Love Divine, All Loves Excelling Charles Wesley, 1747
3 verses, public domain, free to print and project.
The words
Verse 1. Love divine, all love excelling,
Joy of heaven, to earth come down;
Fix in us thy humble dwelling;
All thy faithful mercies crown;
Jesus, thou art all compassion;
Pure, unbounded love thou art;
Visit us with thy salvation;
Enter every trembling heart.
Verse 2. Breathe, oh, breathe thy Holy Spirit
Into every troubled breast,
Let us all thy grace inherit;
Let us find thy promised rest;
Take away the love of sinning;
Take our load of guilt away;
End the work of thy beginning;
Bring us to eternal day.
Verse 3. Carry on thy new creation;
Pure and holy may we be;
Let us see our whole salvation
Perfectly secured by thee:
Change from glory into glory,
Till in heaven we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise.
Words copied from The Otterbein Hymnal (1892). They were published in 1747, so they are in the public domain in the United States, and your church may print them, show them and sing them without a license.
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The story behind Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
Charles Wesley published the hymn in 1747 in Hymns for those that Seek, and those that Have, Redemption in the Blood of Christ. Hymnary.org counts four stanzas in that printing. The opening line plays on John Dryden's words Fairest Isle, All Isles Excelling, which Henry Purcell set to music in King Arthur in 1691, and the Wesleys' Sacred Melody of 1761 set the hymn to a Purcell tune. The prayer moves from the love of Christ living in the believer to a request that God finish the work of renewal. The last stanza echoes 2 Corinthians 3:18 almost word for word. That stanza also carries Wesleyan teaching on Christian perfection, and some conservative readers objected to it. John Wesley's 1780 Collection dropped the original second stanza, and many hymnals still omit it. Editors have also reworded the line about sinning. The tune most American churches use is BEECHER by John Zundel, first published for this text in Christian Heart Songs in 1870. The Welsh tunes HYFRYDOL and BLAENWERN are also common. The United Methodist Hymnal prints BEECHER in B flat. The United Methodist Hymnal lists funerals and memorial services among its uses.
Charles Wesley
1707-12-18 to 1788-03-29
Charles Wesley was born at Epworth Rectory, the youngest son and eighteenth child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley. He studied at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, and became one of the first Oxford Methodists. He was ordained in 1735 and went to Georgia as secretary to General Oglethorpe. After his conversion in 1738 he worked with his brother John as an itinerant preacher, and from 1756 he focused on the Methodist societies in London and Bristol. He married Sarah Gwynne in 1749. He stayed loyal to the Church of England. Hymnary.org lists 2,474 texts under his name, and he died in London.
John Zundel
1815 to 1882-07
John Zundel was born at Hochdorf, near Stuttgart, and studied at the Royal Academy of Esslingen from 1829 to 1831. He moved to St. Petersburg in 1840 and to the United States in 1847. He served as organist at Plymouth Church in Brooklyn almost continuously from 1850 to 1865, and he returned there after two years in Europe. He wrote organ pieces and sacred music and published Modern Organ-School in 1860. His tune BEECHER, first published for Love Divine in 1870, is the one most American churches sing with Charles Wesley's text. He died at Cannstadt in 1882.
- Discipleship Ministries, History of Hymns, Love Divine, All Loves Excelling , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, Love Divine, All Loves Excelling , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, United Methodist Hymnal No. 384 , read 2026-10-16
- Hymnary.org, John Zundel , read 2026-10-16
Scripture in Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
The Bible passages behind the words, with the verse of the hymn that draws on each.
- 2 Corinthians 3:18 In verse 18 of the hymn
- Revelation 21:3 In verse 3 of the hymn
- John 3:16 In verse 16 of the hymn
- Malachi 3:1 In verse 1 of the hymn
- 2 Corinthians 5:17 In verse 17 of the hymn
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling videos
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Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (Grace Community Church) Martijn de Groot, Congregation
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Love Divine, All Loves Excelling - National Episcopal Cathedral, October 9, 2010 - Hymn Sung by All honathanblack, Congregation
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Love Divine, All Loves Excelling | The Tabernacle Choir The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, Choir
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Love Divine, All Love Excelling (BRILLIANT a cappella hymn) Olive Tree Hymns, A cappella
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Love Divine, All Loves Excelling - piano instrumental hymn with lyrics Kaleb Brasee, Piano
Videos play from YouTube, and nothing loads from YouTube until you press play. A video may sing different verses from the ones printed on this page.
Print and project
For Sunday
- Slides for Love Divine, All Loves Excelling All 3 verses. Full screen, or a PowerPoint file that ProPresenter and Keynote open.
- Add it to a bulletin Opens the bulletin maker with Love Divine, All Loves Excelling in the order of service.
- Add it to a funeral program Opens the funeral program maker with this hymn in the order of service.
Chords and keys
Hymnals print it in B♭.
Questions people ask
Who wrote Love Divine, All Loves Excelling?
Charles Wesley wrote it. It was first published in 1747 in Hymns for those that Seek, and those that Have, Redemption in the Blood of Christ.
What is the opening line of Love Divine based on?
It plays on John Dryden's line Fairest Isle, All Isles Excelling, which Henry Purcell set to music in King Arthur.
What tune is used for Love Divine?
Most American churches sing BEECHER by John Zundel, from 1870. HYFRYDOL and BLAENWERN, both Welsh tunes, are also common.
Is Love Divine, All Loves Excelling in the public domain?
The words are public domain in the United States. Wesley's text is from 1747, and the BEECHER tune is from 1870.
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