The Chandos Anthems by Georg Frideric Handel (1685-1759) are among the hidden gems of sacred music. Here is a setting of selected verses of Psalm 95. Psalm 95 is an exhortation to sing and praise God for all He is and all that He does. For this work Handel uses five verses from Psalm 95 and adds to them selected verses of similar sentiment from other psalms. The verses used by Handel are underneath the recording link below or can be downloaded by clicking here.
Find 30 minutes today to relax, listen to this psalm, and meditate on all that God has done for you, especially by redeeming you and giving you eternal victory through His Son Jesus Christ. Having buried my father yesterday with my family and “a great cloud of witnesses,” the verse that especially strikes me today is from Movement 7:
The Lord preserveth the souls of the saints,
he shall deliver them from the hand of the ungodly.
Thanks be to God!
Chandos Anthem No. 8 – “O Come, Let Us Sing unto the Lord”
Georg Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
- Sinfonia: Andante/Allegro
- Chorus (Psalm 95:1-3)
O come, let us sing unto the Lord,
let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,
and show ourselves glad in Him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods. - Tenor (Psalm 95:6-7)
O come, let us worship, and fall down,
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For He is the Lord our God
and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. - Chorus (Psalm 96:6)
Glory and worship are before Him,
power and honor are in His sanctuary. - Tenor and Chorus (Psalm 96:10)
Tell it out among the heathen, that the Lord is King,
and that He made the world so fast it cannot be moved. - Soprano (Psalm 99:9)
O magnify the Lord, and worship Him upon His holy hill,
for the Lord our God is holy. - Alto (Psalm 97:10)
The Lord preserveth the souls of the saints,
he shall deliver them from the hand of the ungodly. - Tenor (Psalm 103:11)
For look, as high as the heaven is, in comparison of the earth,
so great is His mercy towards them that fear Him. - Chorus (Psalm 97:11-12a)
There is sprung up a light for the righteous,
and joyful gladness, for such as are true hearted.
Rejoice, in the Lord, ye righteous.
From The Book of Common Prayer (1662).
Downloadable Text: Meditating upon Psalm 95 – Handel (Chandos Anthem No 8)
Chandos Anthems by Handel on www.sheetmusicplus.com.
