Scripture Verse

Because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions―It is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4–6

Introduction

portrait
Franz J. Haydn (1732–1809)

Words: Phi­lip Dodd­ridge (1702–1751). Pub­lished post­hu­mous­ly in Hymns Found­ed on Va­ri­ous Texts in the Ho­ly Scrip­tures, by Job Or­ton (Shrop­shire, Eng­land: Jo­shua Ed­dowes & John Cot­ton, 1755), num­ber 287: Salvation by grace.

Music: Cre­ation Franz J. Hay­dn, 1798 (🔊 pdf nwc).

portrait
Philip Doddridge
(1702–1751)

Lyrics

Stupendous grace! and can it be
Designed for re­bels such as we?
O let our ar­dent prais­es rise
High as our hopes be­yond the skies!
This flesh, by right­eous ven­geance slain,
Might ev­er in the dust remain:
There guil­ty spir­its sent to dwell
Midst all the flames and fiends of hell.

But lo! In­car­nate Love des­cends;
Down to the se­pul­cher it bends;
Rising, it tears the bars away,
And springs to its own na­tive day.
Then was our se­pul­cher un­barred,
Then was our path to glo­ry cleared;
Then, if that Sav­ior be our own,
Did we as­cend a heav’n­ly throne.

A mo­ment shall our joy com­plete,
And fix us in that shin­ing seat,
Bought by the pangs our Lord en­dured,
And by un­chang­ing truth se­cured.
O may that love, in strains sub­lime,
Be sung to the last hour of time!
And let eter­ni­ty con­fess,
Through all its rounds, the match­less grace.