Lyrics - The Power of the Cross

Verse 1

Oh, to see the dawn of the darkest day:

Christ on the road to Calvary.

Tried by sinful men, torn and beaten, then

nailed to a cross of wood.

Verse 2

Oh, to see the pain written on Your face,

bearing the awesome weight of sin.

Ev'ry bitter thought, ev'ry evil deed

crowning Tour bloodstained brow.

Chorus 1

This the pow'r of the cross:

Christ became sin for us.

Took the blame, bore the wrath;

we stand forgiven at the cross!

Verse 3

Now the daylight flees; now the ground beneath

quakes as its Maker bows his head.

Curtain torn in two; dead are raised to life;

"Finished!" the vict'ry cry.

Chorus 2

This the pow'r of the cross:

Christ became sin for us.

Took the blame, bore the wrath;

we stand forgiven at the cross!

Verse 4

Oh, to see my name written in the wounds,

for through Your suff'ring I am free!

Death is crushed to death; life is mine to live,

won through Your selfless love!

Chorus 2

This the pow'r of the cross:

Son of God, slain for us.

What a love, what a cost— 

we stand forgiven at the cross!

Bible Memory Verses

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

-  Psalm 32:1 (ESV)

Story Behind the Song

When Keith and I were first married, we lived in Geneva, Switzerland for a year, now 21 years ago. During that year Keith really focused on the early hymns like this one. Stuart Townend had come to visit.

The goal was to take this story song idea they had around the cross from 19 verses to 4! The line 'written in the wounds' had been in a draft for another song called 'See What a Morning' but found a home here in the last verse of 'Power of the Cross'.

The minor chords help tell the darkness and seriousness of that Good Friday. And also the depth and seriousness of our response.

Those early years of writing were marked by core songs around the Gospel and the core beliefs of the Christian Faith. But the goal was also to make these truths breathe into our lives, to be personal and life-changing.

'Oh to see my name written in the wounds For through your suffering I am free'

Something to Think About

As I wrote out some of the lyrics on our kitchen chalkboard, our eight-year-old daughter Tahlia was beside me. She drew the sun you can see in the corner!

I asked her if there was a lyric she didn't quite understand. She pointed at 'written in the wounds'. I told her it was a line of poetry and so we needed to slow down a little and give it some more thought. It wasn't a literal idea, but a picture to help us understand something much deeper.

His wounds showed the great cost of our sin and how much we are loved. It is in His wounds that we find life and only there. This is at the heart of what it means to be a Christian — to trust in Christ our Savior whose sacrifice covers all our sin, to find our name 'written in the wounds'.

This song sings of a dark day but it was the only way to bring out the sun of our hope!

If this doesn't describe you and you would like it to, perhaps you could pray this prayer from the children's section of The Sing! Hymnal.

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank you for dying on the cross to take away all my sin. Please forgive me and give me new life. May I trust in you as my Lord and Savior and greatest friend. Teach me how to follow you until I see you in heaven.

In Jesus,

Amen

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