The Psalter for Christian Worship, Revised Edition
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About this ebook
We lift up the psalms to God as our prayers. We borrow the language of these ancient texts, and they become our works. We are not secondhand recipients of Gods word but communicants actively in conversation with God. What seems to set the Psalms apart from the rest of Scripture is their sacramental nature, their unique ability to mold and transform the believer. The Psalter for Christian Worshipreclaims the Psalms for congregational worship with new texts set to familiar hymnal tunes. This collection, for worship leaders, musicians, and congregations, will inspire both corporate and private devotions.Features include: The Old Testament flavor of the Psalter is retained with new sensitivity to imagery and inclusive language; all 150 psalms have been converted into hymns of reasonable length to be sung in church; an index of suggested hymn tunes is included; and an index for liturgical use is also provided.
Michael Morgan
Michael Morgan is seminary musician for Columbia Theological Seminary and organist at Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. He is also a Psalm scholar and owns one of the largest collections of English Bibles in the country.
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The Psalter for Christian Worship, Revised Edition - Michael Morgan
The Psalter for Christian Worship
Revised Edition
The Psalter for Christian Worship
Revised Edition
Michael Morgan
© 2010 Michael Morgan
Originally published as The Psalter for Christian Worship, Revised Edition in 2010 by Witherspoon Press, Louisville, Kentucky.
2019 edition
Published by Westminster John Knox Press
Louisville, Kentucky
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28—10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Westminster John Knox Press, 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202-1396. Or contact us online at www.wjkbooks.com.
Permission to reprint texts in worship bulletins is granted. The following attribution must accompany the reprinted texts: From The Psalter for Christian Worship. © 2010 Michael Morgan. Used by permission of Westminster John Knox Press.
Every effort has been made to trace copyrights on the materials included in this book. If any copyrighted material has nevertheless been included without permission and due acknowledgment, proper credit will be inserted in future printings after notice has been received.
Book design by Jeanne Williams
Cover design by Allison Taylor
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Morgan, Michael, 1948- author.
Title: The Psalter for Christian worship / Michael Morgan.
Description: Revised edition. | Louisville, Kentucky : Westminster John Knox Press, 2019. | Originally published as The Psalter for Christian Worship, Revised Edition in 2010 by Witherspoon Press, Louisville, Kentucky.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019021674 (print) | LCCN 2019981532 (ebook) | ISBN 9780664265410 (paperback) | ISBN 9781611649406 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Reformed Church--Liturgy--Texts. | Psalters--Texts.
Classification: LCC BX9427.5.P74 M67 2019 (print) | LCC BX9427.5.P74 (ebook) | DDC 264/.05137015--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019021674
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019981532
Most Westminster John Knox Press books are available at special quantity discounts when purchased in bulk by corporations, organizations, and special-interest groups. For more information, please e-mail SpecialSales@wjkbooks.com.
To the worshiping communities of
Central Presbyterian Church and
Columbia Theological Seminary,
and to all who would find in these pages
words to frame their prayers and praise.
