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■]■ I WiiilfTBiil
THE FRIENDS
OF
AN IISPIRED PSAIJODr
DEFENDED.
frotn (he EvniH/elical Repository.
I'nxi.-iB ip one ol'tho most intorestinir and important parts' ormililir worsihip. That it may be
plcasiiiR to (tO(1 and profitable to "nrcclvi's. it i^* iiocosfary to iTiiploy a proiti'rand snitablc I'Habn-
t)dy. Wlio knows wlial is most iJ|iita1)li( and proiior bettor than tlie'Kiiii.' and Ib'ad of the Chnrch?
Has rie. then, sui)plied tliis want of his Chinch; or has lie left her. in this matter, to be guided
bv cxpedii'iicy, her own wisdom or fancy? I file ha«j,'iven her a Psalmody to be permani'iitly em-
ployed, is she at liberty to introdnce, to its entire or even partial t'xelusioh, what to her may seem
riirht and proper/ Does not the second command require the keepinj:; pure and entire of all such
relifjious worship as God has appointed in his Word, ■ nd forbid the worshipini;of Him in any way
not appointed in His Word V This (piestion is one of u'rcat importaiice at the present time, when
so many are disposed to introduce into God's worship ^\hat is pleasiuL' to sense and irratifyinj^ to
the llesh. rather than only what CnrisI has appointed. To those who desire information "on this
sub.iect, this pamphlet eannot fail to bo interesting?, and should it prove useful to any, the imblislior
of the article In its present form will be more than irratilied.— Ki-V. A. WILSON.
KINGSTON:
PRINTEn r.Y W.M. l.IGHTKOOT, WELLIXGTON STRKKT.
1807.
iU
m
\
xm i\^rT«r«uwi
I
AN INSPIUED PSALMODY
tKroiu tliL' Kvanjirliiiil Krposllory.]
Ill ',\ wiirk lately puhlislnMl hy Win. S. [Miirlicn, and ontitk'd, " A prncli-
ral Kxpdsiliori of llic MiiistK' to tlio Ephcsiaiis, in a Scries of TiCCtiircs
adapted to he read in raiiiirk's and social uieetinLi's, l»y the Uev. Win. Neil!,
l).l)., anthor (»t' the IJiulifal llistdiy, ifce,," we find the t()llo\ving remarks
on the I9tli verse ot'lhe oth chapter;
With 11 view to r'lii'i'isli thi- sacrcil intluciipt's of iIik Sjiirit, and ;xivn iittcrnnrn in tlie
r('lij:;iinis plciisiin's wiili which he tills tin- snui, wi'iin; (liitctfMl toiisf ptsnlms niid liyiims
)>,i>.l s|.iritii;il snii;>s. 'i'hi' hcaihrn were in tlit; iiahit of sintjinjL; iiroCiiiKoiiKl iin]iiire sim^CH
in su-.Hi' of Uii'iv itlclatrniis festivals. 'I'his was imrticiihu'ly the cast,' in the worsliip nf
liiicclms, and of Diana of tlic iMiIicsians. In-^tead of these indecent and coarso odes, df-
siL;iieii to uTatit'y lust and iionour idols, tlie ai»)stle taufi^ht th(( Christians of tliosc times
to sinj^ lisalnis and liynins, coni|ios('d on eviinfjelical siilijects, and iu honour of tho true
<io(i. And this i)iece of advice, tlioiie;li drawn from tlie a|)ostle by peculiar cirenmstanccs,
is neVi'riheh'ss of ireneral use and iiojilication. W'liat an; (-ailed fashional)le sonus of our
times, cannot, |)erlui|)S, lie called idolatrous, i'xci')itini!; such as have been composed l<i
celel irate the praises of amrels or canonized saints ; hut really tliey are not generally fuvonr-
jil)l(' to moral and religious iuipiovemeiit. M:is' ofiliem are senseless; and some, that
are often snn<r, and, hy a certain descripti m of jk ople. much admired, an' immoral, and
of had tendency, l.ove song's are for the most i^art fulsome, an<l oIK-nsivc to delicacy and
true retinemeiu. Even patriotic songs, which are usually the best, abound in tiie jiraises
of fortiMie or th" flattery of n'reat men, to a de^rrec whicli often borders verj closely on a
kind of ni'xlilied and elej^aut idolatiy. The sin^i^infx of .Jehovah's i)rais(! is a branch of his
insiiiiited worsliip ; and we should be careful not to deprives him who made us of any
part ot the honour which is due to his holy name. Vuv this delii^litfiil jiart of worship
we .nre furiiislied in Scripture witli am[.Ie and appropriate matter. The book of Psalms,-
chietly written liy David, is a rich and inestimable treasure. " (.'omposed upon particular
occasions, ■' says the pious Ui-hop lloine, " yet desif.aied for jreneral use; delivered out,
as services for Israelites under the law. yet no less adapted to the circumstances of t'hris
tians under the ^os|iel .-they present rermion to us in the most enfiaginjirilress ; communicat-
ing!; truths which jihiiosopliy could never investigate, in a 8tyl(^ which poetry can nevor
(•(^ual ; wliile history is made the veliiele of |U'ophec; ,and creation lendsall its cliarms to
paint the s^loriesof i(Mlemption. Calculated alike to prolit and to |)lease, they inform theun-
'^taudinjr, elevate tlu^ ad'ections, and luuertain the imacniation. Inditi'd under tlu^ in-
fiiK uce of llim to wlioiii all hearts are known, and all events forekiKiwn, tlu^y suit man-
kind in all sidiatioiis, ifrateful as the manna which descended from above, and conformed
il.iell' to every palate. The faire^it ]iroduciions of luimaii wit, after a few perusals, like
leathered llowers, wither in our hands and lose their fraijrance ; l)ut thesiMinfiuline: jilants
of para lisi' become, as we are accustomed to them, still more and more beautiful ; their
bloom appears to lie d.aily heightened ; fresh odours are emittiMl. and new sweets extract-
ed from them. lie who has once tasn.il their excellencies, will desire to taste them yet
:ii,'ain ; and In; who tastes them ofteuesi wi 1 relish them best." — I'rif. to Com.
