The Old Rugged Cross is a gospel hymn written by the American evangelist George Bennard in 1912 and 1913 and first published in 1915. Its four verses and refrain tell why a Christian loves the cross, an emblem of suffering and shame, because there "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29) died for sinners. The refrain promises to cling to the cross and one day exchange it for a crown, echoing Paul's hope of "a crown of righteousness" (2 Timothy 4:8). The words are in the public domain in the United States.
For much of the twentieth century, The Old Rugged Cross was one of the best-loved hymns in America. It was sung at revival meetings, recorded by singers from Mahalia Jackson and Tennessee Ernie Ford to Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson, and it is still requested at funerals and Good Friday services more than a century later. George Bennard, a Methodist evangelist who had come to faith through the Salvation Army, wrote the first verse in Albion, Michigan, in 1912, during a hard season of ministry when he had faced ridicule at a revival meeting. Hymn histories say he had been studying the cross and came to see it as more than a religious symbol: it was the heart of the gospel. He finished the hymn at meetings in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, early in 1913. Below are the full words, followed by twelve King James verses that stand behind its lines: the hill of Calvary, the Lamb of God who left His glory, the pardon bought by His blood and the crown at the end. For more Scripture on the theme, see Bible verses about the cross and Bible verses about the blood of Jesus.
The Old Rugged Cross: the words
Verse 1
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suff'ring and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.
Refrain
So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.
Verse 2
Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.
Verse 3
In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.
Verse 4
To the old rugged cross I will ever be true,
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He'll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I'll share.
The refrain is sung after each verse. Words and music: George Bennard, written 1912-1913 and first published in 1915. Public domain in the United States (published before 1931). Punctuation and capitalization vary slightly between hymnals.
On a hill far away: Calvary
1. John 19:17
"And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:"
The hymn opens with a picture: a hill far away and a cross on it. John describes the walk to that hill: And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha. Luke gives the Latin name, Calvary (Luke 23:33). For Bennard's first hearers in Michigan and Wisconsin, Jerusalem really was far away. The hymn brings the distant hill close, so that each singer stands in front of the cross and says, I love that old cross.
2. Hebrews 13:12
"Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate."
The first verse calls the cross the emblem of suffering and shame, the place where the dearest and best was slain for a world of lost sinners. Hebrews explains why Jesus died outside the city: Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. In Israel's law, the bodies of sin offerings were burned outside the camp (Hebrews 13:11). Jesus was put to death outside Jerusalem's walls, cast out like an offering for sin, so that His people could be made holy.
3. Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."
How could anyone love an emblem of shame? Hebrews says Jesus Himself saw past the shame: who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame. To despise the shame means He counted it as nothing compared to the joy of saving His people. The cross was the most humiliating death Rome could give, reserved for slaves and rebels. The hymn's paradox, a shameful cross that is somehow beautiful, comes straight from this verse. We are told to keep looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.
4. Galatians 6:14
"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world."
The refrain, so I'll cherish the old rugged cross, echoes Paul's boast: But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Paul's world, nobody bragged about a crucifixion. Yet Paul refused to boast about anything else, not his learning, his heritage or his achievements. The cross also changed his relationship to the world: by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. To cling to the cross is to let go of the world's measures of success.
The dear Lamb of God left His glory above
5. John 1:29
"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."
The second verse sings of the dear Lamb of God. The title comes from John the Baptist, who saw Jesus walking toward him and said, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Every Jewish listener would think of the Passover lamb, whose blood marked the doors in Egypt, and of the daily sacrifices at the temple. Jesus is the Lamb God Himself provides. Bennard's line that the world despised the cross but it has a wondrous attraction for me reflects the same surprise: the Lamb draws sinners to Himself.
6. Philippians 2:7-8
"But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
The second verse also says the Lamb left His glory above to bear the cross to dark Calvary. That is Philippians 2 in a single line. The Son of God made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant. Then He went lower still: he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Paul says the Son was in the form of God (Philippians 2:6). He did not lose His divine nature, but He set aside His glory and status to come down all the way to Golgotha. See Bible verses about humility.
7. Colossians 1:20
"And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven."
The third verse sings of the cross stained with blood so divine. Paul explains what that blood accomplished: Christ, having made peace through the blood of his cross, reconciles all things to God. Sin had made us enemies of God (Colossians 1:21). At the cross, peace was made, not by our effort but by His blood. That is why the hymn sees a wondrous beauty in an instrument of execution. The beauty is not in the wood or the nails. It is in the peace with God that was bought there.
