Here Is Love (iTunes)
Words by William Rees and William Williams, translated by William Edwards,
Music by Robert Lowry
From the album Glorious (Cfaworship)
"Here Is Love" is the product of four men, three from Wales and one from the U.S. William Rees (1802-1883), the son of a farmer, enjoyed writing, astronomy, and politics alongside his work as a minister. He wrote the first two verse of "Here Is Love" (originally "Dyma gariad fel y moroedd") in his native tongue. The last two verses are often attributed to William Williams (1717-1791), a Welsh poet and leader in the Welsh Methodist movement; however, the authorship of these verses is uncertain. Rees' verses were translated into English by another William, last name Edwards (1848-1929), who was a Welsh theologian and Greek New Testament scholar. The translated verses were first published in 1900 in The Baptist Book of Praise. The hymn became known as "The Love-Song of the Welsh Revival" of 1904-1905.
Robert Lowry (1826-1899), an American literature professor, Baptist preacher, and hymn writer, contributed the tune to the hymn, composing it in 1876. He wrote around 500 hymn tunes during his lifetime.
From these four men we have a beautiful hymn that celebrates Christ's boundless love for us and calls us to respond to his love with lives filled with praise. In Romans 5:8 Paul writes, "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
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