One of the early post-Vatican II songs was Willard F. Jabusch’s “The King of Glory.” First published in 1967, today it’s still in the hymnals of many denominations. Fr. Jabusch adapted and expanded Psalm 24 for his text, and set it to an Israeli folk tune called Promised One. This joyful minor tune may have been Hasidic in origin, associated with “Gilu Hagalilim,” brought to Israel by Zionist settlers after World War I.

But Jabusch’s text specifically equates God’s promise of the Messiah with the coming of Jesus, something that Psalm 24, written long before that event, could not do. So to use “The King of Glory” as the responsorial psalm would be awkward at best. It might be better to sing it as an energetic closing song.

The original psalm 24 was probably composed for the liturgy, in connection with a procession of the ark. It speaks of God’s sovereignty over the earth and everything in it. “Who is the king of glory? The Lord, mighty and strong, mighty in battle.”

Kevin Keil’s setting of this psalm (GIA) avoids male God-language by addressing God directly. (“You” can be singular or plural and has no gender.) Timothy R. Smith’s setting (OCP) doesn’t use direct address but deftly avoids gender-specific language. WLP has a setting by Ed Bolduc in Voices As One, Vol. 2.

Look around for a good setting that suits your community and then stick with it, so that it becomes part of the “sounds of the season.”