Psalm 124 (Old 124th)

Psalm 124 - Old 124th

Now Israel may say, and that truly,
if that the Lord had not our cause maintained;
if that the Lord had not our right sustained,
when cruel men against us furiously
rose up in wrath, to make of us their prey;

Then certainly they had devoured us all,
and swallowed quick, for aught that we could deem;
such was their rage, as we might well esteem.
And as fierce floods before them all things drown,
so had they brought our soul to death quite down.

The raging streams, with their proud swelling waves,
had then our soul o'erwhelmèd in the deep.
But blest be God, who doth us safely keep,
and hath not given us for a living prey
unto their teeth, and bloody cruelty.

Even as a bird out of the fowler's snare
escapes away, so is our soul set free:
broke are their nets, and thus escapèd we.
Therefore our help is in the Lord's great Name,
who heaven and earth by his great power did frame.

Psalms of Scotland
Scottish Philharmonic Singers – Ian McCrorie (director) – John Langdon (organist)
The Psalms of David in metre have been sung in Scotland for over four hundred years. In 1582, when John Durie returned from exile to Edingburgh to be Protestant minister of St.Giles', a large crowd accompanied him up the High Street singing Psalm 124 in their own tongue – and in four parts – with “a great sound of majestic.”

On the Scottish Psalter's many sources, a prime one was Geneva where in the mid-fifteenth century English, Scottish and French Calvinists found refuge. Taking their own translation of the psalms and their tunes with them, they brought back others to their on countries.

While the precentor still leads the praise in some Reformed sects, there was a movement towards the end of the eighteenth century in Scotland to form and train parish choirs. At about the same time the Scottish Paraphrases were added to the psalms for public worships, to be followed much later by hymns.

Organs became common in Scottish churches in the second half of the nineteenth century; and the 1929 Psalter in metre, still in use, contains descants and faux-bourbons, as well as varied accompaniments for use where there is strong congregational singing in unison, and where the spirit of the words is vigorous and confident.

De psalmen van David in metrum worden al meer dan vierhonderd jaar in Schotland gezongen. In 1582, toen John Durie uit ballingschap terugkeerde naar Edingburgh om protestantse predikant van St. Giles te worden, vergezelde een grote menigte hem de High Street op en zong Psalm 124 in hun eigen taal - en in vier delen - met 'een geweldig majestueus geluid. "
Op de vele bronnen van het Schotse psalter was Genève een van de belangrijkste, waar in het midden van de vijftiende eeuw Engelse, Schotse en Franse calvinisten hun toevlucht zochten. Met hun eigen vertaling van de psalmen en hun melodieën brachten ze anderen terug naar hun land.
Terwijl de voorzanger in sommige gereformeerde groepen nog steeds de maat was, was er tegen het einde van de achttiende eeuw in Schotland een beweging om parochiekoren te vormen en op te leiden. Ongeveer tegelijkertijd werden de Schotse parafrasen aan de psalmen voor openbare erediensten toegevoegd, veel later gevolgd door hymnen.
Orgels werden in de tweede helft van de negentiende eeuw gebruikelijk in Schotse kerken; en het psalter van 1929 in metrum, dat nog steeds in gebruik is, bevat hoge tonen en en homofone vierstemmige zettingen, evenals gevarieerde begeleidingen voor gebruik wanneer er krachtig gezamenlijk gezongen wordt en waar de geest van de woorden krachtig en zelfverzekerd is.

Abbey SCSCD 2830
1988 SCS Music Ltd. 4 Newtec Place, Magdalen Road, Oxford OX4 1RE, England