Number: 066
English: Tune: HON 1987 #396 (transposed and some harmony changes)
Title: From God the Father’s Loving Heart
Name: Higher Ground
Words: Sam Jones
Music: Chas. H. Gabriel
Copyright: Lyrics written in November 1937
Meter: 
Form: 

From God the Fa¤ther’s lov¤ing heart
The Sav¤iour came to dwell on earth,
The inn no shel¤ter could af¤ford,
A sta¤ble was His place of birth,
In ten¤der¤ness He sought His own,
His Fa¤ther’s loved and cho¤sen seed,
Those who re¤vered His writ¤ten word,
The word in¤car¤nate would not heed.

He o¤pened wide the door of life,
Yet they re¤fused to en¤ter in,
De¤spised His coun¤sel while He wept
To see them still go on in sin,
Re¤veal¤ing all the Fa¤ther’s mind,
Ful¤fil¤ling all His right¤eous will,
His gra¤cious and con¤vin¤cing words,
They set at nought, re¤fused Him still.

Where all His might¤y works were done,
Their hearts still des¤ti¤tute of love,
They would af¤firm His or¤i¤gin
Was from be¤neath, not from a¤bove,
That voice from heav¤en they re¤fused,
God’s Ho¤ly One de¤spised, de¤nied.
A rob¤ber was His peo¤ple’s choice,
The Lord of life they cru¤ci¤fied.

While hang¤ing on the cross of shame,
His heart still plead¤ed for His own,
For¤give them Fa¤ther, Oh, for¤give,
My blood shall for their sins a¤tone
Love’s might¤y sac¤ri¤fice di¤vine,
Its length and breadth and depth and height,
E¤clipsed the gold¤en orb of day
And changed its bright¤ness in¤to night.

The rocks were rent, the dead a¤rose
When He ex¤pired up¤on the tree,
O’er all the powers of death and hell,
Love con¤quered, tri¤umphed glo¤rious¤ly,
No power could hold the sin¤less one,
Love set Him free from death’s em¤brace.
As prince and Sav¤iour now en¤throned,
He pleads be¤fore His Fa¤ther’s face.

His blood a¤vails, God’s aw¤ful wrath
Is swal¤lowed up for ev¤er¤more,
God’s jus¤tice ful¤ly sat¤is¤fied,
No man can shut the o¤pen door,
God now in¤vit¤ed the whole world
To en¤ter in through Je¤sus blood,
Those who re¤ceive Him shall ob¤tain
Pow’r to be¤come the Sons of God.