by Michiana Covenant | Dec 24, 2013 | Psalmody, Psalms, Psalter Hymnal
Psalm 3
Text: CM (BPS, 1973 — alt. MCPC 2012)
1 O LORD, how many are my foes! How many fighting me!
2 They say, “In vain he waits for God; salvation he’ll not see.”
3 You are my shield and glory, LORD; you lifted up my head.
4 I cried out, “LORD!” and from his hill to me his answer sped.
5 I lay down, slept, and woke, again; the LORD is keeping me.
6 I will not fear ten thousand men entrenched surrounding me.
7 Arise, O LORD! Save me, my God! You punish all my foes.
You smite the face of wicked men, their teeth break with your blows.
8 Deliverance is from the LORD, salvation his alone!
O let your blessing evermore be on your people shown!
Tune: Detroit (Supplement to Kentucky Harmony, 1820; harm. Dale Grotenhuis, 2009)
Commentary
Psalm 3 is titled, “A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.” Most of the Psalms in books 1-2 are “of David” — which does not necessarily mean that they are by David. Many of them, like Psalm 3, are connected to certain events in David’s life. This doesn’t mean that David composed them at this time. Rather, it means that we should sing them in memory of those episodes. For Psalm 3, this is especially fitting in light of what we just sang in Psalm 2. In Psalm 2, the Son of David is the Anointed King — the one who will inherit the nations. In Psalm 3, the son of David is one of the “many foes” who rise against me and “set themselves against me.”
This is something that I would like to work on. While we worked hard to make the connections between Psalm 1 and Psalm 2, we did not do as well with the connections between Psalm 2 and Psalm 3 (one of our elders, Mark Hanson, pointed this out to me).
Structure:
Our metrical version follows the five-fold stanza structure of the ESV.
Translation Notes:
The theme of salvation (verses 2, 7, 8) is central to this Psalm — and so a metrical text should use the same word in these places (we used both “deliverance” and “salvation” in verse 8 in order to fill up the meter).
Psalm 3 is the first (and by no means the last) of the imprecatory Psalms. These Psalms remind us that salvation for God’s people involves the destruction of the wicked. After all, God is the one who said, “Vengeance is mine — I will repay.” It is important for us as Christians to remember that God is the one who will “break the teeth of the wicked” (v7).
Tune Notes:
Detroit is a beautiful old folk tune (from the Supplement to the Kentucky Harmony of 1820). The minor key fits the lament — especially considering that we should be thinking of David’s torment over Absalom’s revolt! The rising action of the first line captures well both David’s wail over his innumerable foes (v1), the mockery of the foes (v2), as well as the confidence that emerges over the last three stanzas.
I suggest that accompanists can help here by starting quietly and picking up tempo and volume gradually through stanzas 3-5.
Detroit is found in the CRC Psalter Hymnal (1987) with Psalm 83.
Conclusion
Since this is an unfamiliar tune, I hope to have this recorded soon — but for now, you can hear the tune at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtpkZWOwHig
(And since you cannot make out the words in this recording, it works fine for capturing the melody!)
I have not yet preached on Psalm 3.
— Peter J. Wallace
by Michiana Covenant | Dec 24, 2013 | Psalmody, Psalter Hymnal
Psalm 2
Text: 77 77 D (MCPC, 2012 — with a few phrases from the Book of Psalms for Singing, 1973)
1 Why do heathen nations rage? Why do peoples plot in vain?
2 Kings and rulers join to wage war against God’s royal reign.
Yes, against the LORD most high and against Messiah’s sway,
3 “Let us burst their bonds,” they cry, “let us cast their cords away.”
4 He who sits in heaven laughs; God the LORD derides them all.
5 Then he’ll speak to them in wrath, terror on them all will fall:
6 “Yet according to my will, I have set my King to reign,
for on Zion’s holy hill, my Anointed I’ll maintain.”
7 I will tell of his decree: unto me the LORD did say,
“You are now a Son to me, I’ve begotten you today.
8 Ask, and for your heritage I’ll give nations near and far.
9 You’ll break them with iron rod, smash them like a potter’s jar.
10 Therefore, kings, be wise, give ear! Be warned, rulers of the earth.
11 Come and serve the LORD with fear; mingle trembling with your mirth.
12 Kiss the Son before he comes, lest you perish in the way,
for his anger quickly burns; blest are all who in him stay.
