Song of the Week - Your Love is Deep - Jami Smith

The Apostle Paul concludes Ephesians 3 with this prayer: that we "may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

It is exactly that thought that Jami Smith (with Dan Collins and Susanna Bussey Kirksey) was focused on in 2001, when "Your Love is Deep" was written. While not the most theologically challenging song ever written, "Your Love is Deep" has been a popular worship song since it was first released on Jami's 2001 live album Home. This is one of those songs that I'm sure many worshippers aren't even sure who wrote it - which suits Jami fine. In a 2005 interview for Enhance magazine, Jami said: "I like that I can be eliminated from the song, that the song now exists to serve the body of Christ—that is my inspiration."

We chose this song for the Prepare album largely for this ideal - that it's God's love that trancends all distance and boundries. Think about it: How deep does the love of God reach into our souls? How far is His reach for you. How wide is the sweep of his arms that includes everyone? How high can we aspire?

Romans 8: 35 asks: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" The song answers the question firmly: "Who can separate us? Who can separate us from Your love? Nothing can separate us! Nothing can separate us from Your love!"

We play the song in the original key of D. Honestly, that is a little high for congregational worship, I'll admit it. But it is a soaring melody, especially the chorus, and the high key, I think, encourages people to lift their heads when they sing. And reaching higher is what this song is all about. The arrangement on the album is pretty stripped-down, mainly acoustic guitar, some drums for dynamics in the choruses. I think it's going to be a great addition to the record.