"Lord, send us such a floodtide of Thy love
that we shall be washed beyond the mire of doubt and fear.' - C. H. Spurgeon
Have you ever tried to comprehend the Love of God? How would you describe
it?
What words immediately come to mind when you muse on such a subject?
Love without measure? Strong and true? Eternal? Ever New?
Incomprehensible? Unbought? Beyond
description? Undeserved? Free? Immortal? Ever Full?
In 1906, in Worms, Germany, a Jewish songwriter by the name of Rabbi Mayer
composed a lengthy poem and called it in the Arabic language - "Hadamut."
Amazingly, certain lines of this poem which were somewhat revised were
found one day on the walls of an insane asylum after one patient's death.
It has been conjectured that this same patient in times of sanity wrote a
revised portion of the Rabbi's poem which in turn became the third stanza
of a very famous and well-loved hymn called "The Love Of God." The words
of this third stanza were quoted at a Nazarene campmeeting that Pastor
Frederick M. Lehman attended. Being so moved in the hearing of them, he
immediately sought to preserve them for future generations. The words are
as follows -
"Could we with ink the ocean fill and were the
skies of parchment made,
Were ev'ry stalk on earth a quill and ev'ry man a scribe by trade
To write the Love of God above would drain the ocean dry,
Nor could the scroll contain the whole tho stretched from sky to sky."
Later, in 1917, while facing difficult
circumstances, Pastor Lehman added the first two stanzas as well as the
chorus to the existing third stanza. His daughter Claudia assisted him in
putting music to the words -
"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.
When years of time shall pass away and earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men, who here refuse to pray, on rocks and hills and mountains call,
God's love so sure shall still endure, all measureless and strong:
Redeeming grace to Adam's race - the saints' and angels' song.
Chorus -
O Love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure - the saints' and angels' song."
Are there any other words that are appropriate
and fitting to describe a Love which is so indescribable!
"It goes beyond the highest star and to the
lowest hell."
"How rich and pure"
"How measureless and strong"
"It shall forevermore endure"
"The saints' and angels' song"
To think that it is our song - the song of the
redeemed of the Lord. Because of the awesome sacrifice of the Lord Jesus -
our Great and Mighty Savior - made for our sins on Calvary's tree, we have
been brought into an awareness of this wonderful Love.
So many writers have taken the liberty to comment on this great subject.
Here are a few of their remarks -
Martin Luther said - "God does not love us
because we are valuable, but we are valuable because God loves us."
D.L. Moody said - "I know of no truth in the
whole Bible that ought to come home to us with such power and tenderness
as that of the love of God."
And W.J.C. White said - "Our total welfare is
the constant concern of God's loving heart."
We are indeed very valuable not because of any
merit of our own but all because of the Love of Jesus which is shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. His redeeming Love for each one of us
makes us a very special people. We are precious in His sight - so very
precious.
Nowhere is this Love so distinctly and fittingly expressed than in God's
Holy Word. Many Scriptures cover this great topic. In this message, we
will examine five of them -
Isaiah 49:15-16 - "Can a woman
forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son
of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I
have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually
before me."
The love that a mother feels for her infant
child is the strongest tie of all relations. Yet, there have been
instances when even a mother has neglected or abandoned her own baby.
The Word of God assures us that God's Love for us is much stronger than
the strongest tie between mother and child. Even though she may in some
instances forget her own, He will never, ever forget us. We have His
Promise on that - "...yet will I not forget thee..." He will never, ever
be accused by any for being forgetful or unmindful of us, His people.
"Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands" - What exactly
does this mean?
In their explanation, some commentators refer to the custom of placing a
mark or a sign on one of the fingers in order to remember something.
Others commonly refer to the practice of puncturing the skin and making an
indelible mark by fire or by staining on the hands or the arms.
Oftentimes, the Jews would make a representation of the temple or the city
of Jerusalem on their skin as a constant reminder to them or to show their
great zeal and affection for them. God has each one of us marked on His
hands to show that He is ever mindful of us, always thinking about us, and
is continuously interested in our affairs.
"Thy walls are continually before Me" - These walls represent His
constant care and protection for us. Daily, regularly, and perpetually is
our safety His concern.
2. Jeremiah 31:3 - "The LORD hath appeared of old unto me,
saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with
lovingkindness have I drawn thee."
The people of God were reminiscing of how the LORD had appeared to them in
the past. But now they had felt forsaken. He reassured them that His Love
for them was not a momentary impulse. It was "an everlasting love."
Today, He desires to reassure us of the same.
Perhaps you have felt the Love of God in the past, but because of present
circumstances where He seemingly has withdrawn His presence from your
life, you feel as though He no longer loves you, is angry with you, or has
cast you aside. Take comfort in knowing that, unlike man's love, God's
Love for you is "an everlasting love." By virtue of this unfailing
love, He promises to extend His "lovingkindnesses" - His favor,
good deeds, mercy, and pity - continually your way.
3. Zephaniah 3:17 - "The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is
mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in
His love, He will joy over thee with singing."
Here the Prophet Zephaniah tells us that the All-conquering, prevailing,
Almighty God takes great delight in us. He loves to love us. "He will
rest in His love." In other words, He will be silent in His love -
silent to our faults and repented sins, not imputing any wrongdoing to our
charge.
4. Hosea 11:4 - "I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of
love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and
I laid meat unto them."
"Cords of a man" and "Bands of love" both represent the same
thing, although the latter is stronger than the former. They represent the
gentle, sweet, kind, and mild methods by which God deals with us.
A picture is drawn here of a child holding onto a rope and a nurse or a
father is drawing him, teaching him how to walk with confidence and
assurance. Even so, God teaches us how to walk in His ways by drawing us
with "bands of love" and "cords of a man."
"I was to them as they that take off the yoke...and laid meat unto
them." - God delivered the children of Israel from the yoke of Egypt.
He then fed them in the wilderness with manna from heaven. We, too, have
been delivered from the yoke of slavery. Through His Mighty Word, the Lord
Jesus has set us free from the yoke of Sin and Satan. He has prepared a
table before us right in the midst of our enemies. Daily He calls us to
"Come and dine" at the Father's Table. Goodness and Mercy follow us every
where we go.
5. Ephesians 2:4 - "But God, Who is rich in mercy, for His great
love wherewith He loved us."
There are people in this world who are rich in gold, silver, diamonds,
real estate, etc. Although God owns all the silver and the gold, the Bible
emphasizes His being "rich in mercy." It is overflowing and
abundant in supply.
But as great as His mercy is, His love is the fountain out of which it
flows.
It is "rich," but His love is "great."
Someone once said - "The true measure of God's
love is that He loves without measure."
God's love for you is wide, extensive, and far-reaching. Because He loves
you so very much, you are valuable. You are precious.
You don't ever have to be afraid of anything or anyone who comes your way.
God will never forget you. He has engraven you on the palms of His hands.
He is constantly looking out for your protection. His love for you is not
a momentary thing. It is "everlasting."
Be still and know that He is God.
Rest in His great love for you.
With "bands of love," allow Him to draw you in the direction that He has
ordained for your life. Allow Him to tenderly remove the yokes of fear and
doubt from your mind and heart and to feed and nourish you in His ways.
His love is great.
He will have mercy on you, show you favor and kindness, and perform all
that You need Him to do.
Lord, send a floodtide of your Love this day upon your people.
Reassure us through Your Holy Word of Your Great Love for us.
In Jesus' Name we ask & believe.
Amen & Amen.
