I Stand Amazed in the Presence AKA “My Savior’s Love”

It’s difficult to talk about the Presence of God without immediately slipping into song. For that, I have Charles Gabriel to thank the early‑1900s hymn writer behind I Stand Amazed in the Presence.

“I stand amazed in the Presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how He could love me, a sinner, condemned, unclean.”

Gabriel himself was an unlikely giant of gospel music. Born in an Iowa shanty town in 1856, he taught himself to play the family’s small reed organ and eventually became one of the most prolific composers in American hymnody. He edited more than sixty songbooks and wrote an estimated eight thousand songs.

A little embarrassed by his own output, he often hid behind pseudonyms so his name wouldn’t dominate the hymnals. Sometimes he even adopted female pen names like Charlotte G. Homer, Jennie Ree simply to make the books look more diverse.

In the early 1900s, Gabriel found himself captivated by the paradox of “the Nazarene,” a title once used with scorn, belonging to the One who offered unconditional love. He wanted to write a hymn that captured the shock, the gratitude, the wonder a believer feels when contemplating the sacrifice of Jesus, whether for the first time or the thousandth.

So he built the song like a personal awakening. The verses trace the Passion from Gethsemane to the Cross, solemn and steady. Then comes the bright, soaring refrain- “How marvelous! How wonderful!” - a deliberate contrast meant to lift the singer into gratitude even as the lyrics recount suffering.

The call‑and‑response feel of the chorus became a hallmark of the gospel style that shaped everything from church music to country and soul. Gabriel’s influence is everywhere: Higher Ground, His Eye Is on the Sparrow, Since Jesus Came Into My Heart, Send the Light, Will the Circle Be Unbroken? - and that’s only the beginning.

I Stand Amazed in the Presence remains a staple across denominations because it distills the weight of the Crucifixion into a simple, heartfelt cry of amazement.

“How marvelous! How wonderful! And my song shall ever be…”

Gabriel wanted to remind us that no matter how familiar the story becomes, the wonder should never fade.

Holy Week has taken on many tones in my life. Some years it settles over me like a quiet dusk - solemn, weighty, full of slow‑moving shadows. But this year, the story feels lit from within. The familiar scenes rise up not in sorrow but in wonder, as if someone opened a window and let the light rush back in. The old, old story is still pulsing with surprise. 

So this Holy Week, I’m not whispering my way through the days. I’m singing. I’m joining Gabriel’s chorus with the joy of someone who has remembered again what has always been true. I am standing amazed in the Presence this year.

How marvelous! How wonderful! And how astonishing that this love- ancient, inexhaustible-  is ours to receive, again and again, as the story continues to unfold.