Thou hidden Love of God, whose height

Full Text

1 Thou hidden love of God, Whose height,
Whose depth unfathom'd, no man knows:
I see from far Thy beauteous light,
Inly I sigh for Thy repose:
My heart is pain'd, nor can it be
At rest till it finds rest in Thee.

2 Is there a thing beneath the sun
That strives with Thee my heart to share?
Ah! tear it thence, and reign alone,
The Lord of every motion there.
Then shall my heart from earth be free,
When it has found repose in Thee.

3 O hide this self from me, that I
No more, but Christ in me, may live;
My vile affections crucify,
Nor let one darling lust survive;
In all things nothing may I see,
Nothing desire, or seek, but Thee.

4 Each moment draw from earth away
My heart, that lowly waits thy call;
Speak to my inmost soul, and say
"I am thy Love, thy God, thy All."
To feel Thy power, to hear Thy voice,
To taste Thy love, be all my choice!

Hymnal: according to the use of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, 1871

Author: Gerhard Tersteegen

Gerhardt Tersteegen or ter Stegen, was born at Moers, Netherlands, November 25, 1697. He was destined for the Reformed ministry, but after his father's death when the boy was only six, his mother was unable to send him to the university. He studied at the Gymnasium in Moers, and then earned a meager living as a silk weaver, sharing his frugal daily fare with the poor. Malnutrition and privation undermined his health to such an extent that he suffered a serious depression for some five years, following which he wrote a new covenant with God, signing it in his own blood. A strong mystic, he did not attend the services of the Reformed Church after 1719. Although forming no sect of his own, he became well known as a religious teacher and l… Go to person page >

Translator: John Wesley

John Wesley, the son of Samuel, and brother of Charles Wesley, was born at Epworth, June 17, 1703. He was educated at the Charterhouse, London, and at Christ Church, Oxford. He became a Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, and graduated M.A. in 1726. At Oxford, he was one of the small band consisting of George Whitefield, Hames Hervey, Charles Wesley, and a few others, who were even then known for their piety; they were deridingly called "Methodists." After his ordination he went, in 1735, on a mission to Georgia. The mission was not successful, and he returned to England in 1738. From that time, his life was one of great labour, preaching the Gospel, and publishing his commentaries and other theological works. He died in London, in 17… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Thou hidden love of God, Whose height
Title: Thou hidden Love of God, whose height
Author: Gerhard Tersteegen (1729)
Translator: John Wesley (1738)
Meter: 8.8.8.8.8.8
Place of Origin: Germany
Language: English

Tune

ST. PETERSBURG

Dmitri Stephanovich Bortnianski (b. Gloukoff, Ukraine, 1751; d. St. Petersburg, Russia, 1825) was a Russian composer of church music, operas, and instrumental music. His tune ST. PETERSBURG (also known as RUSSIAN HYMN) was first published in J. H. Tscherlitzky's Choralbuch (1825). The tune is suppo…

Go to tune page >


STELLA (English)

First published in Henri Frederick Hemy's Easy Hymn Tunes for Catholic Schools (1851), STELLA was a folk tune from northern England that Hemy heard sung by children in Stella, a village near Newcastle-upon-Tyme. In modified bar form (AA'B), the tune has an interesting rhythmic structure. Antiphonal…

Go to tune page >


ST. CATHERINE (Hemy)


Timeline

Media

The United Methodist Hymnal #414

Instances

Instances (3)TextImageAudioScore
Church Hymnary, Fourth Edition #188Text
Rejoice in the Lord #452Text
The United Methodist Hymnal #414TextImageAudioScore