Lyrics (click here to hear instrumental)
1 To God be the glory, great things he has 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.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 has done!2 Great things he has taught us, great things he has done,
Fanny Crosby
and great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son,
but purer and higher and greater will be
our joy and our wonder, when Jesus we see. [Refrain]
The History Behind the Hymn
Frances Jane Crosby’s hymns have historically been among the most popular songs sung most churches. Crosby (1820-1915), who became blind as an infant, was a lifelong Methodist.
She began composing hymns at age 6, became a student at the New York Institute of the Blind at 15 and joined the faculty of the Institute at 22, teaching rhetoric and history. Her hymn texts were staples for the music of the most prominent gospel songwriters of her day.
She was a prolific hymnist, writing more than 8,000 hymns and gospel songs, with more than 100 million copies printed. She is also known for her teaching and her rescue mission work. By the end of the 19th century, she was a household name.
Crosby was known as the “Queen of Gospel Song Writers”and as the “Mother of modern congregational singing in America”, with most American hymnals containing her work. Her gospel songs were “paradigmatic of all revival music”, and Ira Sankey attributed the success of the Moody and Sankey evangelical campaigns largely to Crosby’s hymns. Some of Crosby’s best-known songs include “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour”, “Blessed Assurance”, “Jesus Is Tenderly Calling You Home”, “Praise Him, Praise Him”, “Rescue the Perishing”, and “To God Be the Glory”. Some publishers were hesitant to have so many hymns by one person in their hymnals, so Crosby used nearly 200 different pseudonyms during her career.
Wikipedia
A Lesson for Me
Psa 19:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
Psa 29:3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.
Psa 30:12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.
To God be the glory: it’s a statement which comes from many lips but is it a statement that comes from the heart? If there was any one person who was a living example of a true glorifier of God, it was David of the Old Testament. As a shepherd boy, he grew intimate with the Lord God while he was in the fields tending to his father’s flocks. We can see his spiritual growth throughout the Book of Psalms.
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!
Message for today
The Lord is in the midst of turmoil and heart ache for the believer. I’ve said it often that I don’t know how the unsaved make it through life’s hardships! God is always ready to help when one cries out to Him. It is during these times that we come to a realization of just who He is. He is not some statue or good luck charm. He is the Creator of the universe and deserves our praise!
When our eyes focus on God, we no longer dwell on our own problems in life but on praising Him, loving Him, and glorifying His name! Blessed be the name of the Lord!
Psa 108:5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth;
I strive to read the Book of Psalms and the Book of Proverbs every month along with my daily reading. One can find balm for the aching heart, joy in the midst of trials, and instructions on everyday life right there in those two books.
The Bible is a Book of instruction and direction, filled with wonders! But most of all, we find Jesus within its blessed pages. We find salvation and the wondrous works of God! We start out in life with a spirit that will dwell in one of two places for all eternity: Heaven or Hell. During our lifetime, it is our job to decide where we want to spend it. The Bible gives us all the information we need in order to get saved, to learn about God, and to live our daily lives! Everything we need is right there!
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 joy and our wonder, when Jesus we see.
If you are not truly born-again, there is coming a time when it will be too late for you to repent and be saved. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab You Can Be Born Again and Know It!
