Out of Egypt:

my favorite hymn...when i believe it

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.

Words: Joachim Neander, 1680 (trans. by Catherine Winkworth, 1863)

(I've actually never sung the fifth and sixth verses before, but they were in the CyberHymnal, so I included them. I can see why we don't sing the fifth verse, but I like how the sixth sharpens the focus, from works of providence to works of redemption.)

You've never sung the sixth verse? I think it's in the Trinity Hymnal; at least, I know it fairly well.

Posted by: Adam Parsons at March 9, 2007 9:49 PM

The sixth verse is definitely in the hymnal we use at the Dutch Reformed church I attend. And fortunately, we sing it to the same tune.

Posted by: funke at March 9, 2007 9:59 PM

oh, never mind, I got the sixth verse mixed up with the seventh.

Posted by: funke at March 9, 2007 10:00 PM

Yeah, tune switches are annoying.

I'll have to check the Trinity - probably I just go to churches that call out only certain verses of the ones in the hymnal.

Posted by: Evan Donovan at March 10, 2007 1:17 AM

Actually, I just realized I made the same sixth/seventh verse mistake.

Posted by: Adam Parsons at March 10, 2007 5:13 PM

I love the last verse of that hymn. I always want to sing it so loud that my heart explodes. It is glorious.

Posted by: bonny beth at March 11, 2007 6:11 PM