Bible Articles
The Love of God
The Love of God (by Kevan O'Banion)
The hymn entitled “The Love of God” was written by Frederick Lehman, and his daughter, Claudia Mays in 1917. However, their inspiration for the song came from a much earlier source - an Aramaic poem from the 11th century. The medieval poem was written Meir Bar Yitzach Nehorai -- a cantor, or “synagogue singer,” from Worms, Germany. He wrote his poem to be recited in the synagogue. Those words of God’s love journeyed from a Hebrew singer, down through the centuries, to a Gentile hymn writer -- from Aramaic to German to English and beyond. Truly the love of God knows no limits, no tribe, no station of life. It is far greater than any could ever tell.
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 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.
I believe these verses reflect how we should feel when it comes to the subject of God’s love and grace. It is a love that is so vast, so great, so deep, so profound -- that you really cannot adequately define and describe it. We can see glimpses of the character and essence of God’s love and grace, but our limited physical perspective just does not allow us to fully comprehend who God is or what God thinks or how God feels (Deut. 29:29). Maybe this is what David was feeling when he penned the words of Psalm 108:3-5, “I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples, and I will sing praises to You among the nations. For Your mercy is great above the skies, and your truth reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and Your glory above all the earth.” May we never cease to be thankful for God's great love toward every and every one of us!
