The Long Tradition of Psalm-Singing
Psalm 97, 99 [100] • Psalm 94 [95]
Num. 16:20-35 • Rom. 4:1-12 • Matt. 19:23-30
Do you ever wonder why there are so many psalms listed in the readings appointed for the day? Do you ever wonder why in our liturgy we almost always sing the psalms, led by the choir? And do you ever wonder why, even when we don’t sing the psalms, we say them in unison or responsively, rather than having a leader read them aloud to us?
Well, there are good answers to all those questions! Psalm-singing has played a central role in liturgy since the earliest days of corporate worship.
The most famous of the psalmists was, of course, David—most scholars attribute 73 of them to him, and the same scholars like to conjecture that David wrote them for personal devotions as a shepherd, then as a fugitive from the pursuit of Saul, and later as king. When David pitched a tent in Jerusalem for the Ark of the Covenant, he appointed a troupe of Levites to sing in worship. As 1 Chronicles 15 and 16 tell us, "Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it...," and "He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, to make petition, to give thanks, and to praise the LORD, the God of Israel.” Later, when synagogues emerged to replace the temple, the songs of the Levites came immediately after the morning and evening sacrifices. (Perhaps this is why we have psalms “appointed” for both morning and evening?)
As Saint Paul worked to spread the good news of Christ throughout Asia Minor, he consistently instilled the tradition of psalm-singing in the new congregations. In Ephesians 5, 18-19, for example, he writes, "Be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs." And the tradition was further embedded in daily worship by the fifth- and sixth-century monastics, particularly Saint Benedict, who developed the practice of Opus Dei, an eight-times-a-day devotional practice.
The Church of England took the lead in psalm-singing in the Protestant Church. In 1562, John Day’s Book of Psalms established common meters for singing psalms, patterns that are still to this day used to set psalms to music.
Episcopalians might quickly recognize two of the psalms appointed for today since they have earned a place as regularly-sung canticles in Morning Prayer. We know Psalm 95 as the “Venite” and Psalm 100 as the “Jubilate.” Here are links to lovely settings of each. Sing out! Sing along! Enjoy!
Venite
Jubilate
Written by David Jolliffe
. . . who misses going to choir practice on Wednesday nights and singing on Sunday mornings.