" Hymns and spiritual Songs." — Wy these I understand short pieci^s, grounded on
portions of Holy Sc-ipture, adapted to particular (x'casions, and expressive of gratitude
to (iod tor his great im-rcies. How striuige ii is rhat srmt^ Christians object to the us" of
such I'oiupositions in religions wiu'ship! Can it, la' doubted, in the fa<'e ofourtext, that
the Christians of l''i)hesus used If y inns luiil spiritual songs '.' And tlid they not do so under
the sanction and by the advice of I'uul the apostle? 'I'iial hymns or spiritual songs,
l):)ttomed on the w(U'd of (iod, whether a versilied exposition of n particular passagi- or :i
(Condensed exhibition of gospel truth, taken from various p.assages, and clothe<l in decent
and seri(Uis language, may be sung in divine worship, whether puijlic orjirivate, apjiears
to me perfectly obvious and incontestable. Yet it is a curious fact that luimy Christian
congregations, and some loo, in mir own conne\ioii, liave ctmseientiiuis sciiiph^s on tliis
Btibject. The chaste and evangelical coinposiiions of [)]■. \\'atts, as well his rich and
lioaiilifiil vfTsidii of till' I'siilms, n** liis liiirlily di'vuiinnal liyiniis iin<l siiii'minl .-^oiiirs, iirc
(|ciininii'''il mill cxcludi'il fium ilir ^i\iic'tiiiiry, wliili; ilic misiinMc ilu^rifrri-! of lidiiso is
Hitiif.^, (ir iitti'iiptcd Id ))(■ .smi!,'. t<i tlir ;i() siriall amiiAuin'c nCnll CDrrci't tiisti' I'm' tin" liar-
nmiiy (if Uluuhcrs, nr tlid charms oriniisic. Hut happily for tin- Cliiircli, tlii.« lufiialici' in
yifldiiii: by little ami little to llic tore' <il cvidciu'c, ami will <ir Inii;^- ^iv,. plucc cnlirc'ly
ti) imiiT rational ami lilicral vifsvri.
It is with no sjii.'ill (Icijfi'c id' rcliictr.in'c tli;i1 uc call tlir iitlriit ion nl" (lie
('liristi;\n (•oimiimiit v totlic t'nri'uoint:' <"vt raci t'njiii this rxccllciil uoil<. l-'or
its ;nitln>r we ('iil( rtniii :i feeling' (d" |iriir(>iiiiJ n'S|u'('t, aiifl in this rcdiiiu" we
iii'c sui'c we hii\ (■ thi' svm|iathi('S(>rth<' ('hi-isti;iii |»!il>lic. He lias s|icril years
ofactixt' service in the eaiise ol'tlie l)i\iiie M.;ster. ami we trust that in (hat
service I e lias bi-eii iiist rmiieiital in dtiino' nmcii u'lxxl. Sni-fow indeeil wmihl
we be t«» say or do any ihiiii;; that wonld ha\i.' a iendency to detract in the
least tVoMi the fair renntatioii ofthis venei-ahle servant of (loci, or awaken in
his own hreast one unpleasant t-niotion. We feel, howexcr, ini|)elled l»y a
sense of duty, e\en at the risk ol'doinii; this, to say something; in d(dence i>['
views which the author has seen |>ro|)ir to ojiposi' in his e\|>osition (d'lhis
Iiassacrc of the divine word. It heconics us to vindicate what wi- lieli<'ve t«)
)e the trutli, when that truth is o|i|ioscd. however highly we may esteem
the ))erson o|i|iosiniif it. It caimoi \tr denii'd that the suhjet-t is one which
in its own nature, possesses no small deo'ri'e (d' im|iortaiH'e. It relates ti>the
worship of AlmiLihty (ioil. The oi'dinances of this worshi[i we Koth have,
l»y otir ]»roli'ssi()ii, solemnly promised to"<diser\e, keep pure and entire."''
