Hymn Highlight: What Wondrous Love is This

Some of our most beloved songs and hymns have unknown sources. Among the most popular is What Wondrous Love is This. The author remains anonymous, but the words have echoed down through the last couple of centuries. The hymn first appeared in 1811 and has become a staple of hymnals ever since.

The song is a four-stanza reflection of the deep, deep love of God that saved the singer from his sins. The repetitive nature of the lyrics invites the congregant to reflect on different aspects of Christ’s atonement: bearing the dreadful curse of sin, laying aside his crown, bringing the saints into the millions-strong throng of singing praise to the Lamb, and the eternality of salvation.

The first verse reflects on the wondrous love of God which “caused the Lord of bliss”—Jesus himself—“to bear the dreadful curse for my soul.” We ought to be overcome when we reflect that Jesus bore the actual weight and punishment of the curse of sin on the cross, including our own. Oh, my soul!

The second stanza shows how far Christ came to save sinners, even while they were still sinners! When sinners were sinking down, down, down into the depths of depravity, Jesus laid aside his crown, his heavenly status, to bear the weight of our sin, for us!

Because of the gospel truth that Christ came to save sinners, we ought to sing to God and to the Lamb, and the third verse invites the congregation to do just that. We have been saved by Christ’s atoning work, and we will join the universal church of the redeemed in singing evermore.

The final verse of What Wondrous Love is This points the singer forward to the day when he or she is free from death. On that day, the congregant will sing for eternity and will be ultimately joyful in Christ, the Great Redeemer. Our praises will carry on for eternity, as we sing on, on, and on to God and to the Lamb.