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
