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Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

Lyrics by Charles Wesley; Music by John Zundel

If you’re generally not familiar with many of the old hymns you may not know that Charles Wesley, brother of the famous preacher John Wesley, is one of the greatest hymn writers of all time.  

I’m especially struck this week by how alike the paraphrases and reflections are to each other!  The spirit of this hymn is so uplifting and inspiring that it’s difficult to stand outside of the hymn and merely comment on it–you either live in it, knowing His love from the inside out, or you don’t get the hymn at all.

So, while there are other, more polished versions of this hymn available, I especially enjoy this one because of its quick-paced tempo.  There seems to be something about old hymns that makes many singers want to slow everything down, but when you consider what we are singing about here, nothing but a faster pace will do!  Words and phrases like these: excelling, unbounded, liberty, always blessing, praise Thee without ceasing–these know nothing of a dirge-like pace!  Give it a listen:

Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (Hymn 161) – Hymnology (Official Video)  (Please note that a few of the words slightly different from what you’ll read below!)

Verse 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.

Paraphrase:

God is love, and He surpasses all other loves.  You are the Joy of Heaven–come down to us and make Your home in us, and be the perfect completion of faithful love in us.  Jesus, you always show compassion and pure, limitless love.  In sending this love into our fearful and weary hearts, make us know Your great salvation.

Reflection:

When once we get even a glimpse of the love of God for us, we realize that there is no other joy but Him, that all our joys spring from Him.  And what could be more fulfilling (what a weak word!) than to have this God of love make His home in us?  He is perfect, faithful love and in Christ we live in His compassion as He lives to suffer with us, and comfort us, and soothe our fears, and plants in us the knowledge of His salvation!

Verse 2:

Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit
Into ev’ry troubled breast;
Let us all in thee inherit,
Let us find thy promised rest;
Take away our love of sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
End of faith as its beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.

Paraphrase:

O breathe Your loving Spirit into every troubled heart.  Let us find in You our true inheritance: the rest You’ve always promised us.  Take away not only our sin, but our bent to sin, our love of sinning.  Be for us our all in all.  May we find You as fresh and alive at the end of our life as we found You when we first came to faith.  Set us free from all that has bound us and held us and kept us from You.

Reflection:

We know so much trouble and grief and restlessness!  The one longing of our heart is to cast it all off, to breathe in rest and life and peace–His very own loving Holy Spirit!  Where else can real rest and life and peace be found?  And yet we still find ourselves our own worst enemy–prone to sin, captive to sin, even in love with sin, if we dare to be honest with ourselves.  Who can save us from ourselves?  Only You, Jesus.  Set us free!  Usher us into liberty, break our chains–do for us what we are powerless to do for ourselves!  Restore our faith, renew our faith, strengthen our faith so that we may see You with new eyes!

Verse 3:

Come, Almighty to deliver;
Let us all thy grace [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.

Paraphrase:

Come, Mighty God and set us free.  Let us bask in the endless flow of Your grace.  Come soon, come, and never leave us alone again–make us as You’ve promised the house, the Temple, in which You live.  The one desire of our hearts is to always bless You, always serve You as the angels above, always pray to You and speak with You, and praise You forever and ever without end, and glow as we stand in the light of Your measureless love.

Reflection:

Take the hammer of Your grace to our captived souls!  Break us with Your gentleness.  You’ve promised to live in us, so Come, Come, Lord Jesus take up residence in our hearts.  Make our hearts You own temple, and let praise and blessing and honor flow forever from our lips as freely and abundantly as the angels who even now gaze upon You with their own eyes!  Wash over us and free us to praise you more and more, never ceasing.

Verse 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!

Paraphrase:

Bring to completion the new work You’ve made us to be in Christ.  Let us be as pure and spotless as if we had never sinned.  As we gaze upon Your great salvation–Christ Himself–with our very own eyes, may we find ourselves perfectly restored by the sight of Him.  Finding ourselves made glorious in You, we gain glory upon glory until that Day when we dwell in heaven with You, and cast our crowns before You, lost in wonder, love, and praise!

Reflection:

Lord, as St. Paul said, You began a good work in us–don’t quit!  Keep at it, don’t stop until Your perfect work is completed in us!  Make us pure and spotless, holy and clean in every thought, every desire, every dream, every plan, every action, every imaginative word that springs into our minds–make it all rise from the springs of living water that flow from the pool of divine love You’ve poured into us by the cleansing work of Jesus on the cross.  We lost our glory right alongside Adam and Eve–now restore it to us, glory upon glory, not for our own sake, but for Yours alone!  Let the angels themselves behold what we were and what we have become and then rejoice in endless praise to the One who restores, redeems, heals, conquers, and reigns victorious, now and forever!

Now listen again, friends, and join the angels in praise and worship–give God the glory due His name!

Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (Hymn 161) – Hymnology (Official Video)