The Old Rugged Cross

The Old Rugged Cross

If you were to ask anyone in my church, they would tell you that my favorite hymn is “The Old Rugged Cross.” I learned to love that hymn as a small child, singing it with a group of farmers and factory workers in the old Congregational Church in Atwater, Ohio.

I never realized how close I was to that hymn. I was surprised to learn that it was written by George Bennard, who was born less than an hour from where I first learned to sing it. He died in 1958—the same year I was born.

Bennard moved to Iowa with his family, and when his father died, he became a coal miner at the age of 16 to help support them. Eventually, he was able to leave the mines and became an evangelist.

For a long time, he carried a tune in his head. He wanted to turn it into a song, but he couldn’t seem to find the right words. He wrote the first line, but couldn’t get any further—nothing seemed to fit. Then one day in 1912, while he was preaching at a revival, some young men began relentlessly harassing and heckling him. At the end of the night, he returned to his room distraught and dismayed.

It was there that the words for his hymn began to come together as he reflected on God’s children enduring shame while loving their God in a world that does not.

Once completed, the hymn quickly became a favorite. When Homer Rodeheaver heard it, he purchased the song and began singing it at the revivals of Billy Sunday, where thousands learned it. It remains today an incredibly beautiful piece of music—one that melts the heart with its haunting melody and sorrowful lyrics.

It is my favorite, and I am not alone. It is an all-time favorite for many. If you have never heard it, take some time to listen today. I recommend the Alan Jackson version.https://youtu.be/-JS9P8d2iOc?si=jZvaKTpW3JYS9oRM

The Old Rugged Cross

Verse 1

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.

Refrain:

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.

Verse 2

O 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.

(Refrain)

Verse 3

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.

(Refrain)

Verse 4

To that 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.

(Refrain)