Of The Father's Love Begotten.

Of The Fathers Love Begotten

Also known as “Divinum mysterium,” which is appropriate in regards to the great mystery of the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ most likely born in His Human existence on October 2nd, 7 BC in Bethlehem, Judea.”

“Of The Father’s Love Begotten.” is some 1,600 to 1.700 years old as a refutation to the early heresy of Arianism that denied the deity of Christ teaching God created Christ apart from the Father thereby being not equal with the Father. This would be an impossibility for Christ said, ” “I and my Father are one.” John 10:30 and John 10:38 “But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.” Christ’s discussion with Phillip further elaborates, ““Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.” John 14:9-11.

Of the Father’s Love Begotten,” written in Latin by Marcus Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, who lived from 348 to 413 AD. That would make him a contemporary of Augustine of Hippo (354 to 430 AD), the greatest theologian before the Reformation. Of course, today we sing an English translation of that ancient poetic text. Its original Latin title was “Corde natus ex parentis ante mundi exordium,” literally “Born from the parent’s heart before the beginning of worlds.”

It seems likely that Prudentius wrote this text to combat one of the most dangerous and prominent heresies of the ancient church. The teachings of Arius (250-336), bishop of Alexandria, had been spreading rapidly. There were even songs circulating that promoted his erroneous ideas. At the Council of Laodicea in 367, the Roman Church over-reacted by banning all congregational singing, permitting songs in worship only by clergy and in monasteries. This was not overcome until the time of the Reformation. Martin Luther’s hymns restored congregational song to the people after being prohibited for a thousand years!

Arius taught that God the Son had not co-existed throughout eternity. There was a time when the Son was not. Arius taught that the Son was a created being, that occurring sometime before His incarnation, and therefore was not equal to the Father. In this view Jesus was viewed as more than man but less than God. Obviously, that strikes at the very heart of the gospel. This heresy was addressed by the Council of Nicaea in 325 and by the Council of Constantinople 381. It was at the first of these that “The Nicene Creed” was developed to clearly establish the eternity and deity of the Son.

This hymn was not sung to the famous tune DIVINUM MYSTERIUM originally. That melody comes from the 11th century and was used with a different text. The harmonization of the melody comes from The Hymnal 1940 in an arrangement by C. Winfred Douglas, who was the musical editor of that Episcopal hymnal. It is based on a plainsong chant from the 13th century and it is profound in its simplicity. It is filled with stepwise motion that naturally moves up and down the tessitura of the voice and helps to capture the sense of the biblical mystery of the incarnation.

Stanza 1 describes the Son’s eternal divine nature. There was never a time when He did not exist. He is the alpha and the omega, the one who has always been, from before the beginning into the far distant future. He is of the same divine nature as the Father, drawing His being (“begotten”) from the Father, but not as one created by the Father. All things exist because of Him. John 1:3

Of the Father’s love begotten,
Ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the source, the ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see,
Evermore and evermore!

Stanza 2 describes the Son as pre-dating creation. His existence knows no beginning point. He is the one through whom the Father created all that exists John 1:3. It was His voice that spoke light and life, skies and oceans, trees and grains, cattle and birds, stars and moons into existence. The one who is “the Word” created all things by His spoken word.

At His Word the worlds were framèd;
He commanded; it was done:
Heaven and earth and depths of ocean
In their threefold order one;
All that grows beneath the shining
Of the moon and burning sun,
Evermore and evermore!

Stanza 3 describes the Son coming to rescue sinful human beings. Adam’s sin brought the human race and all creation under the curse in the fall. That is why there is sadness and disease and death. The Son has come “in human fashion” to suffer in our place. As a result of that, we are no longer “doomed to endless woe,” but can be delivered from the “dreadful gulf” in hell.

He is found in human fashion,
Death and sorrow here to know,
That the race of Adam’s children
Doomed by law to endless woe,
May not henceforth die and perish
In the dreadful gulf below,
Evermore and evermore!

Stanza 4 describes the Son coming to be born miraculously of a virgin, conceived in her womb by the Holy Spirit. Here we see the deity of the Spirit along with the Father and the Son, further challenging the Arian heresy. Here the Savior is named as Redeemer, even as an infant when His “sacred face” was “first revealed” to mankind..

O that birth forever blessed,
When the virgin, full of grace,
By the Holy Ghost conceiving,
Bare the Saviour of our race;
And the Babe, the world’s Redeemer,
First revealed His sacred face,
evermore and evermore!

Stanza 5 describes the Son coming to fulfill ancient prophecy. Each advent season, we are treated to a rehearsal of the prophecies of the Messiah who has now come, from the first promise in the garden in Genesis 3:15 to the gospel predictions in Isaiah and even the naming of his birthplace, little Bethlehem, in Micah 5:2

This is He Whom seers in old time
Chanted of with one accord;
Whom the voices of the prophets
Promised in their faithful word;
Now He shines, the long expected,
Let creation praise its Lord,
Evermore and evermore!

Stanza 6 describes the praise sung to the Son by heaven’s angelic hosts. It takes the form of a call to worship extended to the angelic hosts of heaven and to those on earth who join their voices with them. It is also a prophecy of the time to come when all “powers” and “dominions” will bend the knee, confessing that Jesus is Lord. Philippians 2:10.

O ye heights of heaven adore Him;
Angel hosts, His praises sing;
Powers, dominions, bow before Him,
and extol our God and King!
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Every voice in concert sing,
Evermore and evermore!

Stanza 7 describes the judgment of those who refuse to honor the Son. This Savior is also a judge who will deal righteously with those “departed souls” who have lived as rebels and who will face fierce vengeance before the King. It will impossible for them to strive against His hand as they will be driven from His face forever.

Righteous judge of souls departed,
Righteous King of them that live,
On the Father’s throne exalted
None in might with Thee may strive;
Who at last in vengeance coming
Sinners from Thy face shalt drive,
Evermore and evermore!

Stanza 8 describes the singing of human worshippers that is directed to the Son. The words reach out to encompass both old and young, men and boys, “matrons, virgins, and little maidens.” What a sight and sound that will be when all those redeemed voices are joined together in glad song. In that day not only will our hearts be pure and perfect, but so also will be our music.

Thee let old men, thee let young men,
Thee let boys in chorus sing;
Matrons, virgins, little maidens,
With glad voices answering:
Let their guileless songs re-echo,
And the heart its music bring,
Evermore and evermore!

Stanza 9 describes the praise given to the Son, along with the Father and the Spirit, in a concluding doxology to the triune God. This is the song that will never grow old, attributing “honor, glory, and dominion” to this Lord, along with “eternal victory.” How fitting that each stanza ends with the same theme as we find in this paean of praise: “evermore and evermore.” As Prudentius is there now, so will we join him and all who have gone before us, singing words like these, like those we see recorded in the vision of the heavenly throne room in the Book of Revelation 4 & 5. Until we are there, may songs like this prepare our hearts for such worship.

Christ, to Thee with God the Father,
And, O Holy Ghost, to Thee,
Hymn and chant with high thanksgiving,
And unwearied praises be:
Honour, glory, and dominion,
And eternal victory,
Evermore and evermore!

Much of the history after the first two paragraphs comes from

Please enjoy several different performances “Of the Father’s Love Begotten.”

Of The Fathers Love Begotten

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