Continuing with Gaither selections in my series Then Sings My Soul: The Hymns of My Youth, I’ve picked one of the simpler ones, though it is still very well-known. In looking up the words after many years, I realize why I didn’t remember the verses — the entire song is no longer than what I remembered. Recalling the criticism of the 80’s and early 90’s about “repetitive” worship songs, I wonder if the critics really considered some of what had been in their own repertoire. Of this song, Gloria Gaither writes:
Bill and I received a letter not long ago that said, I don’t understand your song ‘Let’s Just Praise the Lord.’ Why do you say ‘just’? That doesn’t make any sense to me–just praise the Lord.
That same week there was a letter from a young mother who had buried their nine-year-old daughter a few days before. She said, “Our daughter was with us at your concert a year ago, and we sang together as a family with you, ‘Let’s Just Praise the Lord.’ I didn’t fully realize then why you say ‘Just’, but I do now. Sometimes we just go on praising the Lord, when there’s nothing else to do.”
Of interest is the observation that so many hymns and spiritual songs don’t have any significant depth of meaning when they are void of certain contexts. But in these contexts — the original and many similar ones — the song or hymn takes on new depths of significance, of encouragement, of comfort, even of healing.
Let’s just praise the Lord
Let’s just praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Let’s just lift our hearts to heaven
And praise the Lord!
Subscribe Posts
March 30th, 2009 at 8:48 am
That’s funny, I am a friend of Gloria (took a songwriting class from her in college), but I grew up in a Charismatic tradition, and we always substituted the word “hands” for “hearts” in the 3rd line.
Looking back, I can see that hearts indeed must have been the original word in the ChoG Anderson, IN tradition.
October 16th, 2009 at 9:28 am
There actually are verses to this song, but they aren’t often sung. And the version I downloaded from Song Select does say “hands” instead of “hearts”. I think some of the more traditional churches may have substituted “hearts” for fear of becoming identified as “charismatic” or something. (What a shame, since the Bible clearly tells us to lift our hands as a sacrifice of praise!…Psalm 141:2. (Also see Psalm 63:4, Psalm 134:2) Here are the verses:
We thank You for Your kindness
We thank You for Your love,
We’ve beein in heav’nly places
felt blessings from above
We’ve been shrain all the good things,
the fam’ly can afford,
let’s just turn our praise t’ward heaven
and praise the Lord.
(chorus)
Just the precious name of Jesus
is worthy of our praise,
Let us bow our knee before Him,
our hands to heaven raise;
/