This page is provided so that you can hear the tunes of items which we use in church. Mostly they are written by the vicar. Please note that they are copyright - we are very happy to give permission to you to use them, but we would like to hear about it. Please include any use on your Christian Copyright Licence returns.
Down this page:
- the words,
- the story,
- the sheet music,
- media player.
Great and wonderful
Great and wonderful
Great and wonderful are your deeds, Lord God.
Just and true are your ways, O King of all.
Who shall not praise and magnify?
Who shall not sing?
Who shall not worship, glorify
you as King?
Your just dealings have been revealed to men,
Righteous judgements restore our faith again.
Therefore we praise and magnify!
Therefore we sing!
Therefore we worship, glorify
you as King!
To him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb,
be praise and honour, and glory and might,
for evermore. Amen.
Words and music copyright © John Hartley 2007.
Story behind the song
This is a simple attempt to set the canticle "Great and wonderful" to music.
I first encountered this "canticle" as the one set for Morning Prayer on Saturdays in the Church of England's Alternative Services Book 1980. The words are the song of "those who have been victorious over the beast and his image", taken from Revelation 15:3-4; and the last part of the canticle is from Revelation 5:13, sung by every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth.
John Hartley.
Windows Media Player. When you click the left-hand "play" button your computer should have started to play the tune. If it didn't, you might be able to get the tune by clicking here, or by right-clicking the link, choosing "save target as", saving it onto your computer, and then opening it with a music-playing program.
Please remember that a midi file of a tune isn't supposed to be a state-of-the-art musical arrangement - it is only supposed to give a basic idea of how the tune goes. Any reasonable organist / keyboard player / music group could make it sound far better.