1 O bless the Lord, my
soul!
His grace to thee
proclaim!
And all that is within me
join
To bless his holy name!
2 O bless the Lord, my
soul!
His mercies bear in mind!
Forget not all his
benefits!
The Lord to thee is kind.
3 He clothes us with his
love;
Upholds us with his truth;
He heals all our
infirmities
And ransoms us from death.
4 Then bless his holy
name,
Whose grace hath made us
whole,
Whose loving kindness
crowns our days!
O bless the Lord, my soul!
Since shortly after Easter, I've been writing about the different songs from the musical "Godspell." As with last week’s song, this one is also taken from an Episcopal hymnal.
And as with last week’s song, “Save the People”, the author of the original lyrics of “Oh Bless the Lord my Soul” was a bit of a rebel. James Montgomery (1771-1854) was arrested and imprisoned not once, but twice, for sedition. Those were times when the world did not appreciate freedom of speech. He was an advocate for humanitarian causes, protesting against slavery, exploitation of child chimney sweeps, and lotteries. He wrote close to 400 hymns during his lifetime.
This song was inspired by Psalm 103.
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul;
and all that is within me, bless his holy
name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my
soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your
iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life
from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and
mercy,
5 who satisfies you with
good as long as you live
so that your youth is renewed like the
eagle’s. (from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible)
Sometimes, when I’m writing this blog, I have no words of my own to add. All that I have, all that I am (isn’t that from a different song?) is a gift from God. And all I can do is praise Him as best as can.
Thank You, oh Lord, for all of Your gifts. I have nothing without You in my life. Amen.
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| And so blessed to have shared so many adventures with these two guys. |
Here are the links to find out more and hear versions of the song:
The old hymn version of “Oh Bless
the Lord my Soul”. After hearing this, I think I’ve heard it in my own church –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vauscta8js
If you find the title familiar,
here is the song with the same title and different lyrics, written by Matt Redman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSxocnIaN0A
The version from the movie “Godspell” –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZZulHl0X4M
More about the life of James Montgomery –
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Montgomery_(poet)
And lastly, if you think the lead
singer from the Godspell version is wonderfully talented, here is some information on Lynne Thigpen, who
died too young at the age of 54.
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