more recent composers. But the truth is amazing: that “very God Himself” bore the suffering from sin throughout the ages!
O myster’ous condescending! O abandonment sublime!
Very God Himself is bearing All the sufferings of time!
In stanza 4, consistent with the oratorio, we find stanza 1 repeated as a conclusion.
Cross of Jesus, cross of sorrow, Where the blood of Christ was shed,
Perfect Man on thee did suffer, Perfect God on thee has bled!
Here you can hear a portion of the Stainer “Crucifixion” hymn.