Himself he cannot save

I first learned this hymn many years ago, listening to a cassette tape of a Strict Baptist minister from England preaching on the text of Mark 15:31. In doing so, he included a reading of the first and second stanzas of this hymn by Thomas Kelly, and I fell in love with it. Himself he cannot save – this is his highest praise! Psalm 69:34 – Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein.

Hymn IX, page 8. S.M.
Himself he cannot save. Mat. xxvii. 42.

1. “Himself he cannot save.”
Insulting foe, ’tis true.
The words a gracious meaning have,
Tho’ meant in scorn by you.

2. “Himself he cannot save.”
This is his highest praise. 
Himself for others’ sake he gave, 
And suffers in their place. 

3. It were an easy part 
For him the cross to fly; 
But love to sinners fills his heart, 
And makes him choose to die. 

4. ’Tis love the cause unfolds,
The deep mysterious cause,
Why he, who all the world upholds,
Hang upon yonder cross.

5. Let carnal Jews blaspheme,
And worldly wisdom mock:
The Saviour’s cross shall be my theme,
And Christ himself my Rock.

6. I leave the world for this:
Let others share its toys:
I envy not their fancied bliss;
The cross yields purer joys.

Thomas Kelly (1769–1855) was a Church of Ireland clergyman from his ordination in 1792 to 1803, when he broke with this church. His evangelical views were influenced by Rowland Hill, William Romaine, John Walker, and the Haldane brothers. Kelly was a prolific hymn writer, producing over 700 hymns. Kelly’s hymns were published in A Collection of Psalms and Hymns (1802), Hymns on Various Passages of Scripture (1804), and Hymns of Thomas Kelly, Never Before Published (1815). “Look, ye saints, the sight is glorious” is possibly his best-known and most printed hymn. “Himself he cannot save” appears on page 8 of Hymns on Various Passages of Scripture (Fifth Edition, Thomas Kelly, Dublin: Martin Keene, 1820). It is not often found in our songbooks. A recently copyrighted musical score for this hymn can be found HERE.