There is a Green Hill Far Away

There is a green hill far away, without a city wall,
Where the dear Lord was crucified, who died to save us all.

Oh, dearly, dearly has He loved, and died our sins to bear;
We trust in His redeeming blood, and life eternal share.

We may not know, we cannot tell, what pains He had to bear;
But we believe it was for us He hung and suffered there.

He died that we might be forgiven, He died to make us good,
That we might from our sins be freed, saved by His precious blood.

There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin,
He only could divine life give and dwell Himself within.

This is a rather obscure hymn not found in many of the hymnals I have at home.  It was written by Mrs. Cecil Frances Alexander in the 1800’s.  The main reason she wrote this song was to expand on part of the Apostle’s Creed which states “I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:  Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried.”  She felt like the children she was teaching this Creed to did not have a full grasp of the last part of that statement, and that this simple phrase did not do enough to explain what really happended on the Cross.  Because of that, she decided to expand on that thought in song, and the words to “There is a green hill far away” were penned.  The Apostle’s Creed has many fundamental theological statements in it, and this particular hymn expounds upon and reinforces many of those doctrinal truths.

The phrases I like in this hymn are:

• We believe it was for us He hung and suffered there – I have commented on this particular thought in other hymns before – the personalization of the Cross.  We tend to think about Jesus dying for the sins of the world, which He did, but we can sometimes fail to personalize it.  I like the fact that the author of this hymn uses the word “us” rather than “me” because it reminds me that we have all been “bought with a price” and we are brothers and sisters. We are all part of God’s family.  We recognize that each one of us, in a sense, is special and unique, but we also recognize we aren’t better than anyone else.  We aren’t any more or less deserving of His love and His grace.  It was for “us” collectively that He hung and suffered there, and because of that we have a bond between us.  A familiar chorus says “Bind us together Lord, Bind us together with cords that cannot be broken.”  If we recognize the bond of grace and love that we share because of Christ, we will have a greater appreciation and love for each other.

• He died to make us good – Although I agree with the spiritual concept that the author is referencing here, I think the word “good” is insufficient.  The word “good” seems to have a “not bad” connotation in my mind, or a “Good, Better, Best” comparison.  We are made “holy” and “righteous” in God’s sight, not because we suddenly become “good” on the inside, but because we have been purchased and we are clothed in Christ’s righteousness.  Phillipians 3:9 says “And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” 

• There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin – In a world where all religions claim to have some truth, and that there are many “paths” to God, we are reminded of a fundamental Christian truth – Jesus was, is, and will always be the only person who ever lived a sinless life, and therefore is the only person able to save us from our sins.  There have been many honorable men who have done great deeds while walking this earth, but none have been perfect like Him.  In Revelation 5, John says “And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.”  Jesus is worthy and is the only one worthy.  Jesus was the only one good enough to pay the price of sin.

As an elementary student, one of my least favorite days was “Show and Tell.”  I didn’t mind bringing something to pass around the class.  I just dreaded standing in front of class and talking about it.  My teachers reminded me that only doing part of “show and tell” was not sufficient to get a passing grade.  I had to both “show and tell.”  This hymn has a phrase that says “we may not know, we cannot tell what pains He had to bear,” and I do believe it is impossible for us to fully comprehend what Jesus experienced on the Cross.  However, there is something we can “know and tell” and something we should “show and tell.”  We know of the great love Christ has shown us because we have experienced it – “But God demonstrates His love in this, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  We can show love to others, and by doing so, display God’s love for people.  “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another.”  And finally, we can tell the story of Jesus.  “Go into all the world and preach the gospel.”  So I encourage you to take what you know, and go “show and tell.”  It is the Greatest story ever told.