Bethania Feb. 5, 2009 THE LOVE OF GOD
THE LOVE OF GOD
Words and Music by Frederick M. Lehman, 1868–1953
The Lord your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)
Never has God’s eternal love been described more vividly
than in the words of this greatly loved hymn:
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 His Son to win:
His erring child He reconciled
and pardoned from his sin.
When years of time shall pass away
and earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men, 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 ev’ry stalk on earth a quill
and ev’ry man a scribe by trade
To write the love of God above
would drain the ocean dry,
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
tho stretched from sky to sky.
Chorus: O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
the saints’ and angels’ song.
Listen again to the words
that describe the depth of God’s love for us:
“measureless,”
“strong,”
“forevermore endure … ”
The unusual third stanza of the hymn
was a small part of an ancient poem
composed in 1096 by a Jewish songwriter,
Rabbi Mayer, in Worms, Germany.
The poem, entitled “Hadamut,”
was written in the Arabic language.
The lines were found one day in revised form
on the walls of a patient’s room
in an insane asylum after the patient’s death.
It is believed that the unknown patient,
during times of sanity,
adapted from the Jewish poem what is now the third verse of
this powerful hymn “The Love of God.”
The words of this third stanza were quoted one day
at a Nazarene tent meeting.
In the meeting was Frederick M. Lehman, a Nazarene pastor,
who described his reaction:
The profound depths of the lines
moved us to preserve the words for future generations.
Not until we had come to California did this urge find fulfillment,
and that at a time when circumstances
forced us to hard manual labor.
One day, during short intervals of inattention to our work,
we picked up a scrap of paper
and added the first two stanzas and chorus
to the existing third verse lines.
Pastor Lehman completed the hymn in 1917.
His daughter Claudia Mays assisted him with the music.
As we go into the day may the Love of God go with us.
May we experience the truth of this hymn
in every situation that comes our way.
May we carry the message of this song with us realizing that—
The love of God is greater far
than tongue or pen can ever tell,
May we be carried this day by
The love of God, so rich and pure!
So measureless and strong!
Because only the love of God
shall forevermore endure
and grant us peace.[1]
Psalm 71:3
Sei mir ein starker Hort, zu dem ich immer fliehen kann,
der du zugesagt hast, mir zu helfen;
denn du bist mein Fels und meine Burg.
Charles WESLEY, wurde als 18. Kind
des anglikanischen Pfarrers Samuel Wesley
und seiner Frau Susanna geboren.
am 18.12. 1707 in Epworth (England) geboren.
Charles Wesley wurde in seinem geistlichen Leben
von seiner Mutter stark beeinflusst.
Nach seinem Studium in Westminster
Wurde er Pfarrer und der Mitbegründer des Methodismus,
und er wurde ein sehr bedeutender Kirchenliederdichter.
Eines seiner Lieder,
das auch auf deutsch überstetz wurde ist
Jesus, Heiland meiner Seele
| 1) Jesus, Heiland meiner Seele, lass an deine Brust mich fliehn, da die Wasser näher rauschen, und die Wetter höher ziehn. 2) Birg mich in den Lebensstürmen, bis vollendet ist der Lauf; führe mich zum sichern Hafen, nimm dann meine Seele auf. 3) Andre Zuflucht hab ich keine; zagend hoff ich nur auf dich. Lass, o lass mich nicht alleine, hebe, Herr, und stärke mich! 4) Nur zu dir steht mein Vertrauen, dass kein Übel mich erschreckt; mit dem Schatten deiner Flügel sei mein wehrlos Haupt bedeckt. 5) Gnad um Gnade, volle Sühnung sind in dir, o Jesu, mein. Lass die Heilung mich durchströmen, nimm gereinigt mich hinein. 6) Du bist ja des Lebens Quelle, die den Durst auf ewig stillt. Sei der Born in meinem Herzen, der zum ew'gen Leben quillt. 7) O wie gut ist's, dir vertrauen, Jesu, dir ergeb ich mich, selig droben dich zu schauen, dein zu bleiben ewiglich! |
In diesem Lied findet auch unsere Seele Gottvertrauen
Hoffnung und Gelassenheit in Gott.
Wasimmer das Leben uns auch bringt,
ob Stürme toben oder die Wasser uns ersäufen wollen,
in Jesus, dem Heiland unserer Seelen,
dürfen wir sicher und geborgen sein.
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[1]Kenneth W. Osbeck, Amazing Grace : 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions, Includes Indexes. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Publications, 1990), 47.