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A New Metrical Psalter: Revised Common Lectionary Edition Attempts to Stay As Close to the Biblical Language As Possible While Avoiding Abnormal Word Order

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A New Metrical Psalter: Revised Common Lectionary Edition Attempts to Stay As Close to the Biblical Language As Possible While Avoiding Abnormal Word Order Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved Church Publishing, Inc. Table of Contents Introduction vii The Psalms 1 Canticles 273 Metrical Index 321 Liturgical Index 327 Tune Index 347 iii Copyright 2009 Introduction All Rights Reserved Church Publishing, Inc. The Book of Psalms is undoubtedly the world’s oldest hymnal in continuous use. At the end of the Last Supper, the Bible tells us that Jesus and his disciples sang a hymn, and it was almost certainly one of the psalms. The Christian church has used the psalms from the beginning and the New Testament quotes the psalms more frequently than any other part of the Hebrew scriptures. In recent years, as a growing number of churches has adopted the Common Lectionary and Revised Common Lectionary, the use of the psalms has once again become a familiar part of the liturgy. How to sing the psalms, however, remains a difficult question for many congregations. No one knows how the psalms were sung in Israel. Plainsong has been used for centuries in the Christian church but is unfa- miliar and difficult, especially in small churches. Other methods, such as Anglican chant and the Gelineau Psalter are also difficult for many. Metrical psalms, on the other hand, which reword the psalms into rhyming verses that fit familiar tunes, are easily used even by very small congregations with no special musical training. They became popu- lar in the 16th century and for a while were the only hymns sung in churches that worshiped in English. Metrical psalms are not a perfect solution. They make use of familiar tunes that are easy to sing but the words are only an approximation of the actual words of the psalms. The old metrical psalters tried to solve the problem by abnormal word order: “The king of love my shepherd is.” A New Metrical Psalter: Revised Common Lectionary Edition attempts to stay as close to the Biblical language as possible while avoiding abnormal word order. The text is not a new translation from the Hebrew but based primarily on the New Revised Standard Version and the Book of Common Prayer. Other modern translations and the American Bible Society’s guide for translators, A Handbook on Psalms (1991), have been frequently consulted. A New Metrical Psalter is not a complete psalter. It provides only the sections of the psalms called for in the Revised Common Lectionary. Thus some psalms are not included at all and some only in part. On the other hand, there are seven different sections of Psalm 34 provided and nine sections of Psalm 119. A New Metrical Psalter avoids the use of masculine pronouns in reference to God with the exception of the Rite One canticles. Although some churches at some periods of church history have used only the Psalter as their hymnal, there are ancient Christian hymns embedded in the New Testament such as the “Song of Mary” or Magnificat, the “Song of Simeon” or Nunc Dimittis, and the songs of praise found in the book of Revelation. Other hymns such as the Gloria in excelsis, based on the angelic song in the Gospel according to St. Luke (2:14), have been inspired by biblical texts. Still other Christian hymns such as the familiar Christmas hymn, “While shepherds watched their flocks by night,” are simply paraphrases of biblical passages. A contem- porary collection of biblical paraphrases by the present author, Hymns from the Bible 2000, (available from Cokesbury Press) has been recently published. The Revised Common Lectionary makes use of a small number of such paraphrases and these are included in this volume as well as the traditional canticles from the Book of Common Prayer. Using A New Metrical Psalter. When a congregation decides to use A New Metrical Psalter they will find the psalm or canticle assigned for a given Sunday or other celebration in the Revised Common Lectionary. All these texts can be sung to vii Copyright 2009 Psalm 23 All Rights Reserved C.M. Church Publishing, Inc. 1. The Lord’s my Shepherd, all my need Will surely be supplied; By quiet streams and through green fields, The Lord will be my guide 2. The Lord revives me, guides my feet On pathways that are right, And I will fear no evil though I walk through darkest night. 3. Your rod and staff both comfort me; Before my gathered foes You feed me; you anoint my head, And my cup overflows. 