The God of Abraham Praise
{{Infobox musical composition
| name = The God of Abraham Praise
| type =
| image =
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| composer =
| genre = Hymn
| occasion =
| text = Daniel ben Judah, paraphrased by Thomas Olivers
| language =
| written = 1770
| based_on = {{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Exodus|chapter=3|verse=6}}
| meter = 6.6.8.4 D
| melody = "Leoni" by Myer Lyon
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{{italic title}}
The God of Abraham Praise is a Christian adaptation of the well known Jewish hymn "Yigdal", loosely translated and Christianised by the evangelist Thomas Olivers after a visit to the Great Synagogue of London in 1770. It was first published in 1772. The title of the hymn was based on a verse in the Book of Exodus: "I am the God of thy Father, the God of Abraham".
History
Olivers worked with John Wesley during the time that "The God of Abraham Praise" was written. During the time, he often met with members of London's Jewish community. In 1772, Olivers was attending The Great Synagogue in London and heard Cantor Myer Lyon sing "Yigdal" in Hebrew during a service. Olivers then paraphrased and translated "Yigdal" into English and gave the hymn more of a Christian focus.{{cite web|url=http://www.hymnary.org/text/the_god_of_abraham_praise_who_reigns |title=The God of Abraham Praise |publisher=Hymnary |access-date=2015-05-05}} He then asked Lyon if he could use the Jewish melody for the new hymn. Lyon gave him the music and Olivers named this hymn tune "Leoni" after Lyon. When he showed the new hymn to a friend, he annotated each line with scriptural references from The Bible.{{cite book | first =Robert | last =Morgan | title =Then Sings My Soul Special Edition: 150 of the World's Greatest Hymn Stories | publisher =Thomas Morgan Inc. | year = 2010| isbn = 141857824X | page = 13}}
"The God of Abraham Praise" was first published as a leaflet titled "A Hymn to the God of Abraham" in 1772. It was later published nationwide by Wesley in the Methodist hymnal "Sacred Harmony". The hymn later made it to the United States after being published in Joshua Leavitt's "The Christian Lyre". The hymn was composed by Olivers with thirteen verses however later reprints of the hymn omit a number of them with the majority of hymn books using four verses.
In the early 20th century in the United States, "The God of Abraham Praise" was often confused with "Praise To the Living God", another translation of "Yigdal" by Max Landsberg and Newton Mann. Several Presbyterian, Baptist and UCC hymnals misattributed "The God of Abraham Praise" to them instead of Olivers due to William Gannett recasting the work to change the title from "Praise to the Living God" to "The God of Abraham Praise". A number of versions of Methodist hymnals also made the same error until the 1980s.{{cite book | first =Malcolm | last =Doubles | title =The Seduction of the Church: How the Concern to Create Gender-Neutral Language in Bible and Song Is Being Misused to Betray Members' Faith | publisher =Wipf and Stock Publishers | year = 2010| isbn = 1630876305 | pages = 88-90}}
Interfaith dialogue
The Judeo-Christian context of "The God of Abraham Praise" has caused the hymn to be used in interfaith services between Jews and Christians.{{cite book | first =Bud | last =Heckman | title =Interactive Faith: The Essential Interreligious Community-Building Handbook | publisher =SkyLight Paths Publishing | year = 2010| isbn = 1594732736 | page = 86}} It has been referred to as "the hymn born in a synagogue".{{cite web|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/1991/issue31/3119.html |title=The Hymn Born in a Synagogue |publisher=Christianity Today |date=1991-01-07 |access-date=2015-05-05}}
Text and score
\relative c' {
\language "english"
\key f \minor
\time 4/2
\autoBeamOff
\set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t
\tempo 2 = 100
\partial 2 c2 |
f2 g af bf |
c1. af2 |
bf2 c df ef |
c1. g2 |
af2 bf c df |
ef2 g, af df |
c1 bf |
af1. af4( bf) |
c2 c c c |
bf1. af4( g) |
f4( g) af( bf) c2 f, |
e1. c2 |
f2 g af bf |
c2 bf4( c) df2 c4( bf) |
af1 g f1. \bar "|."
}
\addlyrics {
The |
God of A -- braham |
praise, who |
reigns en -- throned a -- |
bove, An -- |
cient of ev -- er |
last -- ing days, And |
God of |
love. Je __ -- |
ho -- vah! Great I |
AM! By __ |
earth __ and __ heaven con -- |
fessed; I |
bow and bless the |
sa -- cred __ name For __ |
ev -- ver |
blessed.
}
See also
- {{format link|Yigdal#In Christian hymnals}}
References
{{reflist|refs=
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{{DEFAULTSORT:God of Abraham Praise}}
Category:British Christian hymns