Lyrics
Verse 1
Down at the cross where my Savior died,
Down where for cleansing from sin I cried,
There to my heart was the blood applied;
Glory to His Name!
Refrain
Glory to His Name, glory to His Name:
There to my heart was the blood applied;
Glory to His Name!
Verse 2
I am so wondrously saved from sin,
Jesus so sweetly abides within;
There at the cross where He took me in;
Glory to His Name!
Refrain (Repeat)
Verse 3
Oh, precious fountain that saves from sin,
I am so glad I have entered in;
There Jesus saves me and keeps me clean;
Glory to His Name!
Refrain (Repeat)
Verse 4
Come to this fountain so rich and sweet,
Cast thy poor soul at the Savior's feet;
Plunge in today, and be made complete;
Glory to His Name!
Refrain (Repeat)
Video
Meaning & Inspiration
"Down at the Cross" (originally "Glory to His Name") locates its entire testimony at a single place, the cross, describing cleansing from sin and blood applied to the heart as events that happened there specifically. That fixed location gives the hymn's testimony a concrete setting rather than an abstract spiritual experience.
Its refrain repeats a short exclamation, "glory to His name," after each verse's description of salvation, treating that exclamation as the appropriate response to what happened at the cross rather than an unrelated addition. Later verses extend an invitation outward, describing a "precious fountain" that saves from sin and inviting others to "plunge in today."
Written in the nineteenth-century revival hymn tradition, the song functions as both personal testimony and public invitation, its repeated refrain allowing corporate response to punctuate each verse's individual account of cleansing found specifically at the cross.
Related Scripture
- 1 John 1:7 Describes the blood of Jesus cleansing from all sin, directly echoed in the hymn's description of the blood applied to the heart.
- Zechariah 13:1 Describes a fountain opened for cleansing from sin, echoed in the hymn's image of a fountain that saves and cleanses.