Psalm 134

Ye servants of the holy God,
Come, his majestic name to laud,
And even in the lonely night
Bring your Redeemer's praise to light.

Lift up your hearts the LORD to bless
And worship him in humbleness;
In prayer and song your voices raise
To bring a sacrifice of praise.

The LORD that fashioned earth and sky
Bless thee from out his throne on high:
God bless and keep thee by his grace
And e'er upon thee shine his face.

—Psalm 134, vers. Zachary Pletan


Tune: "Old Hundredth," Louis Bourgeois (har. Claude Goudimel)
Courtesy The Genevan Psalter Resource Center.

Thoughts

As soon as I found out that this venerated old tune, usually attached to Psalm 100, was originally composed for Psalm 134, I wanted to see what it sounded like to that text. Louis Bourgeois did not fail to disappoint in matching tune to text. The rest was relatively easy (the psalm is only three verses); I think I knocked off most of this versification on a Saturday night/Sunday morning.

As for a recording, I was unable to find one that did justice to the tune while simultaneously being either a versification of Psalm 143 (as opposed to the more popular Psalm 100) or simply an instrumental work. The instrument that will best showcase this text and music is your own voice.