Through All the Changing Scenes of Life
Nahum Tate and Nicholas Brady · 1696 · tune WILTSHIRE
Key of G · public domain
Words
In trouble and in joy,
The praises of my God shall still
My heart and tongue employ.
Till all that are distressed
From my example comfort take,
And charm their griefs to rest.
With me exalt His name;
When in distress to Him I called,
He to my rescue came.
The dwellings of the just;
Deliverance He affords to all
Who on His succor trust.
Experience will decide
How blest are they, and only they,
Who in His truth confide.
Have nothing else to fear;
Make you His service your delight,
Your wants shall be His care.
The story
The heading on Psalm 34 says David wrote it when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech, which is the polite way of describing what happens in 1 Samuel 21. David had fled to enemy territory, was recognised, and escaped by pretending to lose his mind, scrabbling at the gate and letting spit run down his beard. The psalm he wrote afterwards contains the line taste and see that the Lord is good, and it also contains verse 18, the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart. Tate and Brady render the invitation as O make but trial of His love; experience will decide. That is a man who has nothing left but the experiment recommending it to other people.
Chords in G
In the app you can move this to any key and it works out the capo for you.
Common questions
Who wrote Through All the Changing Scenes of Life? Nahum Tate and Nicholas Brady wrote the words in 1696.
What tune is it sung to? WILTSHIRE, set here in the key of G.
What scripture is it built on? Psalm 34.
Is Through All the Changing Scenes of Life free to use in church? Yes. The words are public domain, which means any church may sing them, print them in a bulletin, put them on a screen or record them, without asking permission and without paying anyone.
The psalm it came from
Through All the Changing Scenes of Life is Psalm 34 set to a tune. The psalm itself is here in full — King James, Berean Standard and Reina-Valera side by side, with a note on what it is doing and where it sits in the book.
Themes
Psalms · Deliverance · Trust