Thoughts for the Day

Make a joyful noise to the Lord,
all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come into his presence with singing.

Know that the Lord is God.
It is he that made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep
of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him, bless his name.

For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures for ever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Psalm 100 or 'The Jubilate Deo' is a Canticle. Canticles have been sung for centuries by Anglican Churches at morning and evening prayer. They are psalms or songs, sometimes originating from the bible, sometimes not. The Te Deum has been sung since 1549, and as a child I could have wished it had stayed there, as it's pretty long and required three separate chants to be sung properly. I had just learnt the music for the first section when it would change and I had to learn a new tune!

However, after many years of singing the Venite (Psalm 95) which starts 'O Come let us sing to the Lord' and the Jubilate (Psalm 100) with 'O be joyful in the Lord' every Sunday morning, together with the Magnificat (Mary's words to the angel in Luke 1.46-55) at Evensong, they began to seep into my soul. As well as this many composers have based their hymns on these Canticles. Here are just a few:

Jubilate (Psalm 100): 'Let all the world in every corner sing'; 'Praise O praise our God and King'; 'Jubilate everybody'.
Venite (Psalm 95): 'Come into His presence singing Alleluia'; 'Our God is great'; 'He's got the whole world'; 'Guide me O thou great Redeemer'.
Magnificat (Luke 1.46-55): 'Tell out my soul'

We may not be able to sing these during the covid pandemic, but we can listen to them, and praise God.

Lord God,
over the centuries
You have spoken to Your people
through Your words in our Bible,
and through our songs and hymns.
We thank you for composers and musicians,
and for all who keep alive Canticles
and the hymns based on them.
Amen.