F.W. Faber (641/413) -- Hymns and Spiritual Songs

F.W. Faber SOULS of men, why will ye scatter Like a crowd of frightened sheep? Foolish hearts, why will ye wander From a love so true and deep? 2 Was there ever kindest shepherd Half so gentle, half so sweet, As the Saviour who would have us Come and gather round His feet? 3 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. 4 There is welcome for the sinner, And more graces for the good; There is mercy with the Saviour There is healing in His blood. 5 There is plentiful redemption In the blood that has been shed; There is joy for all the members In the sorrows of the Head. 6 For the love of God is broader Than the measures of man’s mind; And the heart of the Eternal Is most wonderfully kind. 7 But we make His love too narrow By false limits of our own; And we magnify its strictness With a zeal He will not own. 8 If our love were but more simple We should take Him at His Word: And our lives would be all sunshine In the sweetness of our Lord.