The Revised Common Lectionary designates either Psalm 27 or Psalm 93 as the psalm for Ascension Sunday so our Sunday school class looked at both of them on March 30. The psalms are both about God’s reign, but focus on different demonstrations of that reign.
Psalm 93 is about creation, using the image of conquering the primeval water found in Genesis. Not only are the waters unable to move the world God established (v. 1) or his throne (v. 2), the majesty of its waves pales in comparison to majesty of the Lord (vv. 3-4). This brief psalm concludes by declaring that God’s decrees, like his reign, are “very sure” and his holiness, evident in creation, adorn his temple “for endless days” (v. 5).
In Psalm 47, the reign of God is demonstrated through subduing and ruling over “the nations,” perhaps referring specifically to Israel’s conquering the Promised Land under Joshua. The psalm is filled with calls to worship with by clapping, singing, shouting, and sounding a trumpet (maybe in reference to Jericho). The language of verse 5 (“God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of trumpet”) suggests the psalm’s use for celebrating Jesus’ Ascension.
The only Psalm 47 setting that appears in Lift Up Your Hearts is “Nations, Clap Your Hands” (PFAS #47E/LUYH #216/PH87 #47) which is set to GENEVAN 47. According to the Psalter Hymnal Handbook, “Cor Wm. Barendrecht originally versified this psalm in an unrhymed text in 1980; the Psalter Hymnal Revision Committee added rhyme and recast a number of lines to arrive at the current versification.” Each of the three stanzas consists of five rhyming couplets.
Nations, clap your hands; shout with joy, you lands.
Awesome is the LORD; spread his fame abroad.
He rules every land with a mighty hand.
God brings nations low; he subdues each foe.
From his mighty throne God protects his own.
Psalms for All Seasons has four other hymn settings of Psalm 47.
“Clap Your Hands, O Faithful People!” (PFAS #47A) is set to NETTLETON (“Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”) with lyrics by Michael Morgan, lyricist of our class theme song “Trees” (PFAS #I), “All on Earth and All in Heaven” (PFAS #29A/LUYH #922), and “O Shepherd, Hear and Guide Your Flock” (PFAS #80C/LUYH #64). (He is credited with 23 songs found in PFAS and 16 in LUYH.) The hymn is a loose versification of the psalm. It’s the probably the best of the PFAS settings for congregational singing.
We enjoyed the three other settings in PFAS although each would require a song leader or choir for us to use in worship.
“God Has Gone Up” (PFAS #47B) has a chorus focusing on Ascension (“God has gone up with a shout of rejoicing: he has ascended in glory! O clap your hands, clap your hands all you people: he has ascended in glory!”) and an explicitly Christological final stanza. A sample is here.
“Clap You Hands, All Ye Nations” (PFAS #47C) has a catchy syncopated rhythm. Its refrain focuses on God’s being “King over all the earth.”
“Clap Your Hands, All You Nations” (PFAS #47D) has lyrics by Gren Scheer set to a Yoruba folk song. It has a call-and-response format; the leader’s part is written as a descant.
A strange omission from the new hymnals is “Clap Your Hands” (PH87 #166/SWM #2), which is on my list of notable psalm hymns in the gray Psalter Hymnal that were left out of Lift Up Your Hearts. It’s a lively canon (with up to four parts) based on the first verse of Psalm 47. I don’t understand why it didn’t even make Psalm for All Seasons.
Clap your hands, all you people;
shout unto God with a voice of triumph!
Clap your hands, all you people;
shout unto God with a voice of praise!
Sing with Me includes a second, Ascension-based stanza by Bert Polman.
Clap your hands, all you people;
Christ has ascended into heaven!
Clap your hands, all you people;
Christ has ascended with shouts of joy!
We enjoyed singing this in a round and I expect to use the Sing with Me version during our Ascension Sunday service (and likely none of the others—there are just too many good Ascension songs from which to choose).
Sing! A New Creation includes another Psalm 47 song, “Clap Your Hands All You Nations” (SNC #156), an Iona Community song by John Bell. A sample is here. The first two lines are use in Psalm for All Seasons’ responsorial setting “Clap Your Hands All You Nations” (PFAS #47E).
The blue Psalter Hymnal contains two Psalm 47 settings: “Praise the Lord, Ye Lands” (PH57 #86) and “All Nations, Clap Your Hands” (PH57 #87).
The CRC hymnals contain only three hymn settings of Psalm 93, with just one in the two new hymnals. “Robed in Majesty” (PFAS #93A/LUYH #546) has modern lyrics set to the frequently used tune SALZBURG. [SALZBURG is the tune of three additional songs in Lift Up Your Hearts: “Songs of Thankfulness and Praise” (LYUH #104/PH87 #361), “God, You Call Us to This Place” (LUYH #531/SNC #14), and “At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing” (LUYH #832)].
Robed in majesty, he reigns,
sovereign from eternity;
praise the Lord, the God of strength,
robed in awesome majesty.
Firm and sure the world will stand;
here the Maker’s power is shown—
yet, predating even time,
firmer, surer stands his throne.
Neither of the Psalm 93 settings in the gray Psalter Hymnal were included in Lift Up Your Hearts. “The LORD in King” (PH87 #172) was versified for the gray Psalter Hymnal by Clarence Walhout and set to GENEVAN 93. “The LORD is King, Enthroned” (PH87 #93/PH57 #184) is from the 1912 Psalter, where it was titled “Jehovah Sits Enthroned.” It is set to RIALTO.
The responsorial setting is “Every Since the World Began” (PFAS #93B).
(This is the 23rd post in my continuing series on the Psalms for All Seasons Sunday school class I co-teach with Andrew Friend. Each week we sing psalm settings from Psalms for All Seasons, Lift Up Your Hearts, and other CRC hymnals. Previous posts is the series focused on Psalm 121, Psalm 122, Psalms 2/99, Psalm 72, Psalm 95, Psalm 147, Psalm 112, Psalm 29, Psalm 40, Psalm 23, Psalm 27, Psalm 130, Psalm 15, Psalm 51, Psalm 6, Psalm 32, Psalm 143, Psalms 38/102, Psalm 31, Psalm 116, Psalm 16, Psalm 22, and Psalm 118.)