The following was originally posted at the Old Light Covenanter blog here. George goes on to list good arguments against the objections against the Psalms.
“If the argument presented in the preceding lectures be accepted, then no form of objection that can be raised against the book can set it aside. Since God has provided the psalter by His Holy Spirit, and commanded it to be used; and since He has provided no other, nor promised His aid to any effort to prepare another, it is evident that, in this matter, He has left nothing to the judgment of men. Objections to the psalms, and the praise of hymns as superior to God’s book can have no weight as against the single fact that the psalms are divinely authorized and the hymns are not.”
Are you interested in true worship? Check out this new eBook and hardback at the Puritan shop: True Psalmody by The Reformed Ministers
This ebook is an updated version of the PDF available here free. I am not sure if the update includes any new material or articles. If anyone can provide more information, please let us know.
We just wanted to let you know that by the grace of God we are back in the studio in Brisbane, QLD, Australia and are now working our way through recording the Psalter.
The project was delayed due to lack of funding, but by the grace of God we have managed to get back on track and continue recording. So far, Psalm 1 up to Psalm 31 in their entirety (every verse/stanza accounted for) have been recorded.
We hope to get up to Psalm 60 with our current funds and are continually looking for more funding to complete the project.
The budget for the project was re-visited and has been restructured and was managed to work to reduce the overall estimated costs. Our initial budget estimate was >$27,000.00, however if we can do most of the CD duplication and production of the package in-house in smaller quantities, the budget cost can reduce to <$15,000.00. Now, given that we already have almost $3,000.00 in donations, we only require another $12,000.00 to meet the budget.
But instead of taking pre-orders at $94.00 AUD per pre-order, we think it is much easier to acquire 12 donors for $1,000.00 each on the basis of them receiving one copy of the package each. Now these donors can be congregations, a group of people, or other funding institutions (such as the Scottish heritage groups etc.), or even individuals. Of course the 12 donors, would not receive 10 copies of the package, but rather only 1 copy each, but given there will be NO copyright on the recordings or materials, they would be free to distribute the material as they wish.
Some of the management team in the project will cover the production costs for the 12 donors’ packages.
Once the project is completed, we will actually put the MP3’s for free online along with soft-version files of the text and booklets, however if someone wants the complete production package, then we will need to at least charge cost price for production and postage & handling.
If you can think of any congregation/denomination or other donor sources who would consider donating $1,000.00 to this cause it will be very beneficial, however we do understand it is still hard to acquire that much funding from one entity.
Dr. David Murray of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary
The following selections are from Therapeutic Praise by David Murray, which originally appeared in the January 2012 issue of Tabletalk magazine:
“Despite hundreds of new Christian songs, of every possible genre, being composed every year, the ancient Psalms are experiencing somewhat of a revival in various places. Why?
I believe the main reason is their therapeutic value; in a day of so many disordered emotions, worshippers are discovering how the Psalms minister so powerfully to their emotional lives.
The Psalms balance divine revelation and human emotion
The Psalms express the full range of human emotions
The Psalms paint a realistic portrayal of Christian emotions
The Psalms open a welcome outlet for our painful emotions
The Psalms call for the transformation of our emotions
The Psalms not only permit us to “vent” our emotions, but also call for their transformation. We are not left to wallow in our feelings, but are shown how to move from fear to courage, from sorrow to joy, from anger to peace, and from despair to hope. The painful starting point is legitimate; but it’s only a starting point. The end-point of emotional healing must be kept in view, and moved towards with the help of Psalmist’s guiding hand.
The Psalms summon us to sympathetic emotion
As a rebellious teenager, I often sat in my Psalm-singing church wondering why I was singing words that had no relevance to me whatsoever. Why sing about sorrow, when I was perfectly happy? Or, some Sundays, why sing about joy when I feel so depressed about my life?
Well of course, such is the mindset of a self-centered teenager. But when God saves us, we begin to look a little beyond ourselves and to realize that while I may not feel these things, others certainly do. The Psalms call me to weep with those who weep, and to rejoice with those who rejoice, no matter if I feel exactly the opposite. They remind me of the emotional diversity of the body of Christ and invite me to share in the sufferings and successes of others. They turn me inside out.
The Psalms supply an emotional stimulus to righteous living
The full article by Dr. David Murray can be read here or in Tabletalk magazine.
Question #20: What is the relationship between EP and Theonomy? What principles do they have in common? Why are some Theonomists opposed to EP? Why are some EPers opposed to Theonomy?
Exclusive Psalmody 