How Good It Is to Thank the Lord

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How good it is to thank the Lord, And praise to thee, Most High, accord

Published in 8 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Audio files: MIDI

Piano/Organ
	A Wesley Organbook: Eight Hymn Tune Prel…

Representative Text

1 How good it is to thank the Lord,
and praise to you, Most High, accord,
to show your love with morning light,
and tell your faithfulness each night;
yea, good it is your praise to sing,
and all our sweetest music bring.

2 O Lord, with joy my heart expands
before the wonders of your hands;
great works, Jehovah, you have wrought,
exceeding deep your ev'ry thought;
a foolish man knows not their worth,
nor he whose mind is of the earth.

3 When as the grass the wicked grow,
when sinners flourish here below,
then is there endless ruin nigh,
but you, O Lord, are throned on high;
your foes shall fall before your might,
the wicked shall be put to flight.

4 The righteous man shall flourish well,
and in the house of God shall dwell;
he shall be like a goodly tree,
and all his life shall fruitful be;
for righteous is the Lord and just,
he is my rock, in him I trust.

Source: Trinity Hymnal (Rev. ed.) #635

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First Line:	How good it is to thank the Lord, And praise to thee, Most High, accord
Title:	How Good It Is to Thank the Lord
Meter:	8.8.8.8.8.8
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain

Psalm 92
(hymns)

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Notes

Praise of God for unfailing protection of those who trust in him, and a word of wisdom about the folly of the wicked and the prosperity of the righteous.

Scripture References:
st. l =vv.I-3
st. 2 = vv. 4-5
st. 3 = vv. 6-9
st. 4 = vv. 10-11
st. 5 = vv. 12-15

A joyful celebration of God's righteous rule, Psalm 92 appears to rise out of an experience of God's deliverance from enemies who took no account of God's readiness and power to protect his own (st. 4). That experience moved the psalmist to note the appropriateness of praising God's love and faithfulness (st. 1) and all that the LORD has done (st. 2). The psalmist also uses the occasion to expound on the folly of the wicked, who defy God by their actions (st. 3), and on the flourishing of the righteous, who trust in God (st. 5). In the post-exilic liturgy of the temple, Psalm 92 was sung at the time of the morning sacrifice on the Sabbath. The versification (altered) is from the 1912 Psalter. Another setting of Psalm 92 is at 171.

Liturgical Use:
Jewish use prescribes this psalm for the Sabbath service. Stanzas 1 and 2 are very fitting for the beginning of worship. Stanzas 3 and 5 focus on wisdom teaching.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook
, 1987

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Tune

ST. PETERSBURG

Dmitri Stephanovich Bortnianski (b. Gloukoff, Ukraine, 1751; d. St. Petersburg, Russia, 1825) was a Russian composer of church music, operas, and instrumental music. His tune ST. PETERSBURG (also known as RUSSIAN HYMN) was first published in J. H. Tscherlitzky's Choralbuch (1825). The tune is suppo…

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CHRISTINE (Kroeger)

MADRID (Matthews)

William Matthews (b. Ilkeston, Derbyshire, England, 1759; d. Nottingham, England, 1830) composed MADRID (not to be confused with another tune of that name associated with "Come, Christians, Join to Sing") early in the nineteenth century, but it is not clear how the tune acquired its name. Matthews w…

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