Here’s another song from the same 2023 New Order Amish youth singing that gave us “When All of God’s Singers Get Home”. This time it’s “Wonderful Grace of Jesus”.
The video is by P. Thomas, who has an extensive collection of live recorded music on his channel, both from Amish and other Christian groups. Like in the previous video, the vantage point is from one of the further-back benches on the boys’ side. So you see a lot of people’s backs, but it’s more about the singing, which comes through beautifully.
Words and music are by a Norwegian-American hymnwriter named Haldor Lillenas, who wrote the hymn in 1918. He was a pastor and wrote over 4,000 songs (quite an output!). This, according to Wikipedia, is probably his best known. I liked this humble backstory:
In 1917, Mrs. Lillenas and I built our first little home in the town of Olivet, Illinois. Upon its completion, we had scarcely any money left to furnish the little home.
Having no piano at the time, and needing an instrument of some kind, I managed to find, at one of the neighbor’s home, a little wheezy organ which I purchased for $5.00.
With the aid of this instrument, a number of my songs, were written which are now popular, including ‘Wonderful Grace of Jesus.’
The song has a lovely refrain, with the lower and higher voices trading lines back and forth, before coming back together. Here are the lyrics:
Wonderful Grace of Jesus – Lyrics
Wonderful grace of Jesus,
Greater than all my sin;
How shall my tongue describe it,
Where shall its praise begin?
Taking away my burden,
Setting my spirit free;
For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.
Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus,
Deeper than the mighty rolling sea;
Higher than the mountain, sparkling like a fountain,
All-sufficient grace for even me!
Broader than the scope of my transgressions,
Greater far than all my sin and shame;
Oh, magnify the precious Name of Jesus,
Praise His Name!
Image: P. Thomas/YT
Wonderful grace of Jesus,
Reaching to all the lost,
By it I have been pardoned,
Saved to the uttermost;
Chains have been torn asunder,
Giving me liberty;
For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.
Wonderful grace of Jesus,
Reaching the most defiled,
By its transforming power,
Making him God’s dear child;
Purchasing peace and Heaven,
For all eternity;
And the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.
Like most Amish youth I’ve heard sing, this group has a real knack for it. Enjoy a listen of this uplifting hymn here:
We’ve had a good bit of discussion on Amish youth lately. Two weeks ago, a story on Amish youth on Facebook went viral across the internet. Amish adolescents were directly or indirectly a subject of numerous talks at the recent Amish conference. If you ask Amish people, youth issues are among the main concerns in many settlements–so much so that families may move halfway across…
An Amishman in Custer County, Colorado is seeking a permit to build a commercial dog breeding facility. Animal welfare activists are speaking out against the idea, fearing the planned business to be a “puppy mill“. Amish have received a lot of bad press for some egregious cases involving members of Amish churches. This has helped foster a perception that the Amish do not treat their animals…
Amish from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana visited the President and Vice President in the Oval Office Friday, as reported in the Washington Times. This was apparently the first time Amish people have visited the White House in this capacity (with one possible exception, see below). The Amish as a whole are not overtly political, so this type of event gets attention. While relatively few Amish visit…
Here’s one I hadn’t seen before: an Amish farmer in Lancaster County is selling his baseball card collection via online auction. Amish play baseball and softball, and there is certainly interest in the sport in some quarters. Amish have hobbies and pastimes of course, but we tend to hear about ones like hunting. So I’d never heard of adult Amish with baseball card collections. But,…
‘In 1847, nine families, all Bylers, moved to Lawrence, PA, they were: Solomon, Christian, Yost, Daniel, Noah, John, Reuben, Rudy, and Eli, and were among the first Amish in that section. In year 1880 bishop Crist (Christian) Byler walked from Lawrence County to the Valley. He traveled a distance of 250 miles in 4 days at the age of 68. He also made the trip…
Stephen B writes: While I certainly understand the idea behind Plain-ness, of not calling undue attention to one’s self out of modesty and of not wanting to be too much of this world, it seems to me that as times and fashions change, the Amish haven’t really updated their fashions enough to actually *stay* plain. That is, it was one thing, back when, to wear…
Reading music
I have been wondering lately how do the Amish read music and harmonize when they don’t have musical instruments?
BEAUTIFUL !!!!!!