Lyrics: Fanny Crosby.
Music: William H. Doane.
Theme: In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
Ephesians 1:6-7
Steve Webb at Lifespring Hymn Stories: “One of Fanny Crosby’s many hymns which was not at all popular when it was first published. Cliff Barrows, of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association team, was introduced to this wonderful hymn eighty years after it was written, and the rest, as they say, is history.”
To God be the glory, great things He hath done;
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life, an atonement for sin,
And opened the lifegate, that all may go in.
O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To every believer, the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.
Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done,
And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
But purer, and higher, and greater will be
Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see!
Refrain:
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory, great things He hath done!
William H. Doane was one of Fanny Crosby’s many collaborators. He was quite prolific himself, writing over 2000 hymn tunes.
I love this one, tune and lyrics. I can still hear my father-in-law, John Early (now with the Lord), humming and singing To God Be the Glory as he went about his daily tasks, gardening and cleaning and studying. I tend to slide into the same song, unconsciously, whenever I feel the urge to praise the Lord. I use the words I learned: “lifegate” and “transport.” I don’t mind adding new verses to an old song, but I don’t like changing the original words unless there’s a good reason to do so.
Now it’s also possible to write an entirely new song, inspired by an old one. This Andre Crouch standard isn’t Fanny’s song, but it’s obviously informed by her lyrics.
Fanny comes through again 😉
There’s a Margaret Clarkson text that’s sometimes set to the same tune, “Sing praise to the Father”; I like it, too, though I probably wouldn’t want to do both of them in the same service or hymn sing. (Although, if I did want to, the Clarkson text also has a “tune proper” that would make it doable with a congregation that wasn’t averse to new tunes.)
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