"The love of God is broader ..."
Thanks to Karin for blogging this Thought for the Day from Giles Fraser.It closes with a quotation from one of my very favouite hymns:
"For the love of God is broader than the measure of man's mind
And the heart of the eternal is most wonderfully kind
But we make his love too narrow with false limits of our own
And we magnify his strictness with a zeal he will not own."
[Pity about the exclusive language - but I quibble!!]
Labels: Church, Media, Politics
posted by Chris @ 12:27 pm
3 Comments:
Please tell me the first line of this beautiful hymn so I can see the rest of it
Here is the hymn - suprising to see when it was written?!
It is wonderful, isn't it :-)
There’s a wideness in God’s mercy
like the wideness of the sea;
there’s a kindness in his justice,
which is more than liberty.
There is no place where earth’s sorrows
are more felt than up in heav’n;
there is no place where earth’s failings
have such kindly judgement giv’n.
But we make his love too narrow
by false limits of our own;
and we magnify his strictness
with a zeal he will not own.
There is plentiful redemption
in the blood that has been shed,
there is joy for all the members
in the sorrows of the Head.
For the love of God is broader
than the scope of human mind,
and the heart of the Eternal
is most wonderfully kind.
If our love were but more simple,
we should take him at his word;
and our hearts would find assurance
in the promise of the Lord.
Frederick William Faber (1814-1863) alt.
This version is taken from “Hymns Old & New New Anglican Edition.”
Kevin Mayhew Ltd 1996
Thanks, Chris, for quoting the whole of the hymn ("There's a wideness in God's mercy ...") I have been looking for it for ages, but didn't know the first line - I thought the line quotes was the start of another verse later on.
I see The Songs of Praise shows a different ordering of the last four verses.
Post a Comment
<< Home