For some time I’ve been persuaded by those who say the church should sing Psalms.
But do any churches sing Psalms? The closest we come in the Reformed tradition is that we sing “metrical” Psalms, which are liberally paraphrased and rearranged so that the words fit hymn meters. Which is good as far as it goes. But it doesn’t take long to realize that the hymn meter has predominance over the text, and sometimes, as with any paraphrase of any text, original meanings are obscured and new meanings are introduced. So metrical Psalms: okay, but not ideal. You aren’t singing the actual Psalm. A familiar metrical Psalm may stick in the mind and heart, memorized, but that doesn’t help you call to mind the actual language of the Psalm when you want it.
Many Christians also sing selected Psalm verses as chorus-type songs. The good thing is, this will be the actual text of the Psalm and you do remember it. The problem is, it is usually a verse without context, and you don’t know the whole Psalm. And naturally, it is the “happy” verses that get sung; the difficult verses are never selected and sung. You will sing “My glory and the lifter of my head,” but not “you strike all my foes on the cheek and break the teeth of the wicked.”
At which point, many question whether we should really attempt to sing the actual Psalms at all.
In some traditions, the Psalms are chanted. In such a case, the text of the Psalm remains whole and original. Which is what you want. But it doesn’t take long to realize that nobody really takes the chant melody with them. The music does not reinforce memorization. Does anyone remember a familiar chant that sticks in the mind and heart so that you can call to mind the actual language of the Psalm when you want it?
I’m not convinced that it is not possible to contrive whole-psalm singable tunes. I’ve done some. I should do more.
Psalm001 Youtube—– 001-PDF —– 001PNG —– 001PPT —– 001WAV
Psalm002 Youtube —–002-PDF —– 002PNG —– 002PPT —– 002WAV
Psalm003 Youtube —–003-PDF —– 003PNG —– 003PPT —– 003WAV
Psalm008 Youtube —–008-PDF —– 008PNG —– 008PPT —– 008WAV
Psalm013 Youtube —–013-PDF —– 013PNG —– 013PPT —– 013WAV
Psalm015 Youtube —–015-PDF —– 015PNG —– 015PPT —– 015WAV
in a lower Key: Psalm 15
Psalm023 Youtube —–023-PDF —– 023PNG —– 023PPT —– 023WAV
Psalm047 Youtube —–047-PDF —– 047PNG —– 047PPT —– 047WAV
Psalm055 Youtube —–054-PDF —– 054PNG —– 054PPT —– 054WAV
Psalm067 Youtube —–067-PDF —– 067PNG —– 067PPT —– 067WAV
Psalm082 Youtube —–082-PDF —– 082PNG —– 082PPT —– 082WAV
Psalm100 Youtube —–100-PDF —– 100PNG —– 100PPT —– 100WAV
Psalm110 Youtube —–110-PDF —– 110PNG —– 110PPT —– 110WAV
Psalm121 Youtube —–121-PDF —– 121PNG —– 121PPT —– 121WAV
Psalm130 Youtube —–130-PDF —– 130PNG —– 130PPT —– 130WAV
Psalm131 Youtube —–131-PDF —– 131PNG —– 131PPT —– 131WAV
Psalm133 Youtube —–133-PDF —– 133PNG —– 133PPT —– 133WAV
Psalm134 Youtube —–134-PDF —– 134PNG —– 134PPT —– 134WAV
Psalm149 Youtube —–149-PDF —– 149PNG —– 149PPT —– 149WAV
Psalm150 Youtube —–150-PDF —– 150PNG —– 150PPT —– 150WAV
The Presbyteer 