History of “Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed? (At the Cross)” http://www.celebratingholidays.com/?page_id=11343
Words by Isaac Watts (1674-1748), Published in 1707
Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
Isaac Watts was the oldest of nine children born in England to a
father, also named Isaac, who was imprisoned on more than one occasion
for dissenting from the doctrine of the Anglican Church. It is said that
Isaac’s mother Sarah used to nurse him while sitting on a stone outside
the prison and talking with her husband through the bars.
1
Watts showed exceptional intellectual ability in his youth. By age
13, he had learned Latin, Greek, French and Hebrew. He also demonstrated
his wit with rhyme at a young age. Once when asked to explain why he
was disturbing the evening prayers, Watts described the mouse that was
distracting him: “A mouse for want of better stairs, ran up a rope to
say his prayers.”
2 On this occasion (or possibly another),
when he was being punished for his irritating rhymes, he said, “O
father, do some pity take, and I will no more verses make.”
3
If Watts had been a member of the Church of England, he probably
would have been sent to Oxford or Cambridge for college. Instead, he was
enrolled at a school for “dissenters” in London. After leaving the
Dissenting Academy at 19, Watts returned to his father’s parish, Above
Bar Congregational Church, in Southampton.
Both Watts and his father found church music to be uninspiring and
monotonous. The congregational singing in English-speaking churches was
limited to metrical psalms. Many Christians believed that it would be
offensive to God to sing anything other than the actual words of
Scripture. It was Watts’ father who first challenged him to “write
something better for us to sing.”
4
After Watts presented his first song, the congregation at his
father’s church responded with tremendous enthusiasm . . . so much so
that they requested a new hymn every week. The next two years would
become the richest hymn-writing period in Watts’ life. After these two
years, Watts moved to London to work as a tutor.
In London, Watts joined the Mark Lane Independent Church. On his
24thbirthday in 1698, he preached his first sermon, and by 1702, he
became the senior pastor. He retained this position for the remainder of
his life and would become one of the best-known preachers in England.
Interestingly, Watts was also a reputable author of educational books on geography, astronomy, grammar and philosophy.
5
His books were widely used in universities in the 18thcentury. However,
Watts is now best known for his hymns, which were motivated by a
“fervent concern about the dismal state of congregational singing.”
6
He wrote, “While we sing the Praises of our God in his Church, we are
employ’d in that part of worship which of all others is the nearest
a-kin to Heaven; and ‘tis pity that this of all others should be
perform’d the worst upon Earth.”
7
Watts published a number of collections of songs and hymns. In 1707, “Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed” appeared in his
Hymns and Spiritual Songs. Though the song was well-known in Great Britain, it became even more popular in America.
8 Interestingly,
Fanny Crosby,
the famous American hymn writer, recounted that the song was
instrumental in her conversion. While singing this song during a revival
meeting in 1850, Fanny said that her “very soul was flooded with a
celestial light.”
9
Though Watts’ hymns rapidly spread across England and America, their
popularity did not come without controversy. They were derogatorily
referred to as “Watts’ Whims” or “songs of human composure.” One man
complained, “Christian congregations shut out divinely inspired Psalms
and take in Watts’ flights of fancy as if words of a poet were better
than those of a prophet.”
10
Fortunately, Watts’ hymns survived the controversies, and he rightly
earned the title “father of English hymnody.” Many of Watts’ more than
600 hymns can still be heard in churches across the world; some of the
most notable are: “
Joy to the World,” “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” “We’re Marching to Zion,” and “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.”
Words “Hudson” by Ralph Erskine Hudson (1843-1901), Published in 1885
Ralph Erskine Hudson (1843-1901)
Watts wrote his hymns as poems, and they were sung to a variety of
tunes. Originally, the most popular tune for “Alas! And Did My Savior
Bleed?” was an old Scottish melody. However, in 1885 Ralph Hudson, a
preacher, singer, and song writer published the song with a tune (now
named “Hudson”) in his collection titled
Songs of Peace, Love, and Joy.
He also added the now popular refrain “At the Cross” to the song.
Though Ralph is credited with composing the refrain melody, hymnologist
Donald Hustad records that the tune for the refrain “appears with other
words and is also credited to other individuals in late 19th century
publications. . . . It is a possibility that both words and melody of
the refrain were commonly known and used in the campmeeting tradition,
and that Hudson simply added them to his own original melody.”
11
Ralph was indeed active in “campmeetings” (evangelist outreaches) for
a good part of his life. He was born in Ohio in 1843. When he was still
a teenager, the American Civil War broke out, and Ralph enlisted in the
Union Army to serve as a nurse at the General Hospital in Annapolis,
Maryland. After discharge, he pursued his interest in music and taught
at Mount Vernon College in Ohio. However, after five years, he left his
teaching post to engage in his other passion — preaching. He was active
in evangelistic outreaches and offered his services in a variety of ways
(whether it be preaching, singing, or even writing music). Eventually,
he established his own publishing company through which he produced
several collections of songs – often setting “standard hymns to gospel
song tunes, sometimes adding a refrain of his own.”
12 Ralph
traveled extensively doing both evangelistic work and introducing his
song collections – a wonderful gift to the churches of his time – right
up until his death in 1901.
Lyrics for “O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus”:
Alas! and did my Savior bleed
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For sinners such as I?
[originally, For such a worm as I?]
(Refrain)
At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!
Thy body slain, sweet Jesus, Thine—
And bathed in its own blood—
While the firm mark of wrath divine,
His Soul in anguish stood.
(Refrain)
Was it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!
(Refrain)
Well might the sun in darkness hide
And shut his glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker died,
For man the creature’s sin.
(Refrain)
Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt my eyes to tears.
(Refrain)
But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe:
Here, Lord, I give my self away
’Tis all that I can do.
(Refrain)
