150 Songs

1650 Scottish Metrical Psalter

This psalm book (psalter) was originally compiled by the famous Westminster Assembly that wrote the Westminster Confession of Faith. The Scottish delegation to the Westminster Convention took the psalter back to Scotland and sent it throughout the country. The Scots reviewed the book to make the translation simpler and more faithful to scripture leading up to the Church of Scotland approving it for use in 1650 with the hope that it would become universally accepted. It remained in wide use through the 19th century and is still used in places today. Although its official title is The Psalms of David in Metre its history has led to it being more commonly called The Scottish Psalter of 1650. 

  • 150songs.com Version
    This is the version that I wish was available when I began using the 1650 Psalter. It has an uncluttered layout, clearly defines the book and meter of each psalm, has several useful indexes. The electronic version can be downloaded for free and a print version can be purchased.
  • Trinitarian Bible Society Version
    This is the perfect pocket size psalter. It is sturdy and small. It comes in three sizes which only differ in font size. In their store search for “1650 psalter”
  • The Songs of Christ
    This is a “Study Bible” version of the 1650 Psalter. It contains lots of useful information and is a great preparation aid, but I feel that the pages are too cluttered for general singing.

There are several electronic version of the 1650 Scottish Psalter that are free to download.