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The joyous leaps at the beginning of the song underline the exuberance of Michael Morgan’s version of Psalm 30. But each verse also contains a prayer; at this point, the harmonies turn to a minor key and a lower range, slowly rising from lament until they conclude with newfound joy.
This hymn is a free download. If you sing this song in your church please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense.
This was written for Cornerstone University Ministry at the request of Henry Knapp. I chose Psalm 40 because I felt that the image of the feet being placed on solid rock could be appropriately updated to refer to the Solid Rock, Jesus Christ, the Cornerstone of our faith.
This meditative rendering of Psalm 40 won the 2017 Church of the Servant New Psalm Contest. You can read the whole story below.
This song is something of an homage to the Reformation. It is based on the same Psalm as Luther’s great “A Mighty Fortress” and can, in fact, be sung to that hymn’s tune. My tune uses a mixed meter like many Lutheran and Reformed tunes. The 2+2+3+3 pulse makes the hymn more challenging than most. If you’re up for the challenge, use a hand drum to keep the beat steady. If you’re not up to the challenge, try my song “O Lord of All, You Are Our Home,” which uses the same text set to a simpler tune.
My setting of Psalm 5, “Hear My Words, O God” is composed for two narrators and congregational refrain. It appears as Psalm 5C in the Psalms for All Seasons hymnal, but if you want the un-squished piano music and choral parts you hear on this recording you’ll only find it here. The above recording is just a rough read-through by the Choral Scholars which doesn’t include the scripture reading. The narration allows the whole Psalm to be heard and allows the multiple voices of the original text to come through, as you can hear from the live worship recording below.
[embed]http://musicblog.gregscheer.com/psalm_5_hear_my_words.mp3[/embed]
If Casey Kasem were to do a count down of the Psalms, Psalm 52 would not be in the Top 40. But underneath Psalm 52’s prickly exterior lies a heart of gold: Though you can get ahead using deceit, treachery, and lies, in the end, our riches will provide no refuge in the face of death. So, the Psalmist says, it is better to live a life of trust in God’s steadfast love.
This hymn is a free download. If you sing this song in your church please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense.
Adam Carlill’s metrical rendering of Psalm 53, from his excellent Psalms for the Common Era, retains the Psalm’s difficult themes but uses language that allows us to enter into them more easily. My tune accompanies the text with a Baroque-flavor that is off the beaten path, but still accessible, with a simple melody surrounded by harmonies and a bass line that scurry to and fro with all the fury of Psalm 53’s evildoers. The final half verse shifts to a major key, letting the accusations and anger of the previous verses give way to a final note of hope.
Sheet music for voice and piano.
https://musicblog.gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/gay-psalm_54-save_me_o_god.mp3
Doug Gay wrote this hymn trext on Psalm 54, a prayer for salvation from enemies. Indeed, life is full of people who get a thrill out of bringing others down a few notches: “Arrogant foes are attacking me; ruthless people are trying to kill me–people without regard for God.” The music echoes this urgent, yet confident prayer–vulnerable, but strong.
https://musicblog.gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/psalm_056-carlill-o_god_in_mercy.mp3
This Psalm is a plea for mercy when being hotly pursued by enemies. Have you ever felt like David did when he wrote this–slandered, hunted, trapped? The Psalmist petitions God for deliverance, reaffirms his trust in God’s care, and throws in a few ideas about what God might want do to his enemies. Interestingly, the Psalm ends with a future/past tense statement of faith: “I will present my thank offerings to you. For you have delivered me…” Now that’s faith!
This hymn is a free download. If you sing this song in your church please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense.
https://musicblog.gregscheer.com/wp-content/uploads/psalm_69-have_pity_my_god.mp3
David Diephouse wrote the text for this song, and he shares its origin story, of sorts:
I recall hearing my mother relate a family legend about her grandfather, who was a trawlerman on the Zuider Zee. One day, his boat got caught in a sudden squall that left it capsized. While waiting to be rescued the crew kept up their spirits by singing the opening lines of Psalm 69. The story may or may not be partly apocryphal, but I like it.
I love to hear stories about how people have used the Psalms in everyday life. It’s easy to see why a person adrift in the sea would recall the lines of Psalm 69, because they are the cry of a person drowning–fighting a flood of sorrow, betrayal, and fatigue.
This hymn is a free download. If you sing this song in your church, please report its use to CCLI or OneLicense.