Singing The Psalms
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Singing The Psalms
For many years, I read the Psalms. Eventually, I heard that still small voice one day while reading them say, "You know these are songs. Maybe you should sing them." And so it began.
Psalming is simply singing the Psalms aloud.
It felt so holy when I began. It felt like it was giving honor to the intention of the oldest songs we have. But over the years, Psalming has deeply impacted me in so many ways.
I've learned more about writing worship songs this way than anything else. I've seen poetic devices, interesting song structures, refrains, and so much more. I've learned the language of worship. I've learned more about my own heart — about all the emotions, how to navigate the human and the holy. How I can start from any of those emotions, be honest about where I am, and then walk my heart back to worship. Psalms are those paths. Worship has become more than a moment — it's now a reflex.
I invite you to open the door to Psalming. There is nothing like it.
Anytime you walk into a new place, there will be lots to learn. As you step into Psalming, the practice unfolds through four movements — each one deepening your relationship with the Psalms and with the God who breathed them.
"Walk with me and work with me — watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace." (Matthew 11:29 MSG)
The first time you walk through a Psalm, simply observe. Take in the sights and sounds of it. Sing the Psalm word for word — acapella, over an instrument, or over a simple looping chord progression. You are an observer more than anything else. Notice poetry, pattern, and feeling.
"Make the things I'm commanding you today part of who you are. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you're sitting together in your home and when you're walking together down the road. Make them the last thing you talk about before you go to bed and the first thing you talk about the next morning."
— Deuteronomy 6:6–7, The VoiceCommunity comes alive when Psalming in a group setting — every single time. No one can prepare, everyone is pressing in to listen together. And the Holy Spirit moves! We've done this every year at our Writing Worship Community Conference and Songwriting Camps, with worship teams, and some worship teams have even done this in their services.
How It WorksSelect a Psalm or set of verses. Announce the translation so everyone has the same wording. Put the verses on a PowerPoint slide everyone can see — phones or handouts work too.
Call up 5–10 volunteers depending on the size of the group and the number of verses. Assign one singer per verse. An instrumentalist establishes a simple chord progression on piano or guitar.
Vocalists take turns singing one verse at a time. When an anchor line arises, repeat it — generally at least four times. Once that anchor feels established, continue to another verse, returning to the anchor as you feel led. Some Psalmings have had several anchor lines; helping to orchestrate the flow in those moments is amazing.
Recent Psalmings with churches and at Writing Worship Camp
[Add example video/audio links here →]These songs were born from the Psalms — written through the Psalming practice. They represent a range of styles, tones, and approaches, all rooted in the ancient text.
"Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice — let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy."
— Psalm 130:1–2, inspiration for many lament songsEach example in the book traces the journey from psalm to song: the passages that sparked it, the choices made along the way, and what it sounds like when Scripture becomes melody. You can also hear many of these songs in the Psalming Playlist.
This book is an invitation into one of the oldest creative and spiritual practices in history — sung prayer from the Psalter. Whether you are a professional songwriter or someone who simply loves Scripture, Psalming Volume One will give you tools, examples, and the courage to begin.
Inside you will find: an introduction to the Psalming practice, step-by-step guides for individual and group use, annotated examples of psalms-to-songs, historical context for singing the Psalms through the centuries, and writing prompts for all 150 psalms.
Order Now Learn MoreSongs born from the Psalms — a collection to accompany your practice and inspire your own writing.
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The practice of singing the Psalms is not new. It is woven into the fabric of Jewish and Christian worship across millennia. Here is a glimpse of that great cloud of singers.
David, the Sons of Korah, Asaph, and others compose the 150 psalms as living songs for temple worship. Musicians, singers, and instruments fill the courts of the Lord.
The earliest Christians sing psalms in their gatherings (Ephesians 5:19). The Psalter becomes the prayer book and hymnal of the Church, sung in homes, catacombs, and basilicas.
Calvin commissions the metrical Psalter, setting all 150 psalms to memorable tunes. Congregations across Europe sing the Psalms in their own languages for the first time.
The Scottish Psalter of 1650 and traditions of unaccompanied psalm singing (precentoring) take deep root in Presbyterian worship, a tradition still alive today in many congregations.
Contemporary songwriters are returning to the Psalter — setting ancient texts to fresh melodies, discovering that the Psalms speak to every human experience and every musical instinct.
Krissy Nordhoff is a songwriter, worship leader, and teacher whose songs have been sung in churches across the world. Her passion is helping songwriters go deeper — into Scripture, into their craft, and into the kind of creativity that comes from genuine spiritual rootedness.
Through Psalming, Krissy invites a new generation of worship writers to discover what the ancients knew: that the Psalms are not just texts to be studied but songs waiting to be sung again.
She lives and writes in Tennessee and teaches songwriting through her platform Writing Worship.