Hymn Of The Week: October 5, 2020

Hymn of the Week: Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
Glory to God #366

HYFRODOL
Charles Wesley 1747 Text
Music Rowland Pritchard 1831

Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

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 every trembling heart.

2.
Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit
Into every troubled breast!
Let us all in Thee inherit;
Let us find the 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.

Charles Wesley (1707-1788) was a prolific hymn writer, writing over 9000 hymn texts in his lifetime. “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” was first published in a collection of hymns entitled Hymns for those that Seek, and those that Have, Redemption in the Blood of Christ (1747). The beginning of the text was a play on the opening line of John Dryden’s (1631-1700) poem “Fairest Isle, All Isles Excelling” set to music by Henry Purcell (1659-1695) in the generation before Charles Wesley was born.

The tunes BEECHER or HYFRYDOL typically accompany the text in most hymnals. The hymn is written around a progression of thoughts: (1) our prayers for the Holy Spirit, (2) praying for the return of our Lord through the second coming, and (3) prayers for the finalization of his new creation.

This arrangement of the HYFRODOL tune, by Joel Raney, is heard on our very own Steinway which will be heading to the piano shop on October 5, for the next couple months as they repair the tuning board and install new shanks for the hammers to withstand our wetter summers.