Looking to the Cross

I saw one hanging on a tree, In agony and blood

Author: John Newton
Published in 224 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Audio files: MIDI

Representative Text

1 I saw One hanging on a tree,
In agony and blood;
He fixed His loving eyes on me,
As near His cross I stood.

Refrain:
O, can it be, upon a tree
The Savior died for me?
My soul is thrilled, my heart is filled,
To think He died for me!

2 Sure, never to my latest breath,
Can I forget that look;
It seemed to charge me with His death,
Though not a word He spoke. (Refrain)

3 My conscience felt and owned the guilt,
And plunged me in despair:
I saw my sins His blood had spilt
And helped to nail Him there. (Refrain)

4 A second look He gave, which said,
“I freely all forgive:
This blood is for your ransom paid,
I die that you may live.” (Refrain)



Source: Sing Joyfully #240

Author: John Newton

John Newton (b. London, England, 1725; d. London, 1807) was born into a Christian home, but his godly mother died when he was seven, and he joined his father at sea when he was eleven. His licentious and tumul­tuous sailing life included a flogging for attempted desertion from the Royal Navy and captivity by a slave trader in West Africa. After his escape he himself became the captain of a slave ship. Several factors contributed to Newton's conversion: a near-drowning in 1748, the piety of his friend Mary Catlett, (whom he married in 1750), and his reading of Thomas à Kempis' Imitation of Christ. In 1754 he gave up the slave trade and, in association with William Wilberforce, eventually became an ardent abolitionist. After becoming a tide… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: I saw one hanging on a tree, In agony and blood
Title: Looking to the Cross
Author: John Newton
Meter: 8.6.8.6
Language: English
Notes: Spanish translation: See "En una cruz a Cristo vi" by George Paul Simmonds
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

[I saw One hanging on a tree] (Excell 13332)


MANOAH (Greatorex)

MANOAH was first published in Henry W. Greatorex's Collection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes (1851). This anthology (later editions had alternate titles) contained one of the best tune collections of its era and included thirty-seven original compositions and arrangements by compiler Greatorex as well as m…

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[I saw One hanging on a tree] (Excell 55134)


Timeline

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #3043
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
The New Praiseworthy: for the Church and Sunday School #18

Instances

Instances (1 - 6 of 6)
TextPage Scan

Hymns of Faith #145

Hymns of the Christian Life #90

TextPage Scan

Sing Joyfully #240

Page Scan

Soul-stirring Songs and Hymns (Rev. ed.) #11

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #3043

Page Scan

Rejoice Hymns #288

Include 218 pre-1979 instances
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