The wideness in God's mercy
There’s a wideness in God’s mercy
Like the wideness of the sea;
There’s a kindness in his justice
Which is more than liberty.
There is no place where earth’s sorrows
Are more felt than up in heaven;
There is no place where earth’s failings
Have such kindly judgement given.
For the love of God is broader
Than the measures of man’s mind;
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.
But we make his love too narrow
By false limits of our own;
And we magnify his strictness
With a zeal he will not own.
There is plentiful redemption
In the blood that has been shed;
There is joy for all the members
In the sorrows of the Head.
There is grace enough for thousands
Of new worlds as great as this;
There is room for fresh creations
In that upper home of bliss.
If our love were but more simple,
We would take him at his word;
And our lives would be all gladness
In the joy of Christ our Lord.
God just keeps blessing me richly with English hymns and choral works that I was not familiar with in the United States. Some of these new gems have made me cry upon a first hearing, as the combination of their music and text intermingle to highlight Biblical truths in a fresh way for me.
The words to this lovely hymn were penned well over a century and a half ago by FW Faber (1814-1863). I am always amazed at how the messages conveyed in hymns written long ago can resonate with the times and feelings of today. Some of the musical styles may change, but God uses both – music and text – to reach out and touch our souls.
I heard this hymn for the first time on Thursday, as our choir was preparing it for this Sunday’s Eucharist. My heart was very heavy just prior to this rehearsal, as news and pictures of hurricane Katrina’s aftermath in the Gulf States of America was being broadcast. In light of all the tragedy that has transpired – from the many degrees of human suffering to all the behaviours of human nature in crisis, both positive and negative – this hymn just washed over me like the most wonderful soft, downy comfort blanket.
(The hymn is to the tune of ‘Corvedale’, harmonised by Maurice Bevan (1921-). If some of my American friends would like to learn this, let me know, and I will make sure to send it to you!)
Like the wideness of the sea;
There’s a kindness in his justice
Which is more than liberty.
There is no place where earth’s sorrows
Are more felt than up in heaven;
There is no place where earth’s failings
Have such kindly judgement given.
For the love of God is broader
Than the measures of man’s mind;
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.
But we make his love too narrow
By false limits of our own;
And we magnify his strictness
With a zeal he will not own.
There is plentiful redemption
In the blood that has been shed;
There is joy for all the members
In the sorrows of the Head.
There is grace enough for thousands
Of new worlds as great as this;
There is room for fresh creations
In that upper home of bliss.
If our love were but more simple,
We would take him at his word;
And our lives would be all gladness
In the joy of Christ our Lord.
God just keeps blessing me richly with English hymns and choral works that I was not familiar with in the United States. Some of these new gems have made me cry upon a first hearing, as the combination of their music and text intermingle to highlight Biblical truths in a fresh way for me.
The words to this lovely hymn were penned well over a century and a half ago by FW Faber (1814-1863). I am always amazed at how the messages conveyed in hymns written long ago can resonate with the times and feelings of today. Some of the musical styles may change, but God uses both – music and text – to reach out and touch our souls.
I heard this hymn for the first time on Thursday, as our choir was preparing it for this Sunday’s Eucharist. My heart was very heavy just prior to this rehearsal, as news and pictures of hurricane Katrina’s aftermath in the Gulf States of America was being broadcast. In light of all the tragedy that has transpired – from the many degrees of human suffering to all the behaviours of human nature in crisis, both positive and negative – this hymn just washed over me like the most wonderful soft, downy comfort blanket.
(The hymn is to the tune of ‘Corvedale’, harmonised by Maurice Bevan (1921-). If some of my American friends would like to learn this, let me know, and I will make sure to send it to you!)
posted by Deb at 3.9.05
3 Comments:
Congratulations on your new post. I know you will be a blessing to all there. I love the hymn too. We must not lose these older hymns and their wise poetry. Love
This is indeed a beautiful hymn. I'm very good friends with Mr. Bevan's nephew, who was my choirmaster for a time. This hymn is English through and through. If you like this sort of thing, I'm sure I could send you a couple more hymns of similar ilk!
I've just discovered this post while searching the web for details of the tune called Corvedale. It occurs to me you might like to visit my Blog which has a feature on this hymn (among others). My Blog is at cathythinks.blogspot.com
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