Father of Heaven Whose Love Profound
Father of heaven, whose love profound
Father of Heaven Whose Love Profound is a hymn text by Edward Cooper (1805) in C.M. meter. Found in th 103, tlh 242. Sung to DENNIS.
This hymn exemplifies Lutheran emphasis on God's boundless love revealed through creation and redemption, centering on divine majesty and human dependence on grace. It reflects Reformation theology emphasizing God's sovereign love as the source of salvation and human worthiness only through Christ.
History & Background
Written by Edward Cooper, an English evangelical clergyman, and published in his 1805 collection. The hymn became widely adopted in English and American Protestant hymnodies throughout the 19th century.
Hymnal Appearances
- Trinity Hymnal — 103
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 242
Bulletin Note
Written by Edward Cooper in 1805, this hymn exemplifies Lutheran theology's insistence that God's love precedes and transcends human merit, addressing sinfulness with grace rather than judgment.
Preaching Connection
This hymn crystallizes the Gospel's power to transform the Law's accusation of human unworthiness into joyful recognition that our value rests entirely in God's profound, sovereign love revealed through Christ.
Overview
A Trinitarian litany by Edward Cooper, each stanza ending 'Before Thy throne we sinners bend; / To us Thy … extend.' The Father, whose love found a ransom, extends pardoning love (st. 1); the Son, Prophet, Priest and Lord, extends saving grace (st. 2); the Spirit, whose breath raises the soul from death, extends quickening power (st. 3); the thrice-holy God extends grace, pardon and life (st. 4). Unusually penitential for a Trinity hymn: we come as 'sinners' throughout.
Central theme: Sinners bowing before the Triune God and receiving from each Person pardon, grace and life
Structure
Four long-meter quatrains with a two-line refrain varied in its final word: pardoning love — saving grace — quickening power — grace, pardon, life.
Law & Gospel Shape
Law: 'we sinners bend' (every stanza). Gospel: ransom, saving grace, quickening, pardon and life.
Confessional Connections
Rev 4:11 (TLH's text). St. 2: 'Our Prophet, Priest, Redeemer, Lord' — Christ's threefold office (prophet, priest, king), standard in Lutheran dogmatics. St. 3: the soul 'raised from sin and death' by the Spirit's breath — conversion is the Spirit raising the dead, not assisting the willing (FC II.24). St. 4: the triple Sanctus (Isa 6:3) and 'Mysterious Godhead, Three in One' — the mystery confessed, not explained (Athanasian Creed). The repeated posture of sinners bowing reflects that we approach even the Trinity only through grace.
Liturgical Use (Study Notes)
Holy Trinity; Lent; penitential services.
Historical Notes
Cooper (1770-1833), Anglican rector of Hamstall Ridware, Staffordshire, published it in a Uttoxeter collection (1805) (verify).
About the Tune
ANGELUS (Heilige Seelenlust, Breslau, 1657, adapted).
Scripture References
Rev 4:11 John 3:16 1 Pet 1:18-20 Luke 18:13 John 1:14 Deut 18:15 Heb 4:14-16 Ezek 37:9 Eph 2:1-5 Isa 6:3 Rev 4:8 Matt 28:19
Stanza by Stanza
Father in heaven, whose deep love found a ransom for our souls, we sinners bow before your throne; extend your pardoning love to us.
'God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son' (John 3:16). The ransom 'foreknown before the foundation of the world' (1 Pet 1:18-20). 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner' (Luke 18:13).
- Scripture
- John 3:16, 1 Pet 1:18-20, Luke 18:13
- Imagery & language
- Love profound; ransom; pardon.
- Law / Gospel
- Law — sinners; Gospel — pardon.
- Connection to previous
- Father.
Almighty Son, incarnate Word, our Prophet, Priest, Redeemer and Lord, we sinners bow before your throne; extend your saving grace to us.
The Prophet like Moses (Deut 18:15; Acts 3:22); the great High Priest (Heb 4:14-16); Redeemer and Lord. 'Draw near to the throne of grace' (Heb 4:16).
- Scripture
- John 1:14, Deut 18:15, Heb 4:14-16
- Imagery & language
- Prophet, Priest, Redeemer, Lord.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — saving grace.
- Connection to previous
- Son.
Eternal Spirit, by whose breath the soul is raised from sin and death, we sinners bow before your throne; extend your life-giving power to us.
'Breathe on these slain, that they may live' (Ezek 37:9). 'Dead in trespasses… made alive' (Eph 2:1-5).
- Scripture
- Ezek 37:9, Eph 2:1-5, John 6:63
- Imagery & language
- Breath; raised from death; quickening.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — the Spirit gives life.
- Connection to previous
- Spirit.
Thrice holy! Father, Spirit, Son, mysterious Godhead, three in one, we sinners bow before your throne; extend grace, pardon and life to us.
'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts' (Isa 6:3; Rev 4:8). One name (Matt 28:19). Grace, pardon, life — the triad of the Gospel.
- Scripture
- Isa 6:3, Rev 4:8, Matt 28:19
- Imagery & language
- Thrice holy; mystery; grace, pardon, life.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — all gifts of the Triune God.
- Connection to previous
- Thrice holy.
Themes
God's love and mercy Divine providence Human redemption Gratitude for grace Worship and praise