Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken

Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken
Composer: Davide C. Marney, 2004
Lyricist: Henry F. Lyte, 1824; text of 1833

Jesus, I my cross have taken,
All to leave and follow thee;
Destitute despised, forsaken,
Thou from hence my all shalt be:
Perish ev'ry fond ambition
All I've sought, or hoped, or known;
Yet how rich is my condition,
God and heav'n are still my own.

Man may trouble and distress me,
'Twill but drive me to thy breast;
Life with trials hard may press me,
Heavn' will bring me sweetter rest:
O 'tis not in grief to harm me
While thy love is left to me;
O 'twere not in joy to charm me,
Were that joy unmixed with thee.

Take, my soul, thy full salvation,
Rise o'er sin and fear and care;
Joy to find in ev'ry station
Something still to do or bear;
Think what Spirit dwells within thee,
What a Father's smile is thine,
What a Saviour died to win thee:
Child of heav'n shouldst thou repine?

Haste then on from grace to glory,
Armed by faith, and winged by prayer;
Heav'n's eternal day's before thee,
God's own hand shall guide thee there.
Soon shall close thy earthyly mission
Swift shall pass thy pilgrim days;
Hope soon change to glad fruition,
Faith to sight, and prayer to praise. 

This hymn has brought hope and encouragement to many throughout it's history. It has a wonderful story behind it. The author of this hymn, Henry Francis Lyte, ...was transferred to a community of fisherman at Lower Brixham, in Devonshire, England. Here he ministered faithfully to these humble people for the next twenty three years of his life. ..."Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken" reflects Lyte's own personal attitude toward the "cross" of his suffering and the fact that he had found refuge in Christ alone in learning to accept and use suffering in a spiritual manner. It is thought that in addition to Lyte's bodily afflictions, a difficulty with some individuals within his church also weighed heavily upon his spirit. This is possibly alluded to in such expressions from the second and third stanzas as: "human hearts and looks deceive me...," 'man may trouble and distress me...," 'foes may hate, and friends may shun me...;" Yet the glad anticipation of God's hereafter made these "pilgrim days" inconsequential for Lyte, since "hope shall change to glad fruition, faith to sight and prayer to praise."

(Taken from 101 More Hymn Stories by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, pgs. 158-159.)

Enjoy the cool Indelible Grace video featuring this hymn...