Down at the Cross Where my Savior Died - Lyrics

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!

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! 

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! 

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!

Elisha Albright Hoffman (1839-1929)

Elisha Albright Hoffman was born on May 7, 1839, in Pennsylvania. After graduating from Union Seminary in Pennsylvania, he was ordained as a minister in 1868. In 1872, he was appointed to a circuit in Napoleon, Ohio, and later worked with the Evangelical Association's publishing arm in Cleveland for eleven years.

During the 1880s, Hoffman served in various chapels and churches in Cleveland and Grafton, including Bethel Home for Sailors and Seamen, Chestnut Ridge Union Chapel, Grace Congregational Church, and Rockport Congregational Church.

A prolific hymn writer, Hoffman composed over 2,000 gospel songs, among them the well-known hymn Leaning on the Everlasting Arms (1894). He also authored Have You Been to Jesus for the Cleansing Power?, featured in Ira D. Sankey's Sacred Songs and Solos (1881). In addition to his compositions, he edited fifty songbooks, including Pentecostal Hymns No. 1 and The Evergreen (1873).

Hoffman passed away in 1929, leaving behind a lasting legacy in Christian hymnody.