O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing
O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing
O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King, the triumphs of His grace!
My gracious Master and my God, assist me to proclaim,
To spread thro’ all the earth abroad the honors of Thy name.
Jesus! the name that charms our fears, that bids our sorrows cease,
’Tis music in the sinners’ ears; ’tis life, and health, and peace.
He breaks the power of canceled sin, He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean; His blood availed for me.
He speaks, and listening to His voice, new life the dead receive;
The mournful, broken hearts rejoice; the humble poor believe.
Hear Him, ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb, your loosened tongues employ;
Ye blind, behold your Savior come; and leap, ye lame, for joy.
THE ORIGINAL TITLE of this hymn was “For the Anniversary Day of One’s Conversion”; Charles Wesley wrote it on May 21, 1749, the eleventh anniversary of his own conversion. Before they were converted, John and Charles Wesley were dubbed “methodists” because of the methods of spirituality they had introduced in their club at Oxford, the Holy Club. But later John and Charles met the German Moravians, who loved to sing, were very missions-minded, and emphasized a personal conversion experience.
One of the Moravian leaders, Peter Bohler, once said, “Had I a thousand tongues, I would praise Christ Jesus with all of them.” So it was fitting for Charles Wesley to build a hymn around that quotation to celebrate the date of his conversion.
When he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland.
Isaiah 35:5-6
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