Month: October 2011

Question #19: What does the singing of Psalms exclusively have to do with the closing of the canon? Is the writing of new songs the same as writing new Scripture?

Question #19: What does the singing of Psalms exclusively have to do with the closing of the canon? Is the writing of new songs the same as writing new Scripture?

Or we might even ask, “Is the canon really closed?”

There have been some recent questions on the EP website regarding the Canon of Scripture itself. I think this is related to the question of EP because it seems to me that those who write new songs are taking upon themselves the mantle of the Prophets. The authorized songs to sing in Scripture (which we would identify as the Psalms) were only written by inspired Prophets, and no one else. Why would we think we could write songs to God today when there is no office of songwriter in our age? Ours is an age when we recognize the completion and finality of God’s Word. This certainly implies that whatever inspired songs were written are no longer being written. Just as we accept God’s Word as being complete, so we accept God’s songbook as being complete. Anyone who writes a worship song in our day is doing so in direct opposition to the Bible itself.

Please post here defenses of the completion of the canon and questions regarding the authority of songwriters in our day.

Worthy to be Praised – Psalmody CDs

From the website Sing the Psalms

Sing the Psalms with Worthy to be Praised

“In this site we wish to share with you our enthusiasm for Psalm Singing and to tell you about the Worthy to be Praised  series of Psalmody CDs.  While many beautiful Psalmody CDs exist, these are unique, having one disc for listening and one disc of expert teaching to get you singing too.

The discs, which have a distinctively Scottish flavour, are attractively produced and make ideal gifts.  With appeal to all ages, they have been used successfully in home education and in Church Psalmody Classes for both children and adults.

To browse the tracks or to purchase, please visit our Web Store.

There are currently 7 volumes, each containing 2 CDs.

Disc 1 is a collection of Psalm portions sung A Cappella – unaccompanied in four part harmony – by a small group including professional musicians.  Listen to some  samples below.

Disc 2 provides a unique opportunity for learning to sing the parts – soprano, alto, tenor or bass – for the tunes on Disc 1.

The lyrics are all from the 1650 Scottish Metrical Version of the Psalms, which can be obtained by clicking on this link.

From Volume 4 onwards, Disc 1 also contains two extra tracks with Scottish Gaelic Psalm Singing and one track of children’s voices.

The Worthy to be Praised CDs are produced by the Psalmody Committee of the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing).  All proceeds from sales on this website will be transferred to the church to cover the costs of production and finance future recordings.”