8. 1 Corinthians 1:18
"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."
Bennard's hymn admits that the cross is despised by the world. Paul said the same thing to the Corinthians: For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. To many educated people in Corinth, a crucified Savior was absurd. Paul did not soften the message to make it more acceptable. He trusted that the message of the cross carries God's own power to change lives. The hymn's popularity among ordinary believers is a small proof of that.
To pardon and sanctify me, and a crown
9. Colossians 2:14
"Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;"
The third verse ends, to pardon and sanctify me. Pardon means our guilt is removed. Paul pictures it as a bill of debt nailed to the cross: Christ was blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us... nailing it to his cross. In the Roman world, a list of a criminal's crimes could be nailed above his head on the cross. Paul says that what was nailed there was our list, not His. When a Christian sings that the cross brings pardon, this is what it means: the record against us has been cancelled.
10. Hebrews 10:10
"By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."
Sanctify means to make holy, set apart for God. Hebrews says this was done at the cross once for all: By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The sacrifices of the old covenant were repeated day after day and year after year, and they could never finish the work (Hebrews 10:11). Christ's one offering did. Christians still grow in holiness through their lives, but their standing as God's holy people rests on what happened on that hill.
11. Hebrews 13:13
"Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach."
The fourth verse makes a promise: to the old rugged cross I will ever be true, its shame and reproach gladly bear. That line is almost a quotation of Hebrews: Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. Jesus suffered outside the gate, and His followers are called to go out to Him there, accepting the scorn that comes with belonging to a crucified Lord. Jesus said the same: whoever will come after Him must take up his cross (Mark 8:34).
12. 2 Timothy 4:8
"Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."
The refrain ends with the hope of exchanging the cross some day for a crown. Paul wrote his last letter from prison, expecting to die, and he looked ahead with confidence: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day. And it is not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. The trophies laid down at the end of the hymn are all our achievements. What we receive is a crown given by grace. See Bible verses about heaven.
A short prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You for the old rugged cross, where You, the dearest and best, were slain for a world of lost sinners, and for me. Thank You that You left Your glory, became obedient unto death and made peace through the blood of Your cross. Help me to glory in nothing else. Give me courage to bear Your reproach gladly, and keep me true to You until the day I lay my trophies down and receive the crown You have promised. Amen.
Go deeper: a SOAP study prompt
Pick one verse above and write: - Scripture: copy the verse by hand. - Observation: what does it say? Who is speaking, to whom? - Application: what does it mean for you today? - Prayer: turn it into a two-line prayer.
New to this method? See our Bible study guide or pick a Bible reading plan.
Pray through the cross with the 30-Day Prayer Journal · Download our free SOAP study page · Write out the verses behind the hymn with the free Scripture writing plan
Frequently asked questions
Who wrote The Old Rugged Cross and when?
George Bennard (1873-1958), a Methodist evangelist from Ohio who had been converted in a Salvation Army meeting, wrote both the words and the music. He wrote the first verse in Albion, Michigan, in 1912 and finished the hymn during meetings in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, in January 1913. It was published in 1915 and made famous by the song leaders of the evangelist Billy Sunday.
Is The Old Rugged Cross public domain?
Yes, in the United States. The Old Rugged Cross was first published in 1915, and US works published before 1931 are now in the public domain, so the original words and tune can be printed and sung freely. Modern arrangements and recordings of the hymn may still be under copyright, so check before using a particular recording or arrangement.
What Bible verses is The Old Rugged Cross based on?
The hymn is not a paraphrase of one passage, but its lines echo many verses. The hill and Calvary come from John 19:17 and Luke 23:33, the Lamb of God from John 1:29, leaving His glory from Philippians 2:7-8, bearing the reproach from Hebrews 13:13 and the crown from 2 Timothy 4:8. The idea of loving and glorying in the cross comes from Galatians 6:14.
Is The Old Rugged Cross a good hymn for a funeral?
Many families choose The Old Rugged Cross for funerals and memorial services, especially for older believers who grew up singing it. Its refrain looks ahead to the day the believer lays down earthly trophies and receives a crown, and its last verse speaks of being called home far away to share His glory. It pairs well with readings like 2 Timothy 4:7-8 or John 14:1-3. See Bible verses for funerals.
Sources: All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain in the United States. References were checked against the KJV text from bible-api.com.
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