Book of Common Prayer: Miles Coverdale's Psalter

Two months ago I acquired a copy of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer: International Edition, which was recently published by InterVarsity Press. Although there were earlier editions of the BCP published in 1549, 1552, 1559, and 1604, the 1662 became the standard Prayer Book enduring throughout subsequent centuries in the Church of England and in the other Anglican provinces around the globe. This edition was adopted two years after the restoration of the Stuarts to the thrones of the three kingdoms under King Charles II, and it represents the definitive version of the BCP, coming at the end of a period of intense civil strife and religious turmoil.

The heart of the BCP is, of course, the 150 Psalms. Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, who was responsible for the first BCP during the reign of the boy king, Edward VI, combined the monastic prayer offices used throughout the day into the two offices of Morning and Evening Prayer, which are found at the beginning of the volume. He organized the Psalms to be prayed through in their canonical order every thirty days at these two prayer offices. Last month I followed this schedule and used the Psalms in this volume, as translated by Miles Coverdale. Unlike the King James Version, which was translated from the Hebrew, Coverdale translated the Psalms from the Latin Vulgate and from Luther's German Bible.

The Coverdale Psalms are quirky at best, but they endured for centuries in Anglican worship until well into the 20th century. They lack the literary elegance of the KJV, and they have something of a rushed and unfinished feel, opting for some peculiar renderings that are jarring to the ears of the uninitiated. For example:

KJV: "He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity" (Psalm 10:6).

Coverdale: "For he hath said in his heart, Tush, I shall never be cast down: there shall no harm happen unto me."

KJV: "He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it" (Psalm 10:11).

Coverdale: "He hath said in his heart, Tush, God hath forgotten: he hideth away his face, and he will never see it."

KJV: "Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it" (Psalm 10:13).

Coverdale: "Wherefore should the wicked blaspheme God: while he doth say in his heart, Tush, thou God carest not for it."

KJV: "And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High?" (Psalm 73:11)

Coverdale: "Tush, say they, how should God perceive it: is there knowledge in the most High?"

Merriam-Webster defines tush as a word "used to express disdain or reproach." It is rarely used today, although it may have been more common in the past. In any event, it sounds odd, at least to my ears, in a biblical text. Then there is the use of luck, a word otherwise spurned by Christians for its connotation of chance occurrence seemingly without reference to God. Examples:

KJV: "And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things" (Psalm 45:4).

Coverdale: "Good luck have thou with thine honour: ride on, because of the word of truth, of meekness, and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things."

KJV: "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD" (Psalm 118:26).

Coverdale: "Blessed be he that cometh in the Name of the Lord: we have wished you good luck, ye that are of the house of the Lord."

KJV: "Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the LORD be upon you: we bless you in the name of the LORD" (Psalm 129:8).

Coverdale: "So that they who go by, say not so much as, The Lord prosper you: we wish you good luck in the Name of the Lord."

Then there are the references to the unicorn in three places, namely, Psalms 22:21, 29:6, and 94:9/10, though these are also found in the King James Bible. The Revised Standard Version renders these as "wild oxen," an apparent reference to the aurochs, the ancestor of today's domesticated cattle which became extinct in 1627 in Poland and possibly later in Bulgaria.

As I've noted before, with only one exception, Coverdale's Psalms suppress the Rock metaphors for God, as seen in Psalm 95:

KJV: "O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation" (Psalm 95:1).

Coverdale: "O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation."

One adjustment to the monthly schedule was made in more recent editions of the BCP. In the 1662 BCP and in the 1918 Canadian BCP, Psalm 141 is to be prayed at Morning Prayer on the 29th day of the month. But in the 1928 American BCP, the 1962 Canadian BCP, and in the 1979 American BCP, it is moved to Evening Prayer for that same day. The reason is obvious: Psalm 141 is an evening psalm, as seen in verse 2: "Let my prayer be set forth in thy sight as the incense: and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice." But Psalm 134, another evening psalm, remains under Morning Prayer for the previous day.