We Praise Thee, O God
We Praise Thee, O God
We praise Thee, O God, our Redeemer, Creator
In grateful devotion our tribute we bring;
We lay it before Thee, we kneel and adore Thee,
We bless Thy holy Name, glad praises we sing.
We worship Thee, God of our fathers, we bless Thee
Thru life’s storm and tempest our Guide hast Thou been;
When perils o’ertake us, escape Thou wilt make us,
And with Thy help, O Lord, our battles we win.
With voices united our praises we offer
To Thee, great Jehovah, glad anthems we raise;
Thy strong arm will guide us, our God is beside us,
To Thee, our great Redeemer, forever be praise!
FROM HER STUDENT YEARS, Julia Cady wrote Christian poems and songs. Her father, a prominent architect, was also a longtime Sunday school superintendent at New York City’s Church of the Covenant.
When Julia was in her twenties, the organist at Brick Presbyterian Church asked her to write new words for a traditional Dutch Thanksgiving hymn. She produced “We Praise Thee, O God,” and the new words were sung for Thanksgiving at both Brick Presbyterian and her home church.
The original Dutch hymn goes back to the 1600s. The familiar words “We Gather Together to Ask the Lord’s Blessing” are an English rendering of a German version of the Dutch original. Julia Cady Cory’s words express the same theme of thanks for God’s blessings, but in a fresh way.
O nations of the world, recognize the Lord, recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong. Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come into his presence. Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor.
1 Chronicles 16:28-29
From the book
