
1 Praise to God who reigns above
binding earth and heaven in love;
all the armies of the sky
worship his dread sovereignty.
2 Seraphim his praises sing,
cherubim on fourfold wing,
thrones, dominions, princes, powers,
marshalled might that never cowers.
3 Speeds the archangel from his face,
bearing messages of grace;
angel hosts his words fulfil,
ruling nature by his will.
4 Yet on man thy joy to wait,
all that bright celestial state,
for in Man their Lord they see,
Christ, the incarnate deity.
5 On the throne their Lord who died
sits in Manhood glorified;
where his people faint below
angels count it joy to go.
6 O the depths of joy divine,
thrilling through those orders nine,
when the lost are found again,
when the banished come to reign!
7 Now in faith, in hope, in love,
we will join the choirs above,
praising, with the heavenly host,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Source: CPWI Hymnal #797
First Line: | Praise to God, who reigns above |
Title: | Christ in Glory |
Author: | Richard Meux Benson |
Meter: | 7.7.7.7 |
Language: | English |
Copyright: | Public Domain |
Praise to God, who reigns above. R. M. Benson. [St. Michael and All Angels.] Contributed to Hymns Ancient & Modern and after curtailment and alterations, was published therein in 1861. In the revised edition, 1875, the original text (still abbreviated) was restored, with the exception of two minor changes. These facts account for the two texts in Hymns Ancient & Modern of 1861 and 1875. The line in st, vi., "Thrilling through those Orders nine" refers to the (1) Seraphim; (2) Cherubim; (3) Thrones; (4) Dominions; (5) Princes;(6) Powers; (7) Might; (8) Archangel; and (9) Angel hosts, named in st. ii. and iii. In the American Church Pastorals, Boston, 1864, st. ii., iv., vii. of the 1861 text are given as:—"Seraphim His praises sing."
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)