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All Creatures of Our God and King
Psalm 148 · Psalm 150 · with All Creatures of Our God and King
All Creatures of Our God and King — St. Francis of Assisi, c. 1225; translated by William H. Draper (published 1926; public domain in the US); tune LASST UNS ERFREUEN, 1623. Its roots: the two great praise psalms, 148 and 150.
Francis’s canticle over the two psalms it sings — heaven and earth, sun and moon, dragons and deeps, kings and children, trumpet and timbrel — everything that hath breath, praising. Sung by a congregation.
Psalm 148
Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights.
Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.
Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.
Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.
He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.
Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:
Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word:
Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars:
Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl:
Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth:
Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children:
Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.
He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the LORD.
Psalm 150
Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.
Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.
Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.
Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
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Music: “All Creatures of Our God and King” sung by the Vallejo Drive Church congregation, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY 3.0. The hymn is St. Francis’s (c. 1225), in William Draper’s translation, public domain.