Toni’s Title
The Bounty of Our Savior
ESV Title
O God of Our Salvation
Literary Type
This is a community song of thanksgiving; a hymn?
Psalms of Thanksgiving
These psalms/songs praise God in response to an event of deliverance already experienced. They are songs sung by people who, after a time of waiting, have experienced the goodness of God in the everyday world. These songs come from ordinary individuals, the king (royal), or the believing community.
Examples: Psalms 30, 32, 34, 65, 67, 92, 107, 116, 124, 138 and others
Hymns
Hymns extol the glory and greatness of God as it is revealed in nature and history, and particularly in Israels’s history. Hymns praise God in general terms for his power and faithfulness as creator of the cosmos, ruler of history, and creator/redeemer of Israel to bring blessing to all the world. Israel’s hymns stress God’s active involvement in the life story of Israel. Hymns typically demonstrate motives for worshipping and praising God. A clear example is Psalm 117, the shortest psalm, just two verses:
1 O praise the Lord, all you nations; *
praise him, all you peoples.
2 For (= Hebrew ki) great is his loving-kindness towards us, *
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever.
Praise the Lord.
Hymns were used for exuberant worship in the temple and the synagogue. The people of God before the Incarnation invite us to celebrate and praise with them in hope of the kingdom of God and his Messiah. Hymns, like all psalms, show Christians how to praise God who has acted in creation, in revelation, and in redemption, and who is acting decisively in establishing his kingdom on earth. They do not ask anything; they simply rejoice in God’s presence.
Examples: Psalms 8, 19:1-6, 33, 66:1-12, 100, 103, 104, 145-150, and others
NT Prayer Guide
Rev. 4:9-11
Note that the verse numbering in the New Coverdale version below differs from the ESV.
Superscription
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
65
Te decet hymnus
1 You, O God, are to be praised in Zion, *
and unto you shall vows be performed in Jerusalem.
2 You who hear our prayer, *
unto you shall all flesh come.
3 My misdeeds prevail against me; *
O be merciful and blot out our sins.
4 Blessed is the man whom you choose and receive unto yourself; *
he shall dwell in your courts, and shall be satisfied with the pleasures of your house, even of your holy temple.
5 You shall show us wonderful things in your righteousness, O God of our salvation, *
for you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the isles that are far away.
6 You in your strength set firm the mountains, *
and are girded about with power.
7 You still the raging of the seas, *
the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the peoples.
8 Those who dwell in the uttermost parts of the earth shall be in fear of your wonders; *
you make the morning and evening to shout with joy.
9 You visit the earth and bless it; *
you make it very plenteous.
10 The river of God is full of water; *
you prepare the grain, for so you provide for the earth.
11 You water its furrows; you send rain into the little valleys; *
you make it soft with the drops of rain and bless the increase of it.
12 You crown the year with your goodness, *
and your paths overflow with plenty.
13 The fields of the wilderness are rich in pasture, *
and the little hills rejoice on every side.
14 The folds shall be full of sheep; *
the valleys also shall stand so thick with grain that they shall laugh and sing.