[Biblemat] hymn study, "The Old Rugged Cross"

[Wayne S Walker]

Wayne Walker here with another weekly hymn study, which will also be my
lesson here this coming Sunday evening.

"THE OLD RUGGED CROSS"
"And He bearing His cross went forth into a place called...Golgotha" (Jn.
19.17)

     INTRO.:  A song which reminds us of the importance of the cross on
which Jesus died at Golgotha is "The Old Rugged Cross" (#578 in Hymns for
Worship Revised, and #322 in Sacred Selections for the Church).  The text
was written and the tune (Rugged Cross) was composed both by George
Bennard, who was born at Youngstown, OH, on Feb. 4, 1873, the son of a
coal miner.  The Bennard family moved to Albia, IA, when George was a
small child, and from there to Lucas, IA, where George entered the ranks
of the Salvation Army.  Although he wanted to become a minister, his
father died when George was sixteen, leaving him as sole support for his
mother and four sisters, so further education was impossible.  Later he
moved his mother and sisters to Illinois, where he eventually married. 
When his family responsibilities lessened, he and his wife became full
time Salvation Army workers, but after several years he resigned this
work, jointed the Methodist Episcopal Church, and moved to Albion, MI,
spending many years as a travelling evangelist throughout the
north-central United States and Canada.

     Late in the fall of 1912, after an especially difficult experience
in a New York meeting, Bennard returned to Albion and began reflecting on
the meaning of the cross in the life of the believer.  Becoming convinced
that the cross was not merely a symbol of Christianity but the very heart
of it, he spent long hours in study, prayer, and mediation until one day
a hymn began to formulate itself in his mind.  The melody ran through his
head, and he jotted it down quickly.  Afterwards he tried for several
weeks to provide words to fit the tune and finally completed four stanzas
with the chorus in early 1913.  When he took the hymn to the home of some
friends, they were so enthusiastic that they offered to pay the fees to
have it printed.  It was first introduced at a special meeting of the
Methodist Church in Pokagon, MI, later that year and afterwards sung at a
large convention in Chicago, IL.

     Shortly after finishing the hymn, Bennard sent a copy to one of the
leading gospel hymn composers and publishers of that era, Charles H.
Gabriel, who said, "You will certainly hear from this song."  It was
published in a hymnbook for the first time in the 1915 Heart Songs edited
by Bennard and Joseph H. Smith.  Within thirty years, more than twenty
million copies had been sold, outselling every other musical composition
of any kind published to that date.  The copyright was renewed in 1941 by
the Rodeheaver Co.  Pollsters report that it is the most frequently
requested hymn, and songbook editors have designated it the most popular
of all twentieth-century religious songs.  While Bennard is credited with
more than 300 hymns, he is best remembered for this one.  For a number of
years, he made his home at Reed City, MI, where he died at the age of 85
on Oct. 10, 1958.  Monuments have been erected to him in both Albion and
Reed City, MI, and in Youngstown, OH.

     Among hymnbooks published by members of the Lord's church during the
twentieth century for use in churches of Christ, the song appeared in the
1925 edition of the 1921 Great Songs of the Church (No. 1) and the 1937
Great Songs of the Church No. 2 both edited by E. L. Jorgenson; the 1935
Christian Hymns (No. 1), the 1948 Christian Hymns No. 2, and the 1966
Christian Hymns No. 3 all edited by L. O. Sanderson; the 1963 Abiding
Hymns edited by Robert C. Welch; and the 1963 Christian Hymnal edited by
J. Nelson Slater.  Today it may be found in the 1971 Songs of the Church,
the 1990 Songs of the Church 21st C. Ed., and the 1994 Songs of Faith and
Praise all edited by Alton H. Howard; the 1978/1983 Church Gospel Songs
and Hymns edited by V. E. Howard; the 1986 Great Songs Revised edited by
Forrest M. McCann; and the 1992 Praise for the Lord edited by John P.
Wiegand; in addition to Hymns for Worship, Sacred Selections, and the
2007 Sacred Songs of the Church edited by William D. Jeffcoat.

     The song depicts the wonderful sacrifice made for us by Jesus Christ
in His crucifixion.

I. In stanza 1, we have a statement of the cross as an instrument of
suffering and shame
"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."
 A. Here the physical aspects of the cross as an instrument of death are
emphasized: Lk. 23.26-33
 B. However, even in this it becomes a symbol of the suffering of Jesus
Christ: 1 Pet. 3.18
 C. This suffering was not meaningless but had a purpose, that He might
die for a world of lost sinners: Rom. 5.8

II. In stanza 2, the cross has an attraction for us because it was borne
by the Lamb of God for us
"Oh, that 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."
 A. The cross, and what it stands for, is despised by the world and
considered foolishness: Col. 1.18
 B. However, in the wisdom of God, the cross was the means by which the
Lamb of God might be sacrificed for our redemption: 1 Pet. 1.18-19
 C. In order to do this, He had to leave His glory above: Phil. 2.5-8

III. In stanza 3, we see a beauty in the cross because on it Jesus died
to pardon us from our sins
"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."
 A. The cross is important because it was stained with blood so divine,
alluding to the fact that it is through the blood of Christ that
redemption is available: Eph. 1.7
 B. Thus, the death of Jesus on the cross was not just a martyrdom for a
good cause but a sacrifice to save each one of us: 1 Pet. 2.24-25
 C. The reason that this was necessary is that all of us have sinned and
need to have our sins pardoned or remitted: Matt. 20.28

IV. In stanza 4, the cross becomes our means of identifying with our
Savior and going to be with Him
"To the old rugged cross I will ever be true; Its shame and reproach
gladly bear.
Then He'll call me someday to my home far away, Where His glory forever
I'll share."
 A.  We should ever be true to the old rugged cross because it represents
the fulfilment of God's plan for the redemption of mankind by Christ's
death through the gospel: Acts 2.22-24
 B. Its shame and reproach we gladly bear by glorying only in the cross:
Gal. 6.14
 C. If we are willing to do these things, then we can run the race,
follow Him who endured the cross, despised the shame, and sat down at the
right hand of God, and thus sit with Him at God's right hand: Heb. 12.1-2

     CONCL.:  The chorus then describes what our reaction to the message
of the cross should be.
"Then 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 someday for a
crown."
Some have objected to this song, saying that it expresses worship for the
cross itself as one might venerate some physical object as a relic. 
However, I believe that this objection fails to note the symbolism
involved in the song.  Of course, we do not worship the cross as such. 
But when we understand the figurative nature of the song's language, in
which the cross is used metonymously for the atonement made on it and the
resultant offer of redemption through it, then we can recognize that we
surely must cherish or honor what the cross stands for.  Also, we realize
that we cannot have the blessings of Christ's death without a proper
appreciation of "The Old Rugged Cross."

      Brotherly,
Wayne S. Walker
9024 Amona Dr.
Affton, MO  63123
home phone: (314) 638-4710
office phone: (314) 544-1612
e-mail: wswalker310 at juno.com
website: www.defenderoftruth.com

     Notes: Other hymn studies are available at the Defender of Truth
website.  Also, some of my previous hymn studies are now included in book
that I have written entitled Songs of Zion.  It can be ordered from the
publisher by calling 1-800-423-2484 or going to www.faith-facts.com.  And
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