This week we are introducing a new songbook we’ve recently published as a supplement to our hymnal. It is called Psalms for Singing: A Selection of Psalms Ancient and Modern. This new songbook contains 38 psalms set to music designed for congregational singing. A few of the tunes will be familiar but most of the tunes are unique and composed exclusively for each psalm. While this means it will take a little more time to learn a new psalm, it will be much more memorable once it’s learnt.
The psalms we’ve chosen are set to music from the time of the reformation (e.g.. Genevan and Scottish psalms) but also contain selections composed in the last decade. We’re excited that we can begin to incorporate these psalms into our corporate worship on the Lord’s Day.
(Note: If you wish to learn these psalms on your own or use them in family worship, copies are available at the church, and we recommend the app “Sing Your Part” which allows you to hear the music for each psalm—and learn the parts too.)
The following is the preface to Psalms for Singing: A Selection of Psalms Ancient and Modern.
Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
The church has been blessed with a rich heritage of music. In our local church, we desire to stand on that heritage and fulfill Scripture’s command to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. In the last century the evangelical church has neglected psalms in worship. Perhaps this is due to a perceived theological discontinuity between the Old Testament and the New Testament and discarding the musical heritage of the past to cater to the culture of the present. However, we know that God is the primary audience of our worship and there is a rich continuity between Old and New Testaments and in church history over the centuries.
The psalms are important to sing because they are Spirit-inspired songs and prayers designed for God’s people in all times and places. They are rich in theology and abounding with the attributes of God. Second, psalms cover a wide range of genres. Some of those, like imprecation and lament, are difficult to find in hymnody today yet are God-given and needful for the church. Third, many psalms are masculine, warrior psalms for a triumphant church. This is a contrast to the many sentimental and feminine songs of today. Fourth, many psalms point toward our Savior, Jesus Christ, and his glorious kingdom. These are songs of hope, victory, and remind us of God’s faithfulness. Fifth, in learning to sing the psalms we are learning to hide God’s word in our hearts. Scripture memory is an excellent way to grow in our sanctification and singing is the best way to memorize Scripture.
The psalms in this selection cover a wide range of church history and therefore music styles are quite varied. This is intended. Some of the songs are difficult to learn but we believe that the reward is worth the effort. We joyfully raise our voices with the Covenanters of Scotland or the Reformers in Geneva and with all those who have faithfully worshiped our great God before us. We are not reinventing worship but stand in a long line of godly men and women who adore Jesus Christ and sing psalms of praise in his name.
May this supplemental psalter bless the congregation of Fairview Baptist Church and bring glory to God as we worship him according to his word, in Spirit and in truth.
Pastor Tim Stephens, June 2024