William Baxter The Cross (1846)

FROM

THE

MILLENNIAL HARBINGER.

SERIES III.

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VOL. III. BETHANY, VA. DECEMBER, 1846. NO. XII.
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T H E   C R O S S.--BY WM. BAXTER.

SYMBOL of shame! on thee, my Lord,
      The mark of hellish malice hung,
While keen reproaches, bitter taunts,
      Were hurl'd by Jew, and Roman tongue;
Yes, there he bore the shame for me,
      While fiends and angels wond'ring stood,
To see the meek and Sinless One
      Rais'd high on the accursed wood.

Symbol of suff'rings! As he hung
      Tears flowed from his beseeching eyes;
And 'mid his agonies arose
      To heaven his mild entreating cries.
His hands, his feet, his wounded brow,
      Pour'd freely forth the crimson tide;
Yet by these sorrows we are heal'd--
      We live, for he was crucified.

Symbol of faith! We rest our souls
      On Him, who, on thy rugged wood,
To save us in our lost estate,
      Paid our great ransom with his blood.
Thou art the sure foundation laid,
      The firm, the changeless Corner Stone;
For there Christ died, and in his death
      We place our trust for heaven alone.

Symbol of hope! A starless night
      Seem'd round our hapless race to close,
To fold us in its gloomy pall;
      When, joy to man, the Cross arose!
It rose, and in the human heart
      Hope sprang to chase that fearful gloom,
And by its sweet and cheering light,
      Dispel the darkness of the tomb.

Symbol of love! God's love to man
      Was never known, till rais'd on high,
The world, upon the Roman cross,
      Saw God's own well beloved die!
O! may that love constrain our hearts
      To count all earthly things but dross--
To lay all other boasts aside,
      And glory only in the Cross!

[The Millennial Harbinger (December 1846): 705.]

ABOUT THE ELECTRONIC EDITION

      William Baxter's "The Cross" was first published in The Millennial Harbinger, Third Series, Vol. 3, No. 12, December 1846. The electronic version of the poem has been produced from the College Press reprint (1976) of The Millennial Harbinger, ed. Alexander Campbell (Bethany, VA: A. Campbell, 1846), p. 705.

      Addenda and corrigenda are earnestly solicited.

Ernie Stefanik
Derry, PA

Created 19 June 1998.
Updated 28 June 2003.

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