Nathan Partain is the Chief Musician at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, IN. Nathan has been a friend, colleague, encourager, fellow traveler, and excellent songwriter for many years now. Nathan has also written one of my favorite hymn re-writes of all time which wraps up his excellent CD “The Parlor Sessions.” Nathan’s version is very open and sparse. In worship settings we tend to lead it with a driving acoustic. I’ve used this song in every church I’ve led in…from Indiana to London and it has been a unique favorite in each context.
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The Lord is King
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1 The Lord is King! Lift up your voice,
O earth, and all ye heav’ns, rejoice!
From world to world the joy shall ring,
“The Lord omnipotent is King!”
Refrain:
Sing His praise, sing His praise
Lord of lords, Ancient of Days
Sing His praise, sing His praise
All your days, all your days.
2 The Lord is King! Who then shall dare
Resist his will, distrust his care?
Or murmur at his wise decrees,
Or doubt his royal promises?
3 The Lord is King! Bow down you must,
The Judge of all the earth is just;
Holy and true are all his ways;
Let ev’ry creature sing his praise.
4. One Lord, one kingdom, all secures;
He reigns, and life and death are yours:
Through Heav’n and earth one song shall ring,
“The Lord omnipotent is King!”
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Words: Josiah Conder, 1824; alt. by Nathan Partain, 2003
refrain: Nathan Partain, 2003
Music: Nathan Partain, 2003
*image – King David – Courtesy of the Digital Image Archive, Pitts Theology Library, Candler School of Theology, Emory University.
We do this song, too, and our congregation sings it heartily. It’s a great song! This is the first time I have seen that fourth verse.
wes, that is good to hear! thnx for the note. yea. the hymn orig. has 5 or 6 verses so i’ve added the 4th verse to our version that we do.