In reoulatiiej; our worship, the .MUiliority of (iod has the iir>t claim to onr
eonsiileration. The distin'j^ui^hcd •eliinner, John C'aKin, says in his '' in ply
to Cardinal Sadolct's letter," '''rhe juimary nidimi'nts hy which we are
wont to train to piety those whom we w i^h to i^ain as disciples of Christ,
are these, namely, not to Irame any new worship of (iod for themselves at
random, and afU-r their own |ileasnre, 'mt to know that the onlv Ie'j,itima1e
worship is that which he him^^elf ;ippi'oved from the IteuimiiiiL;', for we main-
tain tli.at the ora(de declared that ohedicnce is moi'c (>\relleiit ihaii sacrilice.
■ (I Sam. XV. 2-'.) In shoi't, we train them hy excry means to lie content with
the one rule of wor>hip which they have received irom His mouth, and hid
Jidien to all fictitious worship." The '|Ucslion, there lore, invohi'd in this
discussion, accordinj; to this author, relates to a"primarv ruilimeiit ofpiety."
Ol'all tlu» parts (il'divine woi'<hip, there is none which has >li'iinLi('r idaims
upon our attention than th;it of pi'.iise, it lieinii" an exeri'ise in which we ad-
dress onrsehcs directly to the ^M-eat (iod, and in which we are ;issocia1ed
with the pure .and hrio'hl spirits a'oovc, that ''stand and praise (iod dav and
iiiyht in his temple.'" The ditferance, thertd'oi'e, lielweeii our Worthy faliiei-
and those whom he opposes, is no Muall matter; il iiivohc-- the most im]ior-
tant interests.
In ;!d<litiou to the intrinsic character of the sidiject ; the manner in which
the author has seen ]iroper to express himself in opposition to the views of
the friends of an inspired jis.almody, wnuld seem to call foi-some notici'. Ac-
eordiiiL;; to him his own \ ii'ws are "rational and lilieral,'"aud t heir correct iiess
"[lerfectly obvious and iueontest:ilile," while those on the other side are a
"prejudice'''' wiru'h"is yieldiiiL;- liy little and little to the forci' of evidence,'"
" Conscieiitioiis scruples'" on this sutijcct are spoken of as "a curious fad.'"
Nor is this all; the very version in which they ari- accustomed to celebrate
the ]iraises of .Jehovah, and rudimd which the associations of two hundred
years have clustered, is pronouneec] "the miserabli' doii-u'crel of Ivouse," w hich
"is suiiix, or attempted to be simu', to the no small annoyance of all eori'ecl
taste for the harmony of numlH'rs or the ch.arms of music." Such is the
•>
i
iiiAiiiMi' ill wliicli (Ills li'JiCHi iiiiiiisttT ol'tlit' Old SclKtol I'rcsliytcriiiii Cliiirdi
liMs seen |int|)iT Iti i'\|in'ss Iiliiiv;rll' ill rclnliun in this siilijirt. Il will imt
siirt'ly, tlicrcliirc, ]n- cnnMilircd |tr('«iiiii)>t inn in one .•un<>n'_;' tlic many wlwrn
lie 1 1, 'I- Itrcll |ilc;l-i(l I Inis 1i> )ic>|i| 11| i I ( ilidiculc, t n ;iU(in|il Id sav il t'l'W W'onlx
ill ilcliiicf (.l';i |irinci|ilc and |pI'mc| ice uliidi mic thus iiiicfrcuionioiisly assail-
ed. To liiin, t lii'ictiirc, and to 1 liii,'«(' w lio synipat lii/.c wilhliim in iIm' views
lie lia> seen |piii|ier tn cxiPie^*, ue wmiid make I'nr a|i|»eal in llie w nrds (d' I lie
J.atiii |iru\iTib; ''Audi allercfni )iai'teiii."'
1i> kii"\\ 1li:>t t liert' are iiithis (•(iiintry not le--s than loiii' or live hundred
iiiinislers ot' the no<|„.l ot'tlu- Presbyterian family, (to say iiotliiiiL!; of t liose
o\erllie Atlaiitii'd and lie knows or oui;lit tokijow that tliore arc tVoiii tifteeii
to twonty eoiiLTreirat ions, even in ihis city, to whom these remarks
iiiii-t lie re<j;arded as a jiplieahle, and to whom they must have lieeii desi'j,-ned
loa|i|dv. It is true thai t lio>.' eliiin'hes who hold I'oiah in their |(ro|'ession
the \iews o|i|iosed iiy the Dr. are not so laru'e, aiitl <(>nsiM|Ueiitly do not
ociMijiy so eonsjiicuous a ])o>ition in tin" worM as the (ieiieral Assemlily I'res-
liytcrian Chin'ch. ^'et he will surely not despist' thein on this aeeonnt !
'riiesc ehiirelies are sister churches of his own, ]Misse>siiiix in many rcRpects a
I'oiiimon I'aitli with hers, and lahonriiiL;' with her to advance the cause ola
imre ( "lirist ianity. W'etrust il is his desire to see the nieiidter^ of t!ie I'res-
hylerian family united in one or>j,ani/.atioii, and '' striviiin' loo-ether lor the
faith of liie i;-os|)el," and we would snliiuit \<) liim whether audi remarks as
those which lie has seen ]ir()|»er to make, are not calculated to wi<l('n tlu-
lireacdies already exist iiiij; V " Familii'S and social nu'etin<i:s" are here called
on to read," in thea'isencc of their [lastors," that the o])j)osili()i) of tho friends
oi' insj)ii'ed psalmody to the use of hymns," whose form, "says Dr. Wutts,"is
mere human composure." is a mere " prejiitlice," aprejuilicc opiiosed to what
is "'perlectly olivious and incontesfahle," and that this opposition is a "curious
fact," so curi(tii>- as to call loiirth the exclamation, " How stranije !" Nor
does he stop here; the very vtrsion eiiili'ared to their liearts by so many inte-
r<slino- and aHei-tiu'j: associatioiiw, he stiu'inatizes as a " miserable doffcreri'l."
