Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

View this hymn using FlexPresent: Hymnary.org's free tool provides this hymn's music notationand lyrics synchronized with its audio

Love divine, all loves excelling, Joy of heaven, to earth come down

Author: Charles Wesley (1747)
Tune: BEECHER
Published in 1863 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Playable presentation: Lyrics only, lyrics + music
Audio files: MIDI, Recording

Song available on My.Hymnary

Representative Text

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 our 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.

Source: Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #361

Author: Charles Wesley

Charles Wesley, M.A. was the great hymn-writer of the Wesley family, perhaps, taking quantity and quality into consideration, the great hymn-writer of all ages. Charles Wesley was the youngest son and 18th child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley, and was born at Epworth Rectory, Dec. 18, 1707. In 1716 he went to Westminster School, being provided with a home and board by his elder brother Samuel, then usher at the school, until 1721, when he was elected King's Scholar, and as such received his board and education free. In 1726 Charles Wesley was elected to a Westminster studentship at Christ Church, Oxford, where he took his degree in 1729, and became a college tutor. In the early part of the same year his religious impressions were much deepene… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Love divine, all loves excelling, Joy of heaven, to earth come down
Title: Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
Author: Charles Wesley (1747)
Meter: 8.7.8.7 D
Language: English
Notes: Spanish translations: See "Sólo excelso, amor divino, Gozo vén del cielo á nos" by Elida Falcón, "Oh amor que excede a todos" by Juanita R. de Balloch
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

Scripture References:
st. 1 = Rev. 21:3, John 3:16, John 15:9
st. 2 = Mal. 3:1
st. 3 = 2 Cor. 3:18, 2 Cor. 5:17, 2 Pet. 3:14

Considered by many to be among Charles Wesley's (PHH 267) finest texts, "Love Divine" was published in four stanzas in his Hymns for those that seek, and those that have Redemption in the Blood of Christ (1747). Many hymnals, including the Psalter Hymnal, omit the original second stanza, which contained the questionable line "take away our power of sinning." A verse from John Dryden's poem beginning with the words "Fairest isle, all isles excelling" used by Henry Purcell in his opera King Arthur were undoubtedly Wesley's inspiration for writing this text. In fact, "Love Divine" was set to a Purcell tune in John and Charles Wesley's Sacred Melody (1761).

Addressed to Christ, this text begins as a prayer for the indwelling of his love in our lives: "fix in us thy humble dwelling" and "let us all thy life receive" (st. 1-2). A tone of praise and adoration runs throughout the text. But the final stanza is clearly a prayer for sanctification, for consistently holy lives. Though this stanza was an outcome of the Specifically Wesleyan doctrine of perfection, it is our fervent Christian prayer that our sanctification will ultimately lead to glorification. As is customary in a Charles Wesley text, biblical allusions abound.

Liturgical Use:
As a sung prayer, probably towards the end of the service or, given its tone of praise, as a closing hymn; Advent.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook
============================

Love Divine, all loves excelling. C. Wesley. [The Love of Christ.] First published in Hymns for those that Seek, and those that Have Redemption, 1747, No. 9, in 4 stanzas of 8 lines (Poetical Works, 1868-72, vol. iv. p. 219). In 1780 it was included, with the omission of stanza ii., in the Wesleyan Hymn Book, No. 374, and in this form it has passed into a large number of hymn-books in all English-speaking countries. It had previously appeared in full in M. Madan's Psalms & Hymns, 1760; A. M. Toplady's Psalms & Hymns, 1776, and other hymn-books of the Church of England. The two forms, the full and the abridged, have thus come into common use. Tested by its use it is found to rank with the best of its author's work. Mr. G. J. Stevenson has an interesting note thereon in his Methodist Hymn Book Notes, 1883, p. 266.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Tune

BEECHER

John Zundel's BEECHER (named after Henry Ward Beecher, his pastor) was first published in his Christian Heart Songs (1870) as a setting for Charles Wesley's "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" (568). The tune is also known as ZUNDEL. Approximating the shape of a rounded bar form (AA'BA'), BEECHER is…

Go to tune page >


Timeline

Media

You have access to this FlexScore.
Download:
Are parts of this score outside of your desired range? Try transposing this FlexScore.
General Settings
Stanza Selection
Voice Selection
Text size:
Music size:
Transpose (Half Steps):
Capo:
Contacting server...
Contacting server...
Questions? Check out the FAQ

A separate copy of this score must be purchased for each choir member. If this score will be projected or included in a bulletin, usage must be reported to a licensing agent (e.g. CCLI, OneLicense, etc).

