Launch out.

The Mercy of God is an Ocean Divine
Albert B. Simpson 1891

The mercy of God is an ocean divine, A boundless and fathomless flood;
Launch out in the deep, cut away the shore line,And be lost in the fullness of God.


Refrain:Launch out, into the deep, Oh, let the shore line go;
Launch out, launch out in the ocean divine,Out where the full tides flow.

But many, alas! only stand on the shore,And gaze on the ocean so wide;
They never have ventured its depths to explore,Or to launch on the fathomless tide.


And others just venture away from the land,And linger so near to the shore
That the surf and the slime that beat over the strand Dash over them in floods evermore.


Oh, let us launch out on this ocean so broad,Where floods of salvation o’erflow;
Oh, let us be lost in the mercy of God,Till the depths of His fullness we know.


This beautiful and timely hymn was sent to us by our friends Steve and Ruth Johnsamson in late January this year. John and I had just spent a week at Mercy Ships’ International Operations Center (hereafter referred to as the IOC) for the Introduction to Mercy Ships. We came away from that week pretty sure that our family would be a good fit with the ministry, but unsure of the Lord’s timing. Then He encouraged us with this old hymn that I had never heard before. He is SO GOOD!
Jenny