Featured Hymn for July 14: O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus!

Samuel Trevor Francis is the author of this hymn. Nothing else about it is known for sure. There is a legend that he wrote it as a personal testimony after nearly committing suicide as a young man by jumping into the Thames River off London’s Hungerford Bridge. While this suggests a certain dramatic angle for interpreting the hymn, no reputable evidence has been found to corroborate the story.

The text has three eight-line stanzas. It is a testimony in the first person to the magnitude, power, eternity, and sweetness of the love of Jesus, and how His love will carry us to Him someday.

The second line of this hymn describes the love of Jesus as “vast, unmeasured, boundless, free.” In our finite, physical world, it is difficult to genuinely comprehend this concept. The ocean is the largest thing on earth. Its deepest point is deeper than the highest mountain on earth, yet God's love is deeper still. From any point on the coast, we can see just a small fraction of the sea. We know that the vast ocean has boundaries, but God's love is boundless.

View worship notes, composer biographies, historical information and more about this featured hymn at www.hymnary.org.