Scripture Verse

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1

Introduction

portrait
Neil Barham (1962–)

Words: Neil Bar­ham, 2005.

Music: Ny­land, Fin­nish tune, in Suo­men Ev­an­ke­lis Lu­te­ri­lai­sen Kirk­en Ko­raal­ikir­ja, 1909 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tune:

Lyrics

In right­eous glo­ry reign­ing,
Our God sits high en­throned,
His right and truth main­tain­ing,
His jus­tice mak­ing known.
He stands above Time’s ri­ver,
The worlds with­in His view,
His right hand will de­li­ver
To ev­ery man his due.

Before His bar no plead­ing
Excuses any flaw;
But wick­ed­ness ex­ceed­ing
Ignites the flames of Law.
’Mid Si­nai’s sound­ing thun­der
The ver­dict has been read:
All men, in awe­struck won­der,
Fall down be­fore Him, dead.

Such wrath, be­yond all tell­ing!
Can it be turned aside?
Is there a strong, safe dwell­ing
Where Hell can be de­nied?
Can ho­ly, per­fect right­eous­ness
Forgive and re­con­cile?
Can God, though an­gered, still bless
The wick­ed and the vile?

Yes, yes, my soul has found out!
There is a mer­cy sure!
A so­ver­eign grace to sound out—
A love both true and pure!
The flesh of God is giv­en
To meet the Law’s de­mands,
And now I am for­giv­en,
While Christ in Hea­ven stands!

With that pro­pi­tia­tion,
God and His saints em­brace!
That per­fect ex­pi­ation
Has saved His chos­en race!
Now mer­cy kiss­es jus­tice;
Now Truth and Love join hands,
Now Him in whom our trust is:
The Christ, our sure­ty stands!