With All the Power of Heart and Tongue
79

Text: Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
Music: Lowell M. Durham (1917–1992; LDS)
Tune name: PRAISE

When we praise the Lord with “all the power of heart,” as well as with our tongues, the angels themselves approve our hymn and join their voices with ours. So states this fine, psalmlike hymn text. The first verse declares our intention of singing with all our hearts a prayer of praise, and verses two and three carry out that pledge.

This text is based on Psalm 138. Many of the psalm paraphrases of Isaac Watts follow their original much more closely than this one does; for example, compare “Praise Ye the Lord” (no. 74) with Psalm 146. “With All the Power of Heart and Tongue” conveys the spirit, rather than the verse-by- verse message, of Psalm 138.

Some of the wording of verse two may be difficult to understand. Its meaning is more or less as follows: “Thy truth, thy mercy, and the wonders of thy word show thy power and glory even more than do thy works and names [titles of honor].” Verse three paraphrases Psalm 138:7: “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.”

In 1944, when Lowell Durham was a graduate student in composition at the University of Iowa, he received a letter from Tracy Y. Cannon of the Church Music Committee soliciting hymn tunes for the new hymnal. This text was among those suggested, and it attracted Lowell Durham immediately. The tune and its creation are a good example of the way in which subconscious influences hover over the task of musical composition. After he had written it, the composer realized that the opening bars somewhat resembled both a Bach chorale and the United States Navy Hymn! “Any implied ‘borrowing’ was coincidental,” he stated.

Writing in 1987, Lowell Durham called “With All the Power of Heart and Tongue” “one of the unfamiliar hymns that the Saints avoid.” Many Latter- day Saints, however, including the compiler of this book, admire this stately and appealing setting of a classic Christian hymn text. As the 1985 hymnal brings a new open- mindedness with regard to hymns that are presently unfamiliar, perhaps more worshipers will take the opportunity to learn this exciting hymn and adopt it as one of their favorites.