The Sing to the Lord psalter hymnal was assembled by a committee appointed by the 2002 Synod of the Reformed Churches of New Zealand. The committee's mandate, in summary, was to:
- Select poetic Psalm versions faithful to Scripture.
- Select hymns in significant quantity for the various preferences in our churches.
- Solicit contributions from a wide cross section of our membership.
Singing the Psalms
Many churches throughout the world highly value the singing of the biblical Psalms – many of which were written for God’s people to sing, and are God’s blueprint for good Christian song. Here is an article on singing Psalms outlining how they are satisfying both emotionally and doctrinally.[credits]
These are the features of the Psalms section of this psalter hymnal:
- Songs numbered by Psalm number: 1, 1b, 2, 3 ...
- Words which follow Scripture closely, while maintaining English poetic metre.
- Use of up-to-date language in most selections.
October 2008 saw the arrival of a provisional printing of just the psalter: Sing to the Lord (provisional). This was well-received, and was out of stock after some 2000 copies. This provisional printing of the Psalms is now included as the first section of the full hymnal.
The complete Sing to the Lord hymnal had its first printing late in 2013 and became available for order in 2014.
It’s in a Book
Having church hymnody in a traditional book has several advantages that presentation such as digital projection does not share. Book form allows:
- words and music to be published together, which is beneficial for learning and singing the music well
- publishing of four-part harmony, which is especially delightful for people who love to sing in parts
- taking our worship music home with us, making it available for use in a Bible study group or around the dinner table