Give Thanks to God, Invoke His Name in Tonic Solfa
Give Thanks to God, Invoke His Name in Tonic Solfa to ST. FLAVIAN, doh is F: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 20 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dGive- | dthanks-t,to-dGod,-min-- | rvoke-rhis-dName,-dAnd- |
| ftell-mthe-dworld-rhis- | mgrace;-----mSound- |
| mthro'-fthe-searth-mhis- | ddeeds-rof-mfame,-mThat- |
| rall-dmay-dseek-t,his- | dface.----- |
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- Key
- F major
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (F)
- Range
- t, to s (E to C, a sixth)
- Tune
- ST. FLAVIAN
- Words
- Isaac Watts
- Music
- From Day's Psalter, 1563
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune ST. FLAVIAN (From Day's Psalter, 1563); words by Isaac Watts (1674–1748). Sources and licences.
The solfa line by line
The same solfa as plain text, a line of the hymn at a time, with the words of the first verse under it — easy to copy into your own notes or a message to the choir. To print it, download the solfa as a PDF.
Doh is F · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in F major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Give thanks to God, invoke his Name,
And tell the world his grace;
Sound thro' the earth his deeds of fame,
That all may seek his face.
His covenant, which he kept in mind
For numerous ages past,
To numerous ages yet behind,
In equal force shall last.
He sware to Abraham and his seed,
And made the blessing sure:
Gentiles the ancient promise read,
And find his truths endure.
"Thy seed shall make all nations blest,"
(Said the Almighty voice)
"And Canaan's land shall be their rest,
"The type of heavenly joys."
How large the grant! how rich the grace!
To give them Canaan's land,
When they were strangers in the place,
A little feeble band!
Like pilgrims thro' the countries round
Securely they remov'd;
And haughty kings that on them frown'd,
Severely he reprov'd.
"Touch mine anointed, and my arm
"Shall soon revenge the wrong:
"The man that does my prophets harm
Shall know their God is strong."
Then let the world forbear its rage,
Nor put the church in fear:
Israel must live thro' every age,
And be th' Almighty's care.
When Pharaoh dar'd to vex the saints,
And thus provok'd their God,
Moses was sent at their complaints,
Arm'd with his dreadful rod.
He call'd for darkness; darkness came
Like an o'erwhelming flood;
He turn'd each lake and every stream
To lakes and streams of blood.
He gave the sign, and noisome flies
Thro' the whole country spread;
And frogs, in croaking armies, rise
About the monarch's bed.
Thro' fields, and towns, and palaces,
The tenfold vengeance flew;
Locusts in swarms devour'd their trees,
And hail their cattle slew.
Then by an angel's midnight stroke,
The flower of Egypt dy'd;
The strength of every house was broke,
Their glory and their pride.
Now let the world forbear its rage,
Nor put the church in fear;
Israel must live thro' every age,
And be th' Almighty's care.
Thus were the tribes from bondage brought,
And left the hated ground;
Each some Egyptian spoils had got,
And not one feeble found.
The Lord himself chose out their way,
And mark'd their journies right,
Gave them a leading cloud by day,
A fiery guide by night.
They thirst; and waters from the rock
In rich abundance flow,
And following still the course they took,
Ran all the desert thro'.
O wondrous stream O blessed type
Of ever-flowing grace!
So Christ our rock maintains our life
Thro' all this wilderness.
Thus guarded by th' Almighty hand
The chosen tribes possest
Canaan the rich, the promis'd land,
And there enjoy'd their rest.
Then let the world forbear its rage,
The church renounce her fear;
Israel must live thro' every age,
And be th' Almighty's care.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum F and sing d r m f s up from it, so the whole choir has the key in their ears before you start.
- Pitch the first note. The tune starts on d (F), on the word “Give”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- Count the time. 4/4 means four crotchet beats in each bar. In the grid every cell is half a crotchet: a dash (–) holds the note before it, and _ is a rest.
- Know the notes. The tune uses d r m f s t. A comma after a note (s,) is the octave below; an apostrophe (d') is the octave above.
New to solfa? Read how to read Tonic Solfa and how to find the doh of a song.
About the hymn
Isaac Watts wrote these words for The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament (1719): Psalm 105, headed “God's conduct of Israel, and the plagues of Egypt”.
Watts' psalms were printed without tunes and sung to any tune of their metre, Common Metre (8.6.8.6). This page sets the words to ST. FLAVIAN; any other Common Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words (1719): Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
- Melody (1563): From Day's Psalter, 1563
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune ST. FLAVIAN (From Day's Psalter, 1563); words by Isaac Watts (1674–1748). The Open Hymnal Project publishes this tune as public domain; NoteFusion's engine wrote the solfa from its notes. The melody has not yet been checked against a printed hymn book.
