Psalm 88 is distinct among the psalms of lament, which typically move from lament to confident praise. Psalm 88 doesn’t. And yet Psalm 88 is a prayer of faith, as evidenced by the repeated second person pronoun “you.” Although the psalmist feels God's wrath heavy upon him, he does not turn away from God, but rather to Him. It is to the LORD God of his salvation that he prays daily, for it is only the LORD who hears and delivers. When we go through times of darkness, Psalm 88 gives us words to direct and express our need to the One who can deliver us.
To sing this psalm we set lyrics from Sing Psalms (©2003 Free Church of Scotland) to an original melody.
This recording features Andrea Sandefur and Alyssa Foss on vocals, Anne-Renee Gumley on piano, and Joel Stamoolis on cello.
Psalm 88
Psalm 88
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.