Thursday Hymn Reflection: “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”

[Every Thursday, we “reflect” on a song suggested by our readers. To add your favorites (no more than 3, please) to be discussed in the future, leave a comment.]

“How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” is another song that has found an impact with both young and old in recent years. A fairly new song, the “traditional” three verses make this a song that fits the style of many older hymns. It is the words, though, that will cause this song to last for many years, in my opinion.

The first verse is a “reflection,” of sorts. It shows the love of God and how “vast” it is. The writer of the hymn, Stuart Townsend, was able to bridge the gap of God’s love and our lost condition by showing us the sacrifice Jesus made. The final line shows this connection: “The Father turns His face away as wounds which mar the Chosen One bring many sons to glory.” We, who are lost and undone (cf. Isaiah 6:5) have a hope of glory because of that awful moment.

In the second verse, the singer is held by the power of the cross, and is “ashamed” that “it was my sin that  held Him there.” Several songs have that sentiment, but not as many as we might think. Many times we sing of the cross, and many times we sing of sin and forgiveness; but songs are few and far between that connect the fact that our sins are the reason the cross was necessary. Personally, I love how this verse ends: “His dying breath has brought me life; I know that it is finished.” Scripturally, it’s true. Lyrically, it’s beautiful. Poetically, it’s genius, because you might think that the song would naturally end with the words “It is finished.” Thankfully, there’s more!

The final verse is the “so what” of the song. Having been to the cross; having been reminded of the love of God and of Jesus; and having sung that our sins are the reason for His suffering, we then sing that it should change our life! The only thing we have to boast about, as Paul wrote, is “in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection.” My favorite part of this song, though, is found in this verse. It shows the complete loss for words we can find when trying to comprehend what happened on the cross, and then the sheer magnitude of what it means:

Why should I gain from His reward?

I cannot give an answer;

But this I know with all my heart:

His wounds have paid my ransom.

It’s difficult for me to think of any subject that we need to sing about and sing deep truths about more than the cross of Jesus. While new, “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” will last (in my opinion) because it has sound theology and deep truths and we need to be focused upon often.

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While you write your “reflections” on this hymn, enjoy this version, in which a young lady sings all three parts by herself to this grand hymn: