Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 631)
1 Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heav’n, to earth come down!
Fix in us thy humble dwelling,
all thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
pure, unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation,
enter ev’ry trembling heart.
2 Breathe, oh, breathe thy loving Spirit
Into every troubled breast;
let us all in thee inherit;
Let us find thy promised rest.
Take away the love of sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
end of faith, as its beginning,
set our hearts at liberty.
3 Come, Almighty, to deliver;
let us all thy life receive;
suddenly return, and never,
never more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray, and praise thee without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.
4 Finish then thy new creation,
pure and spotless let us be;
let us see thy great salvation
perfectly restored in thee!
Changed from glory into glory,
till in heav’n we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love and praise!
Text: Chares Wesley; Music: Rowland H. Prichard; Public Domain
Devotion
Hyfrydol, the tune for “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling,” epitomizes the idea that music “feels.” Its major key is upbeat and positive, but it can also be sung in a variety of styles. Think about this music hummed as a mother’s song to her little one snuggled close, or played triumphantly on handbells and brass on Easter morning. Either way, the tune brings a sense of comfort and calm amidst great joy.
This great joy is where the lyrics of the hymn match the tune. The words call down love to earth—love divine, all loves excelling—in a way that invites all humankind to recognize the magnitude of God’s love, so much so that we are compelled to live it out. The hymn itself seems to cry out “Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself.”
“Jesus, thou art all compassion, pure, unbounded love thou art.” This is something to sound on the trumpet, or hum quietly to your baby. Either way, it feels like love.
Prayer
God of music, you use word in song to pierce our hearts and convict us. Send us the tune of your love so that we may sing it all day long. Amen.