Psalm 27

(Here’s the 11th post in my continuing series on the Psalms for All Seasons Sunday school class I co-teach with Andrew Friend. Each week we sing psalm settings from Psalms for All Seasons, Lift Up Your Hearts, and other CRC hymnals. Previous posts is the series focused on Psalm 121, Psalm 122Psalms 2/99Psalm 72Psalm 95Psalm 147,  Psalm 112,  Psalm 29,  Psalm 40, and Psalm 23.)

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 27 alternates between a description of the psalmist’s dire situation—“evildoers assail me to devour my flesh,” “my father and mother forsake me,” “false witnesses have risen against me and they are breathing out violence”—and heartfelt declarations of trust in and devotion to God.

One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.

Some commentators divide the psalm into a psalm of confidence (vv. 1-6) and an individual lament (vv. 7-14). Most of the settings in our hymnals focus on the first part of the psalm, particularly on the three images of God in the first verse—light, salvation and stronghold—while the second part is neglected.

The Revised Standard Lectionary assigns the entire Psalm 27 to the 2nd Sunday after Lent in Year C and vv. 1 & 4-9 to the 3rd Sunday after Epiphany in Year A. We took the psalm up during our Nov. 3 class.

“O LORD, You Are My Light” (PFAS #27C/LUYH #773/PH87 #164/PH57 #48) is a versification of the first six verses (minus two). The version in the 1912 Psalter and the blue Psalter Hymnal (“Jehovah Is My Light”) has six stanzas that cover verses 1-6. The gray Psalter Hymnal dropped the second stanza (verses 2-3) and modernized the other. This version, which is found in PFAS and LUYH, now covers vv. 1, 4-6. PFAS & LUYH set the lyrics to RHOSYMEDRE.

O LORD, you are my light
and my salvation near;
then who will cause me fright
or fill my heart with fear?
While God my strength, my life sustains,
secure from fear my soul remains.

The detailed PFAS performance note to “O LORD, You Are My Light”: “Since its appearance in the Psalter, 1912, to the tune of ARTHUR’S SEAT, this versification has often been sung in a confident, even triumphalistic tone of voice. The coupling with the tune RHOSYMEDRE allows for a more nuanced rendering of the different emotions of the text. St. 1 can be sung with a sense of quiet trust. Sing st. 2 in harmony with a sense of earnestness. St. 3 might begin with a sense of anxiety, accompanying the opening phrases with D-minor and G-minor chords. This stanza grows in confidence and intensity, leading to a joyful, harmonious, and resounding singing of the final stanza.”

 “God Is My Strong Salvation” (PFAS #27D) is another traditional hymn based on the first part of the psalm and set to CHRISTUS, DER IST MEIN LEBEN.

The Palm 27 settings also include four hymns titled “The Lord is My Light”: “The Lord Is My Light” (PFAS #27A) is a Taizé song consisting of two short themes based on v. 1; “The Lord Is My Light” (PFAS #27B/LUYH #431) is a gospel song based on vv. 1, 5 & 14; “The Lord Is My Light” (PFAS #27J/SNC #192) is an Iona Community hymn based on vv. 1-6 and set to CZECHOSLOVAKIA; and “El Señor es mi luz/The Lord Is My Light” (PFAS #27G/LUYH #774), a Spanish-language hymn based on vv. 1, 4, 9-11 & 13.

“One Thing I Ask” (PFAS #27I), based on vv. 4, 7 & 9, is the only setting in PFAS that doesn’t begin with verse 1 and doesn’t mention “light” or “salvation.”

One thing I ask, one thing I seek,
that I may dwell  in your house, O Lord,
all of my days, all of my life that I may see you.

The responsorial setting we used was “The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation” (PFAS #27H/LUYH #885/SNC #206), which we were familiar with from Sing! A New Creation. Psalms for All Seasons includes three other responsorial settings: “The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation” (PFAS #27H-Alternate), from the Orthodox tradition; “The Lord Is My Light and My Stronghold” (PFAS #27F), a jazz tune; and “My God Is My Light and My Salvation” (PFAS #27E, which is labeled “An Accompaniment for Reading” and includes a “vocal vamp” (“Who shall I fear?”) to sing during the spoken verses.

Two hymns from the Psalter Hymnals that include the second half other psalm aren’t included in the new hymnals. The gray Psalter Hymnal  includes a versification of the entire psalm by Marie J. Post set to Louis Bourgeois’ Genevan 27, “The LORD Is My Light and My Salvation” (PH87 #27), which uses the rare (for good reason) 11 10 11 10 10 10 10 10 meter. The blue Psalter Hymnal has a versification of vv. 7-14 titled “O Lord, Regard Me When I Cry” (PH57 #49).

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