Begin singing with Psalm 1

To begin singing from Heritage Psalter, read the Psalm in your Bible, read Pat Dys’s corresponding poem, and find the hymn tune named on its page. Learn the melody with one stanza before singing further. Psalm 1 gives you a concrete place to begin: Pat’s poem is set to St. Peter, a tune used for “How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds.”

Have your Bible and the Psalm 1 book sample open together. A hymnal or a way to hear the tune will help, but you can begin the reading without either. The sequence below is a gentle plan for one sitting, whether you are alone or gathered around a table with family.

Read the biblical Psalm first

Read Psalm 1 in your Bible, attending to the contrast between the two ways of life it describes.

Then turn to Pat’s poem on printed page 1 of Heritage Psalter. It is her devotional response to the Psalm, not the wording of a Bible translation. Keep the Bible open so that you can move between the two texts. Our explanation of what a psalter is describes this distinction more fully.

For shared reading, invite one person to read the biblical passage and another to read Pat’s poem.

Notice one image in the poem

Read the poem aloud before adding music. Pat’s third stanza begins:

He shall be planted like a tree

Read the rest of the stanza on the sample page, then turn back to Psalm 1:3 in your Bible. Consider what each text says about the tree. What does the image help you notice? What do the surrounding verses add?

In a family conversation, compare the details that each person noticed. Return to the passage with any questions the poem raises.

Find St. Peter, the suggested tune

The sample page supplies three useful details: the familiar hymn title “How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds,” the tune name St. Peter, and C.M., meaning common meter. It credits Alexander R. Reinagle for the tune.

Look for St. Peter in your hymnal’s tune index. The OPC’s entry for “How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds” also identifies St. Peter and includes a MIDI download link. Match the named tune when looking for music. If the tune names and meter markings are new to you, our unfamiliar hymn tune guide walks through them.

Listen once without trying to sing every word. Then hum the melody or ask someone who knows it to sing it with you. Choose a comfortable pace that leaves room to say the words clearly.

Sing one stanza, then continue

Try the first stanza with the St. Peter melody, listening for how the words fit its phrasing.

Once the first stanza feels manageable, continue through the poem with the same melody. If you need to finish for the day, read the remaining stanzas aloud. You can still hear the whole poem while you are learning the music.

When singing with others, agree on a starting pitch and pace before beginning. Let one person give the opening notes, and allow anyone who is learning to listen first.

Return to the passage and pray

After singing, return to the place in Psalm 1 that held your attention. Read it once more. Speak to God in prayer about what you have read, using your own words.

Leave yourself a brief note if you want to return: the Psalm, the stanza, and the tune name are enough. Next time, you can begin with the melody already partly learned and give fresh attention to the words.