Eastern Orthodox services are still 90 percent or so singing--all but the sermon and, at my church, at least, the creed, the Lord’s Prayer and the prayer before communion.
No, I mean PSALMS. This is what the church historically sang, directly carried over from synagogue worship. Not the singing of man-written songs but the inspired Word. The quote of Psalm 2 brought this to mind. What is surprising is that virtually nobody in the Protestant world understands that the Reformers sang psalms in their return to Biblically-commanded worship. Man made hymns didn’t happen until the 1700s & took off in the 1800s. Some In the Roman church chanted but they didn’t understand the Latin, they were just making sounds.
The metrical psalms were a central part of Reformed worship both on the continent & the British isles. A return to this is needed!
Yes, I know! That has not changed in Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Psalms are still sung in the Divine Liturgy. And everything we sing comes straight from Scripture.
PSALM 2 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying,
3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
7 I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
I recommend you go back and re-read Joshua, truly a man of action.
And how sad that most churches gave up the historical & Biblical practice in worship of SINGING THE PSALMS!
Eastern Orthodox services are still 90 percent or so singing--all but the sermon and, at my church, at least, the creed, the Lord’s Prayer and the prayer before communion.
No, I mean PSALMS. This is what the church historically sang, directly carried over from synagogue worship. Not the singing of man-written songs but the inspired Word. The quote of Psalm 2 brought this to mind. What is surprising is that virtually nobody in the Protestant world understands that the Reformers sang psalms in their return to Biblically-commanded worship. Man made hymns didn’t happen until the 1700s & took off in the 1800s. Some In the Roman church chanted but they didn’t understand the Latin, they were just making sounds.
The metrical psalms were a central part of Reformed worship both on the continent & the British isles. A return to this is needed!
Yes, I know! That has not changed in Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Psalms are still sung in the Divine Liturgy. And everything we sing comes straight from Scripture.