Justin Appel

Dear Friends in Christ,

Yesterday was the feast of St. Luke and our youth choir is singing Evensong (evening prayer) today with the readings from that feast. As a result, I have Psalm 67 on the brain. Interestingly, this psalm can be used in place of the Nunc Dimittis (Song of Simeon) at Evensong, and it’s worth comparing the two texts:

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace: according thy word.
For mine eyes have seen: thy salvation; Which thou hast prepared: before the face of all people;
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles: and to be the glory of thy people Israel.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
- Luke 2:29-32 and Gloria Patri

God be merciful unto us, and bless us, and shew us the light of his countenance, and be merciful unto us:
That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.
Let the people praise thee, O God; let the people praise thee.
O let the nations rejoice and be glad, for thou shalt judge the folk righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Let the people praise thee, O God; yea, let all the people praise thee.
Then shall the earth bring forth her increase: and God, even our own God, shall give us his blessing. God shall bless us, and all the ends of the world shall fear him.
- Psalm 67

In particular, the psalm seems to incorporate a particularly supplicatory and reliant quality. Ēriks Ešenvalds works nimbly with this sense in his setting of Psalm 67, moving quickly between meditative passages, a sort of triumphal certainty, emphatic questioning, and some wild flights in between. I have found that this music unlocks some of the complexities inherent in the prayer while still communicating the psalmist’s faith and trust in God.

Yours in Christ,
Justin