TFS 7,4: A Portrait of a Literary Artist: Reflections on the Psalms

Starting in 1931 (Lewis was born in 1898), Lewis became a lifetime attendee at Sunday services at his parish church (Scripture and Sacrament) and at the daily Morning Prayer in the College Chapel at 8 AM. This Morning Prayer included the singing of some Psalms (different each day) by the College Choir, often a boys’ choir of highest excellence.

Walter Hooper (1931-2020), the incomparable editor of all of Lewis’ writings, wrote: “By a constant reading of the Psalter, Lewis came to know the Psalms almost by heart. Sometimes he read the Bible on its own, but it was through the continuous reading and praying of Morning and Evening Prayer that he came to know the Bible and the Psalms so well…. He used the translation of the Psalms found in the Book of Common Prayer.”