DIVINE OFFICE PSALTER WEEK PLUS

Too bad they are so rare! After much searching I've found only a few and you can read about them below.įortunately there is no shortage of pocket New Testaments which include the Psalms, and they can be found everywhere. Since I rely on a crowded public transportation system and also do a lot of walking between stations, I think tiny pocket psalters are a great idea. And you will be surprised at how much of the Psalm remains with you from the times you chanted it in the past. A quick glance at the end of each part is usually all you will need.

Most Psalms are clearly divided into two or three parts. Regular Bibles and many stand-alone psalters don't have the benefit of pointing (those markings that divide the text to fit the chant) but after you've been at this for a while, you will discover you really don't need any pointing at all, at least if you are chanting simple Plainsong (Anglican Chants are a little more complicated). It's fun to collect a bunch of versions for reading and comparison, but if memorizing the Psalms is important to you, then stick to one version for daily chanting, such as the translation your church uses. But if you keep jumping from one version to another, you could lose that benefit.

You can memorize Psalms without even trying. There is one caveat, however, if you find your book shelf is starting to bulge with psalters: if you are singing through the psalms regularly, especially if you go through the entire collection every month or every week, the words will stay with you and come to mind later when you need them. I never planned on collecting psalters, but I ended up with quite a pile of them all the same. If you love the Psalms, you will probably end up with several beloved psalters.

Some are pointed for singing or chanting, and some are straight unadorned text which require a little improvisation on your part if you want to sing them. In this second part of the article I'd like to shift gears and introduce you to some of the psalters that are out there, in addition to the ones already mentioned in the first half of this article. The photo at the right shows part of my collection of psalters which contain only the Psalms. There are also a few metrical psalter versions in print. There are several great stand-alone psalters to choose from, such as the Coverdale psalter, Orthodox translations of the Greek Septuagint, Catholic psalters and the Hebrew Tehillim.

DIVINE OFFICE PSALTER WEEK PLUS

There are well over a hundred English translations of the Bible out there now, plus several prayerbooks which contain the Psalms.

Divine office psalter week