Words: , Or­a­to­ry Hymns, 1854. Ano­ther ar­range­ment can be found in Souls of Men, Why Will Ye Scat­ter.

Music: Well­es­ley, , 1878. She wrote this tune for her high school grad­u­a­tion song in New­ton, Mass­a­chus­etts; the name comes from the near­by Well­es­ley w­omen’s col­lege, which she la­ter at­tend­ed brief­ly. Al­tern­ate tunes:

  • Armstrong (Richards), (1817-1889)
  • Beecher, , 1870
  • Chamouni, , 1876
  • Erie, , 1868
  • Illsley, (cir­ca 1665-1737)
  • In Ba­bi­lo­ne, , 1906
  • Stuttgart, , 1715

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy,
Like the wideness of the sea;
There’s a kindness in His justice,
Which is more than liberty.

There is no place where earth’s sorrows
Are more felt than up in Heaven;
There is no place where earth’s failings
Have such kindly judgment given.

There is welcome for the sinner,
And more graces for the good;
There is mercy with the Savior;
There is healing in His blood.

There is grace enough for thousands
Of new worlds as great as this;
There is room for fresh creations
In that upper home of bliss.

For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of our mind;
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.

There is plentiful redemption
In the blood that has been shed;
There is joy for all the members
In the sorrows of the Head.

’Tis not all we owe to Jesus;
It is something more than all;
Greater good because of evil,
Larger mercy through the fall.

If our love were but more simple,
We should take Him at His word;
And our lives would be all sunshine
In the sweetness of our Lord.

Souls of men! why will ye scatter
Like a crowd of frightened sheep?
Foolish hearts! why will ye wander
From a love so true and deep?

It is God: His love looks mighty,
But is mightier than it seems;
’Tis our Father: and His fondness
Goes far out beyond our dreams.

But we make His love too narrow
By false limits of our own;
And we magnify His strictness
With a zeal He will not own.

Was there ever kinder shepherd
Half so gentle, half so sweet,
As the Savior who would have us
Come and gather at His feet?