There is No Love Like the Love of Jesus

There is no love like the love of Jesus,
Never to fade or fall,
Till into the fold of the peace of God
He has gathered us all.

Chorus
Jesus’ love! precious love!
Boundless and pure and free!
Oh, turn to that love, weary, wand’ring soul!
Jesus pleadeth for thee.

There is no eye like the eye of Jesus,
Piercing so far away;
Ne’er out of the sight of its tender light
Can the wanderer stray.

There is no voice like the voice of Jesus,
Tender and sweet its chime—
Like musical ring of a flowing spring
In the bright summer time.

There is no heart like the heart of Jesus,
Filled with a tender love;
No throb nor throe that our hearts can know,
But He feels it above.

Oh, let us hark to the voice of Jesus,
Then we shall never roam;
And we shall rest on His loving breast,
In the dear heavenly home.

Today’s hymn once again comes from a sermon of Pastor Alistair Begg.  A few weeks ago I heard him quote one of the lyrics, and I quickly jotted down the words on my phone.  I am grateful for Iphone notes, and for Google technology that can find these hymns even with only a few of the words.

There are three phrases in the song that I want to connect to the Easter Story.

• “There is no eye like the eye of Jesus” – John 19:26-27 tells us “When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.”  From the Cross, while suffering pain and anguish, the eyes of Jesus were still looking for those in need.  This verse tells us He saw His mother.  He continued to have compassion for those He loved.  He saw her pain.  He saw her need.  He saw someone who could took His place as a son.  And from the Cross with blood, sweat, and tears probably in His eyes, He saw through those things.  There is no compassionate eye like the eye of Jesus.

• “There is no voice like the voice of Jesus” – The four Gospels describe Jesus’ final words from the Cross.  They are powerful and each of us should take the time to reread His final words.  They are words of promise – “Today you will be with me in paradise.”  They are words of pain “I thirst” and “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”  They are words of forgiveness “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”  And finally, they are words of finality.  “It is finished.”  Over and over in the Gospels, people are confronted by the power of Jesus’ voice.  Whether it was the woman caught in adultery who was liberated by His words “Women, where are your accusers?” or Lazarus hearing Jesus words “Lazarus come forth”, people were changed by Jesus’ words and His voice.  There is no more powerful voice than the voice of Jesus.

• “There is no heart like the heart of Jesus” – There are some medical experts that believe that when Jesus’ side was pierced, and blood and water flowed, that a sack around His heart was punctured and that was the source of the blood and the water.  That may be true medically, but we also know that Jesus’ heart was pierced as well by the sin of the world.  The burden was great.  The pain was intense.  Before the scourging.  Before the crown of thorns.  Before being nailed to the Cross.  Before all of these things, He was exceedingly sorrowful.  His heart was broken.  He was sweating drops of blood.  His heart was overwhelmed by your sin and mine.  Yet, because of His great love, He endured all of those things because He had a heart of compassion for sinners.  There is no tender heart like the heart of Jesus.

Finally, the last phrase in this hymn that I want to comment on is the one that attracted me originally to this song.  It is the phrase “No throb nor throe that our hearts can know.”  A throb is the single beat of a heart.  There is not one heart beat that we can experience that Jesus has not gone through before.  Whether our heart is racing, or whether our heart is broken, or whether our heart is struggling and is close to beating it’s last, there is not a single heartbeat that we can go through that Jesus has not already experienced before us.  A throe is defined as “a violent pang” or a “sharp attack of emotion.”  When we are in the throes of a battle or struggle, we sometimes feel like we are on our own.  That we are in uncharted territory.  That we are isolated and not sure how we can make it.  But this verse reminds us that there is no “throe” that our heart can know that He has not already overcome.  “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”  Jesus understands our pain because He endured great pain.  Jesus understands our sorrow because He endured great sorrow.  Jesus understands our needs today, because He became a man, and humbled Himself and became obedient unto death – even the death on the cross.  There is no Savior like the Jesus.