#1 - How Deep The Father’s Love for Us

Welcome to the first ever Song of the Week!  Each Wednesday, you will find either a new song or a song worth revisiting.  My goal is to encourage Christians with song, whether you are a Worship Leader or not.  I hope that you will take this journey with me, and see where God takes us in discovering new music about Himself!

I’ve been wanting have something like Song of the Week for a while, and I can’t think of a better song to start with than this one.  Last week, my wife, Ana, and I announced that we are having a baby (our first).  The awe of being a parent has really rocked my world.  So you can only imagine how much fatherhood has been on my mind.  Which is partially why I chose this song to start with.  Beyond it’s great melody and profound lyrics, there’s an anointing from God on this song.  Take a listen, then I’ll wrap up below.

Click Here For Lyrics

Wow!  What an incredible song.  It blows my mind that this song was written during my lifetime because it has a timelessness about it that most newer songs don’t have.  The song is broken down into 3 verses.  Each with a unique point of view.

VERSE 1:  The first verse is in the view point of God the Father.  It’s really hard for us to get a glimpse of how God views things, but this song can definitely help with that.  We see that God is selfless and giving.  God feels the pain of loss.   But He delights in bringing sons to glory, and making a wretch His treasure.  God is passionately in love with His Son and mankind.  Even though the rest of the song is in a different point of view, it still continues to answer the question - How deep the Father’s love for us?

VERSE 2:  A shift of view happens in the second verse.  It transitions from God to a sinner looking at Jesus on the cross.  This verse is a beautiful and poetic way of showing the emotions and truth of the salvation process (justification).  The observer is ashamed of his sin and that he is one of those cursing at Jesus.  At the end of verse 2, he realizes that he is spiritually alive because of Jesus’ death.  I love how Townend uses the line “I know that it is finished” from the sinner’s view, even though it was Jesus that says “It is finished” on the cross.

VERSE 3:  Now that our sinner has made the transition to a saint, he takes pride and joy in Jesus Christ.  This is true gratitude on the part of the believer.  This is something that we should frequently revisit as Christians.  Do we boast in Jesus Christ?  Do we still feel at awe that Jesus paid our ransom for sin by His wounds?  It’s really easy to get pre-occupied with life that we lose our since of awe.  BUT, this is why God gives us great songs like this to remind us of where we were and what He has done.  

I hope that you have enjoyed looking at this song as much as I have.  Here’s a link to an interview with Towend about the song.  Below is a brief description for Worship Leaders.

Quick Guide
Key: D (Typically)
Tempo: 3/4 Medium (60-64bpm)
Style: Multiple Genres
Application (Recommended): Congregational, Solo