This is an old hymn I recently rediscovered that speaks plainly about the major tenet of my faith: that God is love. Above and beyond any other statement I may make about God, that statement is central. The words are below and you can access the sheet music by clicking on this link:
Please note: I have changed a few of the words to make them more inclusive as well as understandable to folks today.
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The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave to Jesus to win;
The erring child God reconciled,
And pardoned from all sin.
When ancient time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When those who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race-
The saints’ and angels’ song.
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every one a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
Refrain:
Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure-
The saints’ and angels’ song.
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The Love of God
Words: Frederick M. Lehman, 1917
Copyright: Public Domain
Music: Frederick M. Lehman, 1917
arr. by Claudia L. Mays
Copyright: Public Domain
The lyrics are partially based on the Jewish poem Haddamut, written in Aramaic in the 11th century by Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai, a cantor in Worms, Germany.
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