O Thou who the glory supreme
Hast entered as Saviour and Lord,
Of praises immortal the theme,
Exalted, admired, and adored.
I shall praise Thee as long as I live,
Of Thee shall my song be for ever
And nothing the creature can give
My soul from my Saviour shall sever.
Whom have I in heaven but Thee?
On earth Thou hast never a rival,
When all friendships forgotten shall be
Of my love shall be seen the survival.
Were the wealth of the world made my own,
And here my existence made endless,
Without Thee my lot were but lone,
Poor, wretched, forsaken, and friendless.
And what, Lord, were heaven to Thee—
And what were the kingdom eternal—
Hadst Thou been compelled to leave me
In the fetters of forces infernal?
It was not that the cry of my heart
Was instant for Thine intervention,
That Thou shouldest suffer the smart
For my faults was beyond comprehension.
For alas, in my trespass I lay
A rebel against my Creator,
And willingly under the sway
Of the primal deceiver and traitor.
Love sovereign, unfettered and free
Brought Thee from the glory to gather
Detestable objects like me
To the heart and the home of the Father.
The manger, the gibbet, the grave,
These witness Thy humiliation,
From the throne of the highest to save
Thou didst go to the depths of creation.
But the work Thou so glorious has done
Has the right of the throne vindicated,
My soul to Thy service has won,
And my trespasses dark expiated.
I wait for Thy coming again
All links with what’s mortal to sever,
The glory with Thee to obtain,
In the house of the Father for ever.