I have been teaching a course this spring at All Saints' on the Book of Psalms. These last few weeks, we have not been able to meet in person but I have continued to connect with participants in the study through weekly email devotions about hymns that are paraphrases of psalms. I plan to share the first few of those here the next several evenings and future ones as they are written.
Psalm Devotion
March 20, 2020
Hello!
I will miss us meeting together these next few Wednesday nights but I plan to send a little psalm-based devotion each of these Wednesdays to continue our journey together though we are
apart.
I invite you first to think of our practice of gathering our selves together. From our meetings so far, we know something of each others' struggles and joys. Please take a breath and a moment to remember those.
Now I suggest we all consider both our own anxieties and activities this very day and to lift each other as we pass through this time.
My prayer: May we know we are not alone but be heartened by the blessings of fellowship we have known and the presence of the Christ wherever we are right now.
According to our schedule, this evening's study deals with All Saints' Psalms, and by that I was referencing hymns we frequently sing that are actually paraphrases of specific psalms. With that in mind, I would like to direct our attention to one of the best-known psalm-based hymns, "O God, Our Help in Ages Past."
Isaac Watts was a master of paraphrasing and incorporating wide-ranging biblical language and references in his spiritually strengthening texts.
A great many hymns from earlier times originally had many more verses than what we find in our modern hymnals. You might find it to be edifying to read the complete text Watts wrote which you can find at this link: https://www.poetryfoundation.o...
It seems to me that the less well-known verses emphasize the passing and precarious nature of our lives which I think is very much on our minds now. Watts comforts us by closing the circle in that last verse and asserting again that God has been our help, will be our hope, and is our eternal home.
A number of these verses are rooted in the first five verses of Psalm 90. I encourage you to read the hymn and the psalm side by side and ponder which verses connect and note how Watts states those biblical expressions.
Goodnight, All.
Psalm Devotion
March 20, 2020
Hello!
I will miss us meeting together these next few Wednesday nights but I plan to send a little psalm-based devotion each of these Wednesdays to continue our journey together though we are
apart.
I invite you first to think of our practice of gathering our selves together. From our meetings so far, we know something of each others' struggles and joys. Please take a breath and a moment to remember those.
Now I suggest we all consider both our own anxieties and activities this very day and to lift each other as we pass through this time.
My prayer: May we know we are not alone but be heartened by the blessings of fellowship we have known and the presence of the Christ wherever we are right now.
According to our schedule, this evening's study deals with All Saints' Psalms, and by that I was referencing hymns we frequently sing that are actually paraphrases of specific psalms. With that in mind, I would like to direct our attention to one of the best-known psalm-based hymns, "O God, Our Help in Ages Past."
Isaac Watts was a master of paraphrasing and incorporating wide-ranging biblical language and references in his spiritually strengthening texts.
A great many hymns from earlier times originally had many more verses than what we find in our modern hymnals. You might find it to be edifying to read the complete text Watts wrote which you can find at this link: https://www.poetryfoundation.o...
It seems to me that the less well-known verses emphasize the passing and precarious nature of our lives which I think is very much on our minds now. Watts comforts us by closing the circle in that last verse and asserting again that God has been our help, will be our hope, and is our eternal home.
A number of these verses are rooted in the first five verses of Psalm 90. I encourage you to read the hymn and the psalm side by side and ponder which verses connect and note how Watts states those biblical expressions.
Goodnight, All.
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