Words: (Du ewig­er Ab­grund der sel­ig­en Lie­be). Von Zin­zen­dorf wrote this hymn for the birth­day of his friend, Count Henk­el of Od­er­berg, Sep­tem­ber 21, 1726; trans­lat­ed it from Ger­man to Eng­lish in Hymns and Sac­red Po­ems, 1739.

Music: Oc­ta­vi­us, (1817-1873).


Eternal depth of love divine,
In Jesus, God with us, displayed;
How bright Thy beaming glories shine!
How wide Thy healing streams are spread!

With whom dost Thou delight to dwell?
Sinners, a vile and thankless race:
O God, what tongue aright can tell
How vast Thy love, how great Thy grace!

The dictates of Thy sovereign will
With joy our grateful hearts receive:
All Thy delight in us fulfill;
Lo! all we are to Thee we give.

To Thy sure love, Thy tender care,
Our flesh, soul, spirit, we resign:
O fix Thy sacred presence there,
And seal the abode for ever Thine.

O King of glory, Thy rich grace
Our feeble thought surpasses far;
Yea, even our crimes, though numberless,
Less numerous than Thy mercies are.

Still, Lord, Thy saving health display,
And arm our souls with heav’nly zeal;
So fearless shall we urge our way
Through all the powers of earth and hell.