Tune: Salzburg (Hintze), Jakob Hintze, 1662-1702
Commentary
Psalm 2 matches neatly with Psalm 1 in the opening of the Psalter. Psalm 1 looked at “the blessed man” who delights in the law of the LORD. Psalm 2 concludes by saying that the man who trusts in the Son is blessed. In other words, if you would be blessed, then you need to “kiss the Son” and take refuge in him.
Structure:
Psalm 2 is clearly structured in four stanzas: 1) the raging of the nations; 2) the terrifying laughter of God; 3) the LORD’s decree of the Messiah’s Sonship; and 4) the warning to the nations. Any metrical version must maintain this four-fold structure, or it abandons all hope of communicating the basic message of the Psalm.
Translation Notes:
Since 2 Samuel 7 says that God will adopt the son of David and establish the throne of David forever, it is clear that Psalm 2 was written with that in view. It certainly would have been appropriate for the sons of David to have this sung at their coronation (as some scholars have suggested) — although it is also clear that each of those sons of David fell far short of the terrifying glory of the Son of Psalm 2. (In fact, it is entirely possible, given the use of the Aramaic “bar” in place of “ben” (Son) in verses 7 and 12, that Psalm 2 was only written during the exile). Either way, Psalm 2 clearly points beyond the feeble and puny kingdom of Judah to the glorious kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, I object to all the attempts in some metrical versions to minimize the Christological language of this Psalm. Larry Wilson deserves much of the credit for the revised text — and even where we have not followed him, we agreed with him that the prior text from the Book of Psalms for Singing needed a lot of work (only a handful of phrases remain from the BPS text).
We have worked hard to maintain as many phrases from the ESV (our standard translation) in order to help people connect the metrical version with the version they read and hear:
Metrical: “Why do heathen nations rage? Why do peoples plot in vain?” (v1)
ESV: “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?”
Metrical: “Let us burst their bonds, they cry, let us cast their cords away.” (v3)
ESV: “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us”
Metrical:”He who sits in heaven laughs; God the Lord derides them all.” (v4)
ESV: “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.”
Metrical: “”You are now a Son to me, I’ve begotten you today” (v7)
ESV: “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.”
Tune Notes:
Salzburg (Hintze) has a robust opening line that matches well the opening of each of the four stanzas:
1) the opening challenge of the nations
2) the terrifying laughter of God
3) the announcement of the Lord’s decree
4) the warning to the nations
In the third line, it turns to the minor — a contrasting feel (with a little more dissonance and the rising melody line of the third line provides some rising tension) — resolving in the melodic arc of the fourth line which again is appropriate again in all four stanzas:
1) it highlights the challenge against the LORD and his Messiah
2) it highlights God’s setting his King to reign according to his will
3) it highlights the offered inheritance
4) it highlights the call to kiss the Son
Salzburg (Hintze) is used by the RPCNA in both the BPS and the BPW.
Conclusion
Monsey Chapel (from the CRC Psalter Hymnals) and St. George’s Windsor (from the Complete Book of Psalms for Singing and the RCNZ’s Sing to the LORD) are both in 77 77D — so I am optimistic that we will have a very good text for Psalm 2.
For my sermon on Psalm 2 — please see http://peterwallace.org/sermons/Ps02.htm
— Peter J. Wallace
by Michiana Covenant | Dec 23, 2013 | Psalmody, Psalter Hymnal
Psalm 1
I have a particular zeal for Psalm 1. If this Psalm is not done well, it sets a bad tone for the rest of the Psalter.
[UPDATE: the OPC/URC committee has revised their selection in order to include “St. Petersburg” as well as “Meditation.” I am delighted to hear the news. I will not edit the following comments — but they should be read as objecting to the former proposal, not the current proposal! (April 15, 2014)]
I probably need to state up front that on Psalm 1 I have a strong objection to the current proposal in the OPC/URC project. The OPC Composition Subcommittee originally adopted the following text to “St. Petersburg,” but then, in discussion with the URC, the OPC Committee on Christian Education, replaced that text and tune with the Sing Psalms C.M. text set to “Arlington.” This post will argue that this is a serious mistake that should be corrected.
Text: 88 88 88 (Sing Psalms, 2003 – alt. MCPC, 2013)
1 How blest the man who does not walk
where wicked men would guide his feet,
who does not stand in sinners ways
nor sit upon the scorners’ seat.
2 The law of GOD is his delight,
his meditation day and night.
