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585

With Grateful Heart My Thanks I Bring

Full Text

1 With grateful heart my thanks I bring;
before the "gods" your praise I sing.
I worship in your holy place
and praise you for your truth and grace;
for truth and grace together shine
in your most holy Word divine,
in your most holy Word divine.

2 I cried to you, and you did save;
your word of grace new courage gave.
The kings of earth shall thank you, LORD,
for they have heard your wondrous word;
yes, they shall come with songs of praise
for great and glorious are your ways,
for great and glorious are your ways.

3 O LORD, enthroned in glory bright,
you reign alone in heavenly height;
the proud in vain your favor seek,
but you have mercy for the meek.
Through trouble though my pathway be,
you will revive and strengthen me,
you will revive and strengthen me.

4 You will stretch forth your mighty arm
to save me when my foes alarm.
The work you have for me begun
shall by your grace be fully done.
Your love forever will endure:
your mercy, LORD, is ever sure;
your mercy, LORD, is ever sure.

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Scripture References

Thematically related:

Further Reflections on Scripture References

Based on Psalm 138, this versification (slightly altered) is from the 1912 Psalter. Similar to Psalm 18, 138 is a song of thanksgiving for God's saving acts–especially against enemies.

Confessions and Statements of Faith References

Further Reflections on Confessions and Statements of Faith References

The God who was active in providing his Son for our redemption, has also been active in the course of history and in the lives of his people. His activity in the course of history began when he created all things. Belgic Confession, Article 12 teaches that God, “when it seemed good to him, created heaven and earth and all other creatures from nothing, by the Word—that is to say, by the Son.” In addition, “God created human beings from the dust of the earth and made and formed them in his image and likeness.”

 

His activity also includes his constant care for all he has created. “…He watches over us with fatherly care, sustaining all creatures under his lordship” (Belgic Confession, Article 13). Additionally, God reveals himself by this “creation, preservation and government of the universe, since that universe is before our eyes like a beautiful book...” (Belgic Confession, Article 2).

 
We also believe that God’s mighty acts are revealed “in the unfolding of covenant history…witnessing to the news that Our World Belongs to God and he loves it deeply” (Our World Belongs to God, paragraph 33). Primary among these actions in the unfolding of covenant history is “the long road of redemption to reclaim the lost as his people and the world as his kingdom” (paragraph 18). As God’s people observe his work in their lives and in history they respond with praise and adoration.

585

With Grateful Heart My Thanks I Bring

Additional Prayers

We lift our hearts in thankful praise to you, O Lord,
for you do not forsake the work of your hands,
but you continue to redeem and restore your creation
through your Son, Jesus Christ, our living Lord.
By your Spirit, enable us to fulfill your purpose in our lives
and, in so doing, to discover true joy. Amen.
— Psalms for All Seasons (http://www.psalmsforallseasons.org)
Almighty God,
thank you for the intricate
life-sustaining world you created.
Make us good caregivers.
Help us share the wealth of resources
that you lavishly share with us.
Thank you for the salvation made possible to us
through the life, death,
and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Following our Lord’s example,
help us love the unloved and serve the lowly.
Thank you for the gifts of your Holy Spirit:
the comfort, the encouragement, and the formation
that we experience as evidence of the Spirit in us.
Grow in us an unquenchable desire for you.
Transform us. Make us new in you.
May we daily grow to be more like you.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
— Worship Sourcebook Edition Two
585

With Grateful Heart My Thanks I Bring

Tune Information

Name
SOLID ROCK
Key
F Major
Meter
8.8.8.8.8.8.8

Recordings

585

With Grateful Heart My Thanks I Bring

Hymn Story/Background

Similar to Psalm 18, Psalm 138 is a song of thanksgiving for God's saving acts–especially against enemies. After praising the LORD for answering prayer, the psalmist expresses a desire that all the kings of earth be moved to add their praise to God; they too should see the greatness of God's glory. Even though the LORD is "on high," God does not identity with the proud but looks favorably on the lowly. God's deliverance of the psalmist is an example of this care. The psalmist professes confidence in God's continued care and commits the future to the LORD in a closing prayer. Based on Psalm 138, this versification (slightly altered) is from the 1912 Psalter.
 
The Sunday school hymn writer William B. Bradbury composed SOLID ROCK in 1863 for Edward Mote's "My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less." The tune name derives from that song's refrain: "On Christ, the solid rock, I stand…” Bradbury published SOLID ROCK in his 1864 children's collection The Golden Censor. The tune exhibits a bar form (AAB) with a coda added to its final line, allowing a repeat of the final phrase in the versification. The final line was originally the refrain line in Mote's gospel hymn. SOLID ROCK is well-suited to singing in harmony; festival use of instruments other than organ heightens the thanksgiving mood of the psalm text.
— Bert Polman

Author Information

The 1912 Psalter was the first ecumenical psalter published in the United States and the most widely used metrical psalter of the twentieth century in North America. The United Presbyterian Church invited all other Reformed and Presbyterian denominations to join them in the effort to provide a new versifications of the psalms; six Presbyterian denominations, as well as the Christian Reformed Church and the Reformed Church in America joined in the effort in revising the 1887 Psalter (whose texts actually dated back to the 1871 Book of Psalms; the 1887 edition had added music to the texts.).  The 1912 Psalter included all the psalms in 413 settings, eight doxologies, and the three Lukan canticles (Song of Mary, Song of Zechariah, and Song of Simeon).
— Bert Polman and Jack Reiffer

Composer Information

William B. Bradbury (b. York, ME, 1816; d. Montclair, NJ, 1868) came from a musical family who encouraged him from an early age to learn to play various musical instruments. In 1830 his family moved to Boston. There he studied singing with Lowell Mason and sang in Mason's Bowdoin Street Church choir. In 1841 Bradbury moved to Brooklyn, New York, and became the organist at the Baptist Tabernacle in New York City. He organized children's singing classes, which developed into annual singing festivals and stimulated the teaching of music in the New York public schools. In 1854 William joined his brother Edward and a German piano maker to begin a piano firm, which became the Bradbury Piano Company. Bradbury wrote or edited sixty collections of popular music and edited and published numerous song books, including The Psalmodist (1844) and Golden Shower of Sunday School Melodies (1862). He is sometimes known as "the father of Sunday school hymnody."
— Bert Polman
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