Home › Hymns › What was it, O our God
Believers Hymn Book · No. 354 · Words: Anne Taylor Gilbert · Tune: St. John's
What was it, O our God
Create PowerPoint slides from this hymn →A 19th-century hymn by Ann Taylor Gilbert (1782–1866) meditating on trinitarian love: each stanza poses a question — why did the Father give His Son, why did the Son suffer and die, why did the Spirit come — and answers each with 'unbounded love.' The refrain structure reinforces the theme of love as the sole motive of redemption.
Verse 1
What was it, O our God,
Led Thee to give Thy Son,
To yield Thy well-beloved
For us by sin undone?
'Twas love unbounded led Thee thus
To give Thy well-beloved for us.
Verse 2
What led the Son of God
To leave His throne on high,
To shed His precious blood,
To suffer and to die?
'Twas love, unbounded love for us,
Led Him to die and suffer thus.
Verse 3
What moved Thee to impart
Thy Spirit from above?
Therewith to fill our heart
With heavenly peace and love?
'Twas love, unbounded love to us,
Moved Thee to give Thy Spirit thus.
Verse 4
What love to Thee we owe,
Our God, for all Thy grace,
Our hearts should overflow
In everlasting praise:
Help us, O Lord, to praise Thee thus
For all Thy boundless love to us.
Appears in these collections
What was it, O our God is in the public domain. Make a free PowerPoint, PDF, or image set for church projection with Song Slides — no signup.