By the Love That Never Ceased to Hold Me

Heather Allington

Heather writes for Sunday Song Book on behalf of the The Salvation Army Oshawa. As a lifelong member of the Army, she has loved these familiar - and some less familiar - songs for many years, and enjoys researching and writing about their origins. She is a wife, mother, grandmother and retired elementary school teacher who likes trying her hand at watercolour painting and poetry writing.

When from sin’s dark hold Thy love had won me,
And its wounds Thy tender hands had healed,
As Thy blest commands were laid upon me,
Growing light my growing need revealed.
Thus I sought the path of consecration
When to Thee, dear Lord, my vows were given,
And the joy which came with full salvation
Winged my feet and filled my heart with Heaven.

By the love that never ceased to hold me,
By the blood which Thou didst shed for me,
While Thy presence and Thy power enfold me,
I renew my covenant with Thee.

But my heart at times with care is crowded;
Oft I serve with weak, o’erladen hands,
And that early joy grows dim and clouded
As each day its heavy toll demands.
Have I ceased from walking close beside Thee?
Have I grieved Thee with an ill-kept vow?
In my heart of hearts have I denied Thee?
Speak, dear Lord, oh speak and tell me now.

By the love that never ceased to hold me,
In a bond nor life nor death shall break,
As Thy presence and Thy power enfold me,
I would plead fresh covenant to make.
From before Thy face, each vow renewing,
Strong in heart, with purpose pure and deep,
I will go henceforth Thy will pursuing,
With my Lord unbroken faith to keep.

There are times in our Christian lives when we feel distanced from God, although we know His love for us has never wavered. Through this song, Will Brand has given us the words with which we can be helped to renew our closeness to the Lord.

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William J. Brand was born in Chatham, Kent, England in 1889. His early interest and ability in music were shown when he began playing the harmonium at seven years old.
He soon became a choir boy at Christ Church, Dover. Will, as he is known, was invited to Salvation Army meetings in Dover and became a Junior Soldier and Corps Cadet. During the First World War he was Deputy Songster Leader at Catford. He had begun working in the Stationery Department at International Headquarters in London when he was eighteen, but later was employed for forty-two years by J. and E. Hall and Co. Ltd., refrigeration engineers, at Dartford.

Will was clearly a spiritually sensitive person with a gift for crafting his thoughts and feelings into beautiful words. He began writing poetry regularly in about 1937, and in his lifetime wrote over 350 songs and 150 sonnets. Many of his songs have been published in The Musical Salvationist and in his anthology, With Sword and Song . He was promoted to Glory in 1977.