Such laiioiian'*' we reu'ard as unworth ot' Dr. Neill.
\'o1 oiilv do ihf'sc i"eiii!n-k< hold iiii to coiitennit hundreds of evaii'i-elcal
liny iloiiht (■ii1frl;iiiii''l on tlu'si' poiiitH tlio rcailcr li;is only to coii^ull the
t wcll'tli clKiiitcr ol'tlif "Hi><tory ol' the West minister Assrnilily oT I )i\ inrs,
(•oinpilfil liy tlic liouv'l of PnlilicalioM ("roMi tlif l)t'st iiutlioiil*"-," nnd tlii'sc
(lonl»ts will 1)1' n'iiiov«'i.l. i\.ccor<liiiii' to tliis liisloi-y, tlic |irin<'i|i!il tlicy then
:i(lo|)tc(l ;uiil ivc'tod upon, w.-is, " tliut, in nsini^ tiic Iiook ot"|is;ilins in tlu' [ir.'iisc
of (J<t(l, \vi' slioiild not only kt'i-p to itic sense, hut to tlic woviIk oI' the
Scriptnre tt-xt." This is also evident iVoin tlie (\)nt'essi()n itsell", whieli
nut hori/es only " siniiin'^' of |)s:iln»s.'" To this i'\|>i-ession the (lenend As-
senilily I'l'eshyti^i'i.'U) Chun ,< added the words " or hymns ;" ihcrehy eliaily
showinL!; (hat they rcL^arded the old Conl'ession as not anthori/Zm'^- the nse o|'
anv'other. Our author, theretbri', in the ri'Uiarks made hy him on this snli-
ject, h:vs represtMited tlie Westminister Assemhly, iierhaps the most dis-
tin<j:uisl»ed for learninn' ami piety ot'any which has set since tin- days of the
Apostles, and'to which lie is indehtcd Tor his CJonlession of I-'ait'ianl Cate-
cliisms, as opposing;; a principle, " perfectly obvious and iucoutestahle,'' and
that, too, al'ter havinu' had the subject for years nuder consideration.
r.ut we have nut only a reco;j;nit ion of this princi))Ie by this \( lU'rable As-
sembly, but we have ill our jM)ssession an express declaration, over their si;',iia-
lures, of some oftlie men who composed this Assemltly, and ofothers who
occui.>ie<l the liiuhest rank in theological literat uri', and whose writ iui;s con-
stitutean iin]>erishable momiineut of their talent and k'aniiii;^'. Let it l.-e re-
meiiibered, too, that these wore Enii,Tish divines, and >oiiie of (hem
liivoruble to the independent or coiinreu,'atioiial Ibrm of church noverimieiit,
and who therefore cannot be supposed to have been inHiienced by Scottish
prefeivnces. Inanaddition of the Westminster vei'sioii of the I'salms, pub-
lished in 107;^, the reader will iiud the following;" preface and the follo\\iiiu-
names aflixed to it.
" Surely, sinfijinjx ofl'salms is aduty of sucli comfort and i)Vo;it, tint it nccdi^th not
our ri'coiniiUMidatioti ; tlic now naturi; isi insti'^ad of all arf^iiiniMits, which caniint lie willi-
out this scriiitiiral solace. Our devotion is best seeuri^l, where the niatier ami the words
are of inimt^liately <livine inspiration ; and to us, I)avi<rs Psalms seem [tiainly intended
hy thos(i tiMius of puiiiufi, inid hifniiix, anil npintii/il Hoiifis, whicli the apostle iiseth. Koh,
v. li), Col. iii. 10. iJiit it is meet thai these divine compositions shonhl hi' r<'presenl(Ml to
us in a fit translation, h^st we want David in David iwhih; his holy ecstasies are delivered
in a flat and hanld t>xpresyion. The translation which i.« now put in thy liand, conieth near-
est to the original of any that we have se(!n,and numetli witli such a lliient sweetness lluil
we thought it fit to recoiitmeiid it for thy (Christian acce[)tance ; some of as having' used
it alread}-, with j:;reat comfort and satisfaction.
"This reconmmndatlon is subscribed by John Owen, D.D., Thomas .Manton, I>.i>.
Henry JiUngley, D.D., William .lenkyns, James Kines, 'J'homas \Vats.in, Tlionias I^ye,
Matthew Poole, John Millward, John Chester, (reorg(! Cokayn, ^Iat^ Mead, I'oIi.mi
Franklin, Thomas Doolittle, Thomas Viiic(Mit, Nathitnitd Vincent, .iohn liyihac. \\m.
