Glory Be to God

I’m always on the lookout for good, congregational, theologically rich worship songs. It can be a challenge sometimes to fill this spot in my church’s repertoire. Last year I set out to write one, and got some ideas when I was reminded of the “Te Deum”, an ancient Christian prayer/hymn.

As an Anglican, I was aware of the Te Deum being in our Book of Common Prayer, but as is the danger with most liturgical elements, I had gotten used to it.

But check this thing out:

We praise thee, O God; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting.
To thee all Angels cry aloud,
the Heavens and all the Powers therein.
To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth;
Heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory.
The glorious company of the apostles praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the prophets praise thee.
The noble army of martyrs praise thee.
The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee,
the Father, of an infinite majesty, thine adorable, true, and only Son,
also the Holy Ghost the Comforter.
Thou art the King of glory, O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man,
thou didst humble thyself to be born of a Virgin.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death,
thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God, in the glory of the Father.
We believe that thou shalt come to be our judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants,
whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
Make them to be numbered with thy saints,
in glory everlasting.

This inspired me to write a song that was (a) upbeat, and (b) full of this rich theology, imagery, and wording. I’m giving that song, “Glory Be to God” away for free.

The lyrics are:

All the white-robed martyrs, all the saints of God
All the powers of heaven join in endless praise
All the blood-bought children, all the ransomed ones
All the sons and daughters rise to bless Your name

Singing hallelujah! Glory to God! Singing hallelujah! Glory be to God

To the Father Almighty, to the Beautiful Son
To the Spirit of Power; the perfect Three in One
All creation proclaims You, all the angels join in
All the church acclaims You, forever without end

Ransomed, restored, forgiven, singing the song of heaven
We who were dead are risen up to life, up with Christ

Jamie Brown. © 2013 Worthily Magnify Music. All rights reserved. 

Here’s the lyric video:

You can download the mp3 on iTunes here.

Click here for the free chord chart.