Psalm CIII

Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven;
To His feet thy tribute bring!
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
Who like me His praise should sing?
Praise Him! praise Him!
Praise the everlasting King!

Praise Him for His grace and favour,
To our fathers in distress!
Praise Him still the same for ever,
Slow to chide, and swift to bless!
Praise Him! praise Him!
Glorious in His faithfulness!

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!
Widely as His mercy flows!

Frail as summer's flower we flourish
Blows the wind, and it is gone.
But while mortals rise and perish,
God endures unchanging on.
Praise Him! praise Him!
Praise the high eternal One!

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 with us the God of grace!

—Henry F. Lyte


Tune: "Lauda Anima," John Goss (courtesy The Cyber Hymnal)

About the Author

Henry F. Lyte (1793–1847) was an Anglican curate in the English towns of Wexford, Marazion, Lymington, and Lower Brixham. A gifted poet who tended more towards sadness and tenderness than joy and gladness, he is best remembered for his hymn "Abide With Me," supposedly written in declining health only a few months before his death.

Thoughts

This is one of my favorite hymns of all time. I think it is quite possibly for the two lines, "Who like me his praise should sing?" and, "Slow to chide, and swift to bless." This is a psalm of God's unfailing mercies. I happen to need unfailing mercies if I am to remain in good standing with God.

As a singing note, the "Praise him! praise him!" sounds rather poorly in the given tune, since it has to be doubled. In my experience, it is usually replaced with two Alleluias (or Hallelujahs); however, I think it sounds better, not to mention flows more smoothly, if it runs "Praise him! praise him! alleluia!"

Additionally, I found in my research a revision of the last stanza in The Book of Common Prayer; I like this third line better because it replaces the irrelevant mention of sun and moon with something a bit more on-topic and scripturally warranted.

Angels in the height, adore Him;
Ye behold Him face to face;
Saints triumphant, bow before Him,
Gather'd in from every race;
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise with us the God of grace!

In terms of a recommended recording, I have three. The first is a straight-up recording with the tune given here, by David Chafe on his album It Is Well (via iTunes or Amazon). The second is not a recording so much as an alternate tune by Mark Andrews; I'd post the MIDI, but it's copyrighted still. You can listen at Hymnary.org, where it's posted by permission. The third recording was released only this past month; it is Ami Andersen's gorgeous tune from her album Shelter (via iTunes or her website).

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