To God Be the Glory
Words: Fanny J. Crosby, 1875 · Tune: William H. Doane, 1875 · Public domain
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Verse 1
DTo God A7be the Dglory, great Athings he hath Ddone;
Dso Gloved he the Dworld that he E7gave us his ASon,
A7who Dyield-A7ed his Dlife an a-Atonement for Dsin,
D7and Go-Empened the Dlife Agate Dthat all may A7go Din.
Refrain (after every verse)
DPraise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth Ahear Dhis Avoice!
APraise Dthe A7Lord, praise Dthe A7Lord, let A7the Dpeople A7re-Djoice!
DO come A7to the DFather through AJesus the DSon,
D7and Ggive Emhim the Dglo-Ary, Dgreat things he A7hath Ddone.
Verse 2
DO per-A7fect re-Ddemption, the Apurchase of Dblood,
Dto Gev'ry be-Dliever the E7promise of AGod;
A7the Dvil-A7est of-Dfender who Atruly be-Dlieves,
D7that Gmo-Emment from DJe-Asus Da pardon A7re-Dceives.
Verse 3
DGreat things A7he hath Dtaught us, great Athings he hath Ddone,
Dand Ggreat our re-Djoicing through E7Jesus the ASon;
A7but Dpur-A7er, and Dhigher, and Agreater will Dbe
D7our Gwon-Emder, our Dtrans-Aport, Dwhen Jesus A7we Dsee.
Chords in the key of D
- D
- A7
- A
- G
- E7
- D7
- Em
About this hymn
- Words
- Fanny J. Crosby, first printed 1875
- Music
- TO GOD BE THE GLORY, William H. Doane, 1870
- Meter
- 11.11.11.11 with refrain
- In
- 289 hymnals
- Scripture
- John 3:16, Psalm 29:2, John 14:6
The story
Fanny Crosby wrote the words and William Doane wrote the tune. It reached print in 1875 in a songbook called Brightest and Best. Here is the part that surprises people. It caught on in Britain first. Ira Sankey used it during Moody's British campaigns in 1873 and 1874, and then it sat quiet in America for about eighty years, showing up in very few hymnals here. In 1954 Billy Graham's music director Cliff Barrows was talked into using it at the London Crusade. The response was strong, so he brought it back for the Nashville Crusade that same year. That late start is why the hymnal count is only 289 for a song everybody knows.
Where it fits in a service
Often used as an opening hymn or a closing song, and it fits well after a testimony or a baptism. The refrain is big and easy, so it carries a congregation that is already on its feet.
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Take it further
This hymn in three keys, and 49 more
The 50 Hymns for the Church Pianist collection has this hymn in three keys with every verse, a Sunday Version with gospel moves, and big keyboard pictures. Large print and regular print.
See the collection →All 21 in one printed book
The Hymn & Carol Chord Chart Book puts 21 hymns and carols on paper, chords over the words, with a lead sheet and the story behind each one. Full-size pages for the music stand.
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The same chart as a clean one-page PDF — with large-print lyrics, a guitar chart and a Nashville number chart of the same hymn.
See the printable set →Why these chords work
Gospel Piano Chords by Ear is the book behind these charts — how to hear the I, IV and V, and how to move between them without reading music.
About the book →Learn it with Henry
Online lessons, by ear, from the author of the book — a camera on the keys and this hymn ready for Sunday.
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