O Love Who Madest Me to Wear
O Love who madest me to wear
O Love Who Madest Me to Wear is a hymn text by Henry Twells (1868) in C.M. meter. Found in tlh 397. Sung to ST. COLUMBA.
This hymn expresses Lutheran understanding of Christ's substitutionary atonement and the Christian's participation in His suffering through sanctification. It reflects the theological tension between Christ's complete work and the believer's continued struggle against sin and the old Adam.
History & Background
Written by Henry Twells in 1868, this hymn was first published in his collection and subsequently included in various Church of England and Lutheran hymnals throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. It reflects Victorian-era meditative hymnody focused on Christ's sufferings and the Christian call to follow Him.
Hymnal Appearances
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 397
Bulletin Note
Written by Henry Twells (1868), this Common Meter hymn anchors Lutheran theology of the atonement in the image of Christ's incarnate flesh, uniting His substitutionary suffering with the believer's sanctified participation in redemption.
Preaching Connection
This hymn deepens the Gospel's promise: Christ's substitutionary obedience frees us from sin's condemnation and empowers us to bear our own cross, transforming the Law's demands into the loving call of discipleship.
Catechism & Confessional Connections
- The Daily Purpose of Baptism Small Catechism — Holy Baptism
Stanza Arc
The narrative or theological arc traced by this tune's stanzas: Psalm 23 Christological transformation: establishment of Christ's sovereign care (1-2) → confession of human waywardness and divine retrieval (3) → victory over death through Christ's passion (4) → sacramental communion and eschatological promise (5-6)
Background Research
TLH 397. "Liebe, die du mich zum Bilde" by Johann Scheffler (Angelus Silesius), Heilige Seelen-Lust, oder Geistliche Hirten-Lieder (Breslau, 1657). Winkworth translated all seven stanzas in Lyra Germanica II (1858), titled "The exceeding great Love of our Master and only Saviour Jesus Christ" (Canterbury Dictionary). She later recast it for the Chorale Book (1863; CCEL Chorales h047). The usual English opening is "O Love, who formedst me to wear / The image of Thy Godhead here"; TLH modernises it to "madest". Each stanza begins "O Love, who…", tracing creation, incarnation, the Passion, redemption and final glory. See r789 for another Scheffler/Loy text.
Overview
Johann Scheffler's hymn addressing Christ as 'Love' (compare TLH 356), each stanza ending 'O Love, I give myself to Thee, / Thine ever, only Thine, to be.' It traces Love's work through the whole of salvation: creating me in God's image and seeking me in my wanderings (st. 1); choosing me before birth and becoming man (st. 2); slain for us (st. 3); binding me under his easy yoke (st. 4); pleading for me and paying my ransom (st. 5); raising me and setting me in heaven (st. 6).
Central theme: Christ, Love incarnate, as Creator, Elector, Redeemer, Intercessor and Raiser — answered by self-surrender
Structure
Six six-line stanzas (8.8.8.8 + refrain couplet). Creation (1) — election and incarnation (2) — death (3) — conquest (4) — ransom and intercession (5) — resurrection (6).
Law & Gospel Shape
Gospel throughout: Love seeks, chooses, is slain, pays the ransom, pleads and raises. The refrain is the response of faith.
Confessional Connections
1 John 4:16 (TLH's text): 'God is love.' The hymn ascribes the whole ordo to Christ's love: creation in the image (st. 1; John 1:3), election 'ere life's earliest dawn' (st. 2; Eph 1:4 — FC XI: election in Christ as comfort), incarnation 'like to us in all things' (Heb 2:17; AC III), atonement (st. 3), conversion as being 'conquered' by love (st. 4; FC II), intercession and ransom (st. 5; Heb 7:25; Mark 10:45), resurrection (st. 6). The refrain's self-giving follows grace and does not merit it (AC VI, XX).
Liturgical Use (Study Notes)
Trinity season; consecration; confirmation; Passiontide.
Historical Notes
Scheffler published it in Heilige Seelenlust (1657); Winkworth translated it in Lyra Germanica, second series (1858).
About the Tune
HEUT' TRIUMPHIERET GOTTES SOHN (Deutsche geistliche Lieder, Frankfurt an der Oder, 1601).
Scripture References
1 John 4:16 Gen 1:27 Luke 15:4 Eph 1:4 Jer 1:5 John 1:14 Heb 2:17 Heb 4:15 Isa 53:5 Matt 11:29-30 Mark 10:45 Heb 7:25 John 6:40 Rev 22:1-2 Rom 12:1
Stanza by Stanza
Love, who made me to bear the image of your Godhead here; who sought me with tender care through all my wild and dreary wanderings — Love, I give myself to you, to be yours forever, yours only.
'God created man in his own image' (Gen 1:27). The shepherd seeking the lost sheep (Luke 15:4). Refrain: 'O Love, I give myself to Thee, / Thine ever, only Thine, to be.'
- Scripture
- Gen 1:27, Luke 15:4, 1 John 4:16
- Imagery & language
- Image of God; sought in wanderings.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — creating and seeking love.
- Connection to previous
- Creating love.
Love, who before life's earliest dawn gently laid your choice on me; Love, who were born here as a man and made like us in all things — Love, I give myself to you.
'He chose us in him before the foundation of the world' (Eph 1:4). 'He had to be made like his brothers in every respect' (Heb 2:17; 4:15).
- Scripture
- Eph 1:4, Jer 1:5, John 1:14, Heb 2:17
- Imagery & language
- Chosen before birth; born as man.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — election and incarnation.
- Connection to previous
- Chosen; incarnate.
Love, who were once slain in time, pierced through and through with bitter sorrow; Love, who by such struggling won it, so that we might know eternal joy — Love, I give myself to you.
'He was pierced for our transgressions' (Isa 53:5). 'For the joy that was set before him endured the cross' (Heb 12:2).
- Scripture
- Isa 53:5, Heb 12:2, Rev 5:9
- Imagery & language
- Slain; pierced; wrestling; eternal joy.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — atonement.
- Connection to previous
- Slain.
Love, who have bound me fast under your easy yoke; Love, who have conquered me at last, delighting this heart of mine — Love, I give myself to you.
'My yoke is easy, and my burden is light' (Matt 11:29-30). 'You have overpowered me' (Jer 20:7). Conversion as God's conquest (FC II).
- Scripture
- Matt 11:29-30, Jer 20:7
- Imagery & language
- Bound; easy yoke; conquered; enraptured.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — conversion by love.
- Connection to previous
- Conquered.
Love, who love me forever and always plead for my soul; Love, who paid my ransom, whose power is enough in my place — Love, I give myself to you.
'He always lives to make intercession' (Heb 7:25). 'A ransom for many' (Mark 10:45). 'My grace is sufficient' (2 Cor 12:9).
- Scripture
- Heb 7:25, Mark 10:45, 2 Cor 12:9
- Imagery & language
- Love for aye; pleading; ransom; sufficient power.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — intercession and ransom.
- Connection to previous
- Ransom paid.
Love, who will one day tell me to rise out of this dying life of ours; Love, who will one day set me above those skies in the unfading gardens — Love, I give myself to you.
'I will raise him up on the last day' (John 6:40). The garden of the river of life (Rev 22:1-2). 'Present your bodies as a living sacrifice' (Rom 12:1).
- Scripture
- John 6:40, Rev 22:1-2, Rom 12:1
- Imagery & language
- Bid me rise; fadeless bowers.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — resurrection.
- Connection to previous
- Bid me rise.
Themes
passion and suffering of Christ identification with Christ's sacrifice redemptive love Christ's example for suffering Christians