This is a magical song with a magical lineage.  It is an old Christian hymn that means, roughly, "To you we are singing, we are blessing you.  We thank God and pray to you, Lord our God."  And I encourage taking lightly the somewhat staunch translation that has been passed down.  This is a song of ultimate praise and gratitude for life, and its harmonies are out of this world.  It was passed to me by Laurence Cole, who received it from one of his mentors, Siobhan Robinsong, who received it from one of the founders of the Natural Voice Network, Nick Prater.  There is a story that Laurence's choir sang it at an old folks' home in Port Townsend, and on their way out, a nurse with a Russian accent came rushing out, "Please, please, come sing it again to my father! He cannot leave his room, but when he heard this song from his childhood there were tears streaming down his eyes!  He wants to hear it again." So they came back and did a bedside rendition to the nurse's father, who was a resident there.  This is an encouraging example of how cultural appropriation can sometimes shelter and transport a potency and depth, even when in foreign hands, to eager ears.  The man hadn't heard the song in something like fifty years...