Sometimes I worry that classic hymns don’t get enough love on Sunday Songs.
For some reason when I put the service outline together for today I was mildly surprised that I didn’t have an existing PowerPoint for Praise My Soul The King Of Heaven.
Surely we must have sung it sometime over the past few years.
Yikes.
John Goss’ tune Lauda Anima is a wonderful vehicle for Henry Lyte’s majestic lyrics.
If singers and musicians work with the melody instead of the music structure the song flows in such a way that a folk style singing (sort of contemporary) works just as well as a more formal presentation.
Here’s a set of lyrics from Hymnary.org.
1
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven,
To his feet your tribute bring;
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
Who like me, his praise should sing?
Praise him, praise him,
Praise him, praise him,
Praise the everlasting King.
2
Praise him for his grace and favor
To our fathers in distress;
Praise him still the same for ever,
Slow to chide, and swift to bless;
Praise him, praise him,
Praise him, praise him,
Glorious in his faithfulness.
3
Father-like, he tends and spares us;
Well our feeble frame he knows;
In his hands he gently bears us,
Rescues us from all our foes;
Praise him, praise him,
Praise him, praise him,
Widely as his mercy goes.
4
Frail as summer’s flow’r we flourish,
Blows the wind and it is gone;
But while mortals rise and perish,
God endures unchanging on.
Praise him, praise him,
Praise him, praise him,
praise the High Eternal One.
5
Angels, help us to adore him;
Ye behold him face to face;
Sun and moon, bow down before him,
Dwellers all in time and space.
Praise him, praise him,
Praise him, praise him,
Praise with us the God of grace.
Here’s the choir of Westminster Abbey giving the song the works.
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