"The God Pause Daily Devotional" from The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Saturday, 18 February 2017 "Love Divine All Loves Excelling" (ELW 631)| ------- |
"Love Divine All Loves Excelling" (ELW 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 ev'ry 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,
nevermore 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!
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To sing this hymn is to sing a series of prayer petitions. Throughout the verses we ask God to come down, to dwell within us, to visit us, to breathe God's Spirit upon us, to grant us God's great gifts. These are basic requests of faith: Come here, O God. Be here. Live among us and within us. Give us life. The melody is similarly basic, mostly walking around the first five notes of a major scale, hardly striding more than one whole step from one note to the next. It is a musical stroll, one that rises and falls, waxes and wanes, swells and simmers, finally resting on the original note.
Sounds a lot like the life of faith: up and down, wandering, starting and ending in the gracious presence of Jesus Christ, the alpha and omega, the source and fulfillment of faith. It's a life of prayer and praise without ceasing, grounded in God's perfect love.
Breathe on me, Holy Spirit. You are the alpha and omega, the beginning and end, the source of life. Grant me new life today and always. Amen.
Christine Hallenbeck Ask, '15
Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls, S.D.
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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 ev'ry 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,
nevermore 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!
-------
To sing this hymn is to sing a series of prayer petitions. Throughout the verses we ask God to come down, to dwell within us, to visit us, to breathe God's Spirit upon us, to grant us God's great gifts. These are basic requests of faith: Come here, O God. Be here. Live among us and within us. Give us life. The melody is similarly basic, mostly walking around the first five notes of a major scale, hardly striding more than one whole step from one note to the next. It is a musical stroll, one that rises and falls, waxes and wanes, swells and simmers, finally resting on the original note.
Sounds a lot like the life of faith: up and down, wandering, starting and ending in the gracious presence of Jesus Christ, the alpha and omega, the source and fulfillment of faith. It's a life of prayer and praise without ceasing, grounded in God's perfect love.
Breathe on me, Holy Spirit. You are the alpha and omega, the beginning and end, the source of life. Grant me new life today and always. Amen.
Christine Hallenbeck Ask, '15
Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls, S.D.
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