Scripture Verse

We love Him, because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19

Introduction

portrait
Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878)

Words: Jo­hann C. Rube, Frü­lings-Blum­en 1712, page 63 (Der am Kreuz ist was ich meine, und sonst nichts in aller Welt). Trans­lat­ed from Ger­man to Eng­lish by Ca­the­rine Wink­worth, Ly­ra Ger­ma­ni­ca (Lon­don & New York: George Newnes & Charles Scrib­ner’s Sons, 1855), pag­es 226–27.

Music: Ab­er­yst­wyth (Par­ry) Jo­seph Par­ry, 1876. First pub­lished in Ed­ward Ste­phens’ Ail Lyfr To­nau ac Emynau, 1879 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tunes:

If you know where to get a good pic­ture of Rube (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

portrait
Joseph Parry (1841–1903)

Winkworth cre­dits the hymn to Jo­hann Ernst Gre­ding, but this at­tri­bution is in­cor­rect, ac­cord­ing to hym­no­lo­gist John Ju­li­an:

When re­peat­ed in the Ah­mu­thig­er Blu­men-Krantz, 1712, No. 92, it was al­tered to Der am Kreuz ist meine Liebe, and this form was in­cluded in the Würt­tem­berg [Ge­sang­buch], 1741, No. 51 (1842, No. 152) and oth­er col­lect­ions, and is a great fa­vou­rite in South Ger­ma­ny.

It is some­times er­ro­ne­ous­ly as­cribed to J. E. Gre­ding (b. 1676 d. 1748). The old­er hymn be­gin­ning Der am Kreuz ist meine Liebe, Meine Lieb ist Je­sus Christ is first found in Aha­sue­rus Fritsch’s Je­sus-Lied­er, 1668, No. 21, and is prob­ab­ly by Fritsch.

It is quite dif­fer­ent from Rube’s hymn and has not been tr. into Eng­lish. The trs. from Rube are (1) Him on yon­der cross I love, by Miss Wink­worth…re­peat­ed in Schaff’s Christ in Song, 1869, p. 189. (2) More than all the world be­side, by [Ri­chard] Mas­sie in his Ly­ra Do­mes­ti­ca, 1864, p. 122, and thence in Reid’s Praise Book, 1872.

Julian, p. 980

Lyrics

Him on yon­der cross I love,
Naught be­side on earth count dear!
May He mine for ev­er prove,
Who is now so in­ly near!
Here I stand: what­e’er may come,
Days of sun­shine or of gloom,
From this word I will not move;
Him up­on the cross I love!

’Tis not hid­den from my heart,
What true love must oft­en bring;
Want and grief have sor­est smart,
Care and scorn can sharp­ly sting;
Nay, but if Thy will were such,
Bitterest death were not too much!
Dark though here my course may prove:
Him up­on the cross I love!

Rather sor­rows such as these,
Rather love’s acut­est pain,
Than with­out Him days of ease,
Riches false and hon­ors vain.
Count me strange, when I am true,
What He hates I will not do;
Sneers no more my heart can move;
Him upon the cross I love!

Know ye whence my strength is drawn,
Fearless thus the fight to wage?
Why my heart can laugh to scorn
Fleshly weak­ness, Sa­tan’s rage?
’Tis, I know the love of Christ,
Mighty is that love un­priced!
What can grieve me, what can move?
Him upon the cross I love!

Once the eyes that now are dim,
Shall dis­cern the change­less love
That hath led us home to Him,
That hath crowned us far above:
Would to God that all be­low
What that love is now might know,
And their hearts this word ap­prove:
Him up­on the cross I love!