Oh, Love, How Deep, ELW 322 and LBW 88
1 Oh, love, how deep, how broad, how high,
Beyond all thought and fantasy,
That God, the Son of God, should take
Our mortal form for mortal's sake!
2 He sent no angel to our race,
Of higher or of lower place,
But wore the robe of human frame,
And to this world himself he came.
3 For us baptized, for us he bore
His holy fast and hungered sore;
For us temptation sharp he knew;
For us the tempter overthrew.
4 For us he prayed; for us he taught;
For us his daily works he wrought,
By words and signs and actions thus
Still seeking not himself, but us.
5 For us by wickedness betrayed,
For us, in crown of thorns arrayed,
He bore the shameful cross and death;
For us he gave his dying breath.
6 For us he rose from death again;
For us he went on high to reign;
For us he sent his Spirit here
To guide, to strengthen, and to cheer.
7 All glory to our Lord and God
For love so deep, so high, so broad;
The Trinity whom we adore
Forever and forevermore.
Devotion
This much-loved hymn places the baptism of Jesus within the larger will and work of the triune God. It is seeing it all in terms of God’s amazing love. But love is not only the setting or context; more importantly, this hymn connects the whole drama of God’s love particularly to us. Beginning with stanza 3 the words “for us” are used 12 times to help us see that all of God’s activities flow from love for each one of us. Who could ever have realized that some water joined to words about being baptized involves all this love from the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit? It is worth thinking about. It is worth singing about!
Prayer
Sustain us, O God, with the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both now and forever. Amen.