Psalter Hymnal (Gray) ‎#242

242. Come, All You People, Praise Our God

1 Come, all you people, praise our God
and tell his glorious works abroad,
who holds our souls in life;
he never lets our feet be moved
and, though our faith he often proved,
upholds us in the strife.

2 We come with offerings to his house,
and here we pay the solemn vows
we uttered in distress;
to him our all we dedicate,
to him we wholly consecrate
the lives his mercies bless.

3 Come, listen, all who fear the Lord,
while I with grateful heart record
what God has done for me;
I cried to him in deep distress,
and now his wondrous grace I bless,
for he has set me free.

Text Information

• First Line: Come, all you people, praise our God
• Title: Come, All You People, Praise Our God
• Meter: 886 D
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1987
• Scripture:
  Psalm 66:8-20
• Topic: Commitment & Dedication; Opening of Worship; Freedom; Mercy; Offering; Pilgrimage & Conflct
• Source: Psalter, 1912

Tune Information

• Name: ADOWA
• Composer: Charles H. Gabriel, 1856-1932
• Meter: 886 D
• Key: G Major

Text Information:

Scripture References:
st.1 = Ps. 66:8-12
st.2 = Ps. 66:13-15
st.3 = Ps. 66:16-20

Though this versification is based on Psalm 66:8-20, it doesn’t incorporate the strong literary images of the biblical text (66). Still, “Come, All You People” does pick up significant themes common to praise psalms: praise God for deliverance (st.1), fulfillment of vows and dedication to God’s service (st.2), and public testimony to God’s salvation and care (st.3). Stanzas 1 and 2 use the plural case, calling all people to communal and consecrated worship of God, and stanza 3 uses the singular, relating the psalmist’s personal experience with God for the benefit of “all who fear the Lord.”

The versification (altered) is from the 1912 Psalter and originally began with the words “Come, all ye people, bless our God.” See PHH 66 for other comments on Psalm 66.

Liturgical Use:
Beginning of worship; offering of gifts, times of turmoil; thanksgiving for deliverance.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Tune Information:

ADOWA was composed by Charles H. Gabriel (PHH 24), the noted gospel songwriter, during the Billy Sunday-Homer Rodeheaver evangelistic crusades of the 1910s, and was published with this text in the 1912 Psalter. Sing the tune in two very long phrases.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook