I was born in the city of Londonderry, Northern Ireland and that means I have a hometown that is famous for various things.
- It is a walled city
- There was a siege in 1689
- For political reasons it now has to be referred to as as both Londonderry and Derry on the news.
- It has produced many well-known song writers
Perhaps the one who wrote most pieces was actually the Hymn Writer and Poet
Mrs Cecil Frances Alexander
One of her hymns is a great one for Easter Time and especially for Good Friday
There is a Green Hill Far Away
When this was first published in 1848 it was in a selection of "Hymns for Little Children" and in various hymn books it has been classified in the children's sections.
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| Hymnology Archive |
Each verse is a great tool for teaching young children about the sacrifice Christ made for us and can be said to have been based around various verses of scripture including John 3 v 16
and Romans 5 v 8
Mrs Cecil Frances Alexander was the wife of William Alexander who was the Bishop of Londonderry and later became the Archbishop of Armagh.
The Bishop was based in St. Columb's Cathedral which along with their home sat within the Walls of Londonderry and outside those walls Mrs Alexander would have had a view of the hills around the city which would have reminded her of the hill on which her saviour died. Hence these lovely words were penned:
There is a green hill far away,
Without a city wall,
Where the dear Lord was crucified
Who died to save us all.
We may not know, we cannot tell,
What pains he had to bear,
But we believe it was for us
He hung and suffered there.
He died that we might be forgiven,
He died to make us good;
That we might go at last to heaven,
Saved by his precious Blood.
There was no other good enough
To pay the price of sin;
He only could unlock the gate
Of heaven, and let us in.
O dearly, dearly has he loved,
And we must love him too,
And trust in his redeeming Blood,
And try his works to do.
Without a city wall,
Where the dear Lord was crucified
Who died to save us all.
We may not know, we cannot tell,
What pains he had to bear,
But we believe it was for us
He hung and suffered there.
He died that we might be forgiven,
He died to make us good;
That we might go at last to heaven,
Saved by his precious Blood.
There was no other good enough
To pay the price of sin;
He only could unlock the gate
Of heaven, and let us in.
O dearly, dearly has he loved,
And we must love him too,
And trust in his redeeming Blood,
And try his works to do.
and because of the short verses of 4 lines each would have been easily remembered by everyone.
DON'T FORGET TO DOWNLOAD THIS FREE PRINTABLE
So we have a great hymn sung to a peaceful tune that is a great reminder of Good Friday and in fact a good reminder everyday of the love of Jesus.
You can find Songs for Kids at Kids Resources
You can find Other Easter Posts at EASTER
All my Free Printables can be found by going to Sandra's Ark Resource Library
