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
We have read soaring promises and deep words of comfort for disciples, but never such blessings apart from suffering. God’s promises always come through an inverted lifestyle. Do you hear the implicit word “repent”? Ultimately, however, the main story is not first about faithful disciples of Jesus; It’s about God and God’s mercy for those whom God has chosen. Our hymn captures the expansive mercy of God, not a mercy manufactured in the dreams or imaginations of the author, but in the record of Holy Scripture. Therein we find documented sinners: Abraham, Isaac, Moses, David, Peter, Thomas, James and John. All were failures at one point or another, just like you and me. The third stanza shifts the focus from the expansive mercy of God to the restrictive mercy of humanity. We make love “more narrow by false limits of our own,” and “magnify its strictness with a zeal God will not own.” That’s embarrassing—to say the least.
Prayer
Merciful God, our Heavenly Father, thank you for your patience with us as we struggle to be faithful followers, devoted disciples, and willing servants. As always, we offer our prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.