# Psalters in public domain?



## Tim (Dec 10, 2009)

I am looking for metrical Psalms in public domain. At my local church here in Cape Town, we don't sing a lot of Psalms. The hymn-books we have do not provide many good presentations of the Psalms. I talked with the pastor and said there were free options - just find a Psalm put in common meter and sing to a well-known melody. 

I know about 'Psalms of David in Meter', but what else is available? I suspect the congregation would be turned off by the 'old language' and I want to be as encouraging as I can in this situation.


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## Blueridge Believer (Dec 10, 2009)

Take the time to teach them the old language brother. It's worth the time. I don't know of any other Psalter that is public domain. Singing from the 1650 Psalter is wonderful


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## Tim (Dec 10, 2009)

Oh, I wholeheartedly agree. I am just trying to be prepared, because the pastor asked right away, "would the Psalter have 'thee' and 'thou' in it?"


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## Tim (Dec 11, 2009)

Bump.


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## Wayne (Dec 11, 2009)

Public domain will presumably vary from nation to nation. Here in the States, it is anything prior to 1923. According to Wikipedia,


> The Copyright Act of 1978 is the current law of South Africa governing copyrights. S.3(2)(a) specifies that cinematograph films, photographs, and sound recording are copyrighted for 50 years after their first publication. (Most other works are copyrighted for 50 years after the death of the author.)



But back to the 1650 Psalter, how would you be utilizing these? If you were typing them up on a computer in order to print them off in sheets or include them in a Sunday bulletin, you could easily update the language without doing damage to the meter.


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## Tim (Dec 11, 2009)

I am wondering how easy would it be to update? 

For example,



> 1 That man hath perfect blessedness,
> who walketh not astray
> In counsel of ungodly men,
> nor stands in sinners' way,
> ...



In the above, _walketh, sitteth_, and _placeth_ are two syllables. Modern language would be _walks, sits,_ and _places_. _Places_ is okay because it is still two syllables, but the other words omit one syllable each. 

Comments?

-----Added 12/11/2009 at 09:00:29 EST-----

Or, what about this:



> 1 That man has perfect blessedness,
> who does not walk astray
> In counsel of ungodly men,
> nor stands in sinners' way,
> ...



-----Added 12/11/2009 at 09:01:00 EST-----

Maybe it's not that difficult.


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## Wayne (Dec 11, 2009)

Now you've got it. Looks good. Some might be more work, certainly. I had forgotten about the word endings (-eth), and that could in some spots mess up the meter.

Other options: The RPCNA Psalter might have some more current language. 
Then there was a booklet back in the 1970s called The Psalter, but it was really Scripture put to music. That said, those portions that were actually from the Psalms might be useful, though they would very lightly be in the direction of "contemporary music" in style.


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## Marrow Man (Dec 11, 2009)

The Psalms and Hymns of Isaac Watts is in the public domain. I have used that for psalm-singing in worship before (though I have a hard copy), but with some "minor" alterations (for instance, Watts sometimes mentions the British isles, and I change that for more than one obvious reason).


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## Puritan Scot (Dec 15, 2009)

Greetings Tim,

I can sense and read into your initial post that you both love the psalms and appreciate and personally uphold EP. I can also see where you are coming from in trying to encourage others who have as of yet not appreciated the blessing derived in one's soul by worshipping God in this way and perhaps feeling that the old language of the 17th Century is a deterent to them embracing the words of the 1650 Scottish Metrical Psalter.

Personally I would be reluctant to go down this way, as modern translations whether of either The Bible or the Psalms have historically been somewhat short lived as after a few years there is a harking after another change and translation version as if the honey in the comb no longer tastes as sweet.

When one sticks to a historic time tried and tested, God honouring translation without being open to changing for the sake of changing, the words of Scripture or of the Psalms for singing, is retained in the memory and easily recalled with clarity in one's daily walk and pilgrimage. 

May you know much blessing brother as you endeavour to make the richness and the truths contained in the Psalms a blessing to the souls of your fellow believers in South Africa.