Thomiirton, Nicholas Blaikie, Charles Morion, Edmund Calamy. Win. Carshike, James
Janeway, Jehn Hicks, John Baker, llichard Mayo."
Here wc have a host of tlu'oloifical o-iants at whose head stands the
prince of English divines, the celebrated Dr. Owen, declarino- that " David's
[tsalms seem to them to be plainly intended by the terms, /».svr////,s', and Iu/iidik,
and Hpiritwd soitijti, which the Apostle uses, Ei>h, v. lit. Col. iii. Ki." '|"h(>
friends of an inspired psalmody can bear to be represented as adhering' ti» a
"prejudice" in company with such men.
" Itidgely's IJody of Divinity" isre^'arded asa very siijierior work, iind t!u'
author occupies deservedly a high place as a standard wril(U' on theology.
He discusses at considerable length the propriety of using the psalms (d'
David, and vindicates it l»y a number of cogent arguments. He evjire:
i
»y a
th g
himself on the subject with great candor, and while he does not decideilly
condemn the uses of hymns or human composition on very special occasions.
- a.nl i» »iiwi
oiisiili (he
!>!' I)i\ iiics,
:lll(l tllrsf
tlicy t licii
tlic imiisc
Tt/fi ol" tllc
'II', wliicli
'ik'ImI iVs-
l»v clearly
1 lir use of
I lliis siil»-
most <lis-
IVS of tlic
•ui'l Cat.'-
ll»lc,*' Mll'l
Oil.
Tiil.lr As-
iH'ir.-i'.Vii.i-
Iicrs will)
iliiiii's coii-
■1 it l.c n-
ul" (liciii
\('niiii"iit,
\' Scotlisli
lIlIlK, |vul(-
t'ollo'A ill'^-
KM'dotli not
lit l)c! witli-
1 t]i(' wonls
y infi'ii(K<l
fth. Kj.h.
< 'SI Ml I CI I 1,1)
1' (ll'liVlTl'il
iiu'tlj uciir-
ctiicss llmt,
living- iiscil
nt.on, DAK
oiiiMS Lyi',
1(1, Knlii'll
liac Will.
kc, JiUiu's
liids llic
' David's
Ull/llltIK,
riiiy- ton
, ;iii<l llic
licoloijv.
isaliiis di'
'\l»lVSSi;S
ofidcilly
I'casioiis,
I
llic laii'_:iia'a»' w liirli lu' i!n|iliiy- indicates no small de<_'ree (il'dunlit in relation
to tlie law t'nliiess of t licir use, and lie at-know ledges t liat " some ot imicli sii-
|Mrior Icaniiii':" to liinisclt''* li;i\ c in.iintained t heir unlaw luliics."' Il«'. Iiow-
I \ cr. declaies it to lie Iii^ ojiii lion, ilia t the " psalms, :iiitl liyimis, and spirit n;i I
soiej,'^," mentioned liy the .\]io^tle, ret'er to ilie |is;dms of |)a\ id. "It eaniioi
lie denied," s.ays he,'' that the psalms o|' Pasid are called inditlereiit 1\ Ity
these three names." In this opinion he is clearly opjiosed to the cvposition
(ifoiir anthor, on the ''I'onnd of which he Iiriiers the ch.'ir'jc of " iireindice"
soijus such as <'ontaiii doctrine, historv. and jirophecv, for men's instrm-tion.
Kph. V. HI."
I loriie, in his " Introdiict ion lo the ( "ritic.al St iidy of the Holy Script nres."
intei'prets, in the sa ne wav, this jtas.sauc; liir heipiotesit aloiiL!,' with others
to pro\c' that "the -ontimianee of this ltr;;.neh of iliviiie Wdrship is continued
bvtlie i»ractice of onr Lord and the inst rnctions ot'Paul." H«' is here <.peak-
iii'j,- oftlu' use of the psalii;s of David
!>iirh;im ^^avs,'" I*>;:'lins. in Sii-ipturc, are such part^ ot liookv -is were
5
I
"-IM'cially iiiti'iiilfd lo In- iii.-ulr u>«' <>( ti>r tli«' |)i':ii<<iiiu: <>t (mmI, aiitl lin' tlic
tMlil'yiiii; iiml <-<>iiilnrtiii<; of liis |tc(i|ilr in >iiiLriii<j: nt' tlu-iii. 'riircc s(ii't> ut'
tlicm wt'ic ill iisr MiiiMiiL!; llic I l»'lir»'\\ s, (;i> tlu' ti(lt'> of our |i>:ilms <lfcl;iit'.
mikI as tlu'V lire iiiciitii>iu-<l liy llu A|M»tU', K|ili. \. l!».")
