This hymn has been resounding in my head since we sang it at church this morning.
O God beyond all praising is sung to Thaxted, a stirring adaptation of the main theme of the Jupiter movement of Gustav Holst‘s The Planets, which is one of my all-time favourite orchestral compositions. (You’ll also recognise the tune from the British patriotic hymn I vow to thee, my country and, more recently, from the World in union theme song of Rugby World Cups since 1991.)
But while the tune is stirring, it is the words which speak loudest: “O God beyond all praising” – for how can our words ever repay Him for the great salvation He bought by His own blood, for the infinite riches of Christ? We sing of “love amazing that songs cannot repay”; He bids us “make a joyful duty our sacrifice of praise.”
Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His Name. (Hebrews 13v15, ESV)
Posted by marcus 
