- Home
- Speakers
- Count Zinzendorf
- Eternal Depth Of Love DiVine
Count Zinzendorf
Nikolaus Ludwig, Count von Zinzendorf (1700–1760). Born on May 26, 1700, in Dresden, Saxony, to an aristocratic Austrian family, Nikolaus Zinzendorf was a German Pietist, bishop, and founder of the renewed Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum). His father died weeks after his birth, leaving him to be raised by his Pietist grandmother, Henriette von Gersdorf, whose influence, along with godfather Philipp Spener’s, shaped his early faith. Educated at Francke’s Paedagogium in Halle (1710–1716) and law at Wittenberg (1716–1719), he served briefly as a Dresden councilor before buying the Berthelsdorf estate in 1722, where he welcomed Moravian refugees, founding Herrnhut (“Lord’s Watch”). His preaching emphasized a “religion of the heart,” focusing on personal devotion to Christ over doctrine, and sparked the 1727 Moravian revival, marked by a 100-year prayer chain. Ordained a Lutheran pastor in 1734 and Moravian bishop in 1737, Zinzendorf faced exile from Saxony (1736–1748) for his nonconformity, traveling to London, the West Indies, and America, where he met Native American leaders and Benjamin Franklin, planting missions from Greenland to South Africa. He authored over 2,000 hymns, including “Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness,” and works like The Socrates of Dresden (1725), though some criticized his emotionalism during the 1740s “Sifting Time.” Married to Erdmuth Dorothea von Reuss in 1722, with 12 children (four surviving), and later Anna Nitschmann in 1757, he died on May 9, 1760, in Herrnhut, saying, “I only asked for first fruits among the heathen, and thousands have been granted me.”
Download
Topic
Sermon Summary
Count Zinzendorf preaches about the eternal depth of God's divine love displayed in Jesus, emphasizing the vastness of God's grace and the all-encompassing nature of His love for sinners. He encourages surrendering all aspects of our being - flesh, soul, and spirit - to God's tender care and presence, acknowledging that God's mercies far exceed our sins. Count Zinzendorf urges believers to seek God's saving health and to be armed with heavenly zeal to fearlessly navigate through all challenges.
Eternal Depth of Love Divine
Eternal depth of love divine, In Jesus, God with us, displayed; How bright Thy beaming glories shine! How wide Thy healing streams are spread! With whom dost Thou delight to dwell? Sinners, a vile and thankless race: O God, what tongue aright can tell How vast Thy love, how great Thy grace! The dictates of Thy sovereign will With joy our grateful hearts receive: All Thy delight in us fulfill; Lo! all we are to Thee we give. To Thy sure love, Thy tender care, Our flesh, soul, spirit, we resign: O fix Thy sacred presence there, And seal the abode for ever Thine. O King of glory, Thy rich grace Our feeble thought surpasses far; Yea, even our crimes, though numberless, Less numerous than Thy mercies are. Still, Lord, Thy saving health display, And arm our souls with heav’nly zeal; So fearless shall we urge our way Through all the powers of earth and hell.
- Bio
- Summary
- Transcript
- Download
Nikolaus Ludwig, Count von Zinzendorf (1700–1760). Born on May 26, 1700, in Dresden, Saxony, to an aristocratic Austrian family, Nikolaus Zinzendorf was a German Pietist, bishop, and founder of the renewed Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum). His father died weeks after his birth, leaving him to be raised by his Pietist grandmother, Henriette von Gersdorf, whose influence, along with godfather Philipp Spener’s, shaped his early faith. Educated at Francke’s Paedagogium in Halle (1710–1716) and law at Wittenberg (1716–1719), he served briefly as a Dresden councilor before buying the Berthelsdorf estate in 1722, where he welcomed Moravian refugees, founding Herrnhut (“Lord’s Watch”). His preaching emphasized a “religion of the heart,” focusing on personal devotion to Christ over doctrine, and sparked the 1727 Moravian revival, marked by a 100-year prayer chain. Ordained a Lutheran pastor in 1734 and Moravian bishop in 1737, Zinzendorf faced exile from Saxony (1736–1748) for his nonconformity, traveling to London, the West Indies, and America, where he met Native American leaders and Benjamin Franklin, planting missions from Greenland to South Africa. He authored over 2,000 hymns, including “Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness,” and works like The Socrates of Dresden (1725), though some criticized his emotionalism during the 1740s “Sifting Time.” Married to Erdmuth Dorothea von Reuss in 1722, with 12 children (four surviving), and later Anna Nitschmann in 1757, he died on May 9, 1760, in Herrnhut, saying, “I only asked for first fruits among the heathen, and thousands have been granted me.”