Friday 30th July, 2010
The Eighth Sunday After Trinity
Evensong
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The Psalms (Day 30 Evening)
Then shall be said or sung the Psalms1 in order as they be appointed.2
Psalm 147 Laudate Dominum
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Psalm 147: O praise the Lord for it is a good thing to sing praises
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O PRAISE the
Lord, for it is a good thing to sing praises ˡ
unto our ˡ God :
yea, a joyful and pleasant thing ˡ it is ˡ to be ˡ thankful.
2. The Lord doth
ˡ build
up Jeˡrusalem :
and gather toˡgether the ˡ
out-casts of ˡ Israel.
3. He
healeth
those that are ˡ broken in ˡ heart :
and giveth ˡ medicine to ˡ heal their
ˡ sickness.
4. He telleth the number ˡ
of the ˡ stars : and calleth them ˡ all by
ˡ their ˡ names.
5. Great is our Lord, and great ˡ
is his ˡ power : yea, ˡ and his
ˡ wisdom is ˡ infinite.
6. The Lord setteth ˡ up the ˡ meek : and bringeth the
unˡgodly ˡ down to the ˡ ground.
7. O sing unto the Lord ˡ with thanksˡgiving :
sing praises upon the ˡ harp ˡ unto our ˡ God;
8. Who covereth the heavens
with
clouds, and prepareth rain ˡ
for the ˡ earth :
and maketh the grass to grow
upon
the mountains, and ˡ herb
· for the ˡ
use of ˡ men;
9. Who giveth fodder ˡ unto
the
ˡ cattle :
and feedeth the young ˡ
ravens that ˡ call upˡon him.
10. He hath no
pleasure in the strength ˡ
of an ˡ horse :
neither deˡlighteth he in ˡ any man's
ˡ legs.
(2nd pt) 11. But the Lord's delight
is in ˡ
them that ˡ fear him : and ˡ put their
ˡ trust in his ˡ mercy.
12. Praise the Lord, ˡ
O Jeˡrusalem : praise thy ˡ God,
ˡ O ˡ Sion.
13. For he hath made fast the ˡ bars of
thy ˡ gates : and hath ˡ blessed thy
ˡ children withˡin thee.
14. He maketh ˡ peace in
thy ˡ borders : and filleth
thee ˡ with the ˡ flour of ˡ wheat.
15. He sendeth forth his commandment upˡon
ˡ earth : and his word ˡ runneth ˡ very
ˡ swiftly.
16. He giveth ˡ snow like ˡ wool
:
and scattereth the ˡ hoar-ˡfrost like ˡ ashes.
17. He casteth forth his ˡ ice
like ˡ morsels : who is ˡ
able to aˡbide his ˡ frost?
18. He sendeth out his
ˡ word, and ˡ melteth
them : he bloweth with his wind, ˡ and the ˡ waters
ˡ flow.
19. He sheweth his ˡ
word unto ˡ Jacob :
his statutes and ˡ ordinances ˡ unto
ˡ Israel.
20. He hath not dealt so with ˡ any ˡ nation : neither have the
heathen ˡ knowledge ˡ of his ˡ laws.
Glory be to the Father, and ˡ to the ˡ Son :
and ˡ to the ˡ Holy ˡ Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ˡ ever ˡ shall be :
world without ˡ end. ˡ Aˡmen.
Psalm 148 Laudate Dominum
O PRAISE the
ˡ Lord of ˡ heaven :
praise ˡ him ˡ in the ˡ height.
2. Praise him, all
ye ˡ angels of ˡ his :
praise ˡ him, ˡ all his ˡ host.
3. Praise him, ˡ sun and ˡ moon :
praise him, ˡ all ye ˡ stars and ˡ light.
4. Praise him, ˡ all ye ˡ heavens : and ye
waters that ˡ are aˡbove the ˡ heavens.
5. Let them praise the ˡ Name of the
ˡ Lord : for he spake the word, and they were made; he commanded,
ˡ and they
ˡ were creˡated.
6. He hath made them fast for ˡ ever and ˡ ever : he hath given
them a law ˡ which shall ˡ not be ˡ broken.
7. Praise the ˡ Lord upon ˡ earth : ye
ˡ dragons, and ˡ all ˡ deeps;
8. Fire and hail, ˡ snow and
ˡ vapours : wind and ˡ storm,
fulˡfilling his ˡ word;
9. Mountains and ˡ all ˡ
hills : fruitful ˡ trees and ˡ all
ˡ cedars;
10. Beasts and ˡ all ˡ
cattle : worms and ˡ feathˡered ˡ fowls;
11. Kings
of the earth and ˡ all ˡ people :
princes and all ˡ judges ˡ of the ˡ world;
12.
Young men and maidens, old men and children, praise the ˡ Name of the ˡ Lord :
for his Name only is excellent, and his ˡ praise above ˡ heaven and
ˡ earth.
(2nd pt) 13. He shalt
exalt the horn of his people; all his ˡ saints shall
ˡ praise
him : even the children of Israel, even the ˡ people that ˡ serveth ˡ him.
Glory be to the Father, and ˡ to the ˡ Son :
and ˡ to the ˡ Holy ˡ Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ˡ ever ˡ shall be :
world without ˡ end. ˡ Aˡmen.
Psalm 149 Cantate Domino
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O SING unto the Lord a ˡ new
ˡ song : let the
congreˡgation of ˡ saints ˡ praise
him.
2. Let Israel rejoice in ˡ
him that ˡ made him : and let the children of
Sion be ˡ joyful ˡ in their ˡ King.
3. Let them praise his ˡ Name in the ˡ dance :
let them sing praises unto ˡ him with ˡ tabret and ˡ harp.
4. For the Lord
hath
pleasure ˡ in his ˡ people :
and ˡ helpeth the ˡ meek-ˡ hearted.
5. Let the saints
be ˡ joyful with ˡ glory :
let them reˡjoice ˡ in their ˡ beds.
6. Let the
praises
of God be ˡ in their ˡ mouth :
and a ˡ two-edged ˡ sword in their ˡ hands;
7. To
be
avenged ˡ of the ˡ heathen :
and ˡ to reˡbuke the ˡ people;
8. To bind their ˡ kings in
ˡ chains : and their ˡ nobles with ˡ links of ˡ iron.
(2nd pt) 9. That they may be
avenged
of them, as ˡ it is ˡ written :
Such ˡ honour have ˡ all his ˡ saints.
Glory be to the Father, and ˡ to the ˡ Son :
and ˡ to the ˡ Holy ˡ Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ˡ ever ˡ shall be :
world without ˡ end. ˡ Aˡmen.
Psalm 150 Laudate Dominum
O PRAISE ˡ God
in his ˡ holiness :
praise him in the ˡ firmament ˡ of his
ˡ power.
2. Praise him in his ˡ noble ˡ
acts : praise him acˡcording to his
ˡ excellent ˡ greatness.
3. Praise him in the ˡ sound of the ˡ
trumpet : praise
him upˡon the ˡ lute and ˡ harp.
4. Praise him in the ˡ cymbals and ˡ dances :
praise him upˡon the ˡ strings and ˡ pipe.
5. Praise him upon the ˡ well-tuned
ˡ cymbals : praise him upˡon the ˡ loud ˡ cymbals.
6. Let every thing ˡ that hath
ˡ breath : praise ˡ — ˡ — the ˡ Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and ˡ to the ˡ Son :
and ˡ to the ˡ Holy ˡ Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ˡ ever ˡ shall be :
world without ˡ end. ˡ Aˡmen.
Footnotes
1 "The Psalms". The Psalms are ancient Hebrew songs, many of which were used as part of the Temple worship.
THAT which we read, as matter of speculation, in the other Scriptures, is reduced to practice, when we recite it in the Psalms; in those, repentance and faith are described, but in these they are acted; by a perusal of the former, we learn how others served God, but, by using the latter, we serve him ourselves. "What is there necessary for man to know," says the pious and judicious Hooker, "which the Psalms are not able to teach? They are to beginners an easy and familiar introduction, a mighty augmentation of all virtue and knowledge in such as are entered before, a strong confirmation of the most perfect among others."
YOU may observe here, that St. Paul joins those two Things together, praying with the Spirit, and singing with the Spirit. What is it then? (saith he) I will pray with the Spirit, I will pray with the Understanding also; I will sing with the Spirit, I will sing with the Understanding also. Praying and Singing of Psalms, as they do now, so they did in those Times, always go together in the publick Worship of God.
Each Pslam (and not the whole set) is concluded with the hymn, Gloria Patri. Drawing on ancient historians and their account of Bishop Polycarp of Smyrna (?69-?155), John Shepherd wrote:
"THE earliest instance that we meet with, of the use of this Hymn, is found in the circular epistle of the Church of Smyrna, concerning the martyrdom of their beloved Bishop Polycarp; whence we learn that a Doxology, nearly resembling Gloria Patri, were the last words he uttered. Polycarp was conversant with the Apostles, and was consecrated Bishop of Smyrna by St. John the Evangelist. To him among others St. John is said to have addressed the Revelation, in which Polycarp is entitled "the Angel" of the Church of Smyrna. When this truly apostolic man fell a victim to cruel superstition and popular fury, bound to the stake, with eyes uplifted to heaven, he made a short fervent prayer to God, which is concluded with a Doxology to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost."
Another ancient practice is to select a verse from each Psalm to act as a summary, and sing it both before and after the Psalm. This is known as an Antiphon.
IN its earliest form, the Anthem, or Antiphon, seems to have been a single verse out of any Psalm repeated after the recitation of the Psalm (and, in later times, before its recitation also) with a view of fixing the key-note, so to speak, of the Psalm; of bringing into prominence, and fastening attention upon, some special idea contained within it.
Later, other sacred or even secular texts would be drafted in, a practice clearly fraught with risks.
2 "In order as they be appointed". The Prayer Book runs through the complete Psalter once each month.
WITH us the Psalms are recited much oftener than any other part of Scripture, and thus far our established practice corresponds with the usage of the ancient Church. At the same time, that all the Psalms may be read in course, and that our Morning and Evening Prayer may not tire or disgust by its prolixity, we assign for this purpose the term of thirty days.
As well as the appointed order, custom tells us that the Psalms are said standing.
STANDING has usually been deemed the most proper attitude for praise and thanksgiving. Accordingly we find that, in the ancient Church, the Psalms were almost universally recited in this posture.
In the matter of music, the 18th century writers were very much committed to antiphonal singing, where two choirs alternate. They loudly disapproved of having them ploddingly read out by the minister (or indeed congregation) alone.
THIS alternate recitation of the Psalms is not, as far as I at present recollect, enjoined by any Rubric, nor by any other injunction of our Church. But we uniformly adopt it; and in defence of our practice, we have to allege, that it is perfectly congenial to the usage of antiquity, is sanctioned by the recommendation of the wisest and best among the Fathers, has been ratified by respectable Councils, and the most approved ecclesiastical laws, and is obviously calculated to keep up the attention, and assist the devotion of the people.
AS to the manner: which is alternate or by turns, according to the ancient custom of the Catholick Church; and according to the pattern set us by the Church in Heaven, where, in singing the Trisagium [i.e. the Sanctus], the Seraphims are said to cry one to another. And this custom is well retained in our Church, whether appointed to be sung, as in our Cathedral Service, or to be said, as in our Parochial Worship. For in the former, when one side of the Choir sing unto the other, they hereby both provoke and relieve each others piety, they provoke it by this holy contention, and relieve it by this interchange. And for these reasons it is no less necessary, tho' less beautiful in our Parochial Service, where the reading of the Psalms is divided between the Minister and People.
THIS, St. Basil tells us, was a rite that in his time had obtained among all the churches of God: "After the Confession, saith he, the people rise from Prayer, and proceed to Psalmody, dividing themselves into two parts, and singing by turns."
3 "A short voluntary".
AFTER the Psalms have been sung it is customary in many churches to play a short voluntary on the organ: this is mentioned by Archbishop Secker as having 'long been customary' in his day; and in a letter from Oxford in No. 630 of the 'Spectator.'
Perhaps it may be accounted for by a Salisbury Rubric between the Psalms and Lessons, 'Deinde dicitur Paternoster et Credo in Deum a toto choro privatim' [then let there be said 'Our Father' and 'I Believe In God' silently, by the whole choir].
