O Love of God, How Strong and True

Representative Text

1 O love of God, how strong and true,
Eternal and yet ever new;
Uncomprehended and unbought,
Beyond all knowledge and all thought.

2 O wide-embracing, wondrous love,
We read Thee in the sky above;
We read Thee in the earth below,
In seas that swell and streams that flow.

3 We read Thee best in Him who came
To bear for us the cross of shame,
Sent by the Father from on high,
Our life to live, our death to die.

4 We read Thy pow'r to bless and save
E'en in the darkness of the grave;
Still more in resurrection light
We read the fullness of Thy might.

5 O love of God, our shield and stay
Through all the perils of our way!
Eternal love, in Thee we rest,
Forever safe, forever blest.


Source: One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism: an African American ecumenical hymnal #243

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Author: Horatius Bonar

Horatius Bonar was born at Edinburgh, in 1808. His education was obtained at the High School, and the University of his native city. He was ordained to the ministry, in 1837, and since then has been pastor at Kelso. In 1843, he joined the Free Church of Scotland. His reputation as a religious writer was first gained on the publication of the "Kelso Tracts," of which he was the author. He has also written many other prose works, some of which have had a very large circulation. Nor is he less favorably known as a religious poet and hymn-writer. The three series of "Hymns of Faith and Hope," have passed through several editions. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872… Go to person page >

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Text Information

Related Texts

First Line: O love of God, how strong and true
Title: O Love of God, How Strong and True
Author: Horatius Bonar (1861)
Meter: 8.8.8.8
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain
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Notes

Scripture References:
st. 1 = Jer. 31:3, Lam. 3:22-23
st. 3 = Eph. 3:17-18
st. 5 = Col. 1:19-20
st. 7 = Ps. 33:20

One of Horatius Bonar's (PHH 260) best hymn texts, “O Love of God” was published in his Hymns of Faith and Hope (1861) in ten stanzas. The Psalter Hymnal includes the original stanzas 1, 3-6, 9, and 10.

The text's theme is God's love, which we cannot comprehend but do experience (st. 1-2). We may observe God's love in the creation around us (st. 3-4), but we find his love most clearly expressed in the sacrifice of Christ (st. 5-6); it is in this redemptive love that we find our eternal rest (st. 7).

Liturgical Use:
The theme of God' s redemptive love is fitting for many worship services, particularly as a hymn between confession and assurance and the service of the word; worship that focuses on creation (st. 1,3-5); healing services (st. 1-2,5,7); funerals (st. 1-2,5-7); Easter Sunday (st. 5-7).

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

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