March 2014 New Horizons

Singing the Psalms with the Psalmist

by Eric B. Watkins

Edmund P. Clowney once observed that in Hebrews 2, Jesus is portrayed, not merely as the recipient of our worship, but also as the one who, through his resurrection, leads and even participates in our worship of his Father in heaven. This is truly a remarkable idea! Hebrews 2:11–12 says, “For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, ‘I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.’ ” The quotation in this passage is taken from Psalm 22:22. The ascription of that psalm reads: “To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.” It is noteworthy that the Psalm comes unambiguously with music, and that it was meant to be sung. The Psalms, in so many ways, are not simply the heart-cry of the individual, but the heart-cry of the congregation. They were meant to be sung, not simply as personal ballads, but in the setting of the ... Read more

Why Should We Sing All 150 Psalms?

by Peter J. Wallace

“In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away” (Heb. 8:13). If the Mosaic covenant is obsolete and vanishing, then why should we sing the Psalms? Aren’t the Psalms the songbook of an obsolete covenant? It is true that the Psalms are the songbook of an obsolete covenant—in the same sense that the Ten Commandments are the law of an obsolete covenant—and the whole Old Testament itself is an obsolete covenant! And yet, Paul writes that “all Scripture [the whole obsolete testament] is breathed-out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16–17). Furthermore, there is not a single sentiment in the Psalms that is not echoed in the New Testament as well. I would suggest that the Westminster Confession’s threefold division of the law provides us with a helpful ... Read more

Do We Really Need a Psalter-Hymnal?

by Donald M. Poundstone

Our church’s Psalter-Hymnal Committee deserves credit for translating and versifying the book of Psalms and setting individual psalms to singable music. Sadly, this is the best that can be said for a radical and unnecessary project. The concerns we raise here admittedly come several years late. There ought to have been thorough discussion by the whole church in 2006, when the idea for a Psalter-Hymnal surfaced, and before our General Assembly voted to go full-speed ahead. And now the work has gotten entangled in a quest for better ecumenical relations with a sister church. How We Got Trinity Hymnal So it’s past time to recall the history of an Orthodox Presbyterian songbook. Shortly after our church was founded in 1936, officers and congregations realized there was no hymnbook in print that was suitable for use in our worship. In the mid-1940s, we decided to produce our own songbook. It took more than fifteen years to reach publication. Along the way, the General Assembly studied the place of ... Read more