John Johnson

psalms

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Psalms

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We thank the following organisations for allowing us to use recordings of their publications.

The Free Church of Scotland
- Sing Psalms (2003)

The Reformed Presbyterian Church of Northern Ireland
- The Psalms for Singing - A 21st Century Edition (2004)

The Book of Psalms - a capella Psalm Singing MASTER LIST

Common Meter

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10 All those who know your name, O LORD,
in you their trust will place,
For you do not abandon those
who seek your gracious face.

11 Sing praises to the LORD who sits
in Zion on his throne;
Among the nations of the world
proclaim what he has done.

Sung acapella from: Sing Psalms 2003 (Produced by the Free Church of Scotland).

Psalm 9 v10-11 (Tune: Glasgow)

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Psalm 115 sung a capella from Sing Psalm (2003)(Produced by the Free Church of Scotland). Meter: (CM) Recorded at the wedding of David Murray and Margaret Stewart in Glasgow RPCS on the 1st of August 2013. 

12 The LORD remembers Israel
and he will bless us all—
The house of Aaron and all those
13 who fear him, great and small.

14 May God the LORD make you increase—
both you and all your line.
15 May you be blessed by God, who makes
all things by his design.

Psalm 115 (Tune: Land of Rest)

Performed in Heaven is a compact disc of metrical psalms recorded at the Psalmody Recitals, held each winter since 1971 (except 1977) at St Vincent Street Free Church in Glasgow, where sizeable congregations gathered from a variety of churches and denominations. The psalms on the compact disc are all sung by the entire congregation and, as such, reflect the unaffectedness of congregational praise. The recordings are an authentic reflection of the type of singing that has been heard in the Reformed churches of Scotland since the Reformation. In order to produce this unique compilation of congregational psalm-singing, it was necessary to re-master recordings made with the technology of an earlier era. Thus, the recordings themselves span a period of twenty-five years, with the majority being from the seventies or eighties.

Performed in Heaven: Congregational Psalm Singing from Scotland

Psalm 106:1-5 Warwick

Text: Scottish Psalter (1650) Recorded Arbroath FCC Youth Weekend
(Meter: CM)

31  If they my laws break, and do not
         keep my commandements;
  32  I'll visit then their faults with rods,
         their sins with chastisements.

  33  Yet I'll not take my love from him,
         nor false my promise make.
  34  My cov'nant I'll not break, nor change
         what with my mouth I spake.

  35  Once by my holiness I sware,
         to David I'll not lie;
  36  His seed and throne shall, as the sun,
         before me last for aye.

  37  It, like the moon, shall ever be
         established stedfastly;
      And like to that which in the heav'n
         doth witness faithfully.

  38  But thou, displeased, hast cast off,
         thou didst abhor and loathe;
      With him that thine anointed is
         thou hast been very wroth.

Psalm 89 v31-38 (Tune: Winchester)

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Copyright: Sing Psalms 2003 (Produced by the Free Church of Scotland). 1998 Glasgow Psalm Singing Recital. Meter: 86.886

1 Blessed is the one who turns away
from where the wicked walk,
Who does not stand in sinners’ paths
or sit with those who mock.

2 Instead he finds God’s holy law
his joy and great delight;
He makes the precepts of the LORD
his study day and night.

3 He prospers ever like a tree
that’s planted by a stream,
And in due season yields its fruit;
its leaves are always green.

4 Not so the wicked! They are like
the chaff that’s blown away.
5 They will not stand when judgment comes
or with the righteous stay.

6 It is the LORD who sees and knows
the way the righteous go,
But those who live an evil life
the LORD will overthrow.

Psalm 1 a (Tune: Creator)

Psalm 27 v 4-7 - Wetherby

Psalm 21 v 1-6 - Torwood

A few recordings from a lovely congregation praise night.

Psalm 116 - Cunningham

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Text: Psalm 8 from 'Psalms for Singing – A 21st Century Edition (2004)'
Produced by the Reformed Presbyterian church of Ireland.

3	When I look up unto the heav’ns,
		which your own fingers made,
		unto the moon and to the stars,
		which you in order laid,

	4	O, what is man, that you should him
		in kind remembrance bear?
		Or what the son of man, indeed,
		that you for him should care?

	5	For you a little lower than
		the angels have him made,
		a crown of glory and renown
		have placed upon his head.

	6	You made him lord of your hands’ works,
		put all beneath his feet:
		the animals within the field,
		the cattle and the sheep,

	7	Birds of the air, fish of the sea,
		all through the seas that swim.
		How excellent in all the earth,
		LORD, our Lord, is your name.

Psalm 8 (Tune: Perfect Way)

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Psalm 11 (Tune: Rest)

Hymn Tune St. Michael

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Psalm 1b sung a capella from Sing Psalm (2003)(Produced by the Free Church of Scotland). Meter: 88.88.88

1 How blessed the one who does not walk
Where wicked men would guide his feet,
Who does not stand in sinners’ paths
Or sit upon the scorners’ seat.
2 The law of God is his delight,
His meditation day and night.

3 He prospers like a tree, which has
Been planted by a flowing stream,
And in its season yields its fruit;
Its leaves are always fresh and green.
In every act and every word
He knows the blessing of the LORD.

4 Not so the wicked: they are like
The chaff the wind will blow away.
5 They will not in the judgment stand,
Nor sinners with the righteous stay.
6 God knows the way the righteous go;
The wicked’s way he’ll overthrow.

Psalm 1b (Tune: St Petersburg)

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1	O praise, you servants of the LORD;
		Sing praises to his holy name.
	2	O blessèd be the name of God;
		His praise for evermore proclaim.
	3	From east to west the praise of God
		Each day is to be spread abroad.

	4	The LORD is high above the earth,
		His glory far above the sky.
	5	Who else is like the LORD our God,
		The one who sits enthroned on high?
	6	He is the one who stoops down low
		To look on heav’n and earth below.

	7	He raises outcasts from the dust
		And from the ash-heap lifts the poor,
	8	Exalting them to dignity,
		With noblemen to sit secure.
	9	The childless woman he’ll reward
		With home and children.  Praise the LORD!

Sung Acapella from Sing Psalms 2003 (Produced by the Free Church of Scotland)

Psalm 113 (Tune: Abingdon)

Copyright: Sing Psalms 2003 (Produced by the Free Church of Scotland). 
Sung by Dowanvale Free Church Of Scotland

1 The world and all in it are God’s,
all peoples of the earth,
2 For it was founded by the LORD
upon the seas beneath.
3 Who may ascend the hill of God,
or in his temple stand?
4 The one who shuns false gods and lies,
who’s pure in heart and hand.
5 He will find favour from the LORD,
and from his Saviour grace.
6 Thus are they blessed, O Jacob’s God,
who truly seek your face.
7 You ancient gates, lift up your heads;
you doors, be opened wide—
So may the King of glory come
for ever to abide.
8 But who is this exalted King?
What glorious King is he?
It is the LORD of strength and might,
the LORD of victory.
9 You ancient gates, lift up your heads;
you doors, be opened wide—
So may the King of glory come
for ever to abide.
10 But who is this exalted King?
Who can this sovereign be?
The LORD Almighty, he is King
of glory, none but he.

Psalm 24 (Tune: Winchester)

from the Scottish Metrical Psalter of 1650

14  But I with expectation
         will hope continually;
      And yet with praises more and more
         I will thee magnify.

  15  Thy justice and salvation
         my mouth abroad shall show,
      Ev'n all the day; for I thereof
         the numbers do not know.

  16  And I will constantly go on
         in strength of God the Lord;
      And thine own righteousness, ev'n thine
         alone, I will record.

  17  For even from my youth, O God,
         by thee I have been taught;
      And hitherto I have declared
         the wonders thou hast wrought.

Psalm 71 v14-17 (Tune: St Leonard)

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Sung acapella from: Sing Psalms 2003 (Produced by the Free Church of Scotland). Sung a capella by Dowanvale Free Church Of Scotland. Meter: CM

1 How excellent a thing it is,
how pleasant and how good,
When brothers dwell in unity
and live as brothers should!

2 For it is like the precious oil,
poured out on Aaron’s head,
That, running over, down his beard,
upon his collar spread.

