Can one sing inspired Psalms that are changed around to please the ear?

[irresistible_grace]

I don't think the people officially sang the psalms in the Old Testament worship. I believe it was done by the Levitical choir.

But the Levitical choir consisted of "people" that sang the Psalms in worship. NT Christians are commanded to sing & with the Priesthood of Believers, we like the Levitical choir are to sing the Psalms in worship

 

[Jeri Tanner]

Yes, surely the Levitical singers typified the singing of the church. The Levites did sing in the Temple worship, but that's no reason to doubt that all Old Testament saints sang the Psalms. Moses was told to teach the words of his song to the people—to put the song in their mouths (Deuteronomy 31:19). They were commanded to sing it, and so we can assume they sang it, at least while Moses and perhaps Joshua lived. The words of the Psalms themselves exhort the people to sing to God; it would have been odd for the people to only listen to the words of David and the other appointed psalmists, and not take these words up themselves. They certainly sang Psalms of ascent when they went up to Jerusalem. In Girardeau's "Instrumental Music in the Public Worship of God" he points out that "as the tabernacle [he of course was speaking of pre-Temple times, but you see how it correlates] was necessarily at any particular time confined to one spot, it was not accessible to congregations representing all Israel, except upon the occasions of the prescribed national festivals. What, then, were they doing on all the other Sabbaths of the year in their cities and towns, villages and rural neighborhoods? It cannot be supposed that on those Sabbaths they never met for worship...The priests and Levites, when not occupied in the discharge of their formal, official duties at the temple, were distributed through the land, and there is evidence to show that they acted as teachers of schools. Is it likely that ministers of religion would have educated the people in everything but the divine law, or that they would have failed to assemble them on Sabbath days for the reception of religious instruction, or that such instruction would have been unattended by worship? It may be said that this amounts to no more than a presumption. But if so, it is a powerful presumption, and is strongly confirmed by other considerations..." It seems clear throughout Scripture that the people of God sang the word of God.

 

[brendanchatt]

I think it's important that the most important elements of Hebrew poetry depended on things not like meter and rhyme as in English poetry, but in things that translate well to our poetry/song and prose, such as repetition for emphasis.

I agree ...to having heard this before, at least. I think it's in Bushell, Songs of Zion. I couldn't give the edition or section, although I think I was reading the most recent edition and toward the latter third or so.; a friend of mine owned a copy .


Hope that's helpful,