How Wide, How High, How Long, and How Deep Is God’s Love?

Posted on Sep 23, 2021 Topic : Inspirational/Devotional, Men's Christian Living, Women's Christian Living
Posted by : Joni Eareckson Tada

God is so much bigger than our minds can ever grasp! This is why I love to pray large prayers to Him. I even start my prayers large. I’ll begin by saying, “Oh, wonderful Father, precious Jesus, and blessed Holy Spirit, thank You for listening to my prayer.” Praying this way reminds me of the last line of this hymn, which is often called the Doxology: “Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost, Amen!”

Let’s explore each Person mentioned in that last line of the Doxology. First, let’s look at the Father. He is especially wonderful because God the Father’s special gift to us is His plan of salvation. The Father was the one who came up with the idea of saving sinful people. We would have been lost for eternity were it not for our heavenly Father’s plan to rescue us. And so we need to worship Him with great respect.

Next, there’s God the Son and the special gift of grace He gives to us. Jesus is the one who followed through on the Father’s plan of salvation. He obeyed His heavenly Father by going to the cross to die for our sins. Because of this, we need to show we are grateful that Jesus obeyed His Father. By obeying, Jesus became our Savior.

Finally, there’s the Holy Spirit. (A long time ago, people used to call the Holy Spirit the Holy Ghost.) When I think about the Holy Spirit and His gifts of strength and encouragement, I remember that He’s the one who gives us assurance and joy. That’s why we should be careful to listen to Him. We don’t want to make Him sad, upset Him, or stifle His voice by disobeying Him.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Doxology is a wonderful way to praise God in all His fullness. When we sing the words to this hymn, we are expressing how wide, long, high, and deep the love of God really is. And we are sharing the good news of how God desires to fill us to the brim with His fullness of love. Isn’t that awesome? So think large and gladly say with me, “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…I worship You.”

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The Story Behind the Song

Did you know that a song that was originally sung only in secret would one day become the most-sung hymn in the world? That’s what happened with “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow.”

Thomas Ken, who wrote this wonderful hymn, was orphaned as a child and raised by his sister, Anne, and her author husband, Izaak Walton. Thomas became a poet and pastor who wrote this simple song of praise for the students he taught at Winchester College in England. The students loved the song, but Ken warned them that they should only sing it in the privacy of their dorm rooms. At that time, the church believed that songs should only include the words of Scripture verses, not the writer’s own ideas and feelings.

Fortunately, many people continued to sing the song, and eventually the church decided it was okay for songs to include the words of their writers—especially beautiful songs of praise like the Doxology. In fact, today many churches have a tradition of ending their services with this hymn that was once only sung in secret behind closed doors!