3 Like Hermon’s dew, upon the hill
of Zion it descends.
The LORD bestows his blessing there—
the life that never ends.

Psalm 133 (Tune: Bishopthorpe)

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Text: Psalm 70 from 'Psalms for Singing – A 21st Century Edition (2004)'
© The Reformed Presbyterian church of Ireland. 
Meter: SM


	2	May all who seek my harm
		in shame now turned back be.
		May they be turned back in disgrace
		who say, “Ha! Ha!” to me.

	3	Let all who seek you joy,
		be glad in you above.
		Keep saying, “God is great,” all those
		who your salvation love.

	4	But I am poor, in need;
		O God, come soon to me.
		O LORD, do not delay; my help
		and my deliv’rer be.

Psalm 70 (Tune: Zurich)

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2  Me cleanse from sin, and thoroughly wash
         from mine iniquity:
   3  For my transgressions I confess;
         my sin I ever see.
  
   7  Do thou with hyssop sprinkle me,
         I shall be cleansed so;
      Yea, wash thou me, and then I shall
         be whiter than the snow.

   8  Of gladness and of joyfulness
         make me to hear the voice;
      That so these very bones which thou
         hast broken may rejoice.

   9  All mine iniquities blot out,
         thy face hide from my sin.
  10  Create a clean heart, Lord, renew
         a right sp'rit me within.


Recorded at RP Young Adults Weekend 2015. 
Text: Scottish Psalter (1650) / The Psalms For Singing - A 21st Century Edition

Psalm 51 B v2-3,7-10 (Tune: St Kilda)

01 - Kyrie Eleison      00:00:27 
02 - Gloria                 00:02:33 
03 - Sanctus              00:05:44 
04 - Agnus Dei          00:07:50

Gregorian Chants - Kyrie Elesion, Gloria, Sanctus and Agnus Dei

Recorded by Connor Quigley
Tune: Lobe Den Herren - Stralsund Gesangbuch	(1665)

Psalm 100 (Tune: Lobe Den Herren)

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Text: Psalm 4 from 'Psalms for Singing – A 21st Century Edition (2004)'
Produced by the Reformed Presbyterian church of Ireland.

8  I will both lay me down in peace,
         and quiet sleep will take;
      Because thou only me to dwell
         in safety, Lord, will make.

Psalm 4 (Tune: Wallace)

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Psalm 2 sung acapella from The Scottish Metrical Psalter of 1650. (Meter: CM) From the Scottish Psalter of 1650

1  Why rage the heathen? and vain things
         why do the people mind?
   2  Kings of the earth do set themselves,
         and princes are combined,

      To plot against the Lord, and his
         Anointed, saying thus,
   3  Let us asunder break their bands,
         and cast their cords from us.

   4  He that in heaven sits shall laugh;
         the Lord shall scorn them all.
   5  Then shall he speak to them in wrath,
         in rage he vex them shall.

   6  Yet, notwithstanding, I have him
         to be my King appointed;
      And over Zion, my holy hill,
         I have him King anointed.

   7  The sure decree I will declare:
         The Lord hath said to me,
      Thou art mine only Son; this day
         I have begotten thee.

   8  Ask of me, and for heritage
         the heathen I'll make thine;
      And, for possession, I to thee
         will give earth's utmost line.

Psalm 2 (Tune: York)

Text: Scottish Psalter (1650)  (Meter: CM)

1  How excellent in all the earth,
         Lord, our Lord, is thy name!
      Who hast thy glory far advanced
         above the starry frame.

 3  When I look up unto the heav'ns,
         which thine own fingers framed,
      Unto the moon, and to the stars,
         which were by thee ordained;

   4  Then say I, What is man, that he
         remembered is by thee?
      Or what the son of man, that thou
         so kind to him should'st be?

   5  For thou a little lower hast
         him than the angels made;
      With glory and with dignity
         thou crowned hast his head.

   6  Of thy hands' works thou mad'st him lord,
         all under's feet didst lay;
   7  All sheep and oxen, yea, and beasts
         that in the field do stray;

   8  Fowls of the air, fish of the sea,
         all that pass through the same.
   9  How excellent in all the earth,
         Lord, our Lord, is thy name!

Psalm 8 (Tune: Richmond)

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 1  That man hath perfect blessedness,
         who walketh not astray
      In counsel of ungodly men,
         nor stands in sinners' way,

   2  Nor sitteth in the scorner's chair:
         But placeth his delight
      Upon God's law, and meditates
         on his law day and night.