We liavr thus prcsciilctl to tiic rradiT, a> lirictly as wf liavi- lu-cii aMt-
to i|o. tlic (>| till ions ot' some of tlu* most It'anu-il and rcs|)f(-talit(M-oiiitiu'iitalors
oil tlic ntlTi'licc of tlic .\|)ostlc ill the Use oft hose I en i is in lliis passaifc, \\ liicli
our woiiliv fatluT ri'i^anls as so roiitltiiiiiatory <tf flu oiidiict of tliosr \\ lio
f'ontiiif t lie matter of tln-ir |iiais»' to the soiiirs of tliviiu' iiis|)iration. It will
not Im' tlcnictl that if the ex posit ion uivcii l»y tlu-si- aiitliorit ics !»»• corrict.
there is no warrant in the won! of (toil for the use of any other than those
"•lisalins, and hymns, and spiritual soiiirs, " wliieli ha\e Iteeii dictated l»y the
Spirit. Ah the Dr. has seen proper to <j;ivc an exposition in opposition to that
of these authorities, and from this exposition to take occasion to hold np the
adxticates of an inspired psalmody as tin- vit-tiins of a "prejudice, which
is yit'liliiiLi liy little and little to tin- liu'ce of evidence, " the rea<ler may ^ee
with whom it is they have the honour of heiiii; associated.
The (putlations t;iveii ahov«' arc in relation to the exposition of the pass-
HLTe. We shall now <piotc some ot" the remarks of distin<j,uished divines,
either in relation to the impropriety of makiiiLi; use of any otlu-r sonars than
those of divine inspiration m the worship of (iod, or in relation to the siitli-
ciency and suitahleiu'ss of those for this purpose.
Calvin, amoni; other things in praise- of the hook of psalms, says in his
preface to his comiiieiilary on this hs -ok," I have l»»'en accnstonuMJ to call this
i»ook, I think not impropt-rly, ' An .Vnatomy of all the J'arts of the Soul,
for ther«' is not an emotion of which any one vwu hi- conscious, that is not
here represented, as in a mirror Or rather the Holy Spirit hasdrawii to the
life all the iiiiefs, sorrows, fears, ilouhts, hopes, cares, perplexities, in short,
all the distracting emotions with which tlu- minds of iiii'ii are wont to l»c
aiiitated." Now if this he really true of the psalms of D.-ivid, may we not
say with the pious Henry, " Furtlu-r t liaii thesi- psalms we need not u'c" for
hymns and spiritual sonus."
liUther, in his pr«'faee to thi' l*salt«'r, thus n-marks :
" WluTf do we liiul a swct'tur voice of joy tliaii in the I'sulius of tlmnksjifiviiij; ami
piiiisi' '.' Tlicri' you looli all the saints in the iu-art, as in a Iwautit'iil garden, as into
heaven itself ; whose deiicute, sweet, and lovely (lowers aresitrinfjfin;!; np tiierc, of all man-
nur of heautiful, joyous thoughts towards (I(m1 and his goodness! .\nd again, where do
you tind deeper, more inourntul ami weeping word.-i of sorrow, tlian the plaintive l'.sulins
contain'.' 'Ihero again you look all the saints in the heart ; hut as in:o «leat , yea. as
into liell, wher<^ it is all dark and gloomy, from " manner of mcianchoiy a[ipreheiisioiis
of (^od's ilispleasureV I hold that there imver luis appeared on earth, and never can ap-
lt(?ttr, a more precious hook of examples and legends of saints, than tlie IValteris. For
iiere we tind not merely what one or two holy men have done, hut what the Head himself
of all Baints iias done, and what all the saints do still. How they feel towards (Jod, to-
wards friends and enemie8 ; liow they Iwhave and sustain themselvs in all dangers and
sufferings, liijsides, all manner of divine and statutory instructions and commands are
contained therein. Hence, too, it comes, that the I'salter forms, as it were, ii littlr tiook of
(ill miiitK, in which every man, in wlmtever situation he may be placed, shall find I'salms
and sentiments, which shall apply to his own case, and Ik? the same to him as if the,\
were for his own sake, so expressetl, that he could not improve them himself, nor even
wish them better than they are."
Now we ask, with all respect, if the psalms of David he isuch us they are
here declared by this distinguished (ierman Reformer to he, did it l)ee<»ine
Dr. Neill to speak as he has done of those who an* luiwillino; to exehaiiue
them l< 'I- hymns of human eom posit ion ?
Hooker, the author of "The Kc('lesiasti<':il Polity," thus comim'iits on the
psalms :
ja < i lo M o*
ml liir tlic
«'i' Mirt> of
Ills <U(laic.
Ik'cii al)li'
iiii«'iit:it<ii-s
Hire, \\ liich
tll(i«>f will)
I. Il will
»<• rolTcct,
ll.lll tiiosc
ti'<l l»y the
ion to' iliat
<*l<l ii|i till-
iff, wliicli
r may »«.,.
tlu' |»ass-
1 tliviiu's,
•HITS tliaii
tiic siirii-
yn ill his
> call (his
tlic S(»ul,
i:it is not
wii to (In-
, ill sliur't.
