How Wonderful

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Isaiah 57:15
For thus says the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with those who are contrite and humble in spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

 My God, How Wonderful Thou Art LBW 524

 1    My God, how wonderful thou art, thy majesty how bright!
     How beautiful thy mercy seat in depths of burning light!

2    How wonderful, how beautiful the sight of thee must be--
      thine endless wisdom, boundless pow'r, and awesome purity!

3    No earthly father loves like thee; no mother, e'er so mild,
      bears and forbears as thou hast done with me, thy sinful child.

4    Yet I may love thee too, O Lord, almighty as thou art,
      for thou hast stooped to ask of me the love of my poor heart.

5    My God, how wonderful thou art, thou everlasting friend!
      On thee I stay my trusting heart till faith in vision end.

Text: Frederick W. Faber, 1814-1863

            Frederick Weber converted from Anglicanism to Catholicism, but after his conversion began to miss the rich hymnody of his former church.  So he resolved to write hymns for catholic parishes and was the author of many well-known hymns: “Faith of our Fathers” and “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy” to name two.

            One of the reasons he left the Anglican Communion was because of its staid, prosaic worship style.  There was little reverence, no mystery, attributes he found in the high liturgy of Catholic church. So when we wrote this hymn; “My God how Wonderful thou Art”, he used the word “wonderful” in its fullest sense, i.e. literally, full of wonder. This hymn leads to the many facets of God’s wonder: beauty, wisdom, power, purity, love, humility, friendship and trust, all attributes of an intimate yet regal God who knows no limits yet stoops to love.

Prayer:  Wonderful savior…fill our hearts with awe and wonder!  And in that wonder fill us with such an overwhelming sense of joy that we cannot help but praise you, and bring others into your holy presence.  Amen.

 
 
Craig Fourman