THE LOVE OF GOD

I will sing of the LORD's loyal love forever. I will proclaim your faithfulness with my own mouth from one generation to the next. Psalms 89:1

I enjoy the new worship music, but I must say, I still have a great love for the old hymns. Some may think me old-fashioned, but the melodies and the lyrics to these hymns make my heart swell. One song of which I am especially fond is The Love Of God.

As I write these lyrics penned by Frederick M. Lehman, I want my readers to ponder these words from 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.

We could never write nor tell enough to fully convey the knowledge of God’s love for us. John 3:16 tells us that God loved the world, and Romans 5:8 says that God demonstrated that love to us. While we were in our sinful state, God gave His Son to reconcile us to Himself, to be triumphant over the sting of death. This is a love unimaginable.

The third verse verse is a favored one. There are three stories surrounding this verse: (1) It  was found scrawled out on the wall of an insane asylum of a deceased patient; (2) It was written in the “Akdamut” by Rabbi Meir Ben Isaac Yitzchak (Nehorai) in 1050 A.D; and (3) It was written in the year 1096, by Rabbi Mayer, son of Isaac Nehorai.

Although there is mystery surrounding verse 3, its  descriptive language is beautiful: 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.

Can you imagine? The ocean, made by God,  is full of ink. The sky, made by God, is one big piece of paper. Every blade of grass, made by God, is an inkpen. Every person, made by God, is a writer.  Even if this were so, It would be impossible to express the love of God as He is the creator of all. The oceans would dry up and the paper could not contain it all. That is just how great God’s love for us is.

Ephesians 3:18-19 says, And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is. Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know… Does this make your heart swell?

Oh love of God, how rich and pure, how measureless and strong. It shall forevermore endure; the saints’ and angels’ song. Praise God! Hallelujah!

Thank you God for your measureless love. Through Christ Jesus I pray, Amen.