You help make Hymnary.org possible. More than 10 million people from 200+ countries found hymns, liturgical resources and encouragement on Hymnary.org in 2025, including you. Every visit affirms the global impact of this ministry.

If Hymnary has been meaningful to you this year, would you take a moment today to help sustain it? A gift of any size—paired with a note of encouragement if you wish—directly supports the server costs, research work and curation that keep this resource freely available to the world.

Give securely online today, or mail a check to:
Hymnary.org
Calvin University
3201 Burton Street SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546

Thank you for your partnership, and may the hope of Advent fill your heart.

11331. Our God Ascends His Lofty Throne

1 Our God ascends His lofty throne,
Arrayed in majesty unknown;
His luster all the temple fills,
And spreads over all th’ethereal hills.

2 The holy, holy, holy Lord,
By all the seraphim adored,
And, while they stand beneath His seat,
They veil their faces, and their feet.

3 And can a sinful worm endure
The presence of a God so pure?
Or these polluted lips proclaim
The honors of so grand a name?

4 O for Thine altar’s glowing coal,
To touch my lips, to fire my soul,
To purge the sordid dross away,
And into crystal turn my clay.

5 Then if a messenger Thou ask,
A laborer for the hardest task,
Thro’ all my weakness, and my fear,
Love shall reply, "Thy servant’s here."

6 Nor should my willing soul complain,
Tho’ all its efforts seemed in vain;
It ample recompense shall be,
But to have wrought, my God, for Thee.

Text Information
First Line: Our God ascends His lofty throne
Title: Our God Ascends His Lofty Throne
Author: Philip Doddridge, 1702-1751
Meter: LM
Language: English
Source: Published posthumously in Hymns, Founded on Various Texts in the Holy Scriptures by Job Orton (Shropshire, England: Joshua Eddowes & John Cotton, 1755)
Copyright: Public Domain
Tune Information
Name: LOUVAN
Composer: Virgil Corydon Taylor (1850)
Meter: LM
Key: A♭ Major
Copyright: Public Domain



Media
Adobe Acrobat image: PDF
MIDI file: Midi
Noteworthy Composer score: Noteworthy Composer Score
More media are available on the tune authority page.

Suggestions or corrections? Contact us
It looks like you are using an ad-blocker. Ad revenue helps keep us running. Please consider white-listing Hymnary.org or getting Hymnary Pro to eliminate ads entirely and help support Hymnary.org.