O Love of God, How Strong and True

O love of God

how strong and true!

Eternal and yet ev­er new;

Uncomprehended and un­bought

Beyond all know­ledge and all thought.

O love of God

how deep and great!

Far deep­er than man’s deep­est hate;

Self-fed

self-kin­dled

like the light

Changeless

eter­nal

in­fi­nite.

O heav’n­ly love

how pre­cious still

In days of wea­ri­ness and ill!

In nights of pain and help­less­ness

To heal

to com­fort

and to bless.

O wide emb­rac­ing

won­drous love

We read Thee in the sky above

We read Thee in the earth be­low

In seas that swell

and streams that flow.

We read Thee in the flow­ers

the trees

The fresh­ness of the frag­rant breeze

The song of birds up­on the wing

The joy of sum­mer and of spring.

We read Thee best in Him who came

To bear for us the cross of shame;

Sent by the Fa­ther from on high

Our life to live

our death to die.

We read Thee in the mang­er-bed

On which His in­fan­cy was laid;

And Na­za­reth that love re­veals

Nestling amid its lone­ly hills.

We read Thee in the tears once shed

Over doomed Sa­lem’s guil­ty head

In the cold tomb of Beth­any

Ana blood-drops of Geth­se­ma­ne.

We read Thy pow­er to bless and save

E’en in the dark­ness of the grave;

Still more in re­sur­rect­ion light

We read the full­ness of Thy might.

O love of God

our shield and stay

Through all the per­ils of our way;

Eternal love

in Thee we rest

Forever safe

for­ev­er blest!