3 For he is like a growing tree
that’s planted by a flowing stream,
and in its season yields its fruit;
its leaves are always fresh and green.
In all to which he puts his mind
prosperity he’ll surely find.
4 Not so the wicked; they are like
the chaff the wind will blow away.
5 They will not in the judgment stand,
nor sinners with the righteous stay.
6 GOD knows the way the righteous go;
the wicked’s way he’ll overthrow.
Tune: St. Petersburg
Commentary
Throughout these notes, I will include comments about 1) the structure of the Psalm, 2) particular emphases of the translation, 3) the rationale behind the tune, and 4) any concluding comments.
Structure:
As we examined various texts for Psalm 1, we were initially attracted to a common meter text (the one used in the OPC/URC proposal), but became convinced that the text does not work well in the five or six stanza arrangement demanded by the CM text.
In our text we include the whole first sentence of the Psalm in the first stanza (verses 1-2). Then the second stanza covers verse 3 – the description of the fruitfulness and prosperity of the blessed man. The third stanza concludes the Psalm with the judgment against the wicked (verses 4-6).
Translation Notes:
With any metrical text, there are certain considerations that are important for “singing with understanding.”
Psalm 1 has a number of key words/phrases that are crucial to maintain in a metrical version.
In verse 1, there are three parallel verbs that should be retained:
“who walks not…nor stands…nor sits…”
Our 88.88.88 text says:
“who does not walk…who does not stand…nor sit…”
The CM text used in the OPC/URC proposal says:
“who turns away…who does not stand…or sit…”
“Turns away” does not convey the idea of walking. It is essential that Psalm 1 emphasize walking in the right way.
The theme of the “two ways” is at the heart of the Psalm. Therefore, I argue that any metrical translation should use the same English word to translate “derek” (way). There are three uses of “way” in verse 1 and verse 6 (2X):
the CM text says: “path…way…way”
the 88.88.88 text says: “way…way…way”
In addition, the CM text expands verse 2 with various elaborations. I realize that this is necessary sometimes to fit the requirements of meter. But the 88.88.88 text has no such need.
Likewise, “judgment” in the Hebrew of verse 5 is definite, and so should be rendered “the judgment” — with definite overtones of eschatological judgment in view.
I recognize that GOD is not as felicitous as LORD as a translation of “Yahweh,” but trying to get two syllables into those lines proved rather difficult – and the capitalization of GOD makes it very clear that the divine name is in view here.
Tune Notes:
St. Petersburg captures very nicely the pastoral setting of Psalm 1. The blessed man is not walking in the counsel of the wicked, but rather is a tree flourishing by streams of water — and so it is fitting that St. Petersburg has the feel of a stream winding through a meadow.
St. Petersburg is used with Psalm 1 in The Complete Book of Psalms for Singing (PCEA), Sing Psalms (FCS), and Sing to the Lord (RCNZ). It is also used in the 1990 Trinity Hymnal with hymns 88, 522 and 635.
Conclusion:
As I will often say in these comments, I don’t object to having alternate texts in the Psalter — but only if the better text is also available. Some tunes are so closely associated with particular Psalms that it would be cruel to eliminate them. Since Arlington and Meditation are both CM tunes, it would be easy enough to use Meditation with a CM text, and include a note saying, “May also be sung to Arlington”
For my sermon on Psalm 1, please see http://peterwallace.org/sermons/Ps01.htm
– Peter J. Wallace
by Michiana Covenant | Dec 23, 2013 | Psalter Hymnal
For the last several years I served on the Composition Subcommittee for the OPC’s Psalter Hymnal project. But for several years before that, Michiana Covenant had been working on this project — developing our “Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs” which has been in use since 2004 (the third edition is now in the pews at MCPC).
I am eager to see more discussion of Psalmody and Hymnody among the church at large — and I think that this discussion would help folks at MCPC (and elsewhere) to think through “why we do what we do” in worship. So over the next few months I will be working through all 150 Psalms in order to provide something of a rationale for why we use the particular text and tune combination that we do. I do not claim to have final answers — the work is always a work in progress! — but I will at least give an explanation for the current status of the Psalm.
Our congregation is also working on a project to record a number of the Psalms for the sake of those who would like to be able to hear how the Psalms sound.
I will do my best to interact with the OPC/URC proposal, which you can find at: www.psalterhymnal.org (you will need a password — as explained on the site). But since that will doubtless continue to change over time, I make no promises that my comments will always intersect with their work.
