Scripture References:
all st. = Eph. 1:7
African American gospel musician Andraé Crouch (b. Los Angeles, CA, 1945) wrote both text and tune in 1962. An arrangement of the text by Thursten G. Frazier entitled "It Will Never Lose Its Power" was published as a choral piece that same year by the Frazier-Cleveland Company.
Like other familiar hymns about the blood of Jesus (383, "0 Sacred Head" and 384, "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross") this text presents the blood of Jesus as a metaphor for Christ's atonement for our sin. That atonement gives "me strength from day to day" and "will never lose its power." Certainty about the efficacy of Christ's sacrifice (st. 1) "soothes [our] doubts and calms [our] fears" (st. 2) and helps us negotiate "the highest mountain" and "the lowest valley" in our experiences of life in Christ.
Liturgical Use:
Worship that focuses on Christ's sacrifice, atonement, and power; Lord's Supper.
--Psalter Hymnal Handbook, 1988
Born in San Francisco on July 1, 1942, and raised in Los Angeles, Andraé Edward Crouch was the son of bivocational-pastor parents Benjamin and Catherine Crouch. He has recounted that he received the gift of music as a child, when his father was called as a guest preacher and pastoral candidate to a small rural church that had no musicians. He began playing for them at the age of 11. He wrote his first gospel song at 14, and formed his first band, the COGICS, in 1960.
In 1965 he formed The Disciples, which lasted until 1979, and as a protegé of Audrey Mieir, Ralph Carmichael, and other leading Contemporary Christian Music artists of the time, went on to win a total of nine Grammies, and numerous other awards. He wrote his first well-kn… Go to person page >
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