“Love Divine, All Loves Excelling,” ELW 631 and LBW 315
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 ev’ry trembling heart.
2 Breathe, oh, breathe thy loving Spirit
Into every troubled breast;
let us all in thee inherit;
Let us find thy 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,
never more 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!
Devotion
We sometimes forget that God is ever creating, always up to new things. What does this mean for us — to be created in the image of an ever-creating God? What new things are we to consider in order to live as disciples of Jesus Christ?
Stanza four of “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” reminds us that God’s creation is still in progress. God continues to work, ever changing the world and those of us in it. When we are open to being changed by God, we embrace God’s new, glorious creation. Jesus Christ died on the cross so that we might be changed and have newness of life. It’s a life filled with wonder, love and praise for the One whose disciples we have become.
Prayer
Holy Lord, thank you for the gift of new creation that we see all around us. We thank you that you were willing to die for us, restoring our relationship with you. We pray that we might live as your disciples, lost in wonder, love and praise, reflecting your glory to all we encounter. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.