Psalter Hymnal (Gray) ‎#75

75. We Give Our Thanks to You, O God

Text Information

• First Line: We give our thanks to you, O God
• Title: We Give Our Thanks to You, O God
• Versifier: Helen Otte (1985)
• Meter: CMD
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1987
• Scripture:
  Psalm 75
• Topic: Return of Christ; Christmas; Judgment; Thanksgiving & Gratitude
• Copyright: Text © 1987, CRC Publications

Tune Information

• Name: WEYMOUTH
• Composer: Theodore P. Ferris (1941)
• Meter: CMD
• Key: F Major
• Copyright: Tune © 1942, 1961, Church Pension Fund. Used by permission.

Text Information:

The reassurance of faith in the face of enemy threat.

Scripture References:
st. l = vv. 1-5
st. 2 = vv. 6-10

A song of assurance, Psalm 75 contains many thematic parallels to the Song of Hannah (1 Sam. 2:1-10; see PHH 158). Thanksgiving (v. 1) and praise (w. 9-10) frame the song, while faith-reassuring words from heaven (w. 2-5; st. 1) and a triumphant response from earth (w. 6-8; st. 2) form the song's core. Helen Otte (PHH 17) versified this psalm in 1985 for the Psalter Hymnal.

Liturgical Use
Occasions of thanksgiving for and reassurance of God's faithful rescue of his people in the face of threats from enemies.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Tune Information:

Theodore Parker Ferris (b. Port Chester, NY, 1908; d. 1972) composed WEYMOUTH in 1941 for H. C. Robbins's text "And Have the Bright Immensities"; the tune was published in The Hymnal 1940. Ferris named the tune for his summer hometown, Weymouth, Nova Scotia. Well-crafted with an effective rhythmic climax in the final line, WEYMOUTH requires a brisk accompaniment at an energetic pace.

A graduate of Harvard University and General Theological Seminary (1934), Ferris was ordained a priest in the Episcopal church. He taught at General Theological Seminary and served Grace Church in New York City, Emmanuel Church in Baltimore, Maryland, and Trinity Church in Boston, Massachusetts. His publications include This Created World (1944) and The Image of God (1965).

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook