Psalm 105:23-44 chanted in the Sarum Use by Sarah James

Themes: An exhortation to praise God for his wondrous works, his goodness to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to Joseph in Egypt, to Israel in Egypt, to Moses in the same land, the plagues sent on the Egyptians, the deliverance of the Israelites out of Egypt, how he supported them in the wilderness, and brought them into Canaan. We find several verses of this psalm in 1 Chronicles 16, from which it is evident that David was the author of the principal part of it: but it was probably enlarged and sung at the restoration of the people from the Babylonian captivity. The hallelujah which terminates the preceding psalm, is made the title of this by the Vulgate, Septuagint, Ethiopic, and Arabic: but it has no title either in the Hebrew or Chaldee. The Syriac considers it a paraphrase on the words, "Fear not, Jacob, to go down into Egypt; and teach us spiritually not to fear when we are obliged to contend with devils; for God is our shield, and will fight for us." Psalm 105 is a history of God's dealings with Abraham and his posterity, till their settlement in the promised land. (From the Adam Clarke Commentary, 1831)

In Judaism: Psalm 105 is recited on the first day of Passover. Verses 8-10 are part of the paragraph recited in the naming of a boy at a brit milah (male circumcision). Verses 8 and 42 are found separately in the repetition of the Amidah (the Standing Prayer) on Rosh Hashanah, which is the Jewish New Year. (Wikipedia)

In Christianity: Mary, the mother of Jesus, is recorded in Luke 1:72-73 as having quoted verses 8-9 of Psalm 105, with her words being: “To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; the oath which he sware to our father Abraham.” (Wikipedia)

Nine hundred years ago, the Cathedral of Salisbury, England developed a unique form of chant and liturgy known as the “Use of Salisbury,” or “Sarum Use.” Differences from the Roman rite are both melodic (more florid in the Sarum) and textual (Elizabethan English rather than Latin). The best repository of Sarum Use tones is the St. Dunstan's Plainsong Psalter, from which Sarah has sung this psalm. Additional resources on Sarum Use plainsong at https://canticasacra.org.

“Israel in Egypt, an oil on canvas (1867) by Edward Poynter, is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. It is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1926.