Dill to l»'
ly we nut
<»t liu tor
1,'iviii;,' anil
en, iiH iiitn
•t'lill iiiiiii-
wIll'IC lid
ve I'sulins
t , VfU, as
't'lu'iisiotis
'IT cuii ap-
ris. For
1(1 liiinst'lf
Is (Jod, tu-
iiK*M'H unil
uunds arc
fir liimk of
nl I'siiJnis
as it' thfv
nor «!vcn
tlu'v an-
lH'COIlIf
n'liaiiot.
s on the
" \\ liiii i^ iImti' iiciTSMiry for iiitiii lo know/'savs iliis |iioiis anil jiiilicious liiviiu',
' wliicli till- IValnis urr nut iiliii- to ttacli'.' 'I'lu-y arc to licjriniHTs an t'Hsy ami t'ainiliar
iiiiroiliirtioh. a liii^lit y aiiuiiiintalii'n of nil virtur ami kno\s It'il^'f in such as an> I'litrrrd
I II tori', a stron^ji'onllrnintjoii to tlir most iicrfrct anion;; oiIhts. 1 1 r mica I ina^naniniiiy. c\-
i|uisitc jiisticc.^'ravc mmlcnition.cNact wisdom, rc]icntaiu'»' unfeigned, unwearied iiaticiicc,
I lie mysteries ot'tiod, ilic .■.iitrcrintrs of Cliribt the terrors of wratli. the comforts of ^'riiee,
tlie\viirkr« of I'lovidencf over this world, and tin- itroiniHcd joys of tiiat world which is
\ to ciimi', all trood necessarily to he cither known, or done, or hud, this one celestial t'onntain
:3 yielilctli. Let there lie any j^rief or disease inrident nnto the soul of man, any wound or
' sickness mimed for which there is not. in thi^ trea>ure house, a iireseiit comfortahle remedy
at all times ready to he found."
Ill tln' |ii'('t;iri' III tlu- cuiiiiiiciilary on tlu' liook of iNaliiis l>y I'atiick,
l-owtli, Aniohl, NVhitliy, ami Lo\> man, tin* fullowiiio; rriiiarks ofciir :
*■ It is calh'M, in tlicir laiiiiuaoe, S<f<lHi' 'I'lhiniin, tin IntnK of jirii!i<i s »>/•
fnftin»H, till' I'l'iihis of' till Iah'iI, lu'caiisf, thoiio;h tliffc ai'f many compl.-iints
ami iiii|»rcciitiniis. .-i.iil inaycrs in it, y»'t tin* oii';iti'st part arc pfaiscs ainl
tliaiiksoiv iiiLr> nnto (iiul; ami in those others there sire many mixtures of
ackiiKW lei|onn'iits of what (iod hail fonm-rly tloiie for him, or of coiiKilem-e
what he wuiilil still dn, or of resolutions how thankful he woiilil lie when
<oitl uraiiteil him tleliveraiiee. \\ hii-li nave tlii'in siieh a stiaiioe powi-r to
eiire heaviness, towi|K' away sorrow ami to l,.\ i^leep trouhlesome thonohts
a 111 I |iassii>iis, to ease nsof onr eares. to reere;ile I !. i^e who are oj»[iresseil with
any sort of )iain» (they are the words of I'mclns, Archliishop of C'oiistanti-
iioph',) as well as to move eoiiipunetion foi in, and to stii>mlate nnto piety,
that no I k in the world is t - lie eoiiipai ' with it for i':ese jiiirposes.'
■' \ \er statiiiL' that " the ehiirehe- ol' Africa saiio- ilirlna runtlcn jimjjie-
Inrniii, (the divine siiiio;s of t''e prophets,) while tlie dninken Donatists saiij;;
I he coinposnres of hiimaii wit," t'lese eonmunia' h's add ; " liy which tiu-ans
the people eaine to lie so well acipiaiiited \\itli them, that (as the same The-
odoret ti'lls lis in his pretlice to tlii'« Itook of psaiins,) lioth in the eity and
country this was the I'lnploymeut of (. hri-^tiaii people. 'I'iu y timt mimled
no other liook of the Scriptures, yet had iliis so liy heart, that hoth in their
houses, and in the strt'cts, and in the liinhways, they art- wont to recreate
lliemseUcs Iiy the siii'jfiini ofthese holy soiios.""
•• Ihit I must not ciilaro*' on this stiliject, nor till this preface with the
hioli coiiimcndatioiis which the ancient^ oive hotli ot psalmody and of this
I k ofpsjiliiis, which St. Ilasil (who alone would furnish nie with a sense tif
all the rest, if it were lit to tr:insciil)e his jiretace to it.) calls tlii' ' ctunmon
treasure of all oood precepts' (eoiuainiii!^ tlie perfection of all the rest of the
Seriptip'cs.i the \oiceof the church, in which may he found a complete liody
of tlu(iloo\." " Ther*' is much more in this preface, eipially pointed aiitl
expressive.
Ilorne. in his " Introduction," a work of hinh authority, (|Uotes with ap-
pioliatioii the follow i no; reinaik of " the editor of the 4to IJilile, of l.s|(i, uith
the notes of several ot the v«'iieraliU' reformers."' " The lanuuaoe in which
Moses, and David, and Soloman, Ih-man, Asjiiih, and .leduthiin worshipped
<»od, is applicalili' to Christi.in l>elievers. 'I hey worship the siiiiie (iod.
