April 28 - O Love, How Deep

Listen here.

Welcome to Devotions for Worship where we meditate on the appointed Scripture readings for the upcoming Sunday. I am Pastor Eric Tritten from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Hudson, OH. Thank you for being with me today.

On Saturdays we look at a hymn for our devotional meditation. This might be a helpful devotional habit because the hymns we sing are expressions of faith and often teach us important lessons. They are, in a sense, God’s Word rearranged and set to music. It is good for us to look closely at what we sing. There are beautiful and inspiring biblical messages contained in the hymns.  

The hymn we will look at today is O Love How Deep. (You can listen to it here.) In the Lutheran Service Book from Concordia Publishing House it is hymn number 544.

The Hymn:

This hymn is attributed to Thomas a Kempis, an important devotional writer of the late 1300’s and early 1400’s. You may be familiar with his book, The Imitation of Christ, which describes a life of piety, obedience to God’s Word, simplicity, humility, and other basic Christian habits.

O Love, How Deep is a meditation on the life of Jesus. It begins by recognizing that it was love that moved God the Father to give the Son, and that same amazing love moved Jesus, the Son of God, to take our mortal form, to dwell among us in ministry, to die for us and to rise again. It is through this love that we know God, and we respond in the last verse with words of praise.

I’ll read the hymn, but I encourage you to take some time and read it. Again it is in the Lutheran Service Book, hymn number 544. I’ve also printed the lyrics on my blog – www.lotrittens.blogspot.com. And you can find the lyrics online by searching, Oh Love, How Deep.

Oh, love, how deep, how broad, how high,
Beyond all thought and fantasy,
That God, the son of God, should take
Our mortal form for mortal’s sake!

He sent no angel to our race,
Of higher or of lower place,
But wore the robe of human frame,
And to this world himself he came.

For us baptized, for us he bore
His holy fast and hungered sore;
For us temptation sharp he knew;
For us the tempter over threw.

For us he prayed; for us he taught;
For us his daily works he wrought,
By words and signs and actions thus
Still seeking not himself but us.

For us by wickedness betrayed,
For us, in crown of thorns arrayed,
He bore the shameful cross and death;
For us he gave his dying breath.

For us he rose from death again;
For us he went on high to reign;
For us he sent his Spirit here
To guide, to strengthen, and to cheer.

All glory to our Lord and God
For love so deep, so high, so broad;
The Trinity whom we adore
Forever and forevermore.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, all You did in Your earthly life was all for us. Help us to meditate on this beautiful message – for us – when we come to worship. The forgiveness of sins is for us. The Word of God is for us. The sermon is for us. The Lord’s Supper – Your body and blood which gives forgiveness to all who believe – is for us. And, at the end, the benediction, the word that speaks your blessing is for us. Open our hearts and minds to receive all You give us with joy and thanks. Amen.

Memory Verse: John 15:5 - I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (Jn. 15:5 ESV)

Thank you so much for using Devotions for Worship, I pray that our time together has blessed you and given you something to meditate on – some reminder of God’s grace to rattle around in your brain – for the rest of the day.

One more thing: If you got something out of this devotional time, would you share it on social media or just tell someone about it? It stands to reason that if this blessed you, it will bless someone else.

Thanks again and God bless you!

Devotions for Worship: Oh Love, How Deep - audio: https://soundcloud.com/pastor-tritten/april-28-o-love-how-deep - text:  #devotion #devotional #devotions #devos

If you like this please follow by email on Blogger, subscribe on iTunes, or follow on SoundCloud! That way you won't miss a devotion!