Letter to Clarion re Revised Psalms

I just got the new Clarion in the mail. They published a letter I sent some weeks ago.

Here is a copy of it.

Dear Editor

I have heard that some say that we may not sing the revised Psalms in the worship services because the Church Order says that only approved ones may be sung in church.

In a similar vein, Yarrow Church approached the last Synod with the same complaint about the Hymnary Augment.

You can find this in Article 149 of the Acts of Synod Smithers.

2.8 Yarrow considers that the churches should test the proposed new hymn section before it is provisionally adopted as per Art. 55 CO. Hence Yarrow recommends to not adopt the recommendation of the [Book of Praise] committee to "provisionally adopt the Hymns presented… for testing by the churches," and [Yarrow] further states that singing the proposed hymns should be done before the worship services, on music evenings or at various other occasions, but not during the worship services.

Synod responded with this consideration to that complaint:

3.8 re 2.8 – the last time hymns in our federation of churches were tested, they were sung in the worship services. Yarrow gives no reason for not following this practice again...

Ever since the CanRC's began developing the Anglo Genevan Psalter / Hymnary we have been singing from booklets produced by the Book of Praise Committee. I can remember the black book, the red book, the red supplement, the green supplement, the blue collection, the blue liturgical forms, the Three Forms of Unity. All of these were used provisionally for testing in the churches. We sang the songs, used the forms, and read the confessions, all in the services. Things finally got "nailed down" in 1983 in Cloverdale.

The recent Synod said: "Testing the hymns" means, "using them in the worship services." Thus also (mutatis mutandis) the revised Psalms. Testing means using them in worship.

We sing the revised Psalms, and use the Augment, in Fellowship Church throughout our worship services and the congregation (for the most part) is really enjoying the experience. We use PowerPoint, and a projector and screen to great effect.

I would urge all members of the churches to approach their consistories and request that the revised Psalms be used whenever possible in our worship services. This has been our practice since the 50s and 60s.

Moreover, Yarrow's suggestion that they be sung "before the service" rings hollow to me. How can you have an auditorium full of God's covenant people, gathered together on the first day of the week, and ask them to sing a hymn or Psalm, and not acknowledge that it is worship? Let's purge the words "pre-service (or pre-worship) song" from our vocabulary. There is no such thing on Sunday morning in church. When we raise our voices together we are worshiping the great and highly exalted God of heaven and earth!

John van Popta
Pastor,