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 | Feb 17, 2013 | Catechesis, Pastor Peter Wallace, Pastoral Notes, Pastoral Practice, Psalmody, Sabbath
Jamie Stoltzfus linked to this article on Facebook (though it was Jacob’s comment, “Trying to picture Peter Wallace in plaid and skinny jeans” that called my attention to it and convinced me to read it!):
http://marc5solas.wordpress.com/2013/02/08/top-10-reasons-our-kids-leave-church/
It is a good reminder of why we are doing what we do — and a challenge to work on doing it even better!
1) Why do the catechism quiz every week (10:10 a.m.)? Because we are working on instilling within ourselves (and our children) the basic grammar of Christian doctrine. Don’t assume that this is only for children. I never memorized the catechism until we started doing it at MCPC, but I find that the repetition is really helping me to get it stuck in my head and heart (especially as we have added the scripture memory verses). And for those who may say, “Yeah, I did that once,” — I would ask, “Do you still know it?” If not, come back, let’s do it again — and again — and again! Is it perfect? No, but if we wait for perfection we’ll never do anything!
2) Sing. Paul says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16). Notice that in Colossians 3, Paul isn’t talking about what we do in public worship — he’s talking about what we do in daily life! Do you know these songs well enough to sing them in your daily life? Do you incorporate them into your daily life? These are the sorts of customs and practices that sink deep into a person’s soul. If the only place you ever encounter this is on Sunday morning, then don’t expect it to get any further than one day a week in your life!
But Sunday morning is still a good place to start. Come and sing at 10 a.m. We generally sing through the most challenging piece of music that we’ll be singing in the morning service and work on it part by part. And as your children get older, bring them along to work on parts as well (and for those without kids, find a kid — or an adult who wants to learn how to sing — and take them under your wing to help them along). If you want to know how to sing better, stand next to [or in front of] someone who sings well.
And yes, we are planning on making sure that we have enough copies of the new psalter that you can have copies at home!
3) Talk with others about the sermon. Go deeper. Think together about what the scripture says about who Jesus is and what he has done. Let his story become the center of your conversation (it is, after all, the center of everything else!). Use the order of service throughout the week to encourage your daily prayers at home and with others. I include it here in the pastoral notes so that you can make use of it. Obviously, if you already have a thriving family worship time, then there is no need to alter it for this — but if you are looking for a place to start, it may help.
4) Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. The point of the Sabbath has to do with how we think about time. God said to work for six days and rest on the seventh. Do we set aside our labors for a whole day? God did. This was the pattern of creation. No, we don’t keep the same Sabbath as Israel (and we shouldn’t think about the Sabbath in terms of the whole Mosaic code — any more than we should think about theft in the same way as the whole Mosaic code!), but how do we use time? In the same way that we give to God the first of our produce, we should give to God the first of our time. Are we calling the Sabbath a delight? Or are we so focused on our own agendas that we squeeze God’s time out? Again — these sorts of practices and customs are crucial for shaping our life together before God.
Obviously, if these practices and customs do not really touch the core of our lives, then the children will see it — and will decry it as the hypocrisy that it is. But if they see the joy of the Spirit in us — if they see our thankful obedience reflected in our grace-filled walk, then perhaps by God’s grace they, too, will walk with us in the way of Christ.
by Michiana Covenant | Feb 10, 2013 | Pastor Peter Wallace, Pastoral Notes, Pastoral Practice, Psalmody, Worship
What shapes us? What forms us? What is it that makes us “who we are”? Are we shaped mostly by ideas (our intellectual beliefs) or by our practices and customs?
I grew up Baptist — but I became Reformed because I was convinced by the *ideas.* Did that make me Reformed? Sort of. I was a Reformed Christian *intellectually* — but as my friends noticed at the time, I was still fundamentally a Baptist in my ways of living, as one friend told me as I was grumbling about the problems of individualism in American church culture: “Peter, you’re the biggest individualist I know!”
Looking back, if I had continued to be an *ideas* person, who knows where I’d be today. What was it that formed me as a Reformed pastor?