   3  He shall be like a tree that grows
         near planted by a river,
      Which in his season yields his fruit,
         and his leaf fadeth never:

   4  And all he doth shall prosper well
         The wicked are not so;
      But like they are unto the chaff,
         which wind drives to and fro.

   5  In judgment therefore shall not stand
         such as ungodly are; 
      Nor in th' assembly of the just
         shall wicked men appear.

   6  For why? the way of godly men
         unto the Lord is known:
      Whereas the way of wicked men
         shall quite be overthrown.

Psalm 1 sung acapella from The Scottish Metrical Psalter of 1650. (Meter: CM) Recorded at Dowanvale free church.

Psalm 1 (Tune: Azmon / Denfield)

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(recorded by Paul Hillier, Theatre of Voices, The King's Noyse & David Douglass) 
Download full album from: https://itunes.apple.com/album/third-tune-for-acrchbishop/id586089926?i=586090342&ign-mpt=uo%3D5

Text  from 'Archbishop Parker's Psalter'. 
Tune: '3rd Mode Melody'  by Thomas Tallis  [CM.D]

3. Let us they say: break down their ray,
of all their bonds and cords:
We will renounce: that they pronounce,
their loores as stately lordes.

4. But God of might: in heauen so bright,
Shall laugh them all to scorne:
The Lord on hie: shall them defie,
they shall be once forlorne.

9. With iron rod: as mighty God,
all rebels shalt thou bruse:
And breake them all: in pieces small,
as sherdes the potters vase.

10. Be wise therfore: ye kinges the more,
Receyue ye wisdomes lore:
Ye iudges strong: of right and wrong,
aduise you now before.

11. The Lorde in feare: your seruice beare,
with dread to him reioyce:
Let rages be: resist not ye,
him serue with ioyfull voyce.

12. The sonne kisse ye: lest wroth he be,
lose not the way of rest:
For when his ire: is set on fire,
who trust in hym be blest

Psalm 2 (Tune: Third Mode Melody)

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Text: Scottish Psalter (1650)  Recorded at a Free Church of Scotland Psalmody Recital(Meter: CM)

1  Wherefore is it that thou, O Lord,
         dost stand from us afar?
      And wherefore hidest thou thyself,
         when times so troublous are?

   2  The wicked in his loftiness
         doth persecute the poor:
      In these devices they have framed
         let them be taken sure.

17  O Lord, of those that humble are
         thou the desire didst hear;
      Thou wilt prepare their heart, and thou
         to hear wilt bend thine ear;

  18  To judge the fatherless, and those
         that are oppressed sore;
      That man, that is but sprung of earth,
         may them oppress no more.

Psalm 10 (Tune: Glenluce)

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Used with permission from King's College Choir, Cambridge and EMI classics.

1    By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept,  ♦
when we remembered Zion.
2    As for our lyres, we hung them up  ♦
on the willows that grow in that land.

3    For there our captors asked for a song,
    our tormentors called for mirth:  ♦
‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion.’
4    How shall we sing the Lord’s song  ♦
in a strange land?

5    If I forget you, O Jerusalem,  ♦
let my right hand forget its skill.

6    Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth
    if I do not remember you,  ♦
if I set not Jerusalem above my highest joy.

7    Remember, O Lord, against the people of Edom
    the day of Jerusalem,  ♦
how they said, ‘Down with it,

    down with it, even to the ground.’
8    O daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction,  ♦
happy the one who repays you
    for all you have done to us;
9    Who takes your little ones,  ♦
and dashes them against the rock.

Further recordings to purchase from: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/more-choral-favourites-from/id327698830

Psalm 137 (Anglican Chant | Acapella) "By the waters of Babylon"

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Psalm 139 (Tune: Highland Cathedral | Acapella)

Psalm 72 v 17-19 - Stornoway

700 Free Recordings of Congregational & Choral Psalm Singing.
Different Versions, Different Tunes, Different Styles. All the recordings are free!!

I LOVE doing it and I love hearing how others appreciate it, but it does cost money. So if you can help me cover the overheads (https://www.patreon.com/psalms), I will keep uploading the beautiful recordings! 

Buy Scottish Psalter (1650) with sheet music: https://amzn.to/4cJHFPY

Psalm 11 (Tune: Rest)

ThePsalmsSung.org