O Love of God, How Strong and True

Top Media Text Author Text Info Notes Tune Timeline Arrangements Page Scans Instances

O love of God, how strong and true

Author: Horatius Bonar (1861)
Published in 111 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Audio files: MIDI, Recording

FlexScore
	O Love of God, How Strong and True

Piano/Organ
	The Art of Hymn Playing Volume II - Intr…

Choral
	A Song of Community - (Choral Score)

Representative Text

1 O love of God, how strong and true,
eternal and yet ever new,
uncomprehended and unbought,
beyond all knowledge and all thought!
O love of God, how deep and great,
far deeper than man's deepest hate;
self-fed, self-kindled like the light,
changeless, eternal, infinite.

2 O heav'nly love, how precious still,
in days of weariness and ill,
in nights of pain and helplessness,
to heal, to comfort, and to bless!
O wide-embracing, wondrous love!
We read you in the sky above,
we read you in the earth below,
in seas that swell and streams that flow.

3 We read you best in him who came
bearing for us the cross of shame;
sent by the Father from on high,
our life to live, our death to die.
We read your pow'r to bless and save,
e'en in the darkness of the grave;
still more in resurrection light
we read the fullness of your might.

4 O love of God, our shield and stay
through all the perils of our way!
Eternal love, in you we rest,
forever safe, forever blest.
We will exalt you, God and King,
and we will ever praise your name;
we will extol you ev'ry day,
and evermore your praise proclaim.

Source: Trinity Psalter Hymnal #240

All representative texts • Compare texts ^ top

Author: Horatius Bonar

Horatius Bonar was born at Edinburgh, in 1808. His education was obtained at the High School, and the University of his native city. He was ordained to the ministry, in 1837, and since then has been pastor at Kelso. In 1843, he joined the Free Church of Scotland. His reputation as a religious writer was first gained on the publication of the "Kelso Tracts," of which he was the author. He has also written many other prose works, some of which have had a very large circulation. Nor is he less favorably known as a religious poet and hymn-writer. The three series of "Hymns of Faith and Hope," have passed through several editions. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872… Go to person page >

^ top

Related Texts

First Line:	O love of God, how strong and true
Title:	O Love of God, How Strong and True
Author:	Horatius Bonar (1861)
Meter:	8.8.8.8
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain

Year A, Ordinary Time, Proper 5 (10)

^ top

Notes

Scripture References:
st. 1 = Jer. 31:3, Lam. 3:22-23
st. 3 = Eph. 3:17-18
st. 5 = Col. 1:19-20
st. 7 = Ps. 33:20

One of Horatius Bonar's (PHH 260) best hymn texts, “O Love of God” was published in his Hymns of Faith and Hope (1861) in ten stanzas. The Psalter Hymnal includes the original stanzas 1, 3-6, 9, and 10.

The text's theme is God's love, which we cannot comprehend but do experience (st. 1-2). We may observe God's love in the creation around us (st. 3-4), but we find his love most clearly expressed in the sacrifice of Christ (st. 5-6); it is in this redemptive love that we find our eternal rest (st. 7).

Liturgical Use:
The theme of God' s redemptive love is fitting for many worship services, particularly as a hymn between confession and assurance and the service of the word; worship that focuses on creation (st. 1,3-5); healing services (st. 1-2,5,7); funerals (st. 1-2,5-7); Easter Sunday (st. 5-7).

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

^ top

Tune

BROOKFIELD (Southgate)

All tunes published with 'O Love of God, How Strong and True'^ top

Timeline

^ top

Arrangements

Store

Media

FlexScores
Additional Scores
Audio

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

Text size:

Music size

Music size:

Transpose (Half Steps)

Transpose (Half Steps):

Capo

Capo:

Contacting server...

This is a preview of your FlexScore.

The Cyber Hymnal #5146

Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
XML score (XML)

Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #463

Full Score (PDF, XML)
Bulletin Score (PDF)
Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)

^ top

Page Scans

View Page

Redemption Hymnal (2015), p.72

^ top

Instances

Instances (1 - 22 of 22)

$2.99 Purchase the FlexScore for this hymn instance (licensed for a single user) $11.99 Purchase all of the FlexScore instruments/formats for this hymn instance (licensed for all instrumentalists in your church or organization) $39.99 Purchase a FlexScore subscription and get unlimited access to all public domain FlexScores for one year
	Questions? Check out the FAQ

User Links

User Links

Discover

Collections

Connect

Search

Collections

Discover

O Love of God, How Strong and True

Contents