Praise the Lord! Ye Heav'ns, Adore Him

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Composer: Ellen Koehler

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Lead Sheet

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Available Arrangements:

  • Hymn
  • Lead Sheet

Praise the Lord! Ye Heav'ns, Adore Him

Praise the Lord! ye heav’ns, adore Him;
Praise Him, angels in the height.
Sun and moon, rejoice before Him;
Praise Him, all ye stars of light.
Praise the Lord, for He hath spoken;
Worlds His mighty voice obeyed.
Laws which never shall be broken
For their guidance He hath made.

Praise the Lord, for He is glorious;
Never shall His promise fail.
God hath made His saints victorious;
Sin and death shall not prevail.
Praise the God of our salvation;
Hosts on high, His power proclaim.
Heaven and earth and all creation,
Laud and magnify His Name.

Worship, honor, glory, blessing,
Lord, we offer unto Thee.
Young and old, Thy praise expressing,
In glad homage bend the knee.
All the saints in heaven adore Thee;
We would bow before Thy throne.
As Thine angels serve before Thee,
So on earth Thy will be done.

Worship, honor, glory, blessing,
Lord, we offer unto Thee.
Young and old, Thy praise expressing,
In glad homage bend the knee.

Setting: Ellen Koehler Copyright ©2012 Ellen Koehler.
All Rights Reserved.
Words: anonymous (vs. 1 and 2), collected and published by Thomas Coram, 1796; Edward Osler (vs. 3), 1836. Hymn tune: Holy Manna  (William Moore, The Columbian Harmony, 1825)

 

Commentary -
 

The three verses of this hymn together reflect and declare the whole sweep of God’s narrative: The praise offered by all His works because of His good and blessing in Creation; the victory and salvation accomplished through the Incarnation and resurrection of Christ; and the eternal worship of all His redeemed in the consummation and Re-Creation of all things. This telling of God’s whole story in song makes it fitting for use through most of the liturgical year.

The text is often set to Franz Joseph Haydn’s Austrian Hymn (1797), or to the hymn tune Faben (John H. Wilcox, 1849), and sometimes to the well-used Hyfrydol (Rowland H. Pritchard, 1830). I have set it to the familiar hymn tune, Holy Manna. Along with the modulation of each verse, this more lively, even dance-like, tune highlights the upward movement and joyful triumph of the hymn text.

The message and character of this hymn setting pair well with Gathering readings drawn from Psalm 8, 19, or 148 – as in this example from the Third Sunday after Epiphany (Year C).

   The heavens declare the glory of God;
        and the firmament proclaims His handiwork.
   Day to day pours forth speech,
        and night to night reveals knowledge.
   They have no speech, they use no words;
        No sound is heard from them.
   Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
        their words to the ends of the earth.
   In them He has placed a tent for the sun.
   Its rising is from one end of the heavens,
        and its circuit to the other end of them;
        there is nothing hidden from its heat.
   Arise, bless the LORD your God forever and ever!
   O may Your glorious name be blessed
        And exalted above all blessing and praise!
                                          – from Psalm 19:1-6, Nehemiah 9:5b

Category: Hymn Settings
Gathering hymn; Invocation; Offering.
Key: D/E/F (modulation of verses 2 and 3)

Praise the Lord! Ye Heav’ns, Adore Him is available as a lead sheet.

Sample arrangements are not for reproduction.
Copyright ©2016 Ellen Koehler.  All Rights Reserved.