What Shall I Render to the Lord

Performance Notes:

• For performance notes on this song, see page 1088 of Psalms for All Seasons: A Complete Psalter for Worship.
• The following article is by Merle Mustert from Reformed Worship.

Based on Psalm 116, "What Shall I Render to the Lord" paraphrases the twelfth through sixteenth verses of the psalm where the psalmist asks, "How can I repay the Lord for all of his goodness to me?"

The psalmist has been delivered from death after crying out to the Lord to save him. Now he is overwhelmed with gratitude—the very essence of the Thanksgiving season. We render to the Lord worthy thanks for our redemption, for "when we were dead in our trespasses, then Christ laid down his life for us." Consequently we rededicate ourselves to serving him more faithfully. By so doing, we engage the support of all the saints in public worship.

ROCKINGHAM was named after a former prime minister of Great Britain known as the Marquis of Rockingham. Rockingham was a friend and patron of Edward Miller who harmonized this rune when he included it in his Psalms of David for Use of Parish Churches in 1790. The hymn tune is based on a melody that was later identified as TUNBRIDGE. Miller was born in Norwich, England, in 1731 and later studied music from Charles Burney at Lynn. He spent the years from 1756 to 1807, the year of his death, as organist of Doncaster (England) Parish Church. This marvelous melody is found in most hymn books as a vehicle for Isaac Watts's famous "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross."

You may want to introduce this lovely tune and harmonization to the congregation by having the choir sing it. I advise creating your own concertato by employing a flute to introduce the melody, then having the choir quietly sing the first stanza in unison accompanied by the organ. Involve the congregation on stanzas 4 and 5 with a flute descant, created by playing the tenor part two octaves above the tenor range. This hymn would serve a church well as a response to the offering.

If you'd rather use a published arrangement for this rune, some effective concertatos (using, however, the text for "When I Survey") have been produced by Morning Star and by Concordia. The former is a setting by B. Wayne Bisbee that employs a C instrument in triple time against the tune, harmonized for a mixed choir. The latter is arranged by Bruce Saylor, accompanied only by organ but including a descant in eighth-note movement against the tune. However, I believe the finest is Sir David Willcock's four-part descant in Hymns for Choir, included here.

The alternative harmonization for organ could be played by itself for a stirring conclusion. But praise would be heightened by the addition of the four-part choral descant that overlays both the congregational singing in unison and the organ part. It would take a large choir to be heard above the congregation; a brass quartet could add support and brilliance in place of or in addition to a choir. If your congregation has neither choir nor brass, even adding piano on the descant might add a measure of brightness to conclude this psalm of dedication.

For the organist, Raymond Haan has a beautiful setting of ROCKINGHAM in Contemplative Hymn Tune Preludes (Shawnee Press HF5103). I would also advise looking at Free Organ Accompaniments to One Hundred Well-Known Hymn Tunes (J. Fischer 8175) by T. Tertius Noble, and Henry Coleman's Varied Hymn Accompaniments (Oxford Press).

Because of its lyrical nature, this is an excellent hymn to use with children. Consider involving the junior choir on one of the stanzas or using it as a song for children's worship throughout the month. Certainly the phrases are of comfortable length, and the range is excellent for youth.

Organists will also want to explore the several settings for all three of these hymns listed in the new (1994) edition of the Bibliography of Organ Music based on all the tunes in the Psalter Hymnal and Rejoice in the Lord, and compiled by Joan Ringerwole.

• The following article is from the Psalter Hymnal Handbook.

Text Information:

Scripture References:
st. 1 = Ps. 116:12
st. 2 = Ps. 116:13-14
st. 3 = Ps. 116:15-16
st. 4 = Ps. 116:17-18
st. 5 = Ps. 116:19

This setting of the second half of Psalm 116 is one of the most loved from the 1912 Psalter. The text focuses on the "vow of praise" section of this festive psalm of thanksgiving.

Liturgical Use:
Particularly suitable during the Lord's Supper (eucharista means “thanksgiving,” which is the theme of this psalm) or during the bringing of offerings (esp. st. 4).

Tune Information:

Edward Miller (b. Norwich, England, 1735; d. Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, 1807) adapted ROCKINGHAM from an earlier tune, TUNEBRIDGE, which had been published in Aaron Williams's A Second Supplement to Psalmody in Miniature (c. 1780). ROCKINGHAM has long associations in Great Britain and North America with Isaac Watts' "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" (384). The tune title refers to a friend and patron of Edward Miller, the Marquis of Rockingham, who served twice as Great Britain's prime minister.

Miller's father had made his living laying brick roads, and the young Edward became an apprentice in the same trade. Unhappy with that profession, however, he ran away to the town of Lynn and studied music with Charles Burney, the most prominent music historian of his day. A competent flute and organ player, he was organist at the parish church in Doncaster from 1756 to 1807. Miller was active in the musical life of the Doncaster region and composed keyboard sonatas and church music. His most influential publications were The Psalms of David for the Use of Parish Churches (1790), in which he sought to reform metrical psalmody (and which included ROCKINGHAM), and David's Harp(1805), an important Methodist tunebook issued by Miller with his son.

ROCKINGHAM (or ROCKINGHAM OLD) is one of the finest long-meter tunes in the history of church music and is much loved by those who sing in harmony. A slight hold (stretching rather than adding a beat) is appropriate at the end of the second phrase and helps to provide a sense of two long musical lines. Stanzas 4 and 5 need the full resources of organ and other instruments. Keep the music stately and awe-inspiring with respect to the marvelous salvation of which the text sings.

 Other Resources:

• Visit hymnary.org for more information on this song and additional resources.
• The following are alternative accompaniments for this tune, ROCKINGHAM (OLD)

Alternative Harmonization for Organ and Descant Resources:

• Archer, Malcolm. After the Last Verse. Kevin Mayhew ISBN 0 86209 502 6 [1995]
• Fedak, Alfred V. 25 More Harmonizations. Selah 160-729 [1998]
• Mawby, Colin.  Hymns for Occasions. Kevin Mayhew ISBN 0-86209-568-9 [1994]
• McKinney, Howard D. Preludes for Fifty-Five Well-Known Hymn Tunes. J. Fischer 9770 [1967]
• Noble, T. Tertius. Free Organ Accompaniments to One Hundred Well-Known Hymn Tunes. J. Fischer 8175 [1946]
• Rawsthorne, Noel. 200 Last Verses. Kevin Mayhew ISBN 0 86209 189 6 [1991]
• Shaw, Geoffrey. The Descant Hymn-Tune Book bk 1. Novello 15207
• Thiman, Eric. Varied Accompaniments to Thirty-Four Well-Known Hymn Tunes. Oxford ISBN 0 19 323210 3 [1937]
• Wilkinson, John T. One Hundred and Four Descants for “The Hymn Book”. enThusia [1980]
• Wyton, Alec. New Shoots from Old Roots. SMP KK 279 [1983]

Alternative Harmonization for Piano:

• Jefferson, Thomas W. Let It Rip! At the Piano. vol. 2 Augsburg ISBN 0-8006-7580-0 [2003]
• Porter, Rachel Trelstad. Let It Rip! At the Piano. Augsburg 11-11045 [2000]