Genevan psalter

[Andrew David Short]

Which is better, the Canadian reformed churches one or the new genevan psalter

 

[C4MERON]

thats easy! The 1650 Scottish Psalter of course

 

[Guido's Brother]

Hi Andrew,

The rhyming of the psalms in the Canadian Reformed Book of Praise (and FRCA Book of Praise too) is exactly the same as the New Genevan Psalter. You've got one, you've got the other. The Book of Praise also has 85 additional hymns, plus all the confessions and liturgical forms.

 

[Andrew David Short]

Is the wording the same

 

[Guido's Brother]

Is the wording the same

Exactly the same. It's basically the Book of Praise without the hymns, confessions, liturgical forms, etc. Just the Psalms.

 

[Andrew David Short]

I am exclusive psalmody in the crca canberra

 

[J.C. Philpot]

Does anyone know a way to purchase the Canadian Reformed Book of Praise (or New Genevan Psalter) and let it be shipped to the Netherlands? As far as I can see the publisher does not send to Europe, and I cannot find other sites where they sell it.

 

[JLB]

Sent you a PM.

 

[Guido's Brother]

Does anyone know a way to purchase the Canadian Reformed Book of Praise (or New Genevan Psalter) and let it be shipped to the Netherlands? As far as I can see the publisher does not send to Europe, and I cannot find other sites where they sell it.

Hi, I imagine if you were to ask them, they would find a way to get it to you. You can contact them here.

 

[Polanus1561]

I won’t be too hopeful on the price of shipping a Canadian shipment to Netherlands

 

[Guido's Brother]

I won’t be too hopeful on the price of shipping a Canadian shipment to Netherlands

I guess it comes down to the question of how much value one places upon the Psalms!

 

[darrellmaurina]

Exactly the same. It's basically the Book of Praise without the hymns, confessions, liturgical forms, etc. Just the Psalms.

Just a quick note of thanks to the Canadian Reformed, via Dr. Wes Bredenhof ("Guido's Brother"), for putting together this valuable resource. There is no good reason why the Psalter created in Geneva under John Calvin's direction, and widely used in the Reformation era by everyone from the Huguenots in France to the Waldensians in northwest Italy to the Hungarian Reformed and the Dutch Reformed, wasn't available in a complete form in English until the very small federation of Canadian Reformed Churches decided to undertake the translation as their churches began to make the transition from Dutch to English following emigration to Canada after World War II.

I realize the Scots Presbyterians created their own psalm versifications. Leaving aside the question of whether the Scottish versification is better or worse than the Genevan Psalter (and yes, I know the argument that the Genevan tunes are "unsingable," and I respectfully disagree), the Genevan tunes should have been available with an English versification centuries ago. This project should not have had to wait until Dutch immigrants to Canada wanted to make sure their children could keep using the Genevan Psalter.

 

[Timmay]

So I have this Psalter. I’m trying to learn how to play the tunes on the violin. Where can I hear the tunes to help in playing?

 

[Guido's Brother]

So I have this Psalter. I’m trying to learn how to play the tunes on the violin. Where can I hear the tunes to help in playing?

Hi Timothy,

Yes, you can find them in various channels on YouTube (usually with a pipe organ). Frank Ezinga is the organist of the first church I served in Canada and he's got a collection of videos as well. You can find them here.

There's also this website.

 

[Deleted member 10797]

1650 Scottish Psalter is the best.

 

[Guido's Brother]

1650 Scottish Psalter is the best.

Okay, so please do explain the ways in which you think the 1650 Scottish Psalter is better than the Genevan Psalter used by the Canadian Reformed Churches and the Free Reformed Churches of Australia. I sang from the 1650 Scottish Psalter at a local Presbyterian church yesterday again and I'm not convinced. Convince me.

 

[Deleted member 10797]

Okay, so please do explain the ways in which you think the 1650 Scottish Psalter is better than the Genevan Psalter used by the Canadian Reformed Churches and the Free Reformed Churches of Australia. I sang from the 1650 Scottish Psalter at a local Presbyterian church yesterday again and I'm not convinced. Convince me

I don't really have a good answer to that, to be honest. I just think the 1650 Scottish Psalter is a better rendering of the Psalms and is easier to sing. I guess it is also a matter of personal preference.

 

[Andrew David Short]

Is the book of praise and the 2015 book called new genevan psalter the same thing

 

[Andrew David Short]

Sorry, you answered that so why 2 different names for identical books

 

[Andrew David Short]

Is it better than the 1984 book of praise

 

[Stephen L Smith]

I sang from the 1650 Scottish Psalter at a local Presbyterian church yesterday

Was this in Launceston or Hobart? I ask because I read an article in the RCNZ magazine some time ago which mentioned that the FRCA had some connections with Confessionally Reformed Psalm singing churches in Hobart (I got the impression they used the 1650 Scottish Psalter).

 

[JLB]

Hi Timothy,

Yes, you can find them in various channels on YouTube (usually with a pipe organ). Frank Ezinga is the organist of the first church I served in Canada and he's got a collection of videos as well. You can find them here.

There's also this website.

Thanks for the link! I've been looking for something like this.

 

[Guido's Brother]

Was this in Launceston or Hobart? I ask because I read an article in the RCNZ magazine some time ago which mentioned that the FRCA had some connections with Confessionally Reformed Psalm singing churches in Hobart (I got the impression they used the 1650 Scottish Psalter).

On Sunday afternoon I was at the Southern Presbyterian Church in Launceston. They also have a congregation in Hobart. We also have the Evangelical Presbyterian Church here in Launceston -- they also use the Scottish Psalter. The FRCA is in ecumenical discussions with both the SPC and EPC.

 

[Guido's Brother]

Is it better than the 1984 book of praise

To answer all your questions:

1. They are not the same thing. The Book of Praise is a bigger book which includes 85 hymns, the confessions, liturgical forms, and church order. The Book of Praise is specifically designed for the Canadian Reformed Churches and the Free Reformed Churches of Australia.
2. The New Genevan Psalter is designed for a broader market than the CanRC and FRCA. Hence it doesn't include all the denominationally-specific material.
3. The 2014 CanRC Book of Praise and 2021 FRCA Book of Praise are a vast improvement over the 1984 in terms of the Psalms. The text has been brought into greater conformity to the Hebrew. The language has been updated. The titles (from Scripture) have been added to the Psalms. Musically, there's been a shift to overleaf notation.

Hope that helps.

 

[Andrew David Short]

But the book of praise and new genevan psalter are identical in the translation of the psalms
So for exclusive psalmody people the frca book can be used as well as the 1650 if you feel like some variation
Now with singing along is the organ cds for the 1984 book the best

 

[Guido's Brother]

But the book of praise and new genevan psalter are identical in the translation of the psalms
So for exclusive psalmody people the frca book can be used as well as the 1650 if you feel like some variation
Now with singing along is the organ cds for the 1984 book the best

I'm not familiar with the resource to which you're referring. If you just need some simple help in getting the tune, Jane Oosterhoff has made a series of videos for each of the Psalms. You can find it here.

 

[Stephen L Smith]

The FRCA is in ecumenical discussions with both the SPC and EPC.

Thanks Wes. Actually I do now remember the RCNZ article mentioning that the FRCA is in ecumenical discussions with both the SPC and EPC.

 

[Logan]

Thanks for this thread. I've heard of the "Anglo Genevan Psalter" for a while but could never really find a place to purchase it. I've purchased the New Genevan Psalter from the links in this thread and have really enjoyed looking it over. Love the concept.