‘Praise my soul the King of heaven’ is a paraphrase of Psalm 103 by Henry Francis Lyte, who published it in 1834. It is sung to a tune by John Goss (1800-80) which has achieved universal popularity. Unique among hymns, Goss wrote a different accompaniment to each of the four verses, each with its own variant of harmony and texture to more accurately reflect the text. Most effective is that organ pedal point on the low ‘D’ at the final ‘Praise him! Praise him!’, which would have sounded more than colossal in St Paul’s Cathedral, where Goss was organist for 30 years and during which he wrote this hymn.
Shaun Yong
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
to his feet thy tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
who like me his praise should sing?
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise the everlasting King.
Praise him for his grace and favour
to our fathers in distress;
praise him still the same for ever,
slow to chide, and swift to bless.
Praise him! Praise him!
Glorious in his faithfulness.
Father-like, he tends and spares us;
well our feeble frame he knows;
in his hands he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes.
Praise him! Praise him!
Widely as his mercy flows.
Angels, help us to adore him;
ye behold him face to face;
sun and moon, bow down before him;
dwellers all in time and space.
Praise him! Praise him!
Praise with us the God of grace.
Henry Francis Lyte (1793 – 1847)
A favourite hymn of Janet Osborne
( You may wish to surf the Internet for more information about this hymn and its composer )
