The Pentecost Offertory: Confirma Hoc Deus ("Stablish the thing, O God")

This version is sung by Cantarte Regensburg:



The text is taken from Psalm 67:29b-30 (Vulgate):

Confirma hoc Deus, quod operatus es in nobis;
A templo tuo quod est in Jerusalem, tibi offerent Reges munera.
Alleluia. 

Stablish the thing, O God, that thou hast wrought in us,
For thy temple's sake at Jerusalem: so shall kings bring presents unto thee.
Alleluia.

Here's the chant score:

William Byrd, among others, set this text. Here's his setting, sung by the Gloriana Ensemble:




The same text (although without the final clause) is used for the Antiphon sung at Confirmation:

"When all are confirmed, the Bishop washes his hands while the following is sung:" - Liber Usualis, 1961; Administration of Confirmation.

Here's a page from the De la Salle Hymnal; this looks to me like a congregational setting of the same antiphon:

And don't forget to read Full Homely Divinity's Pentecost entry!


Here are links to all the propers on the day, from the Benedictines of Brazil:

Dominica Pentecostes ad Missam in die

Introitus:  Spiritus Domini (cum Gloria Patri)(5m07.0s - 4798 kb)  view score
Alleluia: Emitte Spiritum tuum (1m55.4s - 1806 kb)  view score
Alleluia: Veni, Sancte Spiritus (2m02.9s - 1922 kb)  view score
Sequentia: Veni, Sancte Spiritus (2m29.7s - 2341 kb)  view score
Offertorium: Confirma hoc, Deus (1m35.3s - 1491 kb)  view score
Communio: Factus est repente (1m16.3s - 1195 kb)  view score
Ad dimittendum populum: Ite missa est (28.7s - 451 kb)  view score

And here are Chantblog posts on the Pentecost propers:

• The Introit for the Day of Pentecost: Spiritus Domini ("The Spirit of the Lord")
• Alleluia, Emitte Spiritum Tuum ("Send forth Thy Spirit") - an Alleluia for Pentecost
• Alleluja, Veni Sancte Spiritus ("Come Holy Spirit"), the second Alleluia for Pentecost
• The Pentecost Sequence (Veni, Sancte Spiritus)
• The Pentecost Offertory: Confirma Hoc Deus ("Stablish the thing, O God")
• The Communion Song for Pentecost:  Factus est repente de caelo sonus ("Suddenly there came a sound from heaven")
• The Sarum Pentecost Office

Here's a piece of Pentecost art, from the well-known Book of Hours Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry, Folio 79r - Pentecost the Musée Condé, Chantilly.