Tag: 1650 Scottish Psalter

THE PSALMES OF DAVID IN English Meeter, set forth by FRANCIS Rous, 1643

THE PSALMES OF DAVID IN English Meeter, set forth by FRANCIS Rous

He excellent uses of the Psalmes are manifold, yea universall; for they are good for all spirituall uses and advantages. They have in them Instruction, to increase our knowledge; Spirituall Fervour, to inflame our zeale; Consolation, to refresh and revive our fainting soules; Praiers, to fetch blessings from God; and Praises, to returne to God for his blessings. Yea, the very afflictions of the Saints therein expressed (even their outward sufferings, and inward dejections and desertions) are no small consolations to us. For, by them wee see that fiery Tryalls are no strange matters to Saints, and Saints wee may bee amid all these fiery Tryalls. But [Page] withall, if wee marke the issue of th […]se Tryalls (often set forth in these Psalmes) then wee cannot but see strong and vehement incouragements of Faith, and of that praier of Faith, which saveth the sick, even those that are sick at h […]art: yea, sick at the very soule. For how often doe wee see a sick soule to begin a Psalme, even in the belly of Hell, and yet end it in Heaven? So that a Saints soul being as it were in Hell, yet is neare unto Heaven, if it can be earnest with God in these melo­dious Praiers of Faith. For God, being thus called on, turnes in to the soule; and when God comes into a soule, hee makes a Heaven there, though a Hell were there before. And then naturally (I speak of a godly nature) do arise in the soule high Jubilations and Extasies, and not these onely, but glorious Thanksgivings to God; to whom alone must be ascribed the bringing of light out of darknesse: [Page] and that voice of joy and gladnesse, which the Saints doe heare even at the same time, when their bones are broken with humiliation.

Briefly, the Psalmes are characters and representations of the thoughts, meditations, and affections of a sanctified soule, throughout all the changes of her pilgrimage; so that a good man can be in no kind of estate, but he shall find his owne estate in a Psalme: and in a Psalme, he may find thoughts and expressions which doe well agree with that estate, and make it good unto him.

“Considering the Anglo-Scots thought that Christians should continually praise God with these two psalms (107 and 119), the compilers may have been seeking to highlight their didactic function by applying the same tune to both.”

Thanks to Brad Johnston for this helpful quote from Tim Duguid’s  new book on Metrical Psalmody. Brad is the Pastor of the Topeka Reformed Presbyterian (RPCNA) Church in Topeka, KS.

From Timothy Duguid, Metrical Psalms In Print And Practice: English ‘Singing Psalms’ and Scottish ‘Psalm Buiks’, c. 1547-1640, p. 46-47.

“The pairing of Psalms 107 and 119 is classified as a Category 2 conflation. Psalm 107 praises God for his deeds throughout history, and his works for the children of men, especially in the way that he gathered the Israelites from distant lands and preserved them through distress, drought, and slavery. Psalm 119, however, is a series of 22 meditations on the blessings of the Law, acrostically based on the 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, with all the letter in each successive meditations beginning with the same letter. Considering the differing content of these two psalms, it is not immediately obvious why they share the same tune. Proverbs 22:6 may be the key, asserting that parents should train their children according to God’s Law, and additionally, teach their children about the Lord’s works throughout history and especially the Passover (Exodus 12). While the Anglo-Scots community understood these as commands from the Old Covenant, the exiles maintained that they still applied to Christians under the New Covenant. In the Order of Baptism, [Knox’s 1560] Forme of Prayers had the pastor recite the following to parents:

Moreouer, ye that be fathers and mothers may take hereby moste singular comfort, to se your children thus receyued in to the bosom of Christes congregation, whereby you are daily admonished that ye nourishe and bring vp the children of God’s fauor and mercye, ouer whom his fatherly prouidence watcheth continually … So oght it to make you diligent, and carefull, to nurture and instruct them in the true knowledge and feare of God … Therefore, it is your duety, withal diligence to puide that your children in tyme conuinient, be instructed in all doctrine necessarie for a true Christian: chiefly that they be taught to rest vpon the iustice of Christ Jesus alone, and to abhorre and flee all superstition, papistrie, and idolatrie.”

… Considering the Anglo-Scots thought that Christians should continually praise God with these two psalms, the compilers may have been seeking to highlight their didactic function by applying the same tune to both.

MY OWN MODERN ENGLISH TRANSLATION of The Forme of Prayers Statement (1560-1561)

Moreover, ye that be fathers and mothers may take [in this baptism] most singular comfort, to see your children thus rescued into the bosom of Christ’s congregation, whereby you are daily admonished that ye nourish and bring up the children in God’s favor and mercy, over whom his fatherly providence watcheth continually … So ought [this baptism] make you diligent and careful to nurture and instruct [this child] in the true knowledge and fear of God … Therefore, it is your duty with all diligence to provide that your children in time convenient, be instructed in all doctrine necessary for a true Christian – chiefly, that they be taught to rest upon the justice of Christ Jesus alone, and to abhor and flee all speculation, false doctrine, and idolatry.”

