Oh, Love, How Deep, ELW 322
Devotion
Oh, love, how deep, how broad, how high,
beyond all thought and fantasy,
that God, the Son of God, should take
our mortal form for mortals' sake!
God sent no angel to our race,
of higher or of lower place,
but wore the robe of human frame,
in Christ our Lord to this world came.
For us baptized, for us he bore
his holy fast and hungered sore;
for us temptation sharp he knew;
for us the tempter overthrew.
For us he prayed; for us he taught;
for us his daily works he wrought,
by words and signs and actions thus
still seeking not himself, but us.
For us by wickedness betrayed,
for us, in crown of thorns arrayed,
he bore the shameful cross and death;
for us he gave his dying breath.
For us he rose from death again;
for us he went on high to reign;
for us he sent his Spirit here
to guide, to strengthen, and to cheer.
All glory to our Lord and God
for love so deep, so high, so broad;
the Trinity whom we adore
forever and forevermore.
Love That Wore the Robe of Human Form
"He knows our frame, how we were made, he remembers we are dust. (KJV)"
God's "remembering," beyond mere thought, is action to remedy us because "as a father…he has compassion for his children." (Psalm 103:5)
Jesus had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because Jesus himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested (Hebrews. 2:18).
The Gospel of Matthew (chapter 4) tells of Jesus' resisting four of the devil's temptations. He knows what it is to be tempted, so we do not have a high priest "who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin."
Prayer
Thanks be to God who knows our frame and who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.