[Verse 1]
Alas and did saviour bleed and did my sovereign die
Would he devote that sacred head 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
[Verse 2]
Was it for crimes that I have done he groaned upon the tree
Amazing pity grace unknown and love beyond degree
[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
[Verse 3]
But drops of grief cannot repay the debt of love I owe
Here lord I give myself away it's all that I can do
[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
At the Cross Where I First Saw The Light
Song Meaning
Questions carry the verses of this hymn: "would he devote that sacred head for such a worm as I," then "Was it for crimes that I have done he groaned upon the tree?" Isaac Watts's text is blunt about the singer's unworthiness, and the only reply it gives is "Amazing pity, grace unknown, and love beyond degree."
The refrain changes the mood from wonder to testimony. "At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light, and the burden of my heart rolled away" pairs sight with weight in a single line, and "it was there by faith I received my sight" recalls the man healed in John 9:25. Isaiah 53:5 and Romans 5:8 stand behind the picture of Christ bleeding for someone who had not earned it.
The last verse admits that "drops of grief cannot repay the debt of love I owe." What it offers instead is plain: "Here lord I give myself away, it's all that I can do," an answer in the spirit of Romans 12:1, before the refrain returns with "now I am happy all the day."