Compassion Hymn
Themes
Compassion
Story
Good friends and co-writers Keith and Kristyn Getty have been working for a number of years with the charity “Compassion”, and it was they who suggested we write a song on the theme. As is the usual process when writing with them, Keith and I sifted through a number of his melodies before arriving at this one, then Kristyn drafted a lyric that I then worked on. Our call to follow Christ’s example and show to others the life-changing compassion that He showed in through His life and in His death is a vital one, and not one that is explored in a great many songs. I hope this song makes a meaningful contribution to the ministry of the church to reach out to the needy among us.
Lyrics
There is an everlasting kindness you lavished on us,
When the radiance of heaven came to rescue the lost.
You called the sheep without a shepherd to leave their distress,
For Your streams of forgiveness and the shade of Your rest.
What boundless love, what fathomless grace
You have shown us, O God of compassion.
Each day we live an offering of praise
As we show to the world Your compassion.
And with compassion for the hurting You reached out Your hand,
As the lame ran to meet You and the dead breathed again.
You saw behind the eyes of sorrow and shared in our tears;
Heard the sigh of the weary, let the children draw near.
We stood beneath the cross of Calvary and gazed on Your face,
At the thorns of oppression and the wounds of disgrace;
For surely You have borne our suffering and carried our grief,
As You pardoned the scoffer and showed grace to the thief.
How beautiful the feet that carry this Gospel of peace
To the fields of injustice and the valleys of need;
To be a voice of hope and healing, to answer the cries
Of the hungry and helpless, with the mercy of Christ.
