Tune My Heart, Episode 27
- Stacy Bishop
- Jan 22
- 3 min read
Episode 27
Happy Sunday, friend. As you prepare for worship this morning, let’s take a moment of quiet to invite God’s presence into your awareness today.
Every once in a while, an old hymn pops into my head that I probably haven’t heard in two decades or more. Right now, it’s the hymn, “The Love of God” by Frederick M. Lehman.
The Love Of God
Verse 1
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
Chorus
O love of God how rich and pure
How measureless and strong
It shall forevermore endure
The saints and angels song
Verse 2
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
Lehman wrote these lyrics in a time in which he had lost everything he had as a businessman. I love how, in the midst of real struggles, his words express a never-faltering faith in God.
And the third verse, my favorite, says this:
Verse 3
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
These words weren’t actually penned by Lehman, but were a poem that he remembered he had tucked away, written on a bookmark. The note written beneath the poem said this:
“These words were found written on a cell wall in a prison some 200 years ago. It is not known why the prisoner was incarcerated; neither is it known if the words were original or if he had heard them somewhere and had decided to put them in a place where he could be reminded of the greatness of God’s love - whatever the circumstances, he wrote them on the wall of his prison cell. In due time, he died and the men who had the job of repainting his cell were impressed by the words. Before their paint brushes had obliterated them, one of the men jotted them down and thus they were preserved.”
No one knows who the prisoner was, but the poem was eventually traced back to a Jewish rabbi in Germany. I can’t imagine a prisoner writing these words who wasn’t also in similar circumstances to Lehman. He was imprisoned. Clearly in a dark, difficult time of his life, for whatever reason. Yet, he wrote these words he remembered on a wall. Perhaps it was his act of worship in spite of his circumstances.
Whatever the origin, there are many parallels with both Old and New Testament scriptures. Let that be our life goal—to continue to write and sing about the love of God. We could never run out of reasons and there would never be enough paper and ink in the world.
O love of God how rich and pure
How measureless and strong
It shall forevermore endure
The saints and angels song
Let’s pray.
God, we thank You for your endless love. Help us to remember that when we doubt Your love for us. Help us to find ourselves so overwhelmed by Your love that we can’t help but share it with others and sing it with an authenticity and passion like never before. God, we love You. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
For more information on this hymn, check out: https://www.afrankvoice.com/hymns-history/the-love-of-god
A printable/downloadable version of today's devo is available here:
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