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## JoelYrick (Dec 15, 2009)

Quite a few metrical psalms are on google books, including this: The Book of Psalms for Singing - Google Books


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## Tim (Dec 16, 2009)

Puritan Scot said:


> Greetings Tim,
> 
> I can sense and read into your initial post that you both love the psalms and appreciate and personally uphold EP. I can also see where you are coming from in trying to encourage others who have as of yet not appreciated the blessing derived in one's soul by worshipping God in this way and perhaps feeling that the old language of the 17th Century is a deterent to them embracing the words of the 1650 Scottish Metrical Psalter.
> 
> ...



Thanks, brother. I'm torn between the two. I know that the 1650 Psalter is reliable, but if they refused because of the language, what would I do then? Keep in mind that this is a congregation that sometimes sings, "Shine, Jesus Shine"!

-----Added 12/16/2009 at 01:47:31 EST-----



JoelYrick said:


> Quite a few metrical psalms are on google books, including this: The Book of Psalms for Singing - Google Books



Yes. I actually own an RPCNA Psalter (red). But if I copied the words from this Psalter onto the computer for the projection screen (this is what they use), would this be legal/okay?


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## shaungreen (Dec 16, 2009)

Hi Tim, my reformed neighbour in Africa 

 I am so glad that you have suggested this.

From the research that I have done, the 1650 Psalter seems to be the most faithful Psalter for singing in English, and while I don't mind the mildly antiquated language, it is perceived as a challenge for many who do not have English for a first language. I agree that it would be better for believers to be singing "refreshed" Psalms, rather than "anything goes". My family has been tremendously blessed by the use of the 1650 Psalter over the past year. It's simplicity of structure has provided us with the invaluable blessing of quickly learning how to praise the Lord, while simultaneously memorising the Word.

I would be eager to assist you in making minor changes to the 1650 Psalter, similar to your proposal above, so long as we agree to keep it within the Public Domain, and also involve some folk with a proper knowledge of biblical languages. We should be careful not to remove the distinctions between singular and plural that words such as "thou" and "thee" convey. Removing most of the "eth" should not be a problem though. It goes without saying: it is VERY important not to "dumb down" God's Word, though this process. Some of the better know Psalms, such as 23 and 100, might be better left as is.

Perhaps the way forward would be to start a small mailing list/Yahoo Group. In the interests of efficient discussion and decision-making, the group should not be too large. As soon as we have a reasonable sized group (ideally 12-or-so), we can divide the work, by giving certain Psalms to certain people. I would also strongly recommend the group should be limited to members that are committed to the principle of "Sola Scriptura". Even if we revise only three or four Psalms a week, the task should be complete in about one year. If it takes two years that is also fine. God-willing, the sooner we start, the sooner we finish.

This project might also later lead to a Psalter that includes melody in sheet music form. Free software such as Rosegarden is capable of importing midi files, and arranging the words.

What do you think?


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## Tim (Dec 16, 2009)

Thank-you Shaun for the care you are demonstrating regarding the original language and 'metrical translations'. I agree that any changes would need to be done carefully. We can chat privately on this.


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## ADKing (Dec 16, 2009)

Tim said:


> Yes. I actually own an RPCNA Psalter (red). But if I copied the words from this Psalter onto the computer for the projection screen (this is what they use), would this be legal/okay?



It is fairly easy to get copyright permission from Crown and Covenant. Check out this page explaining the details. https://www.crownandcovenant.com/Articles.asp?ID=124


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## JoelYrick (Dec 17, 2009)

Tim, I had assumed that if they were allowing Google books to freely distribute those psalms, that those were psalms that had no other difficulties with copyright. However, I thank Rev. King for that link, as I've really wondered why C&C wouldn't want to be as promiscuous with the Psalter as possible.


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## Tim (Dec 17, 2009)

Yes, I emailed them and they will extend permission without cost. I just have to fill out that form.


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