All Glory Be To God On High
All Glory Be to God on High
All glory be to God on high,
Who hath our race befriended;
To us no harm shall now come nigh,
The strife at last is ended;
God showeth His good will to men,
And peace shall reign on earth again;
O thank Him for His goodness.
We praise, we worship Thee, we trust,
And give Thee thanks for ever,
O Father, that Thy rule is just
And wise, and changes never;
Thy boundless power o’er all things reigns,
Thou dost whate’er Thy will ordains:
’Tis well Thou art our Ruler!
O Jesus Christ, our God and Lord,
Begotten of the Father,
Who hast our fallen race restored
And straying sheep dost gather,
Thou Lamb of God, enthroned on high,
Behold our need, and hear our cry:
Have mercy on us, Jesus!
O Holy Spirit, precious Gift,
Thou Comforter unfailing,
Do Thou our troubled souls uplift,
Against the foe prevailing;
Since Christ for us His Blood hath shed,
Avert our woes and calm our dread;
We trust in Thee to help us!
Translated by Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878)
IT IS SAID that the Reformers taught the church how to sing hymns. But a year before Martin Luther wrote his first hymn, one of his students, Nikolaus Decius, began writing hymns in low German for the common people to sing. Decius was not a major figure in the Lutheran movement. In fact, he fell out of favor with Martin Luther because he leaned toward the teachings of John Calvin. Yet Decius’s hymns have appeared in virtually all Lutheran hymnals.
Like many hymns of praise, this one extols in turn the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is a good exercise to follow the example of this great classic hymn and to be specific in our praise to each person of the Trinity. Then we, too, will sing, “All glory be to God on high!”
I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels. The Sovereign Lord will show his justice to the nations of the world. Everyone will praise him! His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring, with plants springing up everywhere.
Isaiah 61:10-11
From the book
