At Christ Covenant Church we have begun a practice that many churches employ to learn new psalms, hymns, and songs. Below is my introduction.
When we sing the psalms, we are singing songs that Jesus sang, songs that were about Jesus, and songs that point to Jesus. Also, the psalms help us know the heart of God. They help us give thanks, lament, or bring our deepest requests before God. They help us seek the Lord when we are angry, confused, or alone. They give voice to our greatest joys and victories. In other words, they help us lay all of life before our Father in heaven.
Many authors have made the case that we should sing the psalms and thankfully the church is experiencing a revival of this practice. Of course, singing psalms here at Christ Covenant Church is nothing new. If you have sung out of the hymnal, old choruses, or followed modern hymn writing, you have probably been engaged in singing the psalms.
You may already love this practice, but many of us would admit that singing the psalms can be a little awkward. While some renditions sing quite easily, it’s also true that some sing like Yoda talks (…at times the verb in the wrong place is!). However, both approaches have their strong suits and cause us to think differently or see new gems or help us set God’s word upon our hearts.
Our hope is to have a steady diet of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs at Christ Covenant. In general, spiritual songs are those songs which speak of our experience and our walk with the Lord. Hymns are those songs which speak to and expound on the glory of God and his works. In fact, you will find those approaches in the Psalms themselves. But when we sing the psalms in particular, we are attempting to sing a fairly close rendition of portions of the psalter.
Finally, for eight or nine months of the year we will focus on learning or remembering a psalm. From time to time, such as during Advent or Easter, we will learn other hymns and songs together as well. Each time we will produce a short introduction and a chorded version of the music so that you are able to use this sheet at home or in small groups. Our hope is that you can collect these and slowly build a personal devotional resource.