Scripture References:
all st. = Ps. 89:1, Eph. 5:19-20, Titus 2:13-14

Near the end of 1876, Philip P. Bliss (PHH 482) and his wife were traveling to Chicago to sing for the evangelistic services led by Daniel W. Whittle at Dwight L. Moody's Tabernacle. But a train wreck and fire en route claimed their lives. Their trunk, which was spared, contained this hymn text by Bliss.

In four stanzas with refrain, the text was set to a gospel tune by James McGranaham (PHH 99), who subsequently succeeded Bliss as song leader for Whittle. The text and McGranaham's tune were published in Welcome Tidings, a New Collection far Sunday School, compiled by Robert S. Lowry (PHH 396), William H. Doane (PHH 473), and Ira D. Sankey (PHH 73) in 1877.

The text is a fine statement in hymn form of Christian teachings on the saving work of Christ, whose atoning death "sealed my pardon, paid the debt, and made me free." The Psalter Hymnal Revision Committee reordered original text into three stanzas to fit the tune HYFRYDOL; the original refrain appears in stanzas 1 and 3.

Liturgical Use:
A glorious testimony hymn about salvation in Christ useful for many worship services; Lent.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

One of the most loved Welsh tunes, HYFRYDOL was composed by Rowland Hugh Prichard (b. Graienyn, near Bala, Merionetshire, Wales, 1811; d. Holywell, Flintshire, Wales, 1887) in 1830 when he was only nineteen. It was published with about forty of his other tunes in his children's hymnal Cyfaill y Cantorion (The Singers' Friend) in 1844.

Prichard (sometimes spelled Pritchard) was a textile worker and an amateur musician. He had a good singing voice and was appointed precentor in Graienyn. Many of his tunes were published in Welsh periodicals. In 1880 Prichard became a loom tender's assistant at the Welsh Flannel Manufacturing Company in Holywell.

HYFRYDOL (Welsh for "tuneful" or "pleasant") is often set to Charles Wesley's "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" (568) and William C. Dix's "Alleluia! Sing to Jesus" (406). More recently the tune has appeared in several hymnals with Bliss's text.

A simple bar form (AAB) tune with the narrow range of a sixth, HYFRYDOL builds to a stunning climax by sequential use of melodic motives. Sing in unison or harmony, and observe one pulse per measure.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook