Praise to the Lord the Almighty

This is a traditional-style hymn of praise.  It is based on Joachim Neander's German work Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren, which was published in 1860.

It was translated from German to English by English Unitarian educator, hymn-writer and women's rights activist, Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878) in 1863.

There have been many small variations in the versions published in different hymnals and attributed to Winkworth. Today, there are two versions in common use - sometimes described as "Catholic" and "Ecumenical".

With meter 14 14 4 7 8, the hymn is almost-always set to the tune LOBE DEN HERREN. This was based on an earlier work Ander Theil des Erneuerten Gesangbuch, which Joachim Neander adapted to fit his original German text.

 

Downloads

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Examples

Choir with organ:


Singer self-accompanied on acoustic guitar:


Contemporary singer with backing:


Lyrics

Catholic version

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His altar draw near;
Join in profound adoration.

Praise to the Lord, let us offer our gifts at his Altar.
Let not our sins and transgressions now cause us to falter.
Christ the high priest bids us all join in his feast
Victims with him on the altar.

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in us adore him.
All that has life and breath, Come now in praises before him.
Let the Amen sound from his people again.
Now as we worship before him.

Ecumenical version

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
Praise Him in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord, Who over all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires ever have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

Praise to the Lord, Who hath fearfully, wondrously, made thee;
Health hath vouchsafed and, when heedlessly falling, hath stayed thee.
What need or grief ever hath failed of relief?
Wings of His mercy did shade thee. 

Praise to the Lord, Who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord, Who, when tempests their warfare are waging,
Who, when the elements madly around thee are raging,
Biddeth them cease, turneth their fury to peace,
Whirlwinds and waters assuaging. 

Praise to the Lord, Who, when darkness of sin is abounding,
Who, when the godless do triumph, all virtue confounding,
Sheddeth His light, chaseth the horrors of night,
Saints with His mercy surrounding. 

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen sound from His people again,
Gladly for aye we adore Him.

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2 comments:

  1. My favorite Gospel song based on my favorite Psalm, the 103rd. How does He somehow manage to arrange for these things to happen? We can only wonder and consider it and "ponder anew what the Almighty can do when in His love He befriend you".

    ReplyDelete
  2. Please where can I get the Catholic version In MP3 Format to download?

    ReplyDelete