What Wondrous Love?
September 30, 2009
I was recently visiting the website of All Souls Church in New York. All Souls is a well known and historic Unitarian Universalist church. One of the many things that saddened me as I perused their webpage was the bulletin of a recent Sunday morning service. In the bulletin was printed a revised text of Alexander Means' beautiful hymn What Wondrous Love is This?.
Here's All Soul's version:
Here's All Soul's version:
What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul,Here's the original text:
What wondrous love is this, O my soul?
What wondrous love is this that brings my heart such bliss,
And takes away the pain of my soul, of my soul,
And takes away the pain of my soul.
When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down beneath my sorrows ground,
Friends to me gathered round, O my soul, O my soul,
Friends to me gathered round, O my soul.
To love and to all friends, I will sing, I will sing,
To love and to all friends I will sing.
To love and to all friends who pain and sorrow mend,
With thanks unto the end I will sing, I will sing,
With thanks unto the end I will sing.
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.
I am struck by the utter lack of objective hope in All Soul's version. There is no sin and so there is no Savior. There is no curse and so there is no salvation.