Contents
Preface
Introduction
The Psalms
Book I
Psalm 1
Psalm 2
Psalm 3
Psalm 4
Psalm 5
Psalm 6
Psalm 7
Psalm 8
Psalm 9
Psalm 10
Psalm 11
Psalm 12
Psalm 13
Psalm 14
Psalm 15
Psalm 16
Psalm 17
Psalm 18
Psalm 19
Psalm 20
Psalm 21
Psalm 22a
Psalm 22b
Psalm 23
Psalm 24
Psalm 25
Psalm 26
Psalm 27
Psalm 28
Psalm 29
Psalm 30
Psalm 31a
Psalm 31b
Psalm 32
Psalm 33
Psalm 34
Psalm 35
Psalm 36
Psalm 37
Psalm 38
Psalm 39
Psalm 40
Psalm 41
Book II
Psalm 42
Psalm 43
Psalm 44
Psalm 45a
Psalm 45b
Psalm 46
Psalm 47
Psalm 48
Psalm 49
Psalm 50
Psalm 51
Psalm 52
Psalm 53
Psalm 54
Psalm 55
Psalm 56
Psalm 57
Psalm 58
Psalm 59
Psalm 60
Psalm 61
Psalm 62
Psalm 63
Psalm 64
Psalm 65
Psalm 66a
Psalm 66b
Psalm 67
Psalm 68
Psalm 69
Psalm 70
Psalm 71
Psalm 72
Book III
Psalm 73
Psalm 74
Psalm 75
Psalm 76
Psalm 77
Psalm 78
Psalm 79
Psalm 80
Psalm 81
Psalm 82
Psalm 83
Psalm 84
Psalm 85
Psalm 86
Psalm 87
Psalm 88
Psalm 89a
Psalm 89b
Book IV
Psalm 90
Psalm 91
Psalm 92
Psalm 93
Psalm 94
Psalm 95
Psalm 96
Psalm 97
Psalm 98
Psalm 99
Psalm 100
Psalm 101
Psalm 102
Psalm 103
Psalm 104a
Psalm 104b
Psalm 105a
Psalm 105b
Psalm 106
Book V
Psalm 107
Psalm 108
Psalm 109
Psalm 110
Psalm 111
Psalm 112
Psalm 113
Psalm 114
Psalm 115
Psalm 116
Psalm 117
Psalm 118
Psalm 119a
Psalm 119b
Psalm 119c
Psalm 119d
Psalm 119e
Psalm 119f
Psalm 119g
Psalm 120
Psalm 121
Psalm 122
Psalm 123
Psalm 124
Psalm 125
Psalm 126
Psalm 127
Psalm 128
Psalm 129
Psalm 130
Psalm 131
Psalm 132
Psalm 133
Psalm 134
Psalm 135
Psalm 136
Psalm 137
Psalm 138
Psalm 139
Psalm 140
Psalm 141
Psalm 142
Psalm 143
Psalm 144
Psalm 145
Psalm 146
Psalm 147a
Psalm 147b
Psalm 148
Psalm 149
Psalm 150
Index of Psalms for Liturgical Use
Preface
The psalm paraphrases in this collection were composed during the spring and summer of 1995 for the congregation of Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Georgia.
As part of our congregation’s desire to reclaim metrical psalm singing, which is at the heart of our Reformed tradition, Dr. Theodore Wardlaw challenged me to write new Editions of the Lectionary psalms for Eastertide. The worshipers at Central Church have a strong attachment to congregational song, and with their encouragement, I composed settings of all 150 psalms. These psalter hymns were designed to be sung to a variety of tunes that our congregation knew from memory, making them readily accessible.
Never before had I embarked on such a meaningful and self-illuminating devotional exercise. I repeatedly found my life experience reflected in the psalms on which I worked. Often, I would struggle with a particular psalm with little insight or inspiration, and in frustration turn to another, where the words would flow almost as quickly as I could write. Sometimes the first line to come to me would be halfway down the page, and the text would grow from there in both directions until the psalm was complete.
My parameters were defined from the beginning:
1. Make the texts suitable for congregational singing. The approach to each text was the same: to condense thought and repetition into single units, paraphrasing those to achieve the sense of the psalm. I sought help in commentaries and devotionals from Calvin and Horne, to Dahood and Brueggemann. Where the Revised Common Lectionary abbreviated the texts or divided the longer psalms, I considered the same alignment in my edition.
2. Remain faithful to the character of the psalms. I have sought not to Christianize
the psalms, but to balance images and allusions from both sides of the cross (Hebrew poet and the Messiah of the Gospels, the shepherd boy and the Good Shepherd), tempering judgment with justice and vengeance with grace.
3. Employ modern English language. In the first edition, a significant number of texts used thee,
thou,
thy,
and thine
in reference to God. Even though much of our association with the Psalms is cloaked in this classic style, the texts in this revised edition have been reworded in modern English to make them universal in their appeal to those who