CHRISTIAN LIFE >> our love for god
SDAH 455
Immortal Love, forever full,
Forever flowing free,
Forever shared, forever whole,
A never ebbing sea!
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For Worship Leaders
Make each hymn more meaningful with these helpful tools: Short, ready-to-use hymn introductions for church bulletins, multiple ways to introduce a hymn based on your worship theme and in-depth history and insights to enrich your song service.
Hymn Spotlight: Immortal Love, Forever Full
This hymn draws from John Greenleaf Whittier’s 38-stanza poem Our Master (1866), a work rich in Christ-centered devotion. Although Whittier claimed no skill in hymn writing or music, many of his stanzas found their way into hymnals. Our hymnal selects stanzas 1, 5, and 13–16, distilling the poem’s message into a meditation on the constancy, depth, and power of Christ’s love. The tune SERENITY, originally composed in 1856 by William Vincent Wallace for the song “Ye Winds That Waft,” was later adapted by Uzziah Christopher Burnap to suit Whittier’s calm and reverent words. Wallace, an Irish-born violinist and world-traveling concert artist, is best remembered for his opera Maritana. In this pairing, serene poetry meets a gentle, flowing melody, calling worshipers to contemplate the steadfast love of the Master who guides, forgives, and redeems.
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Introductions for Sabbath School Song Service (based on specific lesson quarterlies):
John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892; see SDAH 376) wrote a long poem of 38 stanzas in 1866 entitled “Our Master,” which was published in his Tent on the Beach, and Other Poems in 1867, and also in the Boston Congregationalist in the same year. He denied being a hymn writer or having any knowledge of music, but 36 of the 38 stanzas from this poem have appeared in many hymnals. SDAH’s selection is stanzas 1, 5, and 13 to 16. Whittier also wrote SDAH 376, “All Things Are Thine,” and 480 and 481, “Dear Lord and Father.”
SERENITY was composed in 1856 by William Vincent Wallace (1812-1865) and so named because it was later used for these serene, calm words. It was first composed for Wallace’s words “Ye Winds That Waft,” and the tune was arranged by Uzziah Christopher Burnap (1834-1900; see SDAH 389) for this hymn. Wallace, born in Waterford, Ireland, was an accomplished violinist who is remembered for one of his operas Maritana. He traveled the world as a concert artist.
📖 Reference: Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal by Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988.
Text
1
Immortal Love, forever full,
Forever flowing free,
Forever shared, forever whole,
A never ebbing sea!
2
We nay not climb the heavenly steeps
To bring the Lord Christ down;
In vain we search the lowest deeps,
For him no depths can drown.
3
But warm, so tender, even yet
A present help is He;
And faith has still its Olivet,
And love its Galilee.
4
The healing of His seamless dress
Is by our beds of pain;
We touch Him in life’s throng and press,
And we are whole again.
5
Through Him the first fond prayers are said,
Our lips of childhood frame;
The last low whispers of our dead
Are burdened with His name.
6
O Lord and Master of us all:
Whate’er our names or sign,
We own Thy sway, we hear Thy call,
We test our lives by Thine!
Hymn Info
Biblical Reference
(a) Jer 31:3 (b) Rom 10:6, 7 (c) John 19:23; Matt 14:36 (e) Eph 4:6
Author
John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892)
Hymn Tune
SERENITY
Metrical Number
C.M.
Arranged
from William V. Wallace (1812-1865)
