We Will Praise You

Psalm 8 supplies the opening praise: "Oh Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth." Micah Stampley adds the line "Your mercy endureth forevermore," which is the refrain of Psalm 136, and a list of qualities to sing about, "Your righteousness, Your glory and Your faithfulness." The next line says God is "highly exalted, reign above the earth."

The congregation takes over with action. "Singing and dancing, we are clapping our hands to You, Lord, our hearts are rejoicing, together we bless Your great name," close to the clapping of Psalm 47:1 and the dancing of Psalm 149:3. A wordless "na na" chorus follows, always ending on the phrase "we will praise Your name."

The second half of the song becomes a chant. "We will praise You" is repeated three times, then "forever we will praise Your name, Lord," and the same pattern is repeated with "we will worship." The arrangement ends with a bracketed note to repeat, and there is little narrative, so the song is mainly an invitation to join in sung praise.