When I Survey the Wondrous Cross: Large Print PDF
The words of When I Survey the Wondrous Cross are here in large print, one sheet at 18, 24 or 28 point. Credit: Isaac Watts (1707). Published before 1930, so public domain in the US and free to copy.
| Words | Isaac Watts (1707) |
|---|---|
| Type size | 18, 24 or 28 pt |
| Paper | US Letter, A4 or 11 x 17 in, white or cream |
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross in large print: words and download
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ, my God;
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.
See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
Words: Isaac Watts (1707). Music: Lowell Mason (1824), from a Gregorian chant. Public domain in the United States: words published 1707 (US, published 1929 or earlier).
The words above are set the way this site sets every song: left aligned, one column, plain type with no italics, and a blank line between stanzas. The sheet has 4 stanzas and 16 lines. When I Survey the Wondrous Cross is one of the songs in our large print hymns collection, where you can print it with others in one PDF, and the whole set of texts is listed on the large print prayers and hymns page.
Who wrote When I Survey the Wondrous Cross and when?
Isaac Watts wrote the hymn, and it was published in his Hymns and Spiritual Songs in 1707. According to Wikipedia it was an innovative departure from the early English hymn style of paraphrasing only biblical texts, although parts of two verses paraphrase a verse in Galatians. Watts changed one line himself in the 1709 edition, so that readers would not mistake it for a reference to Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, who had died at age eleven. Wikipedia adds that the fourth verse has commonly been left out of printed versions since George Whitefield began that practice in 1757, so check whether your group sings four verses or three. The tunes most often used are Rockingham and Hamburg.
When is When I Survey the Wondrous Cross sung?
Its subject suits Lent and Good Friday, and according to Wikipedia the BBC has used it, sung to Rockingham, to introduce its seven o'clock broadcast on Good Friday. It is solemn, and it is best printed on a plain sheet with no decoration. It sits alongside How Firm a Foundation and Blest Be the Tie That Binds. If you know this hymn, you may also want Rock of Ages.
How do you print When I Survey the Wondrous Cross for a service, a sing-along or a care-home visit?
Print at 24 point on cream paper. The hymn is sung slowly, so a reader can follow it with the eye. Check first whether your group sings all the verses on the sheet, since some congregations leave one out. For a Lenten service, print on 11 x 17 paper and keep sheets at the door. In a care home, a Good Friday sing works with one sheet each in a sleeve, and 28 point copies for readers who need them. Eighteen point is the smallest size we offer, because the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) says print below 18 point is not large print, and our page on what large print is explains the reasons for 18, 24 and 28 point.