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This is a multilingual setting of Psalm 117 submitted by Paul Neeley. It was composed by Paul Neeley and Josh Davis.
Psalm 117
How does this psalm piece interpret the psalm?
Psalm 117 has been my life’s direction-setting passage for many years, with a clarion call for all people groups to worship the Lord. In this song, languages used include English, Hebrew, Kiswahili, Portuguese, Korean, Spanish, and French. All the language phrases mean “Praise the Lord!” A Native American flute is also used in addition to global percussion, though those are not necessary to use the song in a church service. Psalm 117 is as significant today as it was thousands of years ago, calling all the “ethne” to praise the Lord for God’s love and faithfulness. We should say or sing this short psalm continually.
To use this song at a church, keep the “Hallelujah” in Hebrew as presented here and ask people in your congregation to sing the phrase in their languages. You do not need to use six in a single service! The idea is to have a few multilingual phrases and melodic phrases that interlock in a pleasing manner.
Text and Music: Psalm 145; Paul Neeley and Josh Davis, © Paul Neeley and Josh Davis
Used by permission. Creative Commons.
Contact: Paul Neeley, paulneeley@gmail.com; Josh Davis, jd@proskuneo.org
Why and how did psalm singing become such a hallmark of Reformed worship? Join Dr. Karin Maag for a fascinating journey through time, from Reformation Geneva to Scotland and from the Netherlands to New England, exploring the roots and impact of metrical psalm singing. Along the way, we will hear the voices of early modern Christians as they learned how to sing the psalms, both in unison and in harmony.
Sister Kathleen Harmon of the community of the Ohio province of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in Dayton, invites us to be transformed by the psalms and experience them as the whole story God is revealing to us. As we keep praying and singing them, the psalms interpret us, and that’s when the transformation comes.
Vinroy D. Brown Jr.—conductor, musicologist, educator, and minister of creative worship and music at the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City—explores the vibrant intersection of Black sacred music and the psalms. He talks about Black composers and how they have reimagined the psalms through choral music, spirituals, and the gospel tradition for the benefit of everyone.
Why and how did psalm singing become such a hallmark of Reformed worship? Join Dr. Karin Maag for a fascinating journey through time, from Reformation Geneva to Scotland and from the Netherlands to New England, exploring the roots and impact of metrical psalm singing. Along the way, we will hear the voices of early modern Christians as they learned how to sing the psalms, both in unison and in harmony.
Sister Kathleen Harmon of the community of the Ohio province of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in Dayton, invites us to be transformed by the psalms and experience them as the whole story God is revealing to us. As we keep praying and singing them, the psalms interpret us, and that’s when the transformation comes.
Vinroy D. Brown Jr.—conductor, musicologist, educator, and minister of creative worship and music at the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City—explores the vibrant intersection of Black sacred music and the psalms. He talks about Black composers and how they have reimagined the psalms through choral music, spirituals, and the gospel tradition for the benefit of everyone.
John Goldingay, an Anglican priest and the senior professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary, posits the psalms are the densest material in the entire Old Testament. They expound the nature of God as the compassionate, faithful, and committed one, but also as the one who makes demands upon us. The psalms help us talk to God, even about difficult things—and when we do, we are talking to someone who is in a position to do something about it.
