The Magnitude Of God's Divine Love

The lyrics we often sing in Frederick M. Lehman’s hymn, “The Love of God,” captures in word pictures, the breathtaking magnitude of God’s divine love. The third verse reads:

“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.

Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.”

These marvelous lyrics echo the apostle Paul’s response to the love of God. The apostle prayed that we might “be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height — to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:18-19).

As we expand our knowledge of God’s love for us (John 3:16-17; John 15:13; Romans 5:1-11), we soon realize that its full measure is beyond our understanding. Even if the ocean were filled with ink, using “every stalk on earth” as a quill — to write about the magnitude of God‘s love, would simply drain the ocean dry. How measureless is the magnitude of God’s divine love!

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets