956

To God Be the Glory

Scripture References

Further Reflections on Scripture References

The text's opening lines are derived from Fanny J. Crosby's famous hymn text "To God Be the Glory, Great Things He Has Done". The closing lines refer to two of the most important "things he has done"–providing salvation through Christ's atoning blood and granting new life to all believers in Christ's resurrection. Thus two essential doctrines of the Christian faith are forcefully and beautifully confessed in this simple song.

 

Bert Polman PHH

Confessions and Statements of Faith References

Further Reflections on Confessions and Statements of Faith References

How can the worshiper not conclude with such acclamations! When God is the “overflowing source of all good” (Belgic Confession, Article 1) and when he has provided all the benefits of Christ’s atonement and makes them ours so that “they are more than enough to absolve us from our sins,” (Belgic Confession, Article 22) our hearts cry out to him with praise and adoration. Therefore, Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 52, Question and Answer 128 includes the ending doxology of the Lord’s Prayer and teaches that “your holy name, and not we ourselves, should receive all the praise, forever.” And so consistent with these thoughts, Our World Belongs to God, paragraph 2 exclaims, “Our World Belongs to God! God is King: Let the earth be glad! Christ is victor: His rule has begun! The Spirit is at work: Creation is renewed! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!” And the Belhar Confession, Section 5 concludes: “Jesus is Lord. To the one and only God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be the honor and the glory forever and ever.”

956

To God Be the Glory

Additional Prayers

A Prayer of Acclamation
 
God of great weight and might,
of great light and splendor,
to you be the glory for the things you have done. Amen.
— Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.
956

To God Be the Glory

Tune Information

Name
MY TRIBUTE
Key
B♭ Major
Meter
6.6.12.7.7.12

Recordings

956

To God Be the Glory

Hymn Story/Background

In the early 60s, Andraé Crouch started working at the Los Angeles branch of Teen Challenge, a ministry for teens struggling with addiction. While working there he met a guy named Larry, who was passionate about the Lord and often had dreams and visions. One day, after Andraé had moved back home, he got a call from Larry, who told Andraé that he’d had a dream the night before that Andraé was going to write a song that was going to go around the world. He told Andraé to read John 17, where Jesus prays to be glorified; but having read it and feeling uninspired, Andraé went to bed. The next morning he woke up singing a line, “To God be the glory” and he wrote the rest of the song in ten minutes. Andraé visited his godchild that evening, and he played the song for the family. They all ended up singing it for over an hour. Andraé included the song on his next album, Keep On Singing, but deliberately didn’t sing the vocals. Only after the song was being sung by churches across the country did Andraé record his own vocals for his next album, Finally, letting the song be about God’s glory, not his own. 
— Lindsay Terry, Stories Behind Fifty Southern Gospel Favorites

Author and Composer Information

Andraé Crouch (b. Los Angeles, CA, 1945; d. Los Angeles, 2015) was a leader in contemporary gospel music. He began performing as a teen in his church, directed a choir at a Teen Challenge drug rehabilitation center, and then formed a singing group for the Church of God in Christ denomination. As a singer he toured with his "Disciples" ensemble throughout the world for twenty-five years; his recordings have won Grammy and Dove awards. He wrote more than three hundred gospel songs, many of which have become standards in gospel music. He also wrote an autobiography, Through It All: A Biography (1974).
 
The African American gospel style began in the 1920s with Thomas Dorsey. Along with Edwin Hawkins, Jessye Dixon, James Cleveland, Dannibelle, and Curtis Burrell (to name a few), Crouch represents a more recent generation of such gospel musicians.
— Bert Polman

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