I've loved the song, O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus since I was a young teen and one of our church's college girls came home on break. One Sunday evening she shared that her college used the hymn as their school's theme song and could we sing it? The song leader graciously listened to her request and had us learn the song.
I've been singing it ever since. But I don't think I've ever heard a more powerful arrangement than the one here. It compels you to sing along. Go ahead, don't be shy!
The story of the writing of this hymn appears on the website for The Center for Church Music. It is told so well that I am copying a part of it here and suggesting that you follow the link to read more.
Few hymns paint such a vivid picture of God's love as this one by Samuel Trevor Francis. It helps visualize the immensity of Christ's love: overwhelming and free, submerging us in the depths of his tender heart. Even the swelling and receding notes of the melody create an image of God's love, reminding us of the gentle waves on a vast ocean.
Francis experienced that love in an especially compelling way one cold, winter night. At a point in life when his faith had wavered, Francis f...
You can learn a bit about the life of the hymn writer, Samuel Francis (1834-1925) here.
While I'm sharing links, do you know about the wonderful online resources for finding hymns and hymn stories? Of course you can always go to YouTube and type in a hymn you'd like to hear. There are usually several versions of each song I look for on YouTube. But you can also get great information and insight from these links, and many others:
hymnal.net is a great source, offering hundreds of hymns -- classical hymns, new hymns, classical hymns set to new tunes, children's songs, scripture songs -- with a MIDI of each song. Among the other features of this site is the option to print out the music. It's an outstanding site.
You can read stories about the hymns here and here. Another good source, as mentioned above, is The Center for Church Music.
hymnal.net is a great source, offering hundreds of hymns -- classical hymns, new hymns, classical hymns set to new tunes, children's songs, scripture songs -- with a MIDI of each song. Among the other features of this site is the option to print out the music. It's an outstanding site.
You can read stories about the hymns here and here. Another good source, as mentioned above, is The Center for Church Music.
1 comment:
Whenever I hear this song, I think of Cathi Vance singing it in her rich, soulful way. That's the first time I ever heard it. It's beautiful.
Post a Comment