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19 Dec 2020

Sternhold & Hopkins' Metrical Psalter

The same year that the Genevan Psalter was completed and published, 1562, saw the publication as well of the English-language Sternhold & Hopkins Psalter. Its origins also reach to Geneva, where English protestants were living in exile during the reign of Queen Mary (1553-1558), whose ruthless persecution of protestants is recounted in Foxe's Book of Martyrs. Two years earlier the Geneva Bible had been published, and subsequent editions included, not only the book of Psalms proper, but also Miles Coverdale's prose Psalms from the Book of Common Prayer and the Sternhod & Hopkins metrical psalter. The Remnant's Voice channel on YouTube has recently posted nearly eight hours of a computer-generated male voice reading through the entire Sternhold & Hopkins, including such non-psalm canticles as the Te Deum and the Benedicite Omnia Opera.

I do not necessarily recommend listening to the entire recording, but it may serve as a handy reference for those interested in the S&H. However, this might work better: The Whole Book of Psalms Collected into English Metre By Thomas Sternhold, John Hopkins, and Others. Some of the texts differ from the recorded version, suggesting revisions between 1562 and 1599. The S&H remained in use throughout the 17th century in England until replaced by Tate & Brady's "New Version" Psalter in 1696.

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