This page is provided so that you can hear the tunes of items which we use in church. Mostly they are written by the vicar. Please note that they are copyright - we are very happy to give permission to you to use them, but we would like to hear about it. Please include any use on your Christian Copyright Licence returns.
Down this page:
- the words,
- the story,
- the sheet music,
- media player.
Sing to God new songs of praise
Sing to God new songs of praise
Sing to God new songs of praise,
write new tunes and find new rhymes,
His right hand and holy ways
bring him vic'try for all times.
He has made salvation known
to all people everywhere:
all can come before his throne,
find his mercy, love and care.
Shout for joy from early dawn!
Let the world erupt in song!
Clash the cymbals, sound the horn,
strum the harp and strike the gong.
Let the trumpets reach new heights.
Let the bass vibrate the floor.
Praise the Lord through days and nights.
Praise the Lord for evermore.
Let the ocean waves resound.
Let dry land cry out, rejoice!
Mountain heights and depths profound
shake the earth and lift your voice.
Let the rivers clap their hands!
God will come to judge the earth:
righteousness before him stands,
he will judge with love and truth.
Words copyright © John Hartley 2008. All rights reserved.
Based on Psalm 98.
Story behind the song
This song is a simple attempt to express Psalm 98, Cantate Domino, in metrical form. I have always been impressed by Michael Baughen's "Sing to God new songs of worship" (Mission Praise 600) to the tune of Beethoven's Ode to Joy, and I originally conceived of writing something similar.
However, when I looked at the text in an attitude of leisure and reflection, I began to see that what is often thought of as a kind of "standard hymn" psalm of praise actually has more overtones of pop-music bands than it does of traditional church organs. Phrases like "the blast of the ram's horn", words like "shout" instead of "sing" (in verses 4 and 6), and the obvious percussion effects of the noises of sea, rivers and mountains (in verses 7-8) indicate something more than just singing and making melodies - so I decided I should include some words which suggested going beyond what a standard church organ might do.
The hymn can be sung to many tunes of the appropriate metre (7.7.7.7.7.7.7.7), but I don't feel I have found the ideal tune for it yet. (For that reason I haven't linked a tune to this page.)
Possible tunes (from Cyberhymnal) seem to be:
Ayer
Benevento
Culford
Guide
Honiton
Hubert
Ives
Leyden
Mary Magdalene (Sullivan)
St Edmund (Steggall)
... and so on.
John Hartley.
Windows Media Player. When you click the left-hand "play" button your computer should have started to play the tune. If it didn't, you might be able to get the tune by clicking here, or by right-clicking the link, choosing "save target as", saving it onto your computer, and then opening it with a music-playing program.
Please remember that a midi file of a tune isn't supposed to be a state-of-the-art musical arrangement - it is only supposed to give a basic idea of how the tune goes. Any reasonable organist / keyboard player / music group could make it sound far better.