Friday is for Forgotten Hymns: Frederick Faber
Have mercy on us, God Most High!
Who lift our hearts to Thee;
Have mercy on us worms of earth,
Most holy Trinity!
Most ancient of all mysteries!
Before Thy throne we lie;
Have merc
When heaven and earth were yet unmade
When time was yet unkown
Thou in Thy bliss and majesty
Dist live and love alone!
Thou were not born; there was no fount
From which Thy Being flowed;
There is no end which Thou canst reach
But Thou art simply God.
How wonderful creation is
The work that Thou didst bless
And oh! What then must Thoug be like,
Eternal Loveliness
How beautiful the Angels are,
The Saints how bright in bliss;
But with Thy beauty, Lord! Compared,
How dull, how poor is this!
No wonder Saints have died of love,
No wonder hearts can break,
Pure hearts that once have learned to love
God for his own dear sake.
O Majesty most beautiful!
Most holy Trinity!
– Frederick Faber (1814-1863), “Have Mercy on Us, God Most High.”
Faber was an Anglican minster. Faber later became Roman Catholic and that is why you will find a lot of references to Mary in his work. However, the lyrics here in this hymn are God-centered. God didn’t create us because he was lonely or needed more livelihood. He loves us just because he loves us. There is nothing about us that moved him to do so.
Favorite line:
No wonder Saints have died of love,
No wonder hearts can break,
Pure hearts that once have learned to love
God for his own dear sake.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
What is with the Blog Title?
In the beginning, all was as it should be in the Garden of Eden. God did not set us up to be messed up but we messed up what he set up. Sin, brokenness, and chaos touched all of God's creation. Because God had such great love for this sin-infected world, he sent Himself here disguised as a child who grew up tempted, yet no sin. This God-man named Jesus, went also to a garden, Gethsemane, in preparation for his death. He died on a cross and rose to life in order to return all creation to its original state of goodness. One day, everything sad will be made untrue and returned to a garden of paradise. But this time, this garden will be surrounded by a city of worshipers called the kingdom of God. The biblical story is a story of three gardens.