145. I Will Exalt My God and King

1 I will exalt my God and King,
and I will ever praise your name.
I will extol you every day
and evermore your praise proclaim.
You, LORD, are greatly to be praised;
your greatness is beyond all thought.
From age to age your people tell
the mighty wonders you have wrought.

2 On your most glorious majesty
and on your deeds my mind will dwell.
Your deeds will fill the world with awe,
and all your greatness I will tell.
Your matchless goodness and your grace
your people will commemorate;
and all your truth and righteousness
our joyful song will celebrate.

3 The LORD our God is rich in grace,
tender to us, compassionate.
His anger is most slow to rise;
his love and kindness are most great.
The LORD is good in all his ways;
his creatures know his constant care.
To all his works his love extends;
all creatures in his mercies share.

4 All you have made will praise you, LORD;
your mighty acts your saints will show,
till all the peoples on the earth
the splendor of your kingdom know.
Eternal is your kingdom, LORD,
forever strong and ever sure;
while generations rise and die,
your glorious reign will still endure.

5 The LORD is faithful to his word;
he will extend his gracious hand.
The LORD upholds the faltering feet
and makes the weak securely stand.
The eyes of all look up to you
for food and drink, which you supply;
your open hand is bountiful,
and every need you satisfy.

6 The LORD is just in all his ways;
in all his works the LORD is kind,
and all who call on him in truth
in him a present helper find.
He will fulfill the heart's desire
of those who fear him and obey.
The LORD will surely hear their cry,
will save them when to him they pray.

7 The LORD in grace preserves his saints,
redeeming those who love his name.
The wicked he will overthrow
and put his enemies to shame.
My mouth will sing the glorious praise
of God, whom earth and heaven adore.
Let every creature praise his name
forever and forevermore!

Text Information
First Line: I will exalt my God and king
Title: I Will Exalt My God and King
Meter: LMD
Language: English
Publication Date: 1987
Scripture:
Topic: King, God/Christ as; Marriage; New Year - Old Year (7 more...)
Source: Psalter, 1912, alt.
Tune Information
Name: JERUSALEM
Composer: C. Hubert H. Parry (1916)
Arranger: Janet Wyatt (1977)
Meter: LMD
Key: C Major
Copyright: Tune © 1916, 1944, 1977, Roberton Publications. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, Theodore Presser Co., sole representative, U.S.A.


Text Information:

Abundant praise of the glory of God's reign.

Scripture References:
st. 1 = vv. 1-4
st. 2 = vv. 5-7
st. 3 = vv. 8-9
st. 4 = vv. 10-13a
st. 5 = vv. 13b-16
st. 6 = vv.17-19
st. 7 = vv. 20-21

Psalm 145 is one of the most beautiful hymns of the psalter. I will exalt you and praise your name for your greatness and goodness, O God, sings the psalmist. Your people "will tell of your mighty acts" and goodness forever (st. 1-2). You show your grace to sinners, and you care for all your creatures (st. 3). "All you have made will praise you" (v. 10); your saints will proclaim your glorious and eternal reign (st. 4). O LORD, you are faithful in restoring the afflicted and providing food for all living things (st. 5). In your righteousness you never fail to care for those who trust and obey you (st. 6); you redeem your saints, and you overthrow the wicked. Let every creature praise God's name (st. 7). The (altered) versification is from the 1912 Psalter. Other settings of Psalm 145 are at 185 and 186.

Liturgical Use:
As a processional psalm in Reformation services; many other occasions in Christian worship.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Tune Information:

Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (b. Bournemouth, England, 1848; d. Rustington, Sussex, England, 1918) originally wrote JERUSALEM in 1916 for the William Blake text "And Did Those Feet in Ancient Time" (which refers to the [new] Jerusalem being built on English soil). It was published in sheet form in 1916, and its first publication in a hymnbook was in A Students' Hymnal (1923). The Federation of Music Competition Festivals adopted JERUSALEM as their national hymn. The tune gained additional popularity through its use in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire. Majestic and dignified, with a fine climax in the last long line, JERUSALEM calls for strong unison congregational singing and forceful organ accompaniment. Singing the entire psalm calls for antipho¬ny: have everyone sing stanzas 1, 4, and 7; alternate groups can sing stanzas 2-3 and 5-6 respectively.

Parry was a major force in the revival of music in England in the late nineteenth century. He received an excellent musical education at Eton College and Exeter College, Oxford. Because his father did not want him to assume a musical career, he worked for Lloyd's Register of Shipping for three years. But ultimately his interest in music prevailed: he taught music at the Royal College of Music from 1883 to 1918 and at Oxford University from 1900 to 1918. Parry composed chamber music, piano and choral pieces, and English songs and symphonies. A cofounder of the Oxford University Music Club, he contributed articles to Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians and published The Art of Music (1893), Style in Musical Art (1911), and a biography of J. S. Bach (1909). A number of his hymn tunes were published in Hymns Ancient and Modern (1904).

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook


Media
MIDI file: MIDI Preview
(Faith Alive Christian Resources)
More media are available on the text authority and tune authority pages.

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