Psalm 149: a hallel
In worship this morning, our liturgical response to the Old Testament reading is Psalm 149. It's a hallel, begins and ends praising God, Hallelujah!
The psalm is classic Hebrew poetry in another way, its parallelism in which the second half of each verse echoes the first half of the verse in some way. This construction is meant for the lector, cantor or other worship leader to say, chant, or sing the first half; and the congregation to say, sing, or chant the second half of each verse in response as repeat or paraphrase or response in the spirit of the thing.
Half verse by half verse, it's perfect for either responsive reading by priest or lector and congregation back and forth; or for choir and congregation chanting back and forth half verse by half verse. Our body of music provides beautifully for this.
It goes without saying (or maybe not) that every psalm is beautifully suited for singing to Anglican Chant, the sound of heavenly perfection once heard in every Episcopal Church in the land, when Anglicanism could be defined as a sound, a sound in worship; but lost in late 20th century liturgical reform.
At any event, not being taken aback by the vengeance at the end, which is natural and logical because of how the Jews have been mistreated over the ages, here's this lovely psalm
The psalm is classic Hebrew poetry in another way, its parallelism in which the second half of each verse echoes the first half of the verse in some way. This construction is meant for the lector, cantor or other worship leader to say, chant, or sing the first half; and the congregation to say, sing, or chant the second half of each verse in response as repeat or paraphrase or response in the spirit of the thing.
Half verse by half verse, it's perfect for either responsive reading by priest or lector and congregation back and forth; or for choir and congregation chanting back and forth half verse by half verse. Our body of music provides beautifully for this.
It goes without saying (or maybe not) that every psalm is beautifully suited for singing to Anglican Chant, the sound of heavenly perfection once heard in every Episcopal Church in the land, when Anglicanism could be defined as a sound, a sound in worship; but lost in late 20th century liturgical reform.
At any event, not being taken aback by the vengeance at the end, which is natural and logical because of how the Jews have been mistreated over the ages, here's this lovely psalm
| 1 | Hallelujah! Sing to the Lord a new song; * SING HIS PRAISE IN THE CONGREGATION OF THE FAITHFUL. |
| 2 | Let Israel rejoice in his Maker; * LET THE CHILDREN OF ZION BE JOYFUL IN THEIR KING. |
| 3 | Let them praise his Name in the dance; * LET THEM SING PRAISE TO HIM WITH TIMBREL AND HARP. |
| 4 | For the Lord takes pleasure in his people * AND ADORNS THE POOR WITH VICTORY. |
| 5 | Let the faithful rejoice in triumph; * LET THEM BE JOYFUL ON THEIR BEDS. |
| 6 | Let the praises of God be in their throat * AND A TWO-EDGED SWORD IN THEIR HAND; |
| 7 | To wreak vengeance on the nations * AND PUNISHMENT ON THE PEOPLES; |
| 8 | To bind their kings in chains * AND THEIR NOBLES WITH LINKS OF IRON; |
| 9 | To inflict on them the judgment decreed; * THIS IS GLORY FOR ALL HIS FAITHFUL PEOPLE. HALLELUJAH! |