1 GREAT God of wonders, all Thy ways
Are righteous, matchless and divine;
But the blest triumphs of Thy grace
Most marvellous, unrivalled, shine;
Who is a pardoning God like Thee?
Or who has grace so rich and free?
2 Crimes of such horror to forgive,
Such guilty, daring worms to spare;
This is Thy grand prerogative,
And none can in that honour share:
Pardon, O God, is only Thine;
Mercy and grace are all divine.
3 In wonder lost, with trembling joy,
We hail the pardon of our God,
Pardon for crimes of deepest dye,
A pardon traced in Jesus' blood.
To pardon thus is Thine alone;
Mercy and grace are both Thine own.
4 Soon shall this strange, this wondrous grace,
This perfect miracle of love,
Fill the wide earth, while sweeter praise
Sounds its own note in heaven above:
Who is a pardoning God like Thee?
Or who has grace so rich, so free?
Choosing a suitable tune for this hymn might not be an issue for one particular reason ;-)
It was in Wigram's 1856 Little Flock but not in Darby's 1881, Kelly's 1894, or Reynold's 1903 revisions. It was reselected in Hocking's 1928 and the 1932 Little Flock and all subsequent editions.