Psalter Hymnal (Gray) ‎#11

11. The LORD Is My Strength and My Refuge

Text Information

• First Line: The LORD is my strength and my refuge
• Title: The LORD Is My Strength and My Refuge
• Versifier: Clarence P. Walhout (1983)
• Meter: 98 98
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1987
• Scripture:
  Psalm 11
• Topic: Judge, God/Christ as; Trust in God; Christmas; Refuge
• Copyright: Text and music © 1987, CRC Publications

Tune Information

• Name: HILLCREST
• Composer: Roy Hopp (1984)
• Meter: 98 98
• Key: D Major
• Copyright: Text and music © 1987, CRC Publications

Text Information:

A ringing confession of trust in God in the face of rampant evil so forceful that no human power can bring relief.

Scripture References:
st. 1 = vv. 1-2
st. 2 =vv. 3-4
st. 3 = vv. 5-6
st. 4 = v. 7

The circumstances described in Psalm 11 occur frequently in human affairs (PHH 12). God's servant is threatened by a godless and arrogantly wicked alliance, and there seems to be no standing against its power. With the moral atmosphere so poisoned and wickedness in such complete control, the psalmist's friends counsel in despair: flee to some place of rescue in the creation. But the psalmist, and all who trust in the LORD, can stand firm, unshaken in our confidence that the LORD is all the refuge we need. Our trust in God rebukes those who urge us to flee (st. 1). We counter their despair by pointing to the all-seeing LORD on the throne (st. 2), assuring them that God's just wrath will not fail to be aroused against the violent acts of the wicked (st. 3). God's love for the upright, says the psalmist, will hold them secure (st. 4). Clarence P. Walhout (PHH 6) versified this psalm in 1983 for the Psalter Hymnal.

Liturgical Use:
Occasions when wickedness is especially rampant in the world or in a particular community, and when human resources falter or fail, and only God can provide refuge.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Tune Information:

Roy Allen Hopp (b. Sheboygan, WI, 1951) composed HILLCREST for this text in 1984; it was first sung in Denver, Colorado, by the choir and orchestra of Hillcrest Christian Reformed Church on June 2, 1985. HILLCREST has the "stretched" cadence patterns that are characteristic of Hopp's tunes; four-part singing or organ accompaniment must keep the rhythmic energy moving through these cadences with their delightful harmonies. Try to feel one broad beat per measure.

Hopp attended Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan; Michigan State University; and Concordia Teachers College, River Forest, Illinois. He has taught in the Christian school systems in Grandville, Michigan, and Grand Rapids, and served as choir director in Christian Reformed and Reformed congregations in Colorado and Michigan, most recently at the Woodlawn Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids. Hopp also has been involved in recording and music typesetting projects for CRC Publications. Several of his anthems have been published, and his hymn tunes are collected in the Roy Hopp Hymnary (1990). His oratorio "The House of the Lord" premiered in 1996, sung by the Calvin College Oratorio Society.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook