The Psalter for Christian Worship, Revised Edition

By Michael Morgan

We lift up the psalms to God as our prayers. We borrow the language of these ancient texts, and they become our works. We are not secondhand recipients of Gods word but communicants actively in conversation with God. What seems to set the Psalms apart from the rest of Scripture is their sacramental nature, their unique ability to mold and transform the believer. The Psalter for Christian Worshipreclaims the Psalms for congregational worship with new texts set to familiar hymnal tunes. This collection, for worship leaders, musicians, and congregations, will inspire both corporate and private devotions.Features include: The Old Testament flavor of the Psalter is retained with new sensitivity to imagery and inclusive language; all 150 psalms have been converted into hymns of reasonable length to be sung in church; an index of suggested hymn tunes is included; and an index for liturgical use is also provided.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
• Release date: Aug 13, 2019
• ISBN: 9781611649406

Michael Morgan

Michael Morgan is seminary musician for Columbia Theological Seminary and organist at Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. He is also a Psalm scholar and owns one of the largest collections of English Bibles in the country.

Book preview

The Psalter for Christian Worship

Revised Edition

The Psalter for Christian Worship

Revised Edition

Michael Morgan

© 2010 Michael Morgan

Originally published as The Psalter for Christian Worship, Revised Edition in 2010 by Witherspoon Press, Louisville, Kentucky.

2019 edition

Published by Westminster John Knox Press

Louisville, Kentucky

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28—10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Westminster John Knox Press, 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202-1396. Or contact us online at www.wjkbooks.com.

Permission to reprint texts in worship bulletins is granted. The following attribution must accompany the reprinted texts: From The Psalter for Christian Worship. © 2010 Michael Morgan. Used by permission of Westminster John Knox Press.

Every effort has been made to trace copyrights on the materials included in this book. If any copyrighted material has nevertheless been included without permission and due acknowledgment, proper credit will be inserted in future printings after notice has been received.

Book design by Jeanne Williams

Cover design by Allison Taylor

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Morgan, Michael, 1948- author.

Title: The Psalter for Christian worship / Michael Morgan.

Description: Revised edition. | Louisville, Kentucky : Westminster John Knox Press, 2019. | Originally published as The Psalter for Christian Worship, Revised Edition in 2010 by Witherspoon Press, Louisville, Kentucky.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019021674 (print) | LCCN 2019981532 (ebook) | ISBN 9780664265410 (paperback) | ISBN 9781611649406 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Reformed Church--Liturgy--Texts. | Psalters--Texts.

Classification: LCC BX9427.5.P74 M67 2019 (print) | LCC BX9427.5.P74 (ebook) | DDC 264/.05137015--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019021674

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019981532

Most Westminster John Knox Press books are available at special quantity discounts when purchased in bulk by corporations, organizations, and special-interest groups. For more information, please e-mail [e-mail].

To the worshiping communities of

Central Presbyterian Church and

Columbia Theological Seminary,

and to all who would find in these pages

words to frame their prayers and praise.

Contents

Preface

Introduction

The Psalms

Book I

Psalm 1

Psalm 2

Psalm 3

Psalm 4

Psalm 5

Psalm 6

Psalm 7

Psalm 8

Psalm 9

Psalm 10

Psalm 11

Psalm 12

Psalm 13

Psalm 14

Psalm 15

Psalm 16

Psalm 17

Psalm 18

Psalm 19

Psalm 20

Psalm 21

Psalm 22a

Psalm 22b

Psalm 23

Psalm 24

Psalm 25

Psalm 26

Psalm 27

Psalm 28

Psalm 29

Psalm 30

Psalm 31a

Psalm 31b

Psalm 32

Psalm 33

Psalm 34

Psalm 35

Psalm 36

Psalm 37

Psalm 38

Psalm 39

Psalm 40

Psalm 41

Book II

Psalm 42

Psalm 43

Psalm 44

Psalm 45a

Psalm 45b

Psalm 46

Psalm 47

Psalm 48

Psalm 49

Psalm 50

Psalm 51

Psalm 52

Psalm 53

Psalm 54

Psalm 55

Psalm 56

Psalm 57

Psalm 58

Psalm 59

Psalm 60

Psalm 61

Psalm 62

Psalm 63

Psalm 64

Psalm 65

Psalm 66a

Psalm 66b

Psalm 67

Psalm 68

Psalm 69

Psalm 70

Psalm 71

Psalm 72

Book III

Psalm 73

Psalm 74

Psalm 75

Psalm 76

Psalm 77

Psalm 78

Psalm 79

Psalm 80

Psalm 81

Psalm 82

Psalm 83

Psalm 84

Psalm 85

Psalm 86

Psalm 87

Psalm 88

Psalm 89a

Psalm 89b

Book IV

Psalm 90

Psalm 91

Psalm 92

Psalm 93

Psalm 94

Psalm 95

Psalm 96

Psalm 97

Psalm 98

Psalm 99

Psalm 100

Psalm 101

Psalm 102

Psalm 103

Psalm 104a

Psalm 104b

Psalm 105a

Psalm 105b

Psalm 106

Book V

Psalm 107

Psalm 108

Psalm 109

Psalm 110

Psalm 111

Psalm 112

Psalm 113

Psalm 114

Psalm 115

Psalm 116

Psalm 117

Psalm 118

Psalm 119a

Psalm 119b

Psalm 119c

Psalm 119d

Psalm 119e

Psalm 119f

Psalm 119g

Psalm 120

Psalm 121

Psalm 122

Psalm 123

Psalm 124

Psalm 125

Psalm 126

Psalm 127

Psalm 128

Psalm 129

Psalm 130

Psalm 131

Psalm 132

Psalm 133

Psalm 134

Psalm 135

Psalm 136

Psalm 137

Psalm 138

Psalm 139

Psalm 140

Psalm 141

Psalm 142

Psalm 143

Psalm 144

Psalm 145

Psalm 146

Psalm 147a

Psalm 147b

Psalm 148

Psalm 149

Psalm 150

Index of Psalms for Liturgical Use

Preface

The psalm paraphrases in this collection were composed during the spring and summer of 1995 for the congregation of Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Georgia.

As part of our congregation’s desire to reclaim metrical psalm singing, which is at the heart of our Reformed tradition, Dr. Theodore Wardlaw challenged me to write new Editions of the Lectionary psalms for Eastertide. The worshipers at Central Church have a strong attachment to congregational song, and with their encouragement, I composed settings of all 150 psalms. These psalter hymns were designed to be sung to a variety of tunes that our congregation knew from memory, making them readily accessible.

Never before had I embarked on such a meaningful and self-illuminating devotional exercise. I repeatedly found my life experience reflected in the psalms on which I worked. Often, I would struggle with a particular psalm with little insight or inspiration, and in frustration turn to another, where the words would flow almost as quickly as I could write. Sometimes the first line to come to me would be halfway down the page, and the text would grow from there in both directions until the psalm was complete.

My parameters were defined from the beginning:

1. Make the texts suitable for congregational singing. The approach to each text was the same: to condense thought and repetition into single units, paraphrasing those to achieve the sense of the psalm. I sought help in commentaries and devotionals from Calvin and Horne, to Dahood and Brueggemann. Where the Revised Common Lectionary abbreviated the texts or divided the longer psalms, I considered the same alignment in my edition.

2. Remain faithful to the character of the psalms. I have sought not to Christianize the psalms, but to balance images and allusions from both sides of the cross (Hebrew poet and the Messiah of the Gospels, the shepherd boy and the Good Shepherd), tempering judgment with justice and vengeance with grace.

3. Employ modern English language. In the first edition, a significant number of texts used thee, thou, thy, and thine in reference to God. Even though much of our association with the Psalms is cloaked in this classic style, the texts in this revised edition have been reworded in modern English to make them universal in their appeal to those who