Oh, Love, How Deep (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 322)
1 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 mortal’s sake!
2 He sent no angel to our race,
Of higher or of lower place,
But wore the robe of human frame,
And to this world himself he came.
3 For us baptized, for us he bore
His holy fast and hungered sore;
For us temptation sharp he knew;
For us the tempter overthrew.
4 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.
5 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.
6 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.
7 All glory to our Lord and God
For love so deep, so high, so broad;
The Trinity whom we adore
Forever and forevermore.
Text: Thomas á Kempis; Music: English ballad; Public Domain
Devotion
Thomas à Kempis wrote the classic “Imitation of Christ” that has endured down to the present day. A member of the pre-Reformation Brethren of the Common Life, Thomas lived what he taught. I have heard people say, when talking about faith, that it isn’t about us, but about God. Actually, as Thomas tells in this hymn, everything God did was for us. It was “into this lost world he came” to give us eternal life. Everything he did was out of love for us. “For us he prayed, for us he taught … For us he rose from death.” Knowing that gives us reason to sing and pray with shouts of thanksgiving and praise.
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your love and the lavish way you spent it so we might live with you forever in love and praise. In Jesus’ name. Amen.