Remember Not, O God

Performance Notes:

• For performance notes on this song, see page 1084 of Psalms for All Seasons: A Complete Psalter for Worship.
• The following article is from the Psalter Hymnal Handbook.

Text Information:

Scripture References:
st.1 = Ps. 79:8
st.2 = Ps. 79:9
st.3 = Ps. 79:13

A versification of part of Psalm 79, "Remember Not, O God" comes from the 1912 Psalter with minor alterations. In lament style, this prayer asks for deliverance from sin and then vows to praise God forever.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Tune Information:

The tune GORTON derives from the second movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 23, Opus 57 (1807); however, the arranger and any significance to the tune title are unknown. GORTON was published with this versification of Psalm 79 in the 1912 Psalter. Sing this tune in parts, beginning very quietly and building to a fuller sound on each successive stanza. Try the first stanza in parts but unaccompanied after a chord or two on the organ to get the congregation started. Sing two long lines for each stanza.

A giant in the history of music, Beethoven (b. Bonn, Germany, 1770; d. Vienna, Austria, 1827) progressed from early musical promise to worldwide, lasting fame. By the age of fourteen he was an accomplished viola and organ player, but he became famous primarily because of his compositions, including nine symphonies, eleven overtures, thirty piano sonatas, sixteen string quartets, the Mass in C, and the Missa Solemnis. He wrote no music for congregational use, but various arrangers, including Gardiner, adapted some of his musical themes as hymn tunes; the most famous of these is ODE TO JOY from the Ninth Symphony. Although it would appear that the great calamity of Beethoven's life was his loss of hearing, which turned to total deafness during the last decade of his life, he composed his greatest works during this period.

Other Resources:

• Visit hymnary.org for more information on this song and additional resources.