Heritage Psalter: Biblical Poetry for a New Generation

The Heritage Psalter unites the ancient psalms of the Bible to familiar tunes of classic hymns of the church. These songs, grounded in our biblical heritage and enhanced by the church's historical heritage of hymnody provide a new way to sing praises to our God. In the Heritage Psalter, author Pat Dys offers a conjunction of familiar tunes found in most hymnals and thoughtful poetry in modern language. It is not a verse-by-verse metrical paraphrase of the book of Psalms, but rather a “thought-for-thought” devotional response to the reading of and meditation upon God’s Word in the book of Psalms. This approach focuses the reflection and response upon the psalm at hand, applying the truths of the passage in prayer and praise as the music forces the worshipper to slow down and ponder the poetry in a purposeful way. This conjunction is further enhanced by the fact that there is often a natural connection between the original lyrics of the classic hymn and the words of the biblical psalm. In singing the psalms this way, the treasures of the ancient past (the biblical psalms) are joined to the treasures of the recent past (the classic hymns of the church) to enrich a new generation of believers singing God’s praises. “Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! For he has done marvelous things…” (Psalm 98:1a NKJV) Author's Note: “When we experience a new work of grace, we are to express it in a new song. It might well be a song written long before we were born, but if it is one which expresses the newness we have just experienced, then for us, it is a new song. The Bible’s songbook – the book of Psalms – though ancient, furnishes us with endless ways to express a new work of grace.” Read more