Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me

Ephesians 3:16–21; Galatians 2:20; 1 John 3:24; John 15:9
(Lutheran Service Book 683)

Our first hymn this coming Sunday is Paul Gerhardt’s (1607-1676) great hymn of love to Christ, “Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me.” This hymn has been in each of our major English hymnals, though Lutheran Worship “updated” some of the words, including the first line, which it has as “Jesus, Your boundless love so true.” Our most recent hymnal, Lutheran Service Book, returned to the historic opening line. Gerhardt’s original hymn has 16 verses. Our hymnal has only four, as did Lutheran Worship. The Lutheran Hymnal had seven verses and the Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book had eight.

Gerhardt based the hymn on a prayer in the Paradiesgärtlein (Magdeburg, 1612), a devotional book by Johann Arndt (1555-1621). Arndt was the most influential Lutheran author of such works in his lifetime. John Wesley (of Methodist Church fame) became acquainted with the hymn while in Savanna, Georgia and, recognizing its beauty and piety, translated it, in its entirety, into English. It was published in his Hymns and Sacred Poems (1739).

Most would probably consider Gerhardt the greatest hymn writer Lutheranism ever produced. All together he wrote over 130 hymns. His life was filled with hardship, but his faith remained firm. Lyrically his hymns mark a transition from the more objective words of the generation before him to the more subjective words of the generation that followed him. More of his hymns have been translated into English than any other Lutheran.

So you don’t have to pull out your hymnal, I’ve included the words of the hymn.

Jesus, Thy boundless love to me
No thought can reach, no tongue declare;
Unite my thankful heart to Thee,
And reign without a rival there!
Thine wholly, Thine alone I am;
Be Thou alone my constant flame.

O grant that nothing in my soul
May dwell, but Thy pure love alone;
Oh, may Thy love possess me whole,
My joy, my treasure, and my crown!
All coldness from my heart remove;
My ev’ry act, word, thought be love.

This love unwearied I pursue
And dauntlessly to Thee aspire.
Oh, may Thy love my hope renew,
Burn in my soul like heav’nly fire!
And day and night, be all my care
To guard this sacred treasure there.

In suff’ring be Thy love my peace,
In weakness be Thy love my pow’r;
And when the storms of life shall cease,
O Jesus, in that final hour,
Be Thou my rod and staff and guide,
And draw me safely to Thy side!

There is a lot of talk in Christian circles about loving God and, of course, we are to love God. This hymn certainly underscores that truth with such phrases like “All coldness from my heart remove; My ev’ry act, word, thought be love.” However Gerhardt begins with the foundation, God’s love for us in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Without this we are unable to grasp God’s boundless love nor love him. Consider what Paul wrote to the Ephesians:

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:14–21)

Notice how, in verse 16, the source of our being strengthen is God, the Holy Spirit particularly here. Verse 17 tells us specifically that the Spirit makes it so “Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” This results in us “being rooted and grounded in love”. As Luther’s Small Catechism puts it,

I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me [and all Christians] by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.

The Holy Spirit does this mighty work through the “Means of Grace,” that is, the Word and Sacrament. Through these the Spirit works faith in us and the fruit of that faith, love. While in Lutheran circles we typically speak of faith towards God and love towards our neighbors, as we see in this hymn (and St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians) it is perfectly “Lutheran” and “Christian” to speak of our love towards God. But we remember that this is not a natural love but a supernatural love, that is, a Spirit-worked love. It is a love that is founded on Jesus’ boundless love to us (1 John 4:19). This is true both of our love towards God and our love towards our neighbors.

Notice how, in verse 21, Paul is thinking of more than just the Christians in Ephesus. They are part of a larger group, the Christian Church, which extends through time and beyond. The Church is to glorify our Triune God in worship. The Triune God is seen clearly in this quote from Ephesians. It begins in verse 14 where we read of the Father’s work. Then in verse 16 we find the Holy Spirit. Jesus makes a specific appearance in verse 17. So when Paul prays that we “may be filled with all the fullness of God,” in verse 19, he is referring to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is the God the Church glorifies and why our worship services are triune in nature.

In verse 4 Gerhardt speaks of our life’s end and his fervent desire to enter eternity to be at Jesus’ side. In this, he desires to walk the path that Jesus blazed through death to heaven. Just as Jesus was raised, so we too shall be raised on the Last Day (John 6:44). We have already participated in that resurrection, through our baptism (Romans 6:4). This baptismal connection is also spoken of by Paul in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

We don’t have the space to do a large study of baptism here; suffice it to say that faith is the Spirit’s gift through Baptism and the Word (Ephesians 5:26). The Spirit enables us to be dead to sin and alive in Christ (Romans 6:11). So Paul tells the Galatians we have been crucified with Christ and that the life we now live we live by faith in Jesus. Therefore, because Jesus lives, we too live and will live in all eternity with him and all believers in Christ. Gerhardt can confidently hope that Jesus will “draw me safely to Thy side!”

Our current life we live “by faith in the Son of God, who loved [us] and gave himself for [us].” That faith means treasuring the gifts of the Spirit: the Word of God, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. We also reflect His love to others. Many passages could be cited here about loving others, but I’ll just use two out of Romans.

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. (Romans 12:10)

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. (Romans 13:8)

We love others with the love of Christ. Notice how in Gerhardt’s hymn all depends on Christ’s love for us.

In 1 John 3:24 we read: “Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.” Loving God and our neighbors is the summing up of God’s commandments (Matthew 22:37-40). Notice that John says that keeping God’s commandments is evidence that the Spirit dwells in us. That evidence is love. When Christians consistently live their faith—clinging to the Gospel and lovingly serving others—we can be confident that Christ and the Holy Spirit abides in them. A Spirit worked faith makes the connection and a Spirit filled life is manifested in love. Notice how Gerhardt speaks of this in verse 2 of his hymn.

Just one last thought here. In John 15:9, Jesus says “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” Jesus compares His Father’s love for Him with His great love for us. Of course the greatest manifestation of that was our Lord’s willingness to die for us that we might have eternal life. In verse 11 Jesus goes on to say, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” What comfort this is in “the storms of life!” Reach to Jesus, His love, and His Gospel. You will experience His love and help.