what wondrous love is this

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down beneath God¡¯s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb, I will sing.
To God and to the Lamb Who is the great ¡°I Am¡±;
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing;
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I¡¯m free, I¡¯ll sing on, I¡¯ll sing on;
And when from death I¡¯m free, I¡¯ll sing on.
And when from death I¡¯m free, I¡¯ll sing and joyful be;
And through eternity, I¡¯ll sing on, I¡¯ll sing on;
And through eternity, I¡¯ll sing on.

By Will­iam Walk­er (New York: Hast­ings House, 1835)

William Walker£º

Born: May 6, 1809, Mar­tin¡¯s Mills (near Cross Keys), South Car­o­li­na.

Died: Sep­tem­ber 24, 1875, Spar­tan­burg, South Car­o­li­na.

Buried: Mag­no­lia Cem­e­te­ry, Spar­tan­burg, South Car­o­li­na.

Musically gift­ed, by age 18 Walker was lead­ing con­gre­ga­tion­al sing­ing at the First Bap­tist Church in Spar­tan­burg. He col­lect­ed and ar­ranged folk tunes, and with his brother-in-law, Ben­jamin Frank­lin White, par­ti­ci­pated in sing­ing schools and com­pil­ing mel­o­dies from south­ern Ap­pa­la­chia and camp meet­ings. Af­ter mov­ing to Hart­ford, Con­nec­ti­cut, Walk­er pub­lished The South­ern Har­mo­ny and Mu­sic­al Com­pan­ion in 1835, but gave no credit to White, who pub­lished The Sac­red Harp, a com­pet­ing vol­ume, in 1844. Both used the shaped note music nota­tion system.