Spiritual Anonymous: Scottish Psalter and Paraphrases, v.1, 9 Feb 2008.

[Patricia]

(1650)
‘The Psalms of David in Metre according to the version approved by The Church of Scotland and appointed to be used in worship.’

These metrical psalms are the original source of the Old Hundredth (‘All people that on earth do dwell’) and other austerely beautiful hymns with simple four-part harmony. The verse looks a bit wooden, but comes to life when sung.

Should you wish to sing along, I recommend the Cyber Hymnal website.
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/
This is searchable by first line, name of hymn tune, by metrical search, or name of composer or author. It is possible to see the words, print the score and listen to a piano version, all at the same time. (There are also online English Hymnals and Hymns Ancient and Modern with similar facilities.)

Incidentally, the little numbers at the top of each psalm are indications of the number of syllables in each line. (8,6,8,6 is the most common and is often abbreviated to CM – Common Metre.)

My late father was Scottish and we grew up with these hymns.

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[Leitourgia]

Thanks for this. Ever thought of doing the Book of Common Prayer, 1979 (Or any version for that matter) or the English Hymnal?

[Patricia]

I imagine that a 1979 Book of Common Prayer would still be under copyright. Earlier versions could be possible. I'll have a look and see what's about.
The same is true of the English Hymnal: recent editions could still fall under copyright but early ones should be safe. I'll see if I can find an online text.

Incidentally, welcome to the forum Leitourgeia. What a lovely username. If you are interested in Catholic liturgy then Beartard has uploaded the hora liturgica.

[Leitourgia]

No copyright on the '79 Prayer Book. It was released into the Public Domain at the same General Convention of the Episcopal Church that adopted it (1979). (Not true of all Anglican Prayer Books...)

The English Hymnal that I was thinking of is the one released (I think) in 1916 and edited by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Still, given the vagaries of the copyright laws in this Mickey Mouse/Disney era, who knows whether or not it's still under copyright.

I've been using Leitourgia as a user name in various forums and email accounts for years. As you rightly perceive it's from the Greek and is the word from whence we derive the English word "liturgy." My interest in liturgical study and theology is one that has lasted me since my teenage years (now too long ago to think about). I'm an Episcopalian but, of course, that means my interests are in both Catholic and Reformed liturgical rites and texts. I noticed the Liturgy of the Hours a while back (I've been lurking here ever since I picked up a Sony Reader for $50 on their credit card deal last fall).

Thanks for the welcome.