All the Psalms

One of the questions facing the psalmody committee is whether to publish the entire psalter. This would include publishing every verse from all 150 psalms.

Some of the input we have already received encourages us to do just that, or at least to publish more verses from selected psalms.

In his article, Necessary Songs: The Case for Singing the Entire Psalter, Martin Tel makes a nice case for expanding what we do in worship with the Psalms.

One of his main points, that some of the expressions in the psalms do not match the modern American sensibility, is probably a good reason to take his advice. Any time we can point out the difference between the reality of God and modern American sensibilities, people can grow in grace and truth.

The real questions are practical.

Some congregations struggle with the psalms presently printed in Christian Worship. If we expand the number of words that a congregation might speak or sing, how can we put the psalms into a format that makes them accessible to those kinds of congregations? Perhaps appropriate background music for the oral reading of an entire psalm would help them. Perhaps they would sing a hymn based on a psalm, a metrical paraphrase, instead.

Other congregations have used the psalms presently printed in Christian Worship so often that they are getting old. They are appreciating the psalms in Christian Worship: Supplement, but they are looking for more. Perhaps having the text of an entire psalm in a fresh setting would help them.

Near the end of his article, Tel makes the case that abridged psalms might still be very useful in some locations. How much to abridge them is one question. Whether and how to use refrains, both old and new, is another question. But we have become accustomed, sometimes even fondly, to the abridged psalms with refrains in Christian Worship, and they seem to have a good place in WELS worship practices.

What do you think? Publish all the psalms or just selected ones? Publish all the verses or just selected ones?

There is good reason to put a lot of effort into our consideration of psalms in the new hymnal. As Martin Luther wrote, the psalms are words of prophecy, instruction, comfort, prayer, and thanks. He prayed them daily and published how he found Christ in each one.

Do we find Christ in the psalms? That is enough to make them valuable. And as the hymnal of the Scripture, the psalms, whether whole or abridged, will be a valuable part of our synod’s new hymnal.