Psalm 104
Words by Robert Grant, 1779-1838
Music Arranged from J. Michael Haydn, 1737-1806
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Man is basically a religious though unregenerate being. In
all human life there is a consciousness of a supreme
power. Even the most primitive savage is a religious being
as he attempts to fulfil his duties to the invisible
powers he senses about him. Since the beginning of
recorded time, music has always had a unique association
with man's worship experiences.
The word "worship" is a contraction of an old expression
in the English language, "woerth-scipe," denoting the
ascription of reverence to an object of superlative worth.
A more theological definition of worship is given as
follows: "An act by a redeemed man, the creature, toward
God, his creator, whereby his will, intellect and emotions
gratefully respond to the revelation of God's person
expressed in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, as the
Holy Spirit illuminates the written Word to his heart."
This hymn, written and published in 1833 in a hymnal
entitled Christian Psalmody, is one of the finest from the
early nineteenth century Romantic Era. It has often been
called a model hymn for worship. It has few equals in
expressive lyrics in the exaltation of the Almighty. Each
of the epithets applied to God-King, Shield, defender,
Ancient of Days, Maker, Redeemer, Friend-as well as the
vivid imagery-such as, "His chariots of wrath the deep
thunderclouds form" and the references to His
attributes-power, might, grace, bountiful care, love-all
combine to describe with literary eloquence and spiritual
warmth the majesty and praise-worthiness of our God.
Sir Robert Grant was born into a setting of high political
life in Bengal, India, in 1779. His father, Charles, was a
respected ranking leader in India and a director of the
East India Company. Later he became a member of the
British Parliament from Scotland. He was also a zealous
leader in the evangelical wing of the Anglican Church.
Robert, too, became active in business and politics and
eventually was appointed Governor of Bombay in 1834. Like
his father, Robert was a devout and deeply spiritual lay
evangelical Christian all of his life. Though involved in
secular and political pursuits, Robert Grant maintained a
strong interest in the missionary outreach of the church
throughout his lifetime. He was greatly loved by the
people of India, who established a lasting memorial there
in the form of a medical college bearing his name.
In 1839, a year after his death in India, his brother,
Charles, had twelve of Robert's poems published in a
little volume entitled Sacred Poems. Although several of
these poem hymns received some acceptance, only this text
is still in common usage in most hymnals today.
The tune for this hymn, "Lyons," first appeared in the
second volume of William Gardiner's Sacred Melodies,
London, 1815, where it was attributed to Haydn. However,
there is an uncertainty, since in other works by these two
Austrian brother musicians, Franz Joseph and the younger
Johann Michael, there are several songs that begin with
this same melody but none which compares exactly with
Gardiner's adaptation. The first use of this tune in the
United States was in 1818 in a collection entitled Sacred
Melodies by Oliver Shaw.
Haydn is also the composer of the hymn, "The Day of
Resurrection".
Also from William Gardiner's collection is the hymn,
"Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness".
"Worship renews the spirit as sleep renews the body."
Richard Clarke Cabot
"Worship is transcendent wonder."
Thomas Carlyle
"It is only when men begin to worship that they begin to
grow."
Calvin Coolidge
"Worship is the act of rising to a personal, experimental
consciousness of the real presence of God which floods the
soul with joy and bathes the whole inward spirit with
refreshing streams of life."
Rufus Matthew Jones
"If Socrates would enter the room we should rise and do
him honor. But if Jesus Christ came into the room we
should fall down on our knees and worship Him."
Napoleon Bonaparte
Quoted from "101 Hymn Stories" by Kenneth Osbeck. Kregel Publishers, P.O. Box 2607, Grand Rapids, MI 49501, 1982.
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