throuo-h the satiie adoralile IJedeemei, they oi\c thanks for similar mercies,
and mourn iimler similar trials ; they are lotikino; for the same blessed ho)ie
of their calliiio;, evil ev«'rla>tinu- life ami sah atioii. throiii^h the pre\ ailino; in-
terci'ssioii of the Messiah." i
Tliis author h inself says, (afti-r tiivinojan account of the l»ook of I'salms
and tlie ol»servaii •«' of it in the wurship of (iod I»y divine authority under
the tornier dispensation,) " the continuance of this liraiich of diviiii' worsliiji is
lonlirnn'd liv the practii*e of our I.onl. ;iiid the instructions of St. I'anl,
HI
\n'
(M:\\\. xxvi. :U); .Murk xiv. 2{i ; Kpli. \. 10; Col. iii. Ki. coiiipaird
with Kt'v. V. 9, \iv. I, 2, ;i), jiikI llic |(r:ictict' of divine ]>sn!nio(ly li;is siilt-
sistcd throun-li every siiccci'tlinif mlt*' to our own time, not more to tiie (K']i<_;lil
tluui to tlu' editicMtioii of tlu' eliiircli of Christ. " "'lie who liiid not the
Spirit hy nieasipv, in wliom weii' hidden all the treas\ires of wisdom and
kuowlediic, aui^ who spake as never man spake, yet eliose to eonehnh'
liis life, to solace himself in his ureatest a^jony, and at last to breathe
out his vonl in the ])salniist''s form of words rather than his own. Xo toii'iue
of man or annel,as I)r. Hammond justly ohsi'rves, can convey a liiLilu'r idea
of any book, and of their felicity who use it ai'iu'ht."
Mastricht, in his Latin System of Divinity, a work of a most learned and
elaborate character, and not less distinguished Ibr its oi-thodoxy and piet \',
says as follows, as his first remark under the head of psalmody : " llic obser-
vaudum : ut ecclesia, jtublice cantanda non p(M-mittat, nisi (pia* pra'stant in
Scripturis." Here it is to be observed that the church may not |termit to be
publicly simn' any but such as stand in the Scripttires.)
Ilev. \Vm. Tvomane, of the church of Knt>land, and author ofthe " Life,
Walk, and Triumph of Faith,'" a work breathiuLi' a souj imluu'd with the
spirit of the gospel, makes use of the following remarks in addition to mucli
more of the same ])urport, which, for the sake of brevity, we omit:
" VVt! know from very dear testimony tliut tin,' Psiihus wen; siiii^f in the 'I\Miiiile until
its final ilcstruelion. We an; certain that Clirist made us(> of the I'salins. Hiss apostles
fi»llow(Hl his exnmi)le. 'J"he chiurhes of ("orintli. and K]ihesas, and ("oloNsa, maile ilie
sinirinir of i)snlm8 part of their ]ml)liek worship. Such of the twelve tribes as were seal
tt.'red abroad, hein": persecuted for Christ's sake, did siuij; psalms when they were in a hap-
!>> frame ; for they were commanded toilo it by the apostle .lames, 'i'he church's history
ah'ords abundant evidence of tln^ use of ps.dms in every country convened to tlie faith,
and of thiMr being suii<;- in the chiuch as a part of])ublic worship. 'J'his luis been the ease
in every ai^e, without any interrui)tion. The primitiv(> Christian sun^^ in all their ciiureli
meetings. Kusel)ins says, in the second ci'Utury they sung psalms ii\ praiseof Christ and
his deity. In the time of Justin Martyr, instrumenlal music was al)olislie(l, and he high-
ly commends singing with the voice, liccause, says he, |isalms, with oigaus and cyu'bals,
are titter to please cliildren, than to instruct the cluirch. In the tliird ceniin-y, we read
much of psalm singing. Arius was complained of as a perverter oftliis ordinance. St.
.Augustine makes it a higli criint!, in certain heretics, that they sung hymn^ coiui)osid
by human wit. The sense in which the cliurch of Christ untlerstood this subject, has
been, till of late years, always om; and uniform. Now we leave the ancient beaten path.
Hut why '.' Have we found a better'.' How came we to be wiser than the prophets, than
Christ, than his apostles, and the primitive Christians, yea, the whole church ofliodv
'I'bey, with one Consent, have sung |)s:ilms in every age. Here 1 leave the reader to his
own reflections. There is one plain inference to be made from iience ; none can easily
mistake it. May he see it in his Judgment, and follow it in his pracuce.
"What, say sonu\ is it uidawful to sing human compositions in the clnirch ? How
can that be'.' Why, they sing them at such a place, and such a place : great men, and
good men, ay, and liveh' minsters too, sing them : will yon set uii your judgment against
theirs'/
" It is an odious thing to sjieak of one's self, except it b(; to nuignify the grace ot (Jod.
What is my jirivate jtidgment ';■ I set it up against nobody in inditl'erent things ; 1 wisii
to yield to every man's iniirmity : for I waiu th(> same indulgence myself. But, in the
}ires(!nt case, the Scripture, which is our only rule of judgement, lias not li'ft the mallei'
inditl'erent. (»od has given us a large collection of hymns, and has commanded them to
be sung in the church, and has promised his blessing to the singing of them. No res[)ecl
here must be i)aid to names or aiitliorities, though they be t\w gri'alest on eurtli : because
no one can di8i)ense with the command of (fod, and no one by his wit can compose
hymns to be compared with the Psalms of (fod. / iniKt a iidiiii for thai iikiii ir/i<> i