There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 588)
1 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 heav’n.
There is no place where earth’s failings Have kindly judgment giv’n.
2 There is a welcome for the sinner, And a promised grace made good;
There is a mercy with the Savior; There is healing in his blood.
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.
3 For the love of God is broader Than the measures of our mind;
And the heart of the eternal Is most wonderfully kind.
There is plentiful redemption In the blood that has been shed;
There is joy for all the members In the sorrows of the head.
4 ‘Tis not all we owe to Jesus; It is something more than all:
Greater good because of evil, Larger mercy through the fall.
If our love were but more simple, We should take him at his word;
And our lives would be all sunshine In the sweetness of the Lord.
Text: Frederick W. Faber; Music: North American; Public Domain
Devotion
The British hymnwriter and priest takes this week’s key question—how vast is God’s pasture?—to the vastness of the sea. (Verse 1, ELW version) Perhaps his experience of life in the British countryside saw stone walls dividing the land, desecrating the horizon. Perhaps he saw how that made our sense of God’s grace too limited. Even if we get to experience grand horizons on earth’s vast continents or oceans, we know we can yet measure the lands and waters of this globe—and transverse all with supersonic speed.
Verse three calls us to make confession. We turn our ability to measure into a way of elevating myself and excluding others. Yes, I am one of God’s sheep; surely not they! By making the pasture more comfortable with my limits, have I placed myself outside of God’s grace? As in line two of verse one, only God’s immeasurable mercy will lead us to justice and liberty.
Prayer
Thank you, O God, for experiences of awe and wonder. Open our hearts, transform our wills, so that we may also see this world and all its people in the light of your justice and mercy, liberty and grace. Amen.