The text for O Sing Unto The Lord is taken from Psalm 96. It is one of Purcell's most Italianate verse)anthems and employs dynamic antiphony between voices and instruments. The symphony is for a large string orchestra and the vocal music alternates solo and ensemble pieces.

The opening symphony has three sections rather than the usual two found in other anthems. The first section is quick and pushes forward in a talking motif. The second section is a homophonic adagio full of harmonic motion. The last is highly contrapuntal, spacious, and fluid.

The first verse is a bass solo which gently commands the congregation to "Sing unto the Lord". This is followed by two Alleluia choruses and instrumental ritornelli. They are in three, and are openly joyous and lilting.

"Sing unto the Lord" is set for four parts; all voices enter independently on a long, flexible, and descriptive line that is immediately subjected to Purcell's very imaginative counterpoint. The counterpoint gets its rhythmic impulse from the text.

In "Declare His Honour" the bass voice declares his text in an extremely declamatory style that is almost syllabic. The chorus enters with a highly florid counterpoint on the same text. "The Lord is Great" is a treble and alto duet over a ground. To contrast the joyous and polyphonic chorus that just preceded it, Purcell writes this in a lilting three. Its mood is wistful, gentle, and light, and the accompaniment delicate. He juxtaposes major and minor tonalities in a dancing and rhythmic inflection. The string ritornello that follows is brief.

O Worship the Lord is another vocal quartet with full, rich, magical harmonies. The pace is slow and sombre, but still joyful."Tell it out among the Heathen" again is a declamatory bass solo that is followed by a full choir in antiphony. The setting is almost annunciatory.

Purcell's anthems always end in gentle alleluia choruses. They are very unlike Handel's. In the first, the Alleluia begins almost like a chant, but evolves into elaborate, flexible counterpoint. The Amen that closes the Alleluia is meditative and quiet.

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