Ah the glory of the metrical hymn. Growing up in the Presbyterian tradition our wonderful long suffering organist, who must have endured hell from we dreadful children, seemed to me to be playing every hymn to one of about three tunes. While this was not actually true, the metrical hymns we sang did allow the same tunes to pop up for different texts.
In the case of “Love Divine” it is 87.87 and so suitable for several tunes.
Charles Wesley wrote the text:
1. Love divine, all loves excelling, joy of heaven, to earth come down; fix in us thy humble dwelling; all thy faithful mercies crown! Jesus thou art all compassion, pure, unbounded love thou art; visit us with thy salvation; enter every trembling heart. 2. Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit into every troubled breast! Let us all in thee inherit; let us find that second rest. Take away our bent to sinning; Alpha and Omega be; end of faith, as its beginning, set our hearts at liberty. 3. Come, Almighty to deliver, let us all thy life receive; suddenly return and never, nevermore thy temples leave. Thee we would be always blessing, serve thee as thy hosts above, pray and praise thee without ceasing, glory in thy perfect love. 4. Finish, then, thy new creation; pure and spotless let us be. Let us see thy great salvation perfectly restored in thee; changed from glory into glory, till in heaven we take our place, till we cast our crowns before thee, lost in wonder, love, and praise.
I note the second verse is omitted in some hymnals.
Rather than battle the dodgy church organ VST sound I use with BIAB all just put some MIDIs from the net up for each setting and some You-tube clips because I’m probably the only church musician who doesn’t know this tunes.
Chris’s parish sings this as entrance today to the tune HYFRYDOL by Rowland Huw Prichard as found in Gather Australia 463.
Together In Song has this version, but also John Stainer’s setting.
They also suggest BLAENWERN by William Penfro Rowlands.
John Zundel’s BEECHER is also noted as a popular setting.