At a weekly Bible study I attend a man from the Brethren Assemblies read out the most beautiful poem I have ever heard (except for those in the Bible).

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.

It was written in 1050 AD by a Jewish man named Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai, a cantor (synagogue singer) in Worms, Germany. It is called the Haddamut. Then in 1917 in America it was found written on the wall of a man who had died in an asylum. He obviously wrote it in a period of sanity. This inspired a California pastor, Frederick Lehman. to write two more verses and a refrain. His daughter-in-law Claudia arranged the music and they called the hymn 'The Love of God.' You can hear it at www.cyberhymnal.org The hymn is lovely, but the highlight is really that last verse, the Jewish poem.

The poem has been translated into 18 languages. It is a ravishing piece of literature and a wondrous prayer. I cannot think of a poem I ever liked more. All the more amazing when you think of what life must have been like in 11th century Germany for a Jew. Not exactly a barrel of fun. Here is a challenge for you. Go to your room, kneel down, bow your head and recite those eight lines to the Father, just to get your heart in the right place and acknowledge His incredible love for you.