Sung to the same tune: 'Twas God Who Fixed the Rolling Spheres, "How Awful Is Thy Chastening Rod!", "Now from the Roaring Lion's Rage, "O, Not for These Alone I Pray,", "To God Be Glory! Peace on Earth!", "Yet (Saith the Lord) If David's Race, A Holy Air Is Breathing Round, A Soldier's Course, from Battles Won, Afflictions, Though They Seem Severe, Again Our Earthly Cares We Leave, All Ye That Love the Lord, Rejoice, Am I a Soldier of the Cross, Amidst Thy Wrath Remember Love, And Are We Wretches Yet Alive, Arise My Soul, My Joyful Powers, Baptized into Our Saviour's Death, Bear on, My Soul! the Bitter Cross, Behold My Servant; See Him Rise, Behold the Savior of Mankind, Behold, Where, in a Mortal Form, Beneath Our Feet and O'er Our Head, Beneath the Tyrant Satan's Yoke, Blest Are the Souls That Hear and Know, Come Let Us Lift Our Voices High, Faith, Hope, and Love, Now Dwell on Earth, Father in Heaven, to Whom Our Hearts, Father of All! in Every Age, Fear Was Within the Tossing Bark, From Every Fear and Doubt, O Lord, Glory to God! Whose Witness-train, God Is a Spirit Just and Wise, God My Supporter and My Hope, God of My Childhood and My Youth, God of Our Mercy and Our Praise, Great Ruler of All Nature's Frame, Hail! Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, Heal Us, Emmanuel, Here We Are, Hear Me, O God, nor Hide Thy Face, How David, When by Sin Deceived, How Precious Is the Book Divine, How Sweet and Awful Is the Place, How Wond'rous Great, How Glorious Bright, I Hate the Tempter and His Charms, I Sing My Saviour's Wondrous Death, In the Soft Season of Thy Youth, Jesu, the Life, the Truth, the Way, Jesu, the Word of Mercy Give, Jesus, My Lord, I Cry to Thee, Jesus, with All Thy Saints Above, Let Zion and Her Sons Rejoice, Lo the Destroying Angel Flies, Lord Who Throughout These Forty Days, Lord, I Have Made Thy Word My Choice, Lord, in Whose Might the Saviour Trod, Lord, We Have Heard Thy Works of Old, Lord! Thou Art Good: All Nature Shows, Lord! We Believe a Rest Remains, My God, My Everlasting Hope, My God, My Portion, and My Love, My God, What Endless Pleasures Dwell, Nay, Tell Us Not of Dangers Dire, Not All the Outward Forms on Earth, Not for the Summer's Hour Alone, Not in the Church-yard Shall He Sleep, Now Shall My Solemn Vows Be Paid, O for an Overcoming Faith, O Jesus, King Most Wonderful, O Lord, Our Languid Souls Inspire, O Thou, to Whom All Creatures Bow, O, I Shall Envy Them No More, Of Justice and of Grace I Sing, Our Country Is Immanuel's Ground, Our Fathers, Lord, to Seek a Spot, Praise Ye the Lord; on Every Height, Rejoice, Believer, in the Lord, Sing, All Ye Nations, to the Lord, Speak Gently, — It Is Better Far, Summoned My Labour to Renew, Sweet Day! So Cool, So Calm, So Bright, Sweet Is the Prayer Whose Holy Stream, Ten Thousand Talents Once I Owed, The Dead Are Like the Stars by Day, The Lord, Descending from Above, The Prophets Sons, in Time of Old, The True Messiah Now Appears, There Is a Book, Who Runs May Read, Thou Son of God, Whose Flaming Eyes, Thus I Resolv'd Before the Lord, Thy Ceaseless, Unexhausted Love, Thy Message, by the Preacher, Seal, Thy Way Is on the Deep, O Lord, Time! What an Empty Vapor 'Tis, To Our Redeemer’s Glorious Name, When Christ to Judgment Shall Descend, When Israel Was from Egypt Freed, When Peter Boasted, Soon He Fell, When the Great Judge, Supreme and Just, When the Worn Spirit Wants Repose, Whence Do Our Mournful Thoughts Arise, Why Do the Wealthy Wicked Boast, With Songs and Honors Sounding Loud, Ye Saints Exult with Cheerful Song, Ye Sons of Earth Prepare the Plow, Ye Trembling Souls, Dismiss Your Fears, Ye Wretched, Hungry, Starving Poor, Zion! the City of Our God.
Questions about Give Thanks to God, Invoke His Name
What is the doh of Give Thanks to God, Invoke His Name?
In this version, in F major, doh is F. If your choir sings it in another key, doh moves to the new key note and every solfa syllable stays the same — that is what movable doh means.
What note does Give Thanks to God, Invoke His Name start on?
It starts on d (F in F major), a pickup on the word “Give” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Give Thanks to God, Invoke His Name in the public domain?
Yes. Isaac Watts died in 1748; the words were first published in 1719 and the music in 1563. Everyone named died before 1955 and both were published before 1929, so the hymn is out of copyright in the UK, the EU, the United States and Nigeria. Modern arrangements and translations can still be under copyright.