iPhone/iPad App – The Book of Psalms for Worship

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I enthusiastically sing the Psalms, both in private and public worship. Therefore, I am grateful to live in a time when new resources encouraging their use appear regularly.

My friend John brought to my attention the iPhone/iPad app for the RPCNA’s The Book of Psalms for Worship.  If you are unfamiliar with tunes in the Psalter, the app enables you to view printed metrical psalms while singing along to suitable tunes. The obstacle of not knowing the tune is overcome.

Many books and articles extol the benefits of Psalm singing. Dr. Terry Johnson makes the case with clarity and brevity.

Let me add another benefit of singing the Psalms: it promotes a pace of reading the text suitable for understanding, reflection, and prayer.

During my four years at Sewanee, Mr. Theron Myers taught the Sunday School I attended at the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. At the time he was in his mid to late 80s. Each class was a feast from God’s word. His learning was considerable and his life applications always timely. Mr. Myers recommended readers use the King James Bible because its Elizabethan language does not lend itself to skimming, and slows down the pace at which modern American Christians read the text.

The singing of Psalms does the same. In addition to its other many other benefits, Psalm singing forces worshippers to take a step back from the frantic pace of modern life as they come before God with the songs of prayer he has graciously provided in his infallible word.

If you need assistance in learning to sing the psalms,  this app will prove a valuable resource.

4 Comments

  1. Dennis Conroy on January 16, 2015 at 3:16 pm

    There is also and Android version available at Google Play store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ActFiveSoftware.android.PsalmsForWorship

  2. Dennis Conroy on January 16, 2015 at 3:16 pm

    There is also and Android version available at Google Play store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ActFiveSoftware.android.PsalmsForWorship

  3. rbecksann on January 22, 2015 at 3:16 pm

    We discussed just this thing last week in Sunday School. I’d noticed that our regular Psalm has been missing from the order of worship on Sundays and miss it. One of the things I remember you telling us was that teaching our children the Psalms (especially through singing) would commit those texts to memory for the rest of their lives.

  4. rbecksann on January 22, 2015 at 3:16 pm

    We discussed just this thing last week in Sunday School. I’d noticed that our regular Psalm has been missing from the order of worship on Sundays and miss it. One of the things I remember you telling us was that teaching our children the Psalms (especially through singing) would commit those texts to memory for the rest of their lives.

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