Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.
—James 5:13, King James Version
Though psalm singing is a common practice throughout the history of Christian worship, the creation of metrical psalms—translations of the psalms into strict rhyming verse that can be easily fitted to musical settings in repeating stanzas—is a hallmark of the Reformation Era. John Calvin himself noted that “we shall find no better songs nor more appropriate to the purpose than the Psalms of David which the Holy Spirit made and spoke through him.” While some metrical psalms try to faithfully reproduce each line verse by verse (as in the setting of Psalm 15 which we’ve been singing this month), others take a more reflective approach, interpreting the psalm as we sing it. Such is the case with “Lord, Protect Your People” a reflection on Psalm 14 that Nathan George and I wrote in 2012 which closes our service this week. The psalm’s condemnation of the atheist as a “fool” (vs. 1) is transformed into a prayer for the Lord to “save our foolish hearts.” Similarly, while the psalm ends with longing “that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion” at some point in the future, we sing as those for whom that hope has already come. Christ, the Lord’s salvation, has come from Zion, rescuing and healing all His chosen ones. —Henry C. Haffner