“At Calvary”

[Nelson Bradford]

When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him.
~ Luke 23:33

In the 1880s, R. A. Torrey, president of Moody Bible Institute, received a letter from a broken-hearted Presbyterian minister friend in Ohio. His son had become obsessed with the thought that he was beyond redemption and asked Torrey to accept him as a seminary student. Torrey replied that a Bible school was to train young men for the ministry. However, the distraught father pleaded until Torrey wrote, “Send him along.” After weeks of counseling and Bible study, the young man, William R. Newell, accepted the fact that Christ died for him and was gloriously converted.

Newell graduated from Wooster College, Ohio in 1891, then attended Princeton and Oberlin Seminaries. After ordination he became pastor of Bethesda Congregational Church, Chicago. He became a noted pastor, evangelist, Bible teacher, commentator, and professor. Newell was known for his Biblical commentaries on Romans, Hebrews, and the Book of Revelation. In 1895 D. L. Moody asked him to become the Assistant Superintendent of Moody Bible Institute under R. A. Torrey. In this position Newell demonstrated his extraordinary gift of Bible exposition. Great audiences in Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, and Toronto flocked to hear his city-wide, weekly Bible classes. Through his teaching he had a tremendous impact grounding believers in the Pauline gospel of grace. It was during this period that Newell wrote this hymn.

One day on the way to teach a class, thoughts about Christ’s suffering began to form. He stepped into an empty classroom and wrote them on the back of an envelope before they slipped his mind. A few minutes later he met his friend and colleague, Daniel B. Towner, the Institute’s Director of Music, and asked him to compose music for the verses. An hour later as Newell returned from class, Dr. Towner presented him with the melody and they sang the completed hymn together. Since its publication in 1895 Christians everywhere have enthusiastically sung William Newell’s testimony…

Years I spent in vanity and pride,
Caring not my Lord was crucified,
Knowing not it was for me He died
On Calvary.

Refrain
Mercy there was great, and grace was free;
Pardon there was multiplied to me;
There my burdened soul found liberty,
At Calvary.

- William R. Newell, 1895

Copied from Sing to the Lord © 1993 by Lillenas Publishing Company

Hymn commentary courtesy J. D. Sherrow

[Jim Chabot]

Thanks Nelson, love that song! #236 if I remember right.

I'm thinking that might be a good one for us to sing on Easter Sunday morning!