WONDROUS LOVE
WONDROUS LOVE first appeared in William Walker's Southern Harmony of 1835, published in Spartanburg, South Carolina, though the tune almost certainly circulated in oral tradition well before its publication. Its origins remain debated among scholars: the melody bears a striking resemblance to the sea shanty 'Captain Kidd,' suggesting that the tune may have migrated from a secular maritime context into the sacred shape note repertoire, a common pathway in early American folk hymnody. The text pai
Stanza Arc
The narrative or theological arc traced by this tune's stanzas: Law (human unworthiness and peril) → Gospel (Christ's substitutionary sacrifice) → Response (eternal praise and rejoicing)