This is a preview of your FlexScore.
Baptist Hymnal 1991 #208
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
  • Full Score (PDF)
The Cyber Hymnal #3606
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #568
  • Full Score (PDF, XML)
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
The United Methodist Hymnal #384
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
  • Full Score (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
Worship and Rejoice #358

Instances

Instances (1 - 100 of 136)

A Teaching Hymnal #148

TextPage Scan

African American Heritage Hymnal #440

TextPage Scan

African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal #455

Ambassador Hymnal #226

An Nou Chanté! #40

TextFlexScoreAudio

Ancient and Modern #721

TextFlexScoreAudio

Ancient and Modern #721b

Anglican Hymns Old and New (Rev. and Enl.) #491a

Anglican Hymns Old and New (Rev. and Enl.) #491b

TextAudioPage Scan

Baptist Hymnal 1991 #208

Text

Baptist Hymnal 2008 #172

Bible Truth Hymns #19

Text

Breaking Bread (Vol. 39) #473

Text

Catholic Book of Worship III #625

TextPage Scan

Celebrating Grace Hymnal #281

TextPage Scan

Chalice Hymnal #517

TextPage Scan

Christian Worship (1993) #365

Church Family Worship #387

Church Gospel Songs and Hymns #132

Church Hymnal, Fifth Edition #634

Church Hymnal, Mennonite #84

Text

Church Hymnary (4th ed.) #519

Page Scan

Common Praise (1998) #485

Common Praise (1998) #486

TextPage Scan

Common Praise #516a

TextPage Scan

Common Praise #516b

TextPage Scan

Community of Christ Sings #565

Text

Complete Anglican Hymns Old and New #428a

Text

Complete Anglican Hymns Old and New #428b

Complete Mission Praise #449

TextPage Scan

CPWI Hymnal #451a

TextPage Scan

CPWI Hymnal #451b

TextPage Scan

Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary #407

TextAudioPage Scan

Evangelical Lutheran Worship #631

Page Scan

Gather (3rd ed.) #641

TextPage Scan

Gather Comprehensive #622

Page Scan

Gather Comprehensive, Second Edition #613

TextPage Scan

Glory and Praise (3rd. ed.) #662

Text InfoTextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Glory to God #366

Great Songs of the Church (Revised) #267

Hymnal #592

Tune Info

Hymns Ancient and Modern, New Standard Edition #131

Hymns and Psalms #267a

Hymns and Psalms #267b

Hymns and Psalms #267c

TextPage Scan

Hymns for a Pilgrim People #48

TextPage Scan

Hymns for Today's Church (2nd ed.) #217a

TextPage Scan

Hymns for Today's Church (2nd ed.) #217b

TextPage Scan

Hymns of Faith #56

Text

Hymns of Glory, Songs of Praise #519

TextPage Scan

Hymns of Promise #60

Hymns of the Christian Life #180

Hymns of the Saints #170

Hymns Old and New #321

TextPage Scan

Hymns to the Living God #255

Text

Journeysongs (2nd ed.) #746

TextPage Scan

Journeysongs (3rd ed.) #709

TextPage Scan

Lead Me, Guide Me (2nd ed.) #494

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Lift Up Your Hearts #351

Little Way Hymns No. 2 #15

Living Hymns #7

Living Hymns #7

TextPage Scan

Lutheran Service Book #700

TextPage Scan

Lutheran Worship #286

TextPage Scan

Moravian Book of Worship #474

Text

One in Faith #743

TextPage Scan

One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism #146

Oramos Cantando = We Pray In Song #543

Original Sacred Harp Denson Revision 1987 Standard Melodies #30a

Praise for the Lord (Expanded Edition) #405

Page Scan

Praise! Our Songs and Hymns #31

TextPage Scan

Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #361

Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs #283

Text InfoTune InfoTextScoreAudioPage Scan

Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #568

Page Scan

Rejoice Hymns #100

TextPage Scan

Rejoice in the Lord #464

TextPage Scan

Renew! Songs and Hymns for Blended Worship #196

TextPage Scan

RitualSong (2nd ed.) #806

TextPage Scan

RitualSong #743

Page Scan

Sacred Selections for the Church #260

Santo, Santo, Santo #353

Santo, Santo, Santo #354

TextPage Scan

Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal #191

Sing Glory #179

TextPage Scan

Sing Joyfully #71

Singing the Faith #503

Audio

Small Church Music #95

Audio

Small Church Music #96

Audio

Small Church Music #154

Audio

Small Church Music #4617

Audio

Small Church Music #6982

Songs of Faith and Praise #140

Page Scan

Soul-stirring Songs and Hymns (Rev. ed.) #172

TextPage Scan

The A.M.E. Zion Hymnal #274

The Baptist Hymnal #366

TextPage Scan

The Book of Praise #371

The Celebration Hymnal #648

The Christian Life Hymnal #40

The Christian Life Hymnal #41

The Christian Life Hymnal #42

Pages

Include 1727 pre-1979 instances
Suggestions or corrections? Contact us