Many of us know Matt Bassford from the hymns he has written for us to sing and has explained on his blog. That he understands both music and poetry is obvious. "Exalted," which we sing fairly often, is one of my favorites of his, and never fails to send chills down my spine and make my hair stand on end. Now he has done us all a monumental service by paraphrasing the entire Psalter and choosing tunes to sing them with. As he says in his introduction we are commanded to sing psalms and we seldom if ever do.
Speaking of that introduction, it should be preached from every pulpit in the country. Our culture has taught us that the songs we sing in worship should all be songs of praise or thanksgiving. Look through the inspired songbook (Psalms) and you will find out that we are leaving out the majority of things we should be singing about. My own study of the Psalms several years ago left me shocked to discover that only 30% of the psalms were praise psalms. The largest majority were psalms of lament. Even when we do use a psalm, we "cherrypick" as Matt calls it, the cheerful parts and leave the rest untouched. I remember a song leader introducing a new song and boasting, "It's straight from the Bible. No one should complain." But that song took one verse of a much longer psalm, repeated that verse almost endlessly, and completely ignored the rest. Another quote from Matt's introduction: "Though this neglect of the more challenging psalms may make our assemblies less demanding, it leaves us woefully unprepared to face the sorrows of life under the sun."
Matt has given us beautifully worded paraphrases for each psalm. For the longer psalms, he divides them into two, three, or more separate psalms (such as Psalm 119). Then he suggests a tune to sing it by, usually a well-known standard hymn. I have tried several of them and they always work out, unlike some of the modern praise songs that throw six words on one or two notes and just expect you to fit them in somehow. He also includes other ways to change the tune if it is one you don't know, with his metrical descriptions. As long as you find a tune with the same metrical description (many hymnals have them now), it will fit. From my own experience with these psalms, practice at home first. If the tune is one you barely know, find it in the hymnal and sing it a few times first to cement the tune in your mind. Then try it with Matt's words. And don't do too many at once. I found myself suddenly switching to another tune right in the middle of the fourth one. But I could handle three in a row with little trouble.
Several churches have begun studying the Psalms with the aid of this book. After it has been thoroughly dissected, they then sing the psalm with the suggested tune, or one they have found that matches the meter and which their group is more familiar with. Matt has done us a great service. This is truly a labor of love for his brethren, and one of devotion to the God he serves. Well done, Matt.
Worshiping with the Psalms comes from Truth Publications.
Dene Ward
Speaking of that introduction, it should be preached from every pulpit in the country. Our culture has taught us that the songs we sing in worship should all be songs of praise or thanksgiving. Look through the inspired songbook (Psalms) and you will find out that we are leaving out the majority of things we should be singing about. My own study of the Psalms several years ago left me shocked to discover that only 30% of the psalms were praise psalms. The largest majority were psalms of lament. Even when we do use a psalm, we "cherrypick" as Matt calls it, the cheerful parts and leave the rest untouched. I remember a song leader introducing a new song and boasting, "It's straight from the Bible. No one should complain." But that song took one verse of a much longer psalm, repeated that verse almost endlessly, and completely ignored the rest. Another quote from Matt's introduction: "Though this neglect of the more challenging psalms may make our assemblies less demanding, it leaves us woefully unprepared to face the sorrows of life under the sun."
Matt has given us beautifully worded paraphrases for each psalm. For the longer psalms, he divides them into two, three, or more separate psalms (such as Psalm 119). Then he suggests a tune to sing it by, usually a well-known standard hymn. I have tried several of them and they always work out, unlike some of the modern praise songs that throw six words on one or two notes and just expect you to fit them in somehow. He also includes other ways to change the tune if it is one you don't know, with his metrical descriptions. As long as you find a tune with the same metrical description (many hymnals have them now), it will fit. From my own experience with these psalms, practice at home first. If the tune is one you barely know, find it in the hymnal and sing it a few times first to cement the tune in your mind. Then try it with Matt's words. And don't do too many at once. I found myself suddenly switching to another tune right in the middle of the fourth one. But I could handle three in a row with little trouble.
Several churches have begun studying the Psalms with the aid of this book. After it has been thoroughly dissected, they then sing the psalm with the suggested tune, or one they have found that matches the meter and which their group is more familiar with. Matt has done us a great service. This is truly a labor of love for his brethren, and one of devotion to the God he serves. Well done, Matt.
Worshiping with the Psalms comes from Truth Publications.
Dene Ward
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