Brethren Archive

NUMBER: 353

Great God Of Wonders, All Thy Ways

by Samuel Davies (1723-1761)


Tune: Pardon 8.8.8.8.8.8.


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?





Comments:
Greg Morris said ...
Please can you fit in the tune Sovereignty or Euphony for this hymn. Then the words can soar on high rather than bump along the cobbles.
Sunday, Jan 9, 2022 : 08:14
Steve H said ...
Hi Greg,

This wonderful hymn, which appears in many hymn books has been set to a wide variety of tunes - e.g:--

St Matthias in the 1932 book, with the suggested alternative of Melita!;
Surrey in the Believers' Hymn Book;
Huddersfield, Surrey or Rhyd-y-Groes in Christian Hymns;
St. Catherine in Redemption Hymnal;
Sovereignty in Hymns of Light and Love and 1933 Methodist Hymn Book;
Carey (Surrey) in Baptist Church Hymnal (Revised) and Mission Praise;
Surrey is also the main tune in Hymns of Faith with a suggested alternative of Pater Omnium.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, and I suppose we all have our favourite tunes for particular hymns, but it is also good to hear other examples.

Regards,

Steve H
Monday, Jan 10, 2022 : 01:15
Gregory Morris said ...
It has taken me a year to respond! Certainly rhyd y grows or Surrey which is the proper tune. But not this tune.
Tuesday, Jan 10, 2023 : 07:26
Nick Fleet said ...

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.

Tuesday, Jan 10, 2023 : 21:07


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