To God Be the Glory
One of the 94 hymns we sing together at Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church on the Gold Coast. Browse the full hymnbook.
Lyrics
Verse 1
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 life gate that all may go in
Chorus
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 has done.
Verse 2
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.
Chorus
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 has done.
Verse 3
Great things He has taught us, great things
He has 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.
Chorus
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 has done.
Behind the Hymn
"To God Be the Glory" was written by Fanny Crosby in 1875, the blind hymn writer who penned thousands of hymns during her remarkable 95-year life. The hymn was set to music by William Howard Doane, a wealthy industrialist and Crosby's most frequent musical collaborator — together they produced over a thousand hymns. Surprisingly, the hymn was largely forgotten in America for decades after its initial publication. It found new life in England, where it became popular in churches and was eventually brought back to American attention when Billy Graham's song leader, Cliff Barrows, discovered it in a British hymnal during the 1954 London Crusade at Harringay Arena. Graham and Barrows began using it as a crusade favorite, and it quickly became one of the most requested songs in their worldwide ministry. The hymn's triumphant celebration of what God has done — "praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice" — captures Crosby's characteristic joy and theological clarity.