HYMN OF THE MONTH:
TO GOD BE THE GLORY
by Fanny Crosby, 1820-1915
THE WONDROUS STORY: 2024 JOURNEY THROUGH FAVORITE HYMNS
Truth #4: For God so loved the word that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, to pay the price for our sin so that whoever believes in Him will have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
The First Face
Fanny Crosby, a blind hymn writer, found purpose in teaching at a school for blind children and composing thousands of hymns.
The famous evangelist Dwight L. Moody once asked Fanny, “If you could have just one wish granted, what would it be?”
Fanny answered, “I’d wish that I might continue blind the rest of my life.”
When Moody asked, “How can you say that?” Fanny replied, “ “Because, after being blind for all these years, the first face I want to see now is the face of Jesus.”
Fanny Crosby's hymn "To God Be the Glory," gained early popularity in Great Britain due to Ira Sankey's introduction during Moody's evangelistic campaigns there.
However, it initially failed to gain widespread use in the United States and was included in just a handful of hymnals.
That changed in 1954 when Cliff Barrows, Billy Graham’s song leader, used the hymn in a London crusade. He appreciated it so much, he used it again in a Nashville crusade that same year and soon began to regularly incorporate it in all their evangelistic crusades.
With this exposure, "To God Be the Glory" swiftly became familiar to Christians worldwide, finding its place in most modern hymnals.
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Our latest Hymn Study Package will help you and your family reflect through each stanza of our hymn and connect it more firmly in biblical truth.
Hymn Outline
God gives us ETERNAL LIFE through Jesus (stanza one)
God gives us PERFECT REDEMPTION through Jesus (stanza two)
God gives us a JOYFUL RELATIONSHIP through Jesus (stanza three)
We give God FULL GLORY through Jesus (Refrain)
Read & Relate
To God Be the Glory
by Fanny Crosby, 1820-1915
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.
John 3:16; Job 5:9; John 6:40; Phil. 2:5-8; Matt. 7:13-14
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.
Psalm 126:3; John 13:31; John 14:6
O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood!
To ev'ry believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.
Eph. 1:7-8; 1 Cor. 6:20; Luke 23:39-43; Acts 16:30-31
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.
John 14:26; Jude 1:24; Luke 1:47: 1 John 3:2; Rev. 22:4
Go Deeper
Discover God's Plan for Hymns
When was the last time a hymn entered your mind, causing you to remember and apply the powerful truths of Scripture?
That was Colossians 3:16 in action and is just one small example of the ways God uses hymnody in the spiritual lives of His people.
Surprisingly, there aren't a lot of resources designed to help you be intentional in hymn study.
Enter Hymns Illustrated. Whether you buy a stand-alone hymn study pack to aid you in your family worship time, personal devotional time or in a homeschool setting or better yet, become a member, you can be sure of one thing:
Hymns Make Scripture Sticky.
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