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Psalm 37
How does this psalm piece interpret the psalm?
A number of months ago, my mom mentioned that Psalm 37 is one of her favorite scriptures, so I thought I’d set it to music. Little did I realize what an undertaking it would turn out to be!
You see, Psalm 37 is an acrostic with twenty-two four-line poems, each based on a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. What’s more, it is a wisdom psalm on the theme of good things happening to wicked people. This is not the stuff of Chris Tomlin hits, but because I’m committed to setting all 150 psalms to music, I decided to roll up my sleeves and get to work.
What I composed is twenty-two “songlets,” each starting with a letter of the English alphabet (through V, the twenty-second letter). Each of these songlets is eight measures long; the second four measures of each songlet can be sung together with the first four measures of the next songlet, creating a musical chain of twenty-two links.
Yes, this is perhaps the nerdiest psalm song ever written. However, I believe that the form and poetic devices of the psalms are too often overlooked in our musical interpretations. We take the content of the original psalm’s words and send them through our favorite musical sausage-grinder: metrical, responsorial, or praise chorus. By attempting to address deeper structural issues of the original text, we can get closer to the psalmists’ intent.
In this case, that means a twenty-two-section musical setting that is reasoned rather than passionate. We aren’t used to worship music being intellectually rigorous, but that is certainly at the heart of Psalm 37.
Obviously, a fifteen-minute psalm rendition would be a stretch for most congregations. I hope to eventually lead it in a cantata-style worship service. Until then, I hope a few sections could be used on their own as scripture choruses.
Text and Music: Psalm 37; Greg Scheer, © Greg Scheer
Used by permission. CCLI #400063.
Contact: CCLI License or Greg Scheer, greg@gregscheer.com
Teenagers’ desire to encounter God has been realized throughout history as youth ministry has grown and evolved. Indeed, teenagers have expressed needs and desires to practice and grow their faith at church, school, and home as well as at camps and conferences or on short- and long-term mission trips. On the one hand, these worship efforts have been deeply formative. On the other hand, these worship efforts have focused on attracting and keeping teenagers as much as, if not more than, on spiritual formation. This session will identify key historical patterns in adolescent worship and examine how we might engage their wisdom for faithful worship practices with teenagers today.
Songs from the people of Korea can deeply enrich your liturgy whether you have Korean-speaking members in your congregation or not. This workshop will introduce a variety of bilingual Korean-English songs that have been newly translated in the past few years as well as strategies to lead them effectively in your own worshiping context.
In this panel, Hispanic pastors share the learnings and experiences lived by their congregations after completing projects related to the development of their understanding and practices about worship. Together, they represent a variety of Hispanic denominations as well as of "dreams" they were able to realize (learning about the Creeds, bilingual worship, multigenerational worship, worship in non-traditional settings). Their congregations were part of the first cohort of Hispanic congregations receiving "worship grants" under a new initiative CICW launched in July of 2022.
Teenagers’ desire to encounter God has been realized throughout history as youth ministry has grown and evolved. Indeed, teenagers have expressed needs and desires to practice and grow their faith at church, school, and home as well as at camps and conferences or on short- and long-term mission trips. On the one hand, these worship efforts have been deeply formative. On the other hand, these worship efforts have focused on attracting and keeping teenagers as much as, if not more than, on spiritual formation. This session will identify key historical patterns in adolescent worship and examine how we might engage their wisdom for faithful worship practices with teenagers today.
Songs from the people of Korea can deeply enrich your liturgy whether you have Korean-speaking members in your congregation or not. This workshop will introduce a variety of bilingual Korean-English songs that have been newly translated in the past few years as well as strategies to lead them effectively in your own worshiping context.
In this panel, Hispanic pastors share the learnings and experiences lived by their congregations after completing projects related to the development of their understanding and practices about worship. Together, they represent a variety of Hispanic denominations as well as of "dreams" they were able to realize (learning about the Creeds, bilingual worship, multigenerational worship, worship in non-traditional settings). Their congregations were part of the first cohort of Hispanic congregations receiving "worship grants" under a new initiative CICW launched in July of 2022.
What basic models for worship planning are out there, and which patterns will work best in your context? Join a lively discussion of several worship planning models by the authors and pastors who use them. Bring your questions and suggestions as we learn together.
