dead famous people safe and sound lyrics

Erik Routley describes this tune as “incomparably beautiful” ( Psalter Hymnal Handbook). The tune WONDROUS LOVE was first set to this text in the second edition of Southern Harmony. Some hymnals leave out the stanza: “When I was sinking down,” and others include a verse that repeats the first verse with the last two lines “That Christ should lay aside his crown for my soul –What wondrous love is this, O my soul!” Tune:

The text has remained basically untouched since it was first made popular by the Sacred Harp shape singers in 1844. The author of this text remains anonymous, but it’s known as a traditional American folk song, first published in 1811. As I left that place, the last stanza of the hymn came to mind: “And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be, and through eternity I’ll sing on.” Indeed, what wondrous love this is, that frees us from the fear of death, and causes us to lift our voices in wonder at the love of the Lamb. In the midst of this reflection on Christ’s suffering for our sake, this man had gone home to be with his Savior. The congregation sat in tears and prayer as campus safety administered CPR and a defibrillator, to no avail. Near the very end of the service, as we sang this refrain during the “Shadow of the Crucifixion,” an older visitor from down the road slumped against his wife, having just suffered a fatal heart attack. As we heard and reflected on the last hours of Christ, each time we sang this refrain it was more and more powerful. This was the second year that we had used the first two lines of “What Wondrous Love” as a refrain sung throughout the service after each Scripture reading. I’ve had the privilege of helping to lead a number of these, but there is one service in particular that I will never forget. Laura de Jong shares about a worship service in which 'What Wondrous Love' took on a new, more urgent meaning in her life:Įach year Calvin College hosts a Tenebrae service for students and local churches. Hymns have a way of weaving themselves into our own life stories.

Dead famous people safe and sound lyrics