Here are the words from the Coverdale Psalter:
1 Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy Name give the praise *
for thy loving mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.
2 Wherefore shall the heathen say *
Where is now their God?
3 As for our God, he is in heaven *
he hath done whatsoever pleased him.
4 Their idols are silver and gold *
even the work of men’s hands.
5 They have mouths, and speak not *
eyes have they, and see not.
6 They have ears, and hear not *
noses have they, and smell not.
7 They have hands, and handle not; feet have they, and walk not *
neither speak they through their throat.
8 They that make them are like unto them *
and so are all such as put their trust in them.
9 But thou, house of Israel, trust thou in the Lord *
he is their succour and defence.
10 Ye house of Aaron, put your trust in the Lord *
he is their helper and defender.
11 Ye that fear the Lord, put your trust in the Lord *
he is their helper and defender.
12 The Lord hath been mindful of us, and he shall bless us *
even he shall bless the house of Israel, he shall bless the house of Aaron.
13 He shall bless them that fear the Lord *
both small and great.
14 The Lord shall increase you more and more *
you and your children.
15 Ye are the blessed of the Lord *
who made heaven and earth.
16 All the whole heavens are the Lord’s *
the earth hath he given to the children of men.
17 The dead praise not thee, O Lord *
neither all they that go down into silence.
18 But we will praise the Lord *
from this time forth for evermore. Praise the Lord.
The incipit of this Psalm in Latin is Non nobis, domine - which became a hymn in its own right at some point during the middle ages:
Non nobis is a short Latin hymn used as a prayer of thanksgiving and expression of humility. The Latin text derives from Psalm 113:9 (according to the Vulgate numbering), which corresponds to Psalm 115:1 in the King James Version. It reads,
Non nobis, non nobis, Domine....
Sed nomini tuo da gloriam.
Not to us, not to us, O Lord,
But to thy name give glory.
As part of Psalm 115 (In exitu Israel) it was also recited liturgically as part of the Paschal vigil, the celebrants kneeling in a gesture of self-abasement when this verse was reached. According to legend Henry V ordered it to be recited along with the Te Deum in thanksgiving for the English victory at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 (see below). Jean Mouton (c. 1459-1522) composed a motet to a text beginning with the Non nobis to celebrate the birth of a daughter to Louis XII and Anne of Brittany in 1510.
Here's the song as sung in the 1989 film, Henry V; no idea if this is the original melody or not, though:
About the composer of this Anglican Chant:
Gerald Hocken Knight CBE (1908–1979) was a cathedral organist, who served at Canterbury Cathedral.
Gerald Hocken Knight was born on 27 July 1908 in Par, Cornwall, and was educated at Truro Cathedral School and Peterhouse, Cambridge.[2] He was an articled organ pupil of Hubert Stanley Middleton at Truro Cathedral.
He was appointed a Fellow of the Royal School of Church Music in 1964.
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