Grace Came Running
Grace Came Running
"I wanted to write a song to evoke joy at the thought of God's glorious grace. I hammered out a reggae chorus and held on to it for a month or so. When I linked up with my friends, Aaron and Micah, we finished it in an hour or so. It really didn't strike me until we sang it at a gathering in Atlanta a few months later. The song came to life that night. There is something so powerful about the thought go God chasing after us with his grace." (Dee Wilson)While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. This is a celebration song about the indefatigable --and incomprehensible -- grace of God to seek and save the lost, as well as to sustain us through to the end. (Aaron Keyes)
Eugene Peterson’s translation of Matthew 11 invites all who are tired and burned out on religion to “learn the unforced rhythms of grace.” This song exuberantly picks up on those rhythms as it reminds us that God’s grace isn’t something we labor toward, but something we freely, and wonderfully, receive. (Micah Massey)
GRACE CAME RUNNING
Written by Terrell Wilson (BMI), Aaron Keyes (ASCAP), Micah Massey (ASCAP)
© 2016 Common Hymnal Digital (BMI), Music By 10000 Fathers Publishing (BMI), Common Hymnal Publishing (ASCAP), 10000 Fathers (ASCAP) (admin by IntegratedRights.com). CCLI 7102615.
CHORUS 1
Dmaj 7 Bm7
That's when grace came running, running
C#7(+5) F#m7
Grace came running after me
Washing over me
VERSE 1
G#m7(no5) A#m7(no5) Bm7 Amaj7
When I was lost and far away
G#m7 C#7(+5) F#m7
Drifting like a ship without a sail
When I was still your enemy
That's when grace came, that's when grace came Running after me
VERSE 2
When I was going my own way
Running from my home like a prodigal
Still I see you run to me
That's when grace came, that's when grace came
VERSE 3
Caught in a love I can't explain
Each and every day when I rise and fall
I know I'm carried all the way
Grace keeps running, grace keeps running
CHORUS 2
Grace just keeps on running, running
Grace keeps running after me
Grace, just like a river, river
Washing over me
BRIDGE
E7 C#7
If it seems too good to be true
F#m
It's just like you
B7
You're always surprising
C#7 D7 D#7 E7
And if it feels too big to embrace It must be grace
More Songs Written By Terrell Wilson (Dee Wilson)
More Songs Written By Micah Massey
‘We need more up beat songs about grace that we can dance to.’ That’s what I was thinking when the idea for this song came. Initially as a pop type song, but we have enough of those. I love the joyful sound of reggae. It lends itself to wildness in the engagement of an audience. So for the first few weeks I was sitting with this idea I just kept dancing with myself and singing “Wiyo”. I don’t know what it means if it means anything, but it feels like joy and wildness. And that’s what I think this song is, and what we should lend ourselves to when exploring joy and wildness in the celebration of God’s grace.
Nothing against the recent trend of 4-on-the-floor dance tunes, but there areother sounds that draw out other aspects of the soul in terms of celebration. "Grace Came Running" eschews the normal celebratory formula in worship for a more subtle, sunny feel. More flow than force, the melody echoes the lyric in that way. Grace sought us before even knew we needed seeking. Grace ran to us before we ever ran to it. And just as powerfully as grace rescued us originally, so persistently will grace sustain us to the end. And yes: it does seem to be too good to be true. That's what lets us know we're beginning to scratch the surface of just how amazing this grace really is.
There are some words we use so habitually in the Church and in our worship that we do all but devoid them of their meaning. Surely “grace” is one of those words. How often have we thrown it around like a wet dish rag? We use it to clean up our messes and then move on with our lives. But if there is a word that requires us to step back and take a second look, it must be the word “grace.” The mere sound of it is music to the ears. Grace. Glorious Grace! God’s act of grace through the person of Jesus Christ has revealed to us that God is a generous God...benevolent even! We thought He was holding out on us, but He was reaching out. We thought He was at war with us, but He was fighting for us. We thought we drove Him away, but He kept running after us. “Grace Came Running” is a song of celebration that is as refreshing as the word “grace.” May it awaken a heart of gratitude in worship for the surprising, yet substantive, gift of God’s grace.