Poems (Gifford)/"We love Him because He first loved Us"
"WE LOVE HIM BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US" (I. John iv. 19.)"FREELY YE HAVE RECEIVED, FREELY GIVE."(Matthew x. 8.)
We love Him, the great Lover of our souls,With true, deep love,—what can we do but love*For He hath so loved us that He hath givenHis best for us, His only, much-loved Son,And with Him all good things. So hath He stilledOur craving restlessness and given us peace;So hath He drawn us closely to Himself,Enfolded us with mercy, circled usWith gifts outmeasuring our large desires;And from our bitter, but deservéd woesHe doth evolve serenest happiness.And above all that yet our hearts have provedHe hath implanted wondrous hopes, which stretchBeyond earth's narrow Limits into yearsThat have no ending, space that knows no bound,And bliss yet unconceived. We love indeed,And thus to love is joy unspeakable.But oh! how feeble is our best responseTo God's inspiring love! How cold our hearts!How languid is our highest, heartiest praise!And oh, how selfishly we take our bliss!Thousands there are who yearn for such a love,Yet know it not, and it is meant for them;Others there are who blindly grope for light,Who pine for comfort, yet know not its source,Who live in poverty, and slight this wealth,Who toil in vain, and spend their strength for nought,Who nothing understand of the sweet spellWith which this love irradiates all life.
Oh, let us woo them to our loving One,And He will satisfy them too! For free,Far-reaching, all comprising is His grace,And it is shed on us for wider ends,And higher, holier, grander purposesThan we have ever guessed. Ah, then, as weSo freely have received, so let us give;And by the love wherewith God first loved usWhile still unloving, strengthless, and undone,Let us love others into loving too,So link be joined to link in that great chain,Which down the years transmits the love of God!
Father of love, forgive our lovelessness!Forgive our selfishness, our listlessness!And, for Thine own sake, and Thy dear Son's sake,Into our spirits Thy free Spirit pourIn measure limitless! So stir our love,So stimulate our zeal, so give us power,And grace, and wisdom; give us all we needTo fit us to commend Thy precious love,And constrain others that great love to know.