Love Divine All Loves Excelling
Love divine all loves excelling joy of heaven to earth come down
One of Wesley's greatest hymns, a prayer for the transforming love of God to descend and perfect the believer. The four stanzas move from the invitation to Christ to come, through purification and renewal, to the final vision of the redeemed heart fixed on God.
History & Background
Written by Charles Wesley in 1747 as a response to John Dryden's secular poem Venus and Adonis. The tune HYFRYDOL was composed by Rowland Hugh Prichard (1811-1887) in 1830.
Hymnal Appearances
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 631
- Gather 4th Edition — 767
- Lutheran Book of Worship — 315
Bulletin Note
Love Divine All Loves Excelling — Charles Wesley, 1747
Preaching Connection
The transforming love of God — sanctification as the completion of salvation.
Stanza Arc
The narrative or theological arc traced by this tune's stanzas: Christological anticipation (St. 1-2) → Incarnational paradox (St. 3) → Pneumatological reign (St. 4)
Themes
Love of God Sanctification Wesley Transformation