1) Every Sunday morning and evening for more than two years I sat under the preaching of Lendall Smith at Bethel Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Wheaton, participating in their well-crafted liturgy — and coming to the Lord’s Supper (as I began to grasp intellectually what the Lord’s Supper really was, and trembling as I partook of Christ’s body and blood, as I realized that Paul’s warning really meant something!). And then I spent many Sunday afternoons — and other times — with the Larsons, the Brinks, the DeJongs, and other families — learning and watching their practice of being a Reformed family.
2) Every month for nearly five years (two at Wheaton and three at Westminster) I gathered with other students at the home of Darryl and Ann Hart to talk about what it means to be Reformed. Yes, there was deep theological discussion — but it was embodied in the lived practice of a community.
3) At Westminster I was frequently in the Powlison home (usually on the third floor with David and Sharon Covington). Again, the intellectual found its context in a vibrant fellowship of life together. For two years I lived with Steve and Lynn Igo — and their bouncing boys — participating in their family life and worship (our family worship bears considerable resemblance to theirs!), learning to put into practice the counseling paradigm that we were taught in our relationships with each other.
4) My first year at Notre Dame, I gathered with the Deliyannides and Devlins practically every Sunday in the Allison’s tiny 525 square foot apartment — where we always sang a half dozen Psalms. I had been convinced intellectually for years that we should sing more Psalms — but I had never done it! Ben Allison made sure that it happened. The rituals and practices of those few short months shaped me in ways that my ideas never had.
5) As I was licensed and ordained in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, I was enculturated into a particular way of being Reformed — the boundaries and norms of the Midwest Presbytery shaped me both in explicit and implicit ways — some of which were significantly challenged when Glenn Jerrell walked into my life and gave me another way of being an OPC pastor. Two years of sitting under his ministry at Walkerton reshaped me in many ways (some of which I probably do not even realize!).
6) Plainly the content of what I learned and read has been crucial — but also who I learned it from! When you have learned Union with Christ from Dick Gaffin, Judges from Al Groves, Genesis from Doug Green, and when you have heard Sinclair Ferguson pray his lectures every day before he preaches them, you will never be the same again.
But all of this runs into another way of being and knowing and doing — one that is well-articulated by Matthew Vos’s article on the Super Bowl.
http://www.cardus.ca/comment/article/3864/prizes-and-consumables-the-super-bowl-as-a-theology-of-women/
[Thanks to Mark Hanson for the link — and to be fair, I should note that I watched most of the Super Bowl.]
Vos points out that the customs and practices encouraged by the Super Bowl embody a fundamentally idolatrous way of being human (an Ezekiel 16 sort of culture — for those who weren’t at MCPC a couple years ago, Ezekiel 16 could be summarized as, ‘Cinderella becomes a porn star’).
So much of the church today is trying to make Christianity more palatable to our culture by trying to put the content of Christianity into the forms and customs of our culture (see Vos’s comments on this). I once spoke to a young man from Muncie, Indiana, who said he was looking for a church down there. I asked him, “What are you looking for in a church?” He answered, “I just want to be entertained.”
I was dumbfounded at his honesty (so I didn’t quite know what to say!), but it got me thinking. There are two things that I do not want to do:
1) I do not want simply to entertain him (it would only cheapen the good news of what Jesus has done);
2) I do not want to bore him (that would also cheapen the good news of what Jesus has done!).
Rather, I want him to see that there is something so much more grand and glorious that God has done in Jesus! And that’s where the customs and practices of our life together are so essential. If what we do on Sunday morning is disconnected from what we do the rest of the week, then yes, it will feel jarring (and so if that young man would ever come to MCPC, I don’t doubt that he will find it strange — but by the Spirit of God he should see a strange and beautiful power revealed there!). But if what we do on Sunday morning begins to shape what we do the rest of the week, then we will begin to find the practices of our culture to be strange and jarring.
The ideas are relevant to all this — but disembodied ideas are a mere fantasy!
