Thanksgiving
And Can It Be
- Words:
- Charles Wesley, 1738.
- Music:
- 'Fillmore' Jeremiah Ingalls (1764-1828).
- Setting:
- "The Methodist Hymnal", 1905.
- Metre:
- 8 8 8 8 8 8
- 1And can it be that I should gainAn interest in the Savior's blood?Died He for me, who caused His pain?For me, who Him to death pursued?Amazing love! How can it be,That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
- 2'Tis mystery all: th'Immortal dies:Who can explore His strange design?In vain the firstborn seraph triesTo sound the depths of love divine.'Tis mercy all! Let earth adore,Let angel minds inquire no more.
- 3He left His Father's throne aboveSo free, so infinite His grace?Emptied Himself of all but love,And bled for Adam's helpless race:'Tis mercy all, immense and free,For O my God, it found out me!
- 4Long my imprisoned spirit lay,Fast bound in sin and nature's night;Thine eye diffused a quick'ning ray?I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;My chains fell off, my heart was free,I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
- 5Still the small inward voice I hear,That whispers all my sins forgiv'n;Still the atoning blood is near,That quenched the wrath of hostile Heav'n.I feel the life His wounds impart;I feel the Savior in my heart.
- 6No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;Alive in Him, my living Head, And clothed in righteousness divine,Bold I approach th'eternal throne, And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
More sheet music
Scripture
Topics
In the hymnals
- Written in 1738, the words are in 338 hymnals indexed by Hymnary.org. Their history →
- The tune, Fillmore, is in 83 hymnals. The tune →
Words, music and setting are in the public domain. The score is from the Open Hymnal Project (Brian J. Dumont), which places its own work in the public domain. Further sheet music is from PDHymns.com. The piano is the FluidR3 General MIDI sound font (MIT licence). How many hymnals print a hymn, and when it was written, is from Hymnary.org.