One Psalm, three great hymns. Read Psalm 117 in all its brevity, and then see how two different hymn writers interpreted it. The hymns came from C H Spurgeon’s Our Own Hymn-Book.
Psalm 117
Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!
ALL ye nations, praise the Lord,
All ye lands, your voices raise;
Heaven and earth with loud accord,
Praise the Lord, for ever praise:
For His truth and mercy stand,
Past, and present, and to be;
Like the years of His right hand,
Like His own eternity.
Praise Him, ye who know His love;
Praise Him from the depth beneath;
Praise Him in the heights above;
Praise your Maker, all that breathe.
James Montgomery, 1822
THY name, Almighty Lord
Shall sound through distant lands:
Great is Thy grace. and sure Thy word,
Thy truth for ever stands.
Far be Thine honour spread,
And long Thy praise endure.
Till morning light and evening shade
Shall be exchanged no more.
Isaac Watts, 1719
And here’s yet another by Isaac Watts, which Bob Kauflin of Sovereign Grace Music put together with Thomas Ken’s Doxology, shown first, to make a compelling contemporary song on Upward.
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Thomas Ken, 1697
FROM all that dwell below the skies
Let the Creator’s praise arise,
Let the Redeemer’s name be sung
Through every land, by every tongue.
Eternal are Thy mercies, Lord;
Eternal truth attends Thy word:
Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore
Till suns shall rise and set no more.
Isaac Watts, 1719
