“To God Be the Glory” is a hymn credited to Fanny Crosby for its lyrics and William Howard Doane for its melody, first appearing in print in 1875.
The hymn is believed to have been composed around 1872, but it was officially published in the song collection “Brightest and Best” by Lowry and Doane in 1875. It gained early popularity in Great Britain, thanks to Ira Sankey introducing it during the evangelistic campaigns led by Moody in 1873-1874.
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Despite its success abroad, the hymn did not initially achieve widespread recognition in the United States, and few hymnals included it. This changed in 1954 when Cliff Barrows, the song leader for the evangelist Billy Graham, received a recommendation to include the hymn in the songbook for the London Crusade. The hymn was met with such favorable reception that Barrows decided to feature it again in the Nashville, Tennessee Crusade later that year.
The enthusiastic response from the audience led to its regular inclusion in future events. This exposure played a crucial role in making the hymn a well-known piece within the Christian community globally, leading to its inclusion in most contemporary hymnals.
Fanny J. Crosby – To God Be the Glory LYRICS
Stanza 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.
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.
Stanza 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.
(Refrain)
Stanza 3
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 rapture, when Jesus we see.
(Refrain)
