Glory to our redeeming Lord

Verse 1
Glory to our redeeming Lord,
Whose kingdom over all presides,
While in the chariot of the word,
And on the whirlwind’s wings he rides.

Verse 2
Nothing his rapid course can stay,
Or stop his government’s increase;
Earthquakes, and plagues prepare his way,
Wars usher in the Prince of Peace.

Verse 3
Rebellions, massacres, and blood
On every side as water shed,
Are suffer’d by a righteous God,
That happier days may then succeed.

Verse 4
Ev’n now his word doth swiftly run,
And saving knowledge multiplies,
And still his gracious work goes on,
And still his temple’s walls arise.

Verse 5
The church is built in troublous times,
(Jehovah the commission gave)
And God from all their sins and crimes
Would all the sons of Adam save.

Verse 6
Loving to the whole ransom’d race,
He fits the creatures for his use,
In every age and every place
One uniform design pursues.

Verse 7
In love he doth his sons chastise,
His desolating judgments send!
Judgments are mercies in disguise,
And all in man’s salvation end.

Verse 8
Wherefore beneath thy hand we bow,
And bless each salutary blow;
If what thou dost we know not now,
We shall, O Lord, hereafter know.

Verse 9
Shall see thy footsteps in th’ abyss,
Unwind the providential maze,
And own, amidst the general bliss,
Mercy, and truth are all thy ways.

Verse 10
With grateful joy we comprehend
The meaning of th’ eternal mind:
Accept, thou universal friend,
The ceaseless praise of all mankind!

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “Thanksgiving for the Success of the Gospel in America.” Introduced in Charles Wesley, Hymns for the Nation in 1782, Part II (London: J. Paramore, 1781). Published in The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, Collected and Arranged by G. Osborn, Vol. 8 (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1870), page 304.
Publishing: Public Domain