Psalm 95 has been used throughout church history as a call to worship. Sometimes, especially in recent settings, the second half of the psalm is not used. However, the second half of Psalm 95 is the longest quote from a psalm in the New Testament (quoted in Hebrews 3). Moreover, the second half of the Psalm is still very much a call to worship, calling the worshipers away from hard-heartedness to worship the one who calls us to himself (Psalm 95:7). The call to worship is a joyful call (Psalm 95:1), but not a casual call (Psalm 95:11).
To sing this psalm we set lyrics from Christopher Idle (©Jubilate Hymns) to the melody of "All Creatures of Our God and King" (1623), adapting the refrains of "All Creatures of our God and King."
This recording features Willy Shelton, Andrea Sandefur, and Kimberly Hopkins on vocals, Joel Stamoolis on vocals and guitar, Heidi Friese on piano, Dexter Tucker on alto saxophone, Herb Dunham and David Tollerud on trumpet, Brian Beaudry on bass guitar, and Jeremy Bloomstrom on drums.
Psalm 95
Psalm 95
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.