Eternal honour be to him

HYMN CCCCXV.

Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us. 1 John. iii. 16.

1. Eternal honour be to him,
Who saved us by his blood!
His love shall be our joyful theme,
The boundless love of God.

2. But few would die to save a friend,
He died to save his foes;
His love no measure has, nor end,
’Tis such as no man knows.

3. No words can tell its depth or height,
No love can equal his;
The love of God is infinite,
Like God himself it is.

4. No sacrifice appeared too great,
The love of God to prove;
And thence we learn to estimate
The greatness of his love.

5. Yet all we know is, that his love
Exceeds all others far;
How far, not all the hosts above
Are able to declare.

6. But what we know makes wealth and fame,
And pleasure seem but loss;
And renders dear the glorious name
Of him who bore the cross.

Hymnwriter Thomas Kelly (1769–1855) was a Church of Ireland clergyman from his ordination in 1792 to 1803. Relations between Kelly and the church had been strained, and in 1803 he formally broke with this church. He did not seek to form a new denomination, but the people who followed him were often dubbed “Kellyites.” His evangelical views were influenced by Rowland Hill, William Romaine, John Walker, and the Haldane brothers. Kelly was a prolific hymn writer, producing over 700 hymns. Kelly’s hymns were published in A Collection of Psalms and Hymns (1802), Hymns on Various Passages of Scripture (1804), and Hymns of Thomas Kelly, Never Before Published (1815). “Look, ye saints, the sight is glorious” is possibly his best-known and most printed hymn. “Blessed fountain, full of grace” appears on pages 366-367 of Hymns on Various Passages of Scripture (Fifth Edition, Thomas Kelly, Dublin: Martin Keene, 1820). This hymn is written in Common Meter, and might be paired with most any good Common Meter tune. Primrose would make a good selection, in my opinion.