1 There's a wideness in God's mercy,
Like the wideness of the sea;
There's a kindness in his justice
Which is more than liberty.
There is no place where earth's sorrows
Are more felt than up in heaven:
There is no place where earth's failings
Have such kindly judgement given.

2 For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of man's mind;
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.
But we make his love too narrow
By false limits of our own;
And we magnify his strictness
With a zeal he will not own.

3 There is plentiful redemption
In the blood that has been shed;
There is joy for all the members
In the sorrows of the head.
There is grace enough for thousands
Of new worlds as great as this:
This is room for fresh creations
In that upper home of bliss.

4 If our love were but more simple,
We should take him at his word;
And our lives would be all gladness,
In the joy of Christ our Lord.