It is Good to Sing Your Praises

Performance Notes:

• The following article is from the Psalter Hymnal Handbook.

Text Information:

Scripture References:
st. 1 = Ps. 92:1-3
st. 2 = Ps. 92:4-11
st. 3 = Ps. 92: 12-15

This versification is a poetic summary of Psalm 92 that derives from the 1912 Psalter with minor alterations.

Tune Information:

ELLESDIE was set to this text in the 1912 Psalter and in every edition of the Psalter Hymnal. The anonymous tune (with bass line) dates from a collection of evangelistic hymns compiled by Joshua Leavitt (b. Heath, MA, 1794; d. New York, NY, 1873). After receiving a degree in law from Yale University, Leavitt worked as a teacher and lawyer. Be returned to Yale to study for the ministry and in 1825 was ordained in the Congregational Church in Stratford, Connecticut. In 1830 he began publishing The Evangelist, a weekly newspaper that printed many articles on antislavery, temperance, and religious revivals. That same year he edited and co-published The Christian Lyre, a popular shape-note tunebook.

ELLESDIE was published in the second volume of Christian Lyre (1833); there the tune was named DISCIPLE. The meaning of the tune name ELLESDIE is unclear–Robert McCutchan suggests that it stands for L.S.D., perhaps the initials of an unidentified person associated with this tune. ELLESDIE consists of four long lines in a modified rounded bar form (AA’BA’). Sing this tune in harmony with much enthusiasm.

Hubert P. Main (b. Ridgefield, CT, 1839; d. Newark, NJ, 1925) provided the harmony, first published in Winnowed Hymns (1873; that collection attributed the tune to Mozart, though no evidence supports that claim). Main came from a musical family: his father Sylvester, was a singing schoolteacher and gospel song composer who had moved to the United States from England. Although he only completed elementary school, Main was a prolific composer. Beginning at age fifteen, he produced more than a thousand hymn and anthem settings, as well as secular music. Many of his harmonizations stem from his editorial work on a variety of hymnals and his association with music publishers, including William Bradbury. He spent many years in the service of the firm that eventually became Hope Publishing Company.

Other Resources:Visit hymnary.org for more information on this song and additional resources.