GENEVAN 43 was first published in the 1551 edition of the Genevan Psalter. Claude Goudimel (PHH 6) harmonized it in 1564. Though Goudimel usually placed the melody of his harmonizations in the tenor, which was typical of that time, he placed the melody of this one in the soprano, which was later to become the new style of writing for congregational singing. Each of the six phrases has its own delicate rhythm; the last two phrases should be sung as one long line. The mood should shift from a somber treatment in stanza 1 to increasingly joyful strains in stanzas 2 and 3.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook