O for a Thousand Tongues To Sing
Charles Wesley
O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer's praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace!Jesus!
The name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
'Tis music in the sinner's ears;'
Tis life, and health, and peace.
He breaks the pow'r of canceled sin;
He sets the prisoner free.
His blood can make the foulest clean;
His blood availed for me.
Hear Him, ye deaf, His praise, ye dumb,
Your loosened tongues employ;
Ye blind, behold your Savior come,
And leap ye lame for joy.
My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad,
The honors of Thy name.
After Charles Wesley's conversion his life changed. He no longer had a temper problem or a drinking problem. He ministered to men in prison and often locked himself in their cell for the night before their execution so he could comfort them and witness to them. On the first anniversary of his conversion he wrote an eighteen stanza hymn known today as "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing". Today, churches usually sing verses seven, eight, nine and ten. In 1780 when John Wesley complied his Collection of Hymns he chose this hymn to be the first one in the book.
*Hymn history taken from Then Sings My Soul by Robert J. Morgan.
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