God's Wondrous Love

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.

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints' and angels' song.

When hoary 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 every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man 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.
-from "The Love of God" by Frederick Lehman

At the wedding I attended tonight, this song was sung. As I meditated upon the words, I was moved. I had to include the entire song tonight; I could not cut out any of it. I retrieved the text from www.hymnal.net when I got home. Many people have visited this sight and commented on how this song has touched them. One writer from Australia said this: This hymn, whilst broad in its literary span, does not treat God's love in a general sense. Its sentiment speaks of the burden and depths of God's love in verse 1, the unchanging nature of His love in verse 2, and what unbounded appreciation is required from us of His love. It is here that we realize that we must as "scribes" be learning His boundless love in His economy all the time, with hearts saturated with such good matter concerning Him (Psa. 45). The "ink" with which we write is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3) as the Spirit sheds abroad in our hearts His love. O how much do we need to write concerning the God of love, even to the extent, that we the ministers of the new covenant would be His living letters!

What wonderful thoughts! To think that God is using me as a "letter" full of His love inspires me. I want to share that love with the world around me. Verse three challenges and convicts me! As I read it, I stand in humble amazement. Everyone who has stood on the shore and gazed out at the vast expanse we call ocean can appreciate the beautiful metaphor present in this verse. Can you imagine the ocean completely drained or the skies completely filled? Despite the magnitude of an ink of ocean or the vast expanse of a tablet of sky, the scribe would find that he has fallen far short of what he needs to "write the love of God." How precious! How glorious! How humbling! How completely wonderful!!! God loves me!!!