Shout for Joy to the God of Jacob

Asaph, one of the great singers of the Temple, opens the psalm of the sounding: not one man's prayer but a call to the whole assembly. The sages read it on the New Year — the one feast that falls when the moon is hidden — and out of that gladness an old memory rises from Egypt, one voice asking for one thing: Hear.

The verse that opens the singing, and gives the song its name:

"Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob"

To sing aloud and to shout for joy are two ways of lifting the voice: the song of gladness, and the sound that breaks out. The God of Jacob is the God who walked with the wandering father. This psalm asks not for quiet but for a voice, from all the people.