1
The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell.
It goes beyond the highest star
And reaches to the lowest hell.
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled
And pardoned from his sin.
Than tongue or pen can ever tell.
It goes beyond the highest star
And reaches to the lowest hell.
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled
And pardoned from his sin.
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.
2
When hoary time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall;
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call;
God’s love, so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall;
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call;
God’s love, so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.
3
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
Words & Music © 1923, Ren. 1951 by Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, IL 60188.
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Petersburg, Alaska, United States
This partial verse came to me as I was waking up this morning, I had to write it somewhere.
When Jesus died upon the cross,
My every sin on Him was laid;
He took those sins and made them naught
My heart was changed, my debt was paid.
Homosassa, Florida, United States
I have been an amateur astronomer for years.
Of all the songs I have written, and the thousands of songs I have sung in my 63 years of my life, Verse 3 still brings tears to my eyes every time. This is what I feel when I look into a bright starry sky.
God is Awesome!
Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria
I was so lost, I should have died, but precious Jesus have brought me to His side, to be led by His staff and rod And to be call a lamb of God...
Am so happy, He washed me in His blood and now am heal and whole, thank You Jesus,
This hymn is a testimony to my life.
Accra, Ghana
That last stanza always gets to me...
I thank God for his unfailing, limitless, measureless, strong, rich and 100% pure love!!!
San Diego, California, United States
Oh Lord Jesus! He Loves Us, Amen! He is our first love, Amen!
Thank you Lord that we can wake-up every morning and shout Abba Father! Oh Lord Jesus!
His Love is rich and pure, Amen!
Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
Praise the Lord!
Rio De Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
My God is great. I don't know what could be if I didn't have God in my life.
Austin, Texas, United States
O love of God, how rich and pure!
Salem, Oregon, United States
Rabbi Meir bar Yitzak's Poem: "God's eternal glory could not be described even if the heavens were parchment, and the forest quills; if all the seas were ink, as well as every gathered water; even if the earth's inhabitants were scribes and recorders of initials."
Stanza Four of this hymn is a very good paraphrase of Rabbi Meir's poem. There is a lot of wisdom to be found in early rabbinic literature!
Tolland, Connecticut, United States
Frederick Martin Lehman was born August 7th, 1868 in Mecklenburg Schwerin, Germany and died February 20th, 1953 in Pasadena, California. He migrated with his family to Iowa at age 4 and came to Christ at age 11. While walking down a country lane, a “cornucopia of glory” descended all around him. The weight of conviction was gone and joy and praise was upon his lips.
He studied to be a minister at Northwestern College, Illinois. He pastored at Audobon, Iowa; New London, Indiana and Kansas City, Missouri. His first hymn was written in 1898 and published hundreds of songs, compiling five song books. In 1911, he moved to Kansas City, Missouri where he helped found the Nazarene Publishing House. He married Emma Louise Dermyer and had 8 children.
The first two stanzas of this song and the chorus were written by Frederick after having to go back to manual labor in 1917 in order to make a living. His daughter helped him compose the music. The last stanza was found etched on a wall by a patient in an insane asylum who had passed away but was traced back to Rabbi Hertz in his “Book of Jewish Thought “. Hertz borrowed the words from a poem written in 1050 by Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai for the synagogue Pentecost celebrations.