In past years we hosted “Psalter Workshops” at MCPC to draw together pastors and musicians to discuss the project. I see this blog as an opportunity to widen the discussion and hopefully draw together more conversation — both to promote and to improve the Psalter Hymnal project, as well as to introduce it to others.
Along the way, I will also draw attention to various other resources online — such as hymnary.org (at Calvin College) which provides a marvelous resource for psalmody and hymnody, drawing together hundreds, if not thousands, of hymnals. A more targeted website is the Genevan Psalter page — genevanpsalter.redeemer.ca — which provides an excellent introduction to the Genevan Psalter.
— Peter J. Wallace
by Michiana Covenant | Dec 23, 2013 | Patristics, Worship
Why should we celebrate Christmas on December 25? I argue that we should celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25 for the same reason that we confess the Nicene Creed. If we believe that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us — in other words, if we believe that Jesus Christ is God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God — then we should celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25.
A few days ago I pointed to Andrew McGowan’s explanation of the historical origins of the date.
http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/new-testament/how-december-25-became-christmas/
My chief quibble with his explanation is that he thinks that the emperor Aurelian (ca. 274) set the feast of Sol Invictus on December 25 — when in fact Aurelian’s celebration took place in October:
Christmas is NOT based on the feast of Sol Invictus
http://chronicon.net/blog/christmas/sol-invictus-evidently-not-a-precursor-to-christmas/
But none of these articles actually explain why we celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25. After all, it is clear from the evidence that there were people as early as 200 A.D. who believed that Jesus was born on December 25 — and yet it seems equally clear that it took another one hundred years before anyone was celebrating Christmas. Why?
I would suggest that when you overlay the Trinitarian controversy with the celebration of December 25 as Christmas, you get a very interesting picture.
Gregory of Nazianzus (author of the “Theological Orations” — an important series of sermons expounding the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity) introduced the practice of the December 25 celebration of the birth of Jesus into Constantinople in 379 (January 6 had been the previous date recognized in the East). John Chrysostom says that December 25 had been celebrated in Antioch as early as 376.
There is also the intriguing story of Nicholas, the bishop of Lyra (later known in Christmas lore as “St. Nicholas”), who is said to have attended the council of Nicaea in 325 AD. The story is told that the debate over Arius’s views grew so heated, that during the exchange Nicholas punched Arius in the face — resulting in the comment of one friend that he sees every Christmas sermon as an opportunity to join St. Nicholas in punching Arius in the face!
In other words, the celebration of the birth of Jesus on December 25 goes hand-in-hand with the triumph of the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity.
Now, some would say that all of this is very nice and good — but Scripture nowhere tells us to celebrate the birth of Jesus. That is true — but Scripture does tell us to commemorate the great deeds of God in history. Esther and Mordecai establish the feast of Purim to celebrate God’s deliverance of Israel from Haman. And, following this example, the Jews established Hanukkah (the feast of dedication) to celebrate their deliverance by the Maccabees. And John 10:22 tells us that Jesus went to the temple for the Feast of Dedication. John’s gospel is structured around the feasts that Jesus attended (cf. John 2:23; 4:45; 5:1; 6:4; 7:2; 10:22; 11:55; 12:1) — and John (and Jesus) treats the Feast of Dedication just like the other feasts, so no one can argue that this is a mere civil occasion. So if Jesus observed a Maccabean feast, that would indicate that he permits us to institute days of thanksgiving — or days of fasting — as needful and useful for the church.
Incidentally, this is what our Westminster Confession of Faith says in 21.5 — when it endorses the practice of “solemn fastings, and thanksgivings upon special occasions, which are, in their several times and seasons, to be used in an holy and religious manner.” I realize that many (though not all) of the Westminster Divines objected to the celebration of Christmas on December 25 — but the principles that they articulated leaves open the option for the church to establish special occasions of this sort.
It seems to me that if we are going to have “Reformation Day” services on October 31 — where we celebrate the reformation of the church in the 16th century — then we should also have “Nicene Day” services on December 25 — where we celebrate the triumph of Nicene Orthodoxy in the 4th century!
I have little use for trees, gifts, Santa Claus, and all the commercial hoopla that surrounds December 25. (Notice: I did not say that I have no use for such things — merely that I have little use for such things, and such little use as I have, I hope to use in loving God and neighbor through such things). But December 25, as far as I am concerned, is about rejoicing in what God did when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
–Peter J. Wallace
