There are thousands of musical settings of the 150 poems in the Psalter. Some of them are just a simple refrain of a few notes or an antiphon using the simplest chant without harmony, ranging up to grand elaborate works that stand alone as pinnacles of musical invention. In the latter category, the Psalmi Davidis poenitentiales … Continue reading Psalm 100; singing a new song
Category: Psalms
Psalm 114, 1 April 2018
This poem is all about the Exodus, the release from slavery in Egypt, and the transit to a new life across the Red Sea. There is no mention of resurrection, nor Easter of course. Indeed we read no reference to any divine influence until the very last verse. Was it, then, an April Fool's Day … Continue reading Psalm 114, 1 April 2018
Psalm 22 Good Friday 2018
This psalm appears on Good Friday due to verse 1, which Jesus quoted on the cross, and subsequent predictions: My God, why have you forsaken me? Much has been said in previous posts on this psalm. 🎵 The Good Friday observance is sometimes conducted with little or no music in a period of quiet contemplation. … Continue reading Psalm 22 Good Friday 2018
Psalm 118, 25 March 18
This psalm of thanks opens and closes with resounding acclamations of divine love and mercy that endure forever. In between are statements about trusting in God rather than in rulers (8), relief at delivery from evil and opposition (5, 10) access to goodness (19) and causes for rejoicing. Each year when this psalm arises on … Continue reading Psalm 118, 25 March 18
Psalm 51, 18 March 2018
St Patrick’s Day slides by largely unremarked. (I did have a Celtic style song based on last week's Psalm 107 up my sleeve; however, our singers' rendition of Everett's three-part refrain for 107, repeated in PFAS, was a pleasing and inspiring addition.) This week we preview that well-used Psalm 51, thereby moving into more sober territory … Continue reading Psalm 51, 18 March 2018
Psalm 107, 11 Mar ’18
Many of the psalms seem to have fag ends of widely varying ideas, statements and twists tossed in that at first sight seem to confuse. Sometimes they meld into a tasty, herbal mix: others just coexist, leaving the reader to ponder. Psalm 107, the first of Book V of the Psalter, has sections that depict … Continue reading Psalm 107, 11 Mar ’18
Psalm 19, 4 March ’18
Psalm 19 is soaring and thoughtful poetry. I'm tempted to say 'fantastic': The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4 Yet their voice goes … Continue reading Psalm 19, 4 March ’18
Psalm 22, 25 Feb ’18
This psalm appears on Good Friday due to verse 1, which Jesus quoted on the cross, and subsequent predictions: My God, why have you forsaken me? However this reading on Sunday 25 (Lent 2) starts much later in the poem in verse 23. A different kettle of fish altogether, as the psalmist sings a hymn … Continue reading Psalm 22, 25 Feb ’18
Psalm 25, 18 Feb ’18
This song arises on the first Sunday in Lent (in Year B). The reader will find no sack-cloth and ashes, lamentation or the parched airs of the wilderness. Of course, the psalmist was writing long before church administrations established traditions such as Lent. However, someone chose to pop this poem into the Lectionary in this … Continue reading Psalm 25, 18 Feb ’18
Psalm 50, 11 Feb ’18
Psalm 50Â by Asaph is quite long. Three sections broadly cover (i) the greatness and justice of God, (ii) the doubtful value of sacrifices and superficial or procedural worship, and (iii) a heavy admonishment to the 'wicked'. The lectionary reading covers the first half-dozen verses only. It boils down (though psalms should never be boiled down) … Continue reading Psalm 50, 11 Feb ’18
Psalms in the South 