Psalm 109 is a lament, a prayer for deliverance from someone who is being unjustly persecuted, someone whose love is responded to with hatred. It is a psalm of David, and this is important because it’s not just anyone who is being persecuted. It’s God’s anointed king, God’s messiah. The psalm speaks very openly about the fate of those who reject God’s anointed king. This is one of the psalms that the apostles looked to in Acts 1 when they were processing what happened to Judas. Psalm 109 serves as a warning to those who would reject God’s anointed king, but also an encouragement to God’s people that although the Messiah must suffer he will be delivered and come into his glory as described in the very next psalm, Psalm 110.
To sing this psalm we set lyrics by Christopher Idle (©Jubilate Hymns) to an original melody. We used verse 26 of the psalm as a refrain.
This recording features Kim Hopkins on vocals, Andrea Sandefur on vocals and piano, Joel Stamoolis on vocals and guitar, Naomi Stamoolis on English horn, Jamison Gumley on bass guitar, and Thomas Doak on drums.
Psalm 109
Psalm 109
Psalm 119:169-176 (Taw)
Psalm 119:169–176
Psalm 119 is an acrostic prayer song celebrating God's word. Psalm 119 was written as 22 eight verse stanzas, one for each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The first eight verses of Psalm 119 all begin with the Hebrew letter Aleph. The next eight verses begin with the Hebrew letter Beth. This pattern continues through the rest of the psalm. Each verse of this stanza begins with the Hebrew letter Taw. To sing the final stanza of Psalm 119 we set lyrics by Joel Stamoolis to the melody "Old Hundredth," by Louis Bourgeois (1551). This recording features Joel Stamoolis on vocals and guitar, Naomi Stamoolis and Willy Shelton on vocals, and Anne-Renee Gumley on piano.
Psalm 119:161-168 (Shin)
Psalm 119:161–168
Psalm 119 is an acrostic prayer song celebrating God's word. Psalm 119 was written as 22 eight verse stanzas, one for each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The first eight verses of Psalm 119 all begin with the Hebrew letter Aleph. The next eight verses begin with the Hebrew letter Beth. This pattern continues through the rest of the psalm. Each verse of this stanza begins with the Hebrew letter Shin (or Sin). To sing the twenty-first stanza of Psalm 119 we set lyrics by Sing Psalms (©Free Church of Scotland) to a melody by Joel Stamoolis. This recording features Joel Stamoolis on vocals and guitar, Willy Shelton on vocals, Naomi Stamoolis on English horn, and Anne-Renee Gumley on piano.
Psalm 119:153-160 (Resh)
Psalm 119:153–160
Psalm 119 is an acrostic prayer song celebrating God's word. Psalm 119 was written as 22 eight verse stanzas, one for each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The first eight verses of Psalm 119 all begin with the Hebrew letter Aleph. The next eight verses begin with the Hebrew letter Beth. This pattern continues through the rest of the psalm. Each verse of this stanza begins with the Hebrew letter Resh. To sing the twentieth stanza of Psalm 119 we adapted lyrics by the 1912 Psalter and set them to a melody by Joel Stamoolis. This recording features Joel Stamoolis on vocals and guitar, Willy Shelton on vocals, Naomi Stamoolis on English horn, and Anne-Renee Gumley on piano.