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Marking the 80th anniversary of the publication of The Church of Scotland'srevised editions of 'The Scottish Psalter' and 'The Church Hymnary' in 1929
Psalm 119andPsalm 117'The Long and The Short'forCongregational SingingComplete with MusicinStaff and Sol - Fah Forms
Donald Kelly
,
Kintyre
,
Scotland
-
'Candlemas Eve'
-
2009
INTRODUCTION
As a means of marking the 80th anniversary of the publication of The Church ofScotland's revised editions of 'The Scottish Psalter' and 'The Church Hymnary' in1929, the practice of printing the preferred tunes for The Psalms then abandoned,these necessary correspondences have been retrieved and are presented again herethat they might again be made of at least occasional use in ordinary church services.Sadly, the editors of both the 1973-published Third and 2005-published Fourtheditions of 'The Church Hymnary' did not see fit to include the full psalter in theirrevisions of 'The Church Hymnary' and, as a consequence, many of the psalms andtheir associated tunes have completely disappeared from use today.Though some psalms, like the 176 verse Psalm 119, the longest of all psalms, were judged to be too long to be sung as a whole in the course of any single churchservice, the editors of the old, 1898-published, 'Scottish Psalter' set out divisionsand tunes in order that congregations might be able to sing their way through eachand every one of the 150 'metrical psalms'.Here, the 'metrical verses' of Psalm 119 set to be sung to 22 different tunes, whilesome might choose to sing the successive sections of the psalm over a series ofservices, others might take to the challenge of singing the whole psalm through,from end to end, on a single occasion.For those so inclined to such an endeavour, it is suggested that consideration alsobe given to the singing of the shortest of all psalms, Psalm 117 and the wholeoccasion be introduced and ended with the singing of Psalm 100, it here, as in the1898-published, 'Scottish Psalter', set in its two forms, the words of the secondform set to the tune 'Glasgow', the, perhaps 90-minute long, proceedings thenbrought to a close with the singing of the 'Amens' from Andrew MitchellThomson's well known Scottish Communion Service tune 'St George's, Edinburgh'.As the 'metrical psalms' were mostly in Common Metre (CM), a few in Long Metre(LM) or Short Metre (SM) and a very small number in other metrical patterns,within the limits of good taste, almost any 'metrical psalm' can be sung to any psalmtune and though, particularly for the benefit of older members of choirs andcongregations, though all the necessary music may be found in both staff notationand sol-fah versions in older hymnaries, it should be an easy matter to substituteother tunes in the place of those suggested here - Faux-Bourdon's to some of thetunes being found in the 1929-published Psalter/Hymnary being celebrated here.
 
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Psalm 100
First Version
Tune
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Old 100th L.M.
Genevan Psalter, 15511 All people that on earth do dwell,Sing to The Lord with cheerful voice.2 Him serve with mirth, His praise forth tell,Come ye before Him and rejoice.3 Know that The Lord is God indeed;Without our aid He did us make:We are His flock, He doth us feed,And for His sheep He doth us take.4 O enter then His gates with praise,Approach with joy His courts unto:Praise, laud, and bless His name always,For it is seemly so to do.5 For why ? The Lord our God is good,His mercy is for ever sure;His truth at all times firmly stood,And shall from age to age endure.
Psalm 119
1 - Aleph
Tune
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JacksonC.M.
T. Jackson1 Blessed are they that undefiled,and straight are in the way;Who in The Lord's most holy lawdo walk and do not stray.2 Blessed are they who to observeHis statutes are inclined;And who do seek the living Godwith their whole heart and mind.3 Such in His ways do walk, and theydo no iniquity.4 Thou hast commanded us to keepthy precepts carefully.5 O that thy statutes to observethou would'st my ways direct!6 Then shall I not be shamed, when Ithy precepts all respect.7 Then with integrity of heartthee will I praise and bless,When I the judgments all have learnedof thy pure righteousness.8 That I will keep thy statutes allfirmly resolved have I:O do not then, most gracious God,forsake me utterly.
 
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Psalm 119
2 Beth
Tune
-
St. Paul C.M.
Chalmer's Collection, Aberdeen, 17499 By what means shall a young man learnhis way to purify ?If he according to thy wordthereto attentive be.10 Unfeignedly thee have I soughtwith all my soul and heart:O let me not from the right pathof thy commands depart.11 Thy word I in my heart have hid,that I offend not Thee.12 O Lord, thou ever blessed art,Thy statutes teach Thou me.13 The judgments of Thy mouth each onemy lips declared have:14 More joy Thy testimonies' waythan riches all me gave.15 I will Thy holy precepts makemy meditation;And carefully I'll have respectunto Thy ways each one.16 Upon Thy statutes my delightshall constantly be set:And, by Thy grace, I never willThy holy word forget.
Psalm 119
3 - Gimel
Tune
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Evan C.M.
W. H. Havergal17 With me Thy servant, in Thy grace,deal bountifully, Lord;That by Thy favor I may live,and duly keep Thy word.18 Open mine eyes, that of Thy lawthe wonders I may see.19 I am a stranger on this earth,hide not Thy laws from me.20 My soul within me breaks and dothmuch fainting still endure,Through longing that it hath all timesunto Thy judgments pure.21 Thou hast rebuked the cursed proud,who from Thy precepts swerve.22 Reproach and shame remove from me,for I Thy laws observe.23 Against me princes spake with spite,while they in council sat:But I Thy servant did uponThy statutes meditate.24 My comfort, and my heart's delight,Thy testimonies be;And they, in all my doubts and fears,are counselors to me.
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