 

Nine Psalter Reviews by Logan West

The following Psalter Reviews have been added to the Articles Online page. Thanks to Logan for these insightful reviews!

1650 Psalter A Review by Logan West
Comprehensive Psalter A Review by Logan West
Psalms for Singing 21st Century A Review by Logan West
Scottish Psalmody A Review by Logan West
Sing Psalms A Review by Logan West
The Psalter of 1912 A Review by Logan West
Book of Psalms for Singing A Review by Logan West
Book of Psalms for Worship A Review by Logan West
Complete Book of Psalms for Singing A Review by Logan West
Collected Reviews A Review by Logan West

“Now though spiritual songs of mere human composure may have their use, yet our devotion is best secured, where the matter and words are of immediately divine inspiration…”

1650 Psalter“Now though spiritual songs of mere human composure may have their use, yet our devotion is best secured, where the matter and words are of immediately divine inspiration; and to us David’s Psalms seem plainly intended by those terms of “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,” which the apostle useth (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).” from the Preface to the Scottish Metrical Psalter

Saw this on Facebook…Virginia is for Hugenots posted A Puritan Preface to the Scottish Metrical Psalter back in 2009. Very helpful!

New items available:

Sing the PsalmsNew information from the Sing the Psalms website has arrived:

These three items have become available this week:

1) Volume 9 of the Worthy to be Praised series of CDs – available from the website sing-the-psalms.webs.com

2) A reprint of the red split-leaf psalter in Staff notation (now only £10) at sing-the-psalms.webs.com/resources

3) A kindle edition of The Psalms of David in metre (by Dr R J Dickie) is now on Amazon.  Click here:  Metrical Psalms (Kindle Edition)

On the website you will find a new page entitled Scottish Psalter featuring two valuable and complementary articles on this subject, by Dr Robert J Dickie and Mrs Isobel Scott.  You may also be interested in a new link on our links page to the Spanish Metrical Psalms.”

We pray the recordings will be a blessing to all who listen to them, and bring glory to God who alone is “Worthy to be Praised”.

Latest UPDATE from Project Psalms…

Just got an update from the producers of Project Psalms:

“by the grace of God Project Psalms has now finished recording all 150 Psalms from the Scottish Psalter of 1650, including both versions of 13 of the Psalms.

We are now left with the task of Editing/Mixing, Mastering, CD Package Production, and Postage. We estimate that we will only need another $8,645.00 to complete the project. We are looking for larger donors now (in the range of $500-$1,000.00, or the whole lot!). Of course people who want to donate less than $500.00 are welcome to, however they will not receive the physical CD compilation and booklets.

Once the costs are covered, the MP3’s will be available for free download online for all to use without restrictions on non-profit reproduction and distribution.”

To learn more about Project Psalms, go to their website Project Psalms.

Previous Posts regarding Project Psalms:

Project Psalms 8/17/2011

UPDATE: From the Producers of Project Psalms 11/17/2011

UPDATE: on Project Psalms  2/14/2012

A new website dedicated to the 1650 Scottish Psalter

1650 Psalter available from the Trinitarian Bible Society http://www.tbsbibles.org

A new website recently arrived which appears to be dedicated to the 1650 Scottish Psalter.

“Welcome!

This site has been created in conjunction with the Scottish Metrical Psalm Sing at the Reformed Presbyterian International Conference held on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan University (Marion, IN). The Psalm Sing will take place on Thursday, July 26, 2012, at 2:00 p.m.

We hope that the resources that you find here will assist you in praising the Triune God of Holy Scripture, using His own inspired songbook; especially as it has been translated in the Scottish Psalter of 1650.”

Here is a selection from an article written by Sean McDonald and Brad Johnston

“Reformed Presbyterians have frequently commended the use of this Psalter. Robert J. Dodds, an American missionary to Syria from 1856 to 1870, wrote regarding “what an excellent metrical version of the Psalms we have. Its excellence consists,” he said, in its “fidelity to the original Hebrew. It may be asserted without fear of successful contradiction, that, take it all in all, it retains the meaning, spirit, life, energy, majesty and sublimity of the Hebrew Psalms, as little impaired as does the prose translation.”

More recently, the late J. Renwick Wright, in an address on “The Influence of the Scottish Metrical Psalter” (1949), tied in the experiential Christianity so often found in connection with this Psalter with its precision in translation. “Has the Scottish Metrical Version had great influence on the lives and characters of men? Yes, and all for good. Lying close, as it does, to its Hebrew original, it has been used thousands of times to lead men to seek spiritual life, to enter into spiritual life, and to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, our Lord. What better influence could it have than that?”

As we sing from this Psalter, let us remember those that have gone before us in the faith, who have been strengthened, comforted, and edified as they sang these very words. And let us give all the praise of any blessing we receive from this Psalter version to the same eternal and unchangeable God worshipped in centuries past by Reformed Presbyterians around the world.”