O the deep, deep love of Jesus is a hymn text by Samuel Trevor Francis (1834–1925), a London merchant who had a crisis of faith in his teenage years that turned into a conversion experience. Francis, ready to end his own life, was standing on a bridge over the Thames River when he had a spiritual experience that moved him to become a lay preacher and hymn writer. This is one of his more famous texts.
The words tell of the depth of Jesus’ love for each of us. As we get closer to Holy Week, we remember that this love of Jesus is what moved him to give his life for us. Because of that deep love and his sacrifice, each of us can have a personal relationship with God.
O, the deep, deep love of Jesus
Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free
Rolling as a mighty ocean
In its fullness over me
Underneath me, all around me
Is the current of your love
Leading onward, leading homeward
To your glorious rest above
O, the deep, deep love of Jesus
‘Tis a heaven of heavens to me
And it lifts me up to glory
For it lifts me up to thee
O, the deep, deep love of Jesus
Spread his praise from shore to shore
How he loves us, ever loves us,
Changes never, nevermore
The words to this hymn follow a common metrical pattern, with alternating lines of 8 and 7 syllables (8.7.8.7 D). Many hymn tunes use this same pattern. This means that this text can work (more or less) with any tune that has an 8.7.8.7 D pattern.
Here are links to some very different settings of this hymn.
Audrey Assad – set to the tune BUNESSAN (a tune also often used for Morning Has Broken)
Hereford Cathedral Choir – set to the tune EBENEZER (my favorite tune for this text)
Simon Khorolskiy – also set to the tune EBENEZER, but with dramatic flair (think Celtic-looking sea cliffs, fog, orchestral and costumes)