drain the ocean dry
via google:
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to skyThe hymn was written by Frederick M. Lehman. The song’s lyrics are based on a poem by Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai, an 11th-century Jewish poet from Germany. (can’t find in hebrew)
via [https://westpark-baptist.com/frederick-m-lehman/]:
so.. auf deutsch [https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/MercyMe/Love-Of-God/translation/german]:
The original third stanza was written in Hebrew around the year 1000 by Meir Ben Issac Nehoria, a Jewish Rabbi.
(found in german)
Upon arriving home, he hurried to his old upright piano and began arranging the words and composing a melody to fit them. He soon had finished two stanzas and the melody to go along with them, but now what was he to do? In those days, a song had to have at least three stanzas to be considered complete. (A far cry from the songs of our day that only need have three words!) He tried and tried to come up with a third stanza, but to no avail. The words just would not fall into place.
It was then that he remembered a poem someone had given him some time before. Hunting around, he found the poem printed on a card, which he had used as a bookmark. As Mr. Lehman read the words, his heart was thrilled by the adequate picture of God’s love they pictured. He then noticed this writing on the bottom of the card:
“These words were found written on a cell wall in a prison some 200 years ago. It is not known why the prisoner was incarcerated; neither is it known if the words were original or if he had heard them somewhere and had decided to put them in a place where he could be reminded of the greatness of God’s love – whatever the circumstances, he wrote them on the wall of his prison cell. In due time, he died and the men who had the job of repainting his cell were impressed by the words. Before their paint brushes had obliterated them, one of the men jotted them down and thus they were preserved.”
The poem he read was:
“Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made; Were every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade: To write the love of God above Would drain the ocean dry, Nor could the scroll contain the whole Though stretched from sky to sky.”
Lehman went to the piano and began to voice the words with the melody he had just written. They were a perfect fit. It was a miracle! The song was published – and remains today – with these words as the last stanza.
In later years, the origin of these words became known to Alfred B. Smith, which reveals an even greater miracle in the writing of this song. The original third stanza was written in Hebrew around the year 1000 by Meir Ben Issac Nehoria, a Jewish Rabbi. God, knowing that Lehman was going to write a song, also realized that Lehman would have trouble writing a third stanza and so He chose this Rabbi, who though not accepting Christ as the Messiah did possess the skills to graphically paint a picture of God’s love in words. He would preserve these words and then hundreds of years later He would have them translated by this prisoner into a language that did not as yet exist, namely English.
And to think, He did it in the exact meter to fit Lehman’s melody!
verse
The love of God is greater far
Die Liebe Gottes ist weitaus größer
Than tongue or pen can ever tell
Als Zunge oder Feder es jemals sagen könnten
It goes beyond the highest star
Es geht über den höchsten Stern hinaus
And reaches to the lowest hell
Und reicht bis zur untersten Hölle
The guilty pair, bowed down with care
Das schuldige Paar verbeugte sich vorsichtig
God gave His Son to win
Gott gab seinen Sohn, um zu gewinnen
His erring child He reconciled
Er versöhnte sein irrendes Kind
And pardoned from his sin
Und von seiner Sünde begnadigt
verse
Could we with ink the ocean fil
Könnten wir den Ozean mit Tinte füllen?
And were the skies of parchment made
Und wurden die Himmel aus Pergament gemacht?
Were every stalk on earth a quill
Wäre jeder Halm auf der Erde eine Feder?
And every man a scribe by trade
Und jeder Mann ist von Beruf Schreiber
3rd verse
To write the love of God above
Um die Liebe Gottes oben zu schreiben
Would drain the ocean dry
Würde den Ozean trockenlegen
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Auch konnte die Schriftrolle nicht das Ganze enthalten
Though stretched from sky to sky
Obwohl von Himmel zu Himmel gestreckt
verse
Hallelujah 3x
Halleluja 3x
verse
O love of God, how rich and pure!
O Liebe Gottes, wie reich und rein!
How measureless and strong!
Wie unermesslich und stark!
It shall forevermore endure
Es wird für immer bestehen bleiben
The saints′ and angels’ song
The saints′ and angels’ song
The saints′ and angels’ song
Writer(s): Bart Millard, Peter Kipley, Nathan Cochran, Jim Bryson, Mike Scheuchzer, Robby Shaffer
Explanation
The song’s lyrics describe how the love of God is so vast that it would be impossible to write it down, even if every stalk on Earth were a quill and every person were a scribe
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be you. 