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Take Up Thy Cross

I walked one day along a country road

Author: A. H. Ackley (1922)
Tune: [I walked one day along a country road]
Published in 30 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Audio files: MIDI

Representative Text

1. I walked one day along a country road,
And there a stranger journeyed, too,
Bent low beneath the burden of His load:
It was a cross, a cross I knew.

Refrain:
“Take up thy cross and follow Me,”
I hear the blessed Savior call;
How can I make a lesser sacrifice,
When Jesus gave His all?

2. I cried, “Lord Jesus,” and He spoke my name;
I saw His hands all bruised and torn;
I stooped to kiss away the marks of shame,
The shame for me that He had borne.

3. “Oh, let me bear Thy cross, dear Lord,” I cried,
And, lo, a cross for me appeared,
The one, forgotten, I had cast aside,
The one, so long, that I had feared.

4. My cross I’ll carry till the crown appears—
The way I journey soon will end—
Where God Himself shall wipe away all tears,
And friend hold fellowship with friend.

Source: 50 Favorites #40

Author: A. H. Ackley

Alfred Henry Ackley was born 21 January 1887 in Spring Hill, Pennsylvania. He was the youngest son of Stanley Frank Ackley and the younger brother of B. D. Ackley. His father taught him music and he also studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He graduated from Westminster Theological Seminary in Maryland and was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1914. He served churches in Pennsylvania and California. He also worked with the Billy Sunday and Homer Rodeheaver evangelist team and for Homer Rodeheaver's publishing company. He wrote around 1500 hymns. He died 3 July 1960 in Los Angeles. Dianne Shapiro (from ackleygenealogy.com by Ed Ackley and Allen C. Ackley) Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: I walked one day along a country road
Title: Take Up Thy Cross
Author: A. H. Ackley (1922)
Meter: 10.8.10.8 with refrain
Language: English
Refrain First Line: Take up thy cross and follow me
Copyright: Public Domain

Timeline

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #6969
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
Timeless Truths #747
  • Take_Up_Thy_Cross_and_Follow_Me.pdf (PDF)

Instances

Instances (1 - 5 of 5)
TextPage Scan

50 Favorites #40

Scripture Song Database #3214

Standard Songs Of The Church #316

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #6969

TextAudio

Timeless Truths #747

Include 25 pre-1979 instances
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