Psalter Hymnal (Gray) ‎#39

39. Once I Said, "I Must Keep Quiet"

Text Information

• First Line: Once I said, "I must keep quiet"
• Title: Once I Said, "I Must Keep Quiet"
• Versifier: Calvin Seerveld (1983)
• Meter: 87 87 87 7
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1987
• Scripture:
  Psalm 39
• Topic: Brevity & Frailty of Life; Funerals; Laments
• Copyright: © Calvin Seerveld

Tune Information

• Name: TYDDYN LLWYN
• Composer: Evan Morgan, 1846-1920
• Meter: 87 87 87 7
• Key: d minor

Text Information:

Reflections on the fragility of life, and a prayer for God’s gracious removal of disciplinary illness.

Scripture References:
st. 1 =vv. 1-3
st. 2 =vv. 4-6
st. 3 =vv. 7-9
st. 4 = vv. 10-11
st. 5 = vv. 12-13

The situation implied in this psalm is much like that suggested by Psalm 38: God is disciplining the psalmist because of some sin with an illness that invites "the scorn of fools" (v. 8). The psalmist tries to be silent in the presence of the wicked (st. 1) but cannot hold back. He speaks out on the fragility of life (st. 2) and then prays for deliverance from sin and its consequences (st. 3). In the same breath the psalmist prays to be saved from "the blow of [God's] hand" (v. 10), seeking removal of God's "discipline for sinning" (st. 4). The psalm closes with a plea for restoration to God's peace (st. 5), echoing the confession "My hope is in you" (v. 7). Calvin Seerveld (PHH 22) paraphrased this psalm of lament in 1983 for the Psalter Hymnal.

Liturgical Use:
Occasions when the church marks the brevity of life (perhaps New Year's Eve services or funerals); also appropriate in the service of confession and forgiveness of sin.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Tune Information:

Evan Morgan (b. Tyn-dre, Morfa Bychan, Wales, 1846; d. Portmadoc, Wales, 1920) was a furniture maker by trade in Morfa Bychan in the Lleyn Peninsula. He took an interest in music at a young age, however, and became well-known in Wales as a singer and poet. He composed some hymn tunes and arranged folk tunes for the brass band in Portmadoc. His tune TIDDYN LLWYN was first published in the second appendix (1890) to Ieuan Gwyllt's Llyfr Tonau Cynulleidfaol (The Book of Congregational Tunes, 1859). The tune's phrases balance each other very well; the final phrase resolves the rhythmic energy and harmonic color of the initial lines. Part singing goes well with a moderate tempo.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook