To God Be the Glory "Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, And Your glory above all the earth." -- Psalm 108:5 Fanny Crosby's "To God Be the Glory" was first published in "Brightest and Best," a volume of hymns printed in 1875 by William Doane and Robert Lowry. However, it was then entitled, "Praise for Redemption." That volume of hymns included several that became classes, but "Praise for Redemption" was all but ignored. It wasn't widely sung, nor was it included in many hymnals. In 1954, while preparing for the Billy Graham evangelistic crusade at London's Harringay Arena, Cliff Barrows, the music directory for Billy Graham Crusades decided to include it in the "Greater London Crusade Song Book," which was to be used for the event. The British press was critical of Billy Graham, and many were predicting that he would return to the United States without completing the scheduled events. Due to the criticism, anticipated funding was pulled, and the Billy Graham Crusades was forced to cut salaries. A member of the British Parliament accused Billy Graham of interfering with British politics under the guise of religion and brought the matter up in the House of Commons. Several of Graham's advisors recommended he cancel or postpone the meetings. As it turned out, the added publicity was probably responsible for a good turnout. Harringay Arena was packed for three months, and "Praise for Redemption," then renamed "To God Be the Glory," was used in nearly every service, launching it into popularity and its inclusion in many Christian hymnals. It was sung at Billy Graham's funeral. To God Be the Glory by Fanny J. Crosby and William H. Doane 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. Refrain: Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice! Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice! Oh, come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, And give Him the glory, great things He hath done. Oh, 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.
I just watched a movie about the writing of a Christian hymn. Intended probably more for children, it tells the story of a moment in the life of Frederick M. Lehman, a pastor who had emigrated to the United States from Germany as a child, settling in Iowa, where he lived most of his childhood. The movie doesn’t mention it because this wasn’t the period in his life that the movie was about, but he came to Christ at the age of eleven. He studied for the ministry and pastored in Iowa, Indiana, and Missouri. Although he was later to publish hundreds of songs, compiling five songbooks, and became a founder of the Nazarene Publishing House, his first song was the one that the movie was about. He was having trouble with the third verse. The song was about the love of God, and he was having trouble expressing the love of God in words. At this point in his life, World War I had begun and one of his sons was overseas. The church where he was preaching was low on funds as so many of the men were in the military and everything was going into the war effort, so they were unable to pay him enough to support his family. His children decided to help him write the third verse of the song, hoping that he would be able to sell it and keep from having to go to the poor house. They find a poem on a card that was about the love of God and set out to see if they can find the author and get permission for his father to adapt the words to his song. Skipping a lot of the peripheral stuff, they learn that the words for the poem on the card had been found scratched on the wall of a room at an insane asylum. After more investigation, they find that the words had not been written by the person who had scratched them on the wall, but they had been written by a Jewish rabbi in Germany a long while ago, and that the poem was the English translation. Showing it to their father, he adapts the words to complete the third verse of his song. Movie: Indescribable The Love of God by Frederick M. Lehman (1917) and Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai (1050) The love of God is greater far Than tongue or pen can ever tell; It goes beyond the highest star, And reaches to the lowest hell; The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win; His erring child He reconciled, And pardoned from his sin. Refrain: Oh, love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong! It shall forevermore endure— The saints’ and angels’ song. When hoary time shall pass away, And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall, When men who here refuse to pray, On rocks and hills and mountains call, God’s love so sure, shall still endure, All measureless and strong; Redeeming grace to Adam’s race— The saints’ and angels’ song. Could we with ink the ocean fill, And were the skies of parchment made, Were every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade; To write the love of God above Would drain the ocean dry; Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Though stretched from sky to sky.
"Morning Has Broken is a Christian hymn first published in 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon and was inspired by the village of Alfriston in East Sussex, then set to a traditional Scottish Gaelic tune, Bunessan." Morning Has Broken - Cat Stevens Bunessan Morning has broken like the first morning Blackbird has spoken like the first bird Praise for the singing Praise for the morning Praise for them springing fresh from the Word Sweet the rain's new fall, sunlit from heaven Like the first dewfall on the first grass Praise for the sweetness Of the wet garden Sprung in completeness where His feet pass Mine is the sunlight. Mine is the morning Born of the one light Eden saw play Praise with elation Praise every morning God's recreation of the new day Morning has broken like the first morning Blackbird has spoken like the first bird Praise for the singing Praise for the morning Praise for them springing fresh from the Word
I love "Morning Has Broken", too. I have it saved on a video onto my computer. Somehow, it reminds me of John Denver singing "Annie's Song." Maybe it's the guitar.....
My ab-so-lute, fav-o-rite version of "The Love Of God", is sung by George Beverly Shea. (at the age of 102, or there about!)
"Billy Graham’s great soloist and one of my musical and spiritual “heroes” — recounts a story about the first time he heard “The Old Rugged Cross“. His father was a preacher and his mother the church pianist. At the young age of five (the year was 1914), he gathered with his family around the piano as their church’s song leader brought them a brand new hymn that he hoped to introduce to the congregation that evening, if the pastor approved. Shea credits this experience as one of the earliest motivations toward an eventual career as a musician and songwriter."
My favorite is "Eternal Father Strong To Save", (Sometimes known as "For Those In Peril On The Sea".) Eternal Father strong to save, Whose arm doth bind the restless wave, Who bid'st the mighty oceans deep Its own appointed limits keep. Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee, For those in peril on the sea. Amen (There are more verses, and the chord progression gives a soaring uplift to the melody) This was sung at the Sunday service aboard the RMS Titanic on the morning of the day when the ship struck an iceberg at 11:40 PM, April 14,1912, and foundered at 2:20 AM on Monday, April 15, 1912. Hal
I wrote a parody on "The Old Rugged Cross" called "An Old Chevrolet". If it's thought to be sacrilegeous, I won't post it. Hal