Franny Crosby was a prolific hymn writer. She has written some of the popular hymns we sing in our day. “To God be the Glory” is one of the most widely known and sung today in American churches. Although it is widely popular now, it was not popular in America for about 75 years after it was written. Ira Sankey used this hymn during the crusades led by DL Moody in the late 1800s, but it wasn’t until a revival of another evangelist that popularized this great hymn. Cliff Barrows introduced this song to American congregations at a Billy Graham Revival in 1954 in Nashville, TN.
Even songs that seem like that have been around forever were sung first somewhere. (Let us not be afraid of new songs) The Church has been blessed to recover such an amazing hymn as it is rich in theological meaning. Every verse complements the work of the Father through the sacrifice of the Son. The hymn is full of the gospel.
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.
The song begins with a quote of the most well-known Bible verse in America: John 3:16, ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” God loved the world by giving us the greatest gift ever given, the life of his own Son. Jesus paid the atonement for sin when his body was broken on the cross. And through his broken body, eternal life was “opened” for all who would “go in” by repenting and believing.
I love the promises of God in the Bible. The Bible is full of promises. The second stanza rejoices in the great promise of the Bible that finds its fulfillment in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. My former pastor would say that the greatest riddle of the Bible is found in Exodus 34 when the Lord passed before Moses,
The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:6-7)
How can God forgive iniquity but by no means clear the guilty? It seems like an impossible riddle to solve. With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible. The Bible is full of incredible promises. The second stanza rejoices in the great promise of the Bible that finds its fulfillment in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. See the great promise of God in this second stanza,
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.
The vilest offender who truly believes will be covered by the blood of Christ and pardon from all their sin. They will be brought into the kingdom of the Beloved Son where there is redemption and the forgiveness of sin (Col. 1:13).
Crosby closed her hymn with the thought that warms the heart of every true believer: seeing Christ’s face in glory.
Great things he hath taught us, great things he hath done,
and great our rejoicing thru Jesus the Son;
but purer, and higher, and greater will be
our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.
Oh beloved, how great will our rejoicing be when we see our Savior, when we touch his nail scarred hand and pierced side that purchased our redemption. Thanks be the God that To God be the Glory has become a widely sung hymn as it glories in our Savior. Thank God for Cliff Barrows who introduced it to American congregations. I hope and pray that generations will be singing these words for years to come.
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 thru Jesus the Son,
and give him the glory, great things he hath done!
Indeed, let us come to the Father thru Jesus the Son and give him the glory, great things he hath done. Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord for gift of Jesus Christ!!
Leave a Reply