Reformation worship

I recently read a fascinating book by Karin Maag, Worshiping With the Reformers, published by IVP Academic in 2021. Maag is Director of the H. Henry Meeter Center for Calvin Studies at Calvin University and was one of my hosts two years ago when I lectured there on the Genevan Psalter. Those of us who are heir to the Reformation may be tempted to think of the 16th century as a golden era when Christians were keen on worshipping the Triune God in spirit and in truth, readily discarding the unbiblical accretions of the mediaeval church. Reading Maag will quickly lay this notion to rest. She reminds us that in many if not most places reformation was a movement spearheaded by ecclesiastical and political elites, often compelling reluctant parishioners accustomed to the old ways to conform to the newer and less familiar practices.

De Nieuwe Psalmberijming: Psalm 14

Here is Psalm 14, which is a near doublet of Psalm 53. In this versification, stanzas 1, 2, and 4 are nearly identical in the two psalms, while 3 differs. In the Hebrew, Psalm 14 is a Yahwistic (LORD) version of the Elohistic (God) 53 (or perhaps vice versa), although this is not reflected in the new versification, except for two uses of the Dutch HEER in stanzas 1 and 3 of 14.

Psalter review: Trinity Hymnal (1961)

Why review a collection that is more than sixty years old and has now been replaced by a later edition? There's a deep personal reason: I grew up with the first edition of the Trinity Hymnal, published in 1961 by the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. It is not exactly a psalter, yet it manages to contain metrical versifications for the vast majority, if not all, of the biblical Psalms. These, however, are scattered amongst the hymns, such that, as a child, I had no idea that we were singing the Psalms. I still have in my personal library our family's copy of the Trinity Hymnal, with my mother's distinctive handwriting inside the front cover.

De Nieuwe Psalmberijming: Psalm 100

The congregation of the Hervormde Gemeente in Beekbergen sings Psalm 100 according to the new Dutch versification of the Psalms:

Brian Wright: Psalm 81

Our friend Brian Wright has posted a performance of Psalm 81. The text is from the RPCNA's Book of Psalms for Worship, and the tune, NEW MOON, is Wright's own composition.

De Nieuwe Psalmberijming: Psalm 5

 And here now is Psalm 5 in the new Dutch versification of the Genevan Psalter: