All for the lifting of Jesus on high

"1. JEHOVAH, in council
Resolved to fulfill
The scheme from eternity,
Laid in His will;
A scheme too profound for
A seraph to pry,
And all for the lifting
Of Jesus on high.

2. ’Twas not from the creature
Salvation took place,
The whole was of God, to
The praise of His grace,
And all to His glory
Shall tend by and by,
To accomplish the lifting
Of Jesus on high.

3. His wisdom contrived the
Adorable plan,
Grace, mercy, and peace, and
Good-will towards man;
The Great Three-in-One did
The same ratify,
And all for the lifting
Of Jesus on high.

4. Here all the perfections
Of Deity shine,
Love, wisdom, and power,
And goodness divine,
His justice and grace
Received honor thereby;
‘Twas all for the lifting
Of Jesus on high.

5. When first the great project
To angels was known,
They hailed Him in songs as
The Lamb on His throne;
The concave of heaven,
Resounds with their cry,
God-man, Mediator,
They lift Him on high.

6. Creation proclaims the
Great work of thy hand,
All beings and things in
The order they stand;
Productions of chance they
Are led to deny,
’Twas made for the lifting
Of Jesus on high.

7. All things for His sake did
Jehovah prepare,
For of Him, and to Him,
And through Him, they are;
All systems and worlds, that
Revolve in the sky,
Were made for the lifting
Of Jesus on high.

8. Set up the Head of
His mystical frame,
He honored the records
Of Fate With His name;
And nothing was wanting,
Which God could supply,
To aid the uplifting
Of Jesus on high.

9. When man was created,
What wisdom we see,
The whole he possessed was
The image of Thee;
But, oh! in his fall, we
Are led to espy,
’Twas all for the lifting
Of Jesus on high.

10. When Adam to eat of
The fruit was inclined,
It answered the end which
Jehovah designed;
No purpose or wisdom
Was altered thereby,
’Twas all for the lifting
Of Jesus on high.

11. Here Satan was nonplussed
In what he had done,
The fall wrought the channel
Where mercy should run,
In streams of salvation
Which never run dry,
And all for the lifting
Of Jesus on high.

12. From hence it appears, he
Made nothing in vain,
For Adam, thus formed, was
A link in the chain;
In him ’twas decreed, that
His members should die,
And all for the lifting
Of Jesus on high.

13. The man that betrayed Him
Prediction foretold,
The pieces of silver
For which he was sold;
To prove His salvation
The world we defy,
He fell for the lifting
Of Jesus on high.

14. The law that was given,
On Sinai of old,
Was still the great mercy
And love to unfold,
Which did in the womb of
Eternity lie,
And all for the lifting
Of Jesus on high.

15. In fulness of time he
Came under the law,
Its jots and its tittles
He answered we know;
And, stretching His arms, did
On Calvary die,
To accomplish His lifting
To glory on high.

16. He slept in the tomb till
The morning arose,
That signed His release, and
Confounded His foes;
Then, bursting its bars, He
Ascended the sky,
To reign in His glory,
Eternal, on high."

John Kent (1766-1843)