image from Diocese of Leeds website
Today’s hymn from Sing Praise is “O Praise the Lord of Heaven” by Timothy Dudley-Smith. The set tune (Vicar’s Close) was unfamiliar, but John sang it to the better known tune (or one of them) to “At the Name of Jesus”, which fits the mood of the hymn well.
The words are based on Psalm 148, one of the most positive psalms, in that unlike many of them there is no lamenting one’s problems or condemnation of enemies, just praise of God. The hymn follows the psalm in calling on all levels of creation to praise their maker, from angels to stars and moon, oceans, fields, all manner of animals (but not plants: did the Hebrews not consider plants to be living beings?) as well as people at all levels of society from princes to maidens, old and young. Even the smallest creatures and the people at the bottom of society’s pyramid are invited “High above all heavens [to] magnify his name!”
Later this week I intend to visit Wakefield Cathedral to visit their temporary art installation ‘Gaia’, a 7-metre diameter globe covered with satellite imagery of the entire earth’s surface. Part of Wakefield Council’s wider ‘Festival of the Earth’, it’s intended to stimulate reflection and prayer on “awe for the planet, a profound understanding of the interconnection of all life, and a renewed sense of responsibility for taking care of the environment.” I think that’s what the Psalmist was getting at. Although humanity’s understanding of the nature of the created world and its relationship to its maker has developed a long way since then, the basic idea still holds true, that if we understand ourselves to be part of a much wider created universe, in such a way that our actions affect the well-being of other creatures and even the weather, we will consider those actions more carefully. And at the present time that is more vital than ever.
Yes to all Stephen says. I couldn’t get my head around the Malcolm Archer tune with its characteristic descent to the subdominant in line 6 – I think the public responds better to a hymn tune in which the echoes of the opening phrase are close echoes rather than distant echoes. I suppose it’s possible that Timothy Dudley-Smith had “Vicar’s Close” in mind when he wrote it, but I doubt it (I have shared my recollections of Timothy’s feelings about tunes elsewhere on Stephen’s Blog).
Psalm 148 is the text for “Praise the Lord, ye heavens adore him”, but strangely the middle part of the psalm is missing in that 2-verse hymn, and I welcome Timothy writing a version which properly includes the middle of the psalm in his hymn. I guess the only line that causes me to wonder about possibilities of revision is verse 3 lines 1-2, where Timothy has changed to a passive voice in order to use the word “told” as a rhyme for “old”. I can’t instantly suggest a fix here, but I’d have liked the active voice to continue.
Princes and all nations
join with Israel’s fold:
praise him, men and maidens,
praise him, young and old. …