What Wondrous Love Is This (iTunes)
American folk hymn
From the album Hymns Project, Vol. 2 (Moonpeople Music)
The text of this simple, but beautiful hymn is of unknown origin. It was first published in 1811 in both a Baptist and a Methodist hymnal. Similarly, the composer of the tune, "WONDROUS LOVE", remains anonymous. The melody's meter comes from an old English ballad. The text and tune first came together in the second edition of William Walker's Southern Harmony in 1840 and appeared again in The Sacred Harp, compiled by Benjamin Franklin White, in 1844. In its four stanzas, the hymn focuses on Christ's wondrous love, which he demonstrated through his death on the cross for our salvation, and which invites us to respond with songs of praise. Romans 5:8 reminds us, "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
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