4. Your goodness and your mercy, Lord, Shall surely follow me, And I will dwell in God’s own house For all eternity. Lent 4 A Easter 4 A B C Proper 23 A Proper 11 B Confession of St. Peter Of a Pastor I At Baptism Suggested tunes: Crimond St. Agnes 31 Copyright 2009 Psalm 33:1–12 All Rights Reserved C.M. Church Publishing, Inc. 1. Let all the just sing praise to God, With harp and lyre rejoice; Let trumpet fanfares fill the air And lift up every voice. 2. Your word is right, your work is sure, You hold us in your hands; With justice and with righteousness Your mercy fills the lands. 3. You spoke and stretched the heavens out, The stars all came to be; You gather up the ocean waves And waters of the sea. 4. Let all who dwell upon the earth Hold you, O Lord, in awe; You spoke and so it came to pass; Made certain by your law 5. You thwart the nations’ willfulness; Their plans, Lord, cannot last; Your will endures from age to age, Your purposes stand fast. 6. How happy those who serve the Lord, The nation God has known; How happy those whom you have called And chosen for your own. Proper 5 A Suggested tunes: Azmon St. Stephen 54 Copyright 2009 Psalm 90:1–6, 13–17 All Rights Reserved C.M. Church Publishing, Inc. 1. You have been our strong refuge, Lord, Each age has praised your Name; Before hills, land, and earth were born, Still you have been the same. 2. You turn us to the dust and say, “Go back,” for in your sight A thousand ages past are but A brief watch in the night. 3. You sweep us all away like dreams, We fade away like grass; At daybreak green and flourishing, By evening dry and past. 4. Relent and have compassion, Lord; How long will wrath hold sway? Come, satisfy us with your love With each returning day. 5. Lord, let us now be glad and sing Your praises constantly; Let happiness now compensate For years of misery. 6. Lord, let the splendor of your works Shine brightly as the sun; May all God’s goodness rest on us; Prosper what we have done. Proper 25 A Suggested tunes: St. Anne Nun danket all und bringet Ehr/Gräfenberg Irish 154 Copyright 2009 Psalm 103:(1–7), 8–13 All Rights Reserved S.M. Church Publishing, Inc. (1.) O bless the Lord, my soul; O bless God’s Name indeed; Let all that is within me know How God has met my need. (2.) Lord, you forgive our sins And heal our wickedness; You crown our life, saved from the grave, With loving faithfulness. (3.) You fill us with good things, And you renew our youth; For all who are oppressed, O Lord, Bring justice forth and truth. (4.) To Moses you revealed Your holy ways and will; And in the desert you made known Your works to Israel. 5. Lord, you are merciful, Both kind and slow to wrath. You will not still accuse your own, Nor will your anger last. 181 Copyright 2009 Psalm 104:25–32 All Rights Reserved C.M. Church Publishing, Inc. 1. O Lord, how manifold your works, You wisely made them all; The great, wide sea is filled with life And creatures great and small. 2. The ships go there; Leviathan Is there as you decreed, And all of these depend on you To satisfy their need. 3. You give them food; they gather it; They eat what you supply; But when you turn away, they fear And turn to dust and die. 4. But when you send your Spirit forth, The whole earth is restored; May all God’s glory long endure; May all things praise the Lord. Pentecost Vigil or Early Service A B C Suggested tunes: Azmon Land of Rest Burford Martyrdom 191 Copyright 2009 Psalm 150 All Rights Reserved C.M. Church Publishing, Inc. 1. Within God’s temple, give God praise; In heaven above, give praise; For all God’s greatness, give God praise; For mighty acts, give praise. 2. Upon the ram’s horn, give God praise; With lyre and harp, give praise; With dance and timbrel, give God praise; With strings and pipe, give praise. 3. With clashing cymbals, give God praise; With cymbals loud, give praise; Let all that breathes now give God praise; With hallelujah, praise! Easter 2 C Suggested tunes: St. Anne McKee 272 Copyright 2009 Metrical Index All Rights Reserved Church Publishing, Inc. Following is a list of tunes considered to be among the more familiar in the standard meters with one or more of the first lines most associated with them and some of the standard hymnals in which they can be found. Note that tune names are not always the same in various hymnals and that the tunes associated with certain texts in some hymnals may be used for different texts in other hymnals. Rather than list all the texts used for a particular tune, parentheses (ex. TWC) have been used to indicate that the tune is in the particular hymnal but with other words.
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