Christian Hymns of the First Three Centuries

by Ruth Ellis Messenger

O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father almighty,

O Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ;

O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,

of the relative clause,

That takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.

Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer.

Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us,

of the pronoun,

For thou only art holy; thou only art the Lord; thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory of God the Father.

It is quite superfluous to analyze further the values of a poetic form which has helped to make the Gloria one of the truly magnificent Christian hymns of all ages.^[37]