Lyrics
Verse 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
Verse 2
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
Chorus
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Verse 3
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints' and angels' song
Video
Meaning & Inspiration
The Love Of God is a hymn that tries to describe a love too large for words. The first verse says it is greater than tongue or pen can tell, reaching beyond the highest star and down to the lowest hell, and that, for the guilty pair, God gave His Son to win, reconciling and pardoning His erring child. The second imagines filling the ocean with ink, making the skies parchment, every stalk a quill and every person a scribe, and still not being able to write it all.
A Hallelujah section follows, and the last verse calls it rich, pure, measureless and strong, enduring forever as the song of saints and angels. The themes follow Ephesians 3:18-19 on the breadth and length of Christ's love, Romans 5:8, John 3:16 and Psalm 36:5. The ocean-and-ink picture is memorable, and the slow, wide phrasing makes it a hymn for reflective congregational singing.
Related Scripture
- Ephesians 3:18-19 Paul prays that believers grasp the breadth, length, height and depth of Christ's love.
- John 3:16 God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.
- Romans 5:8 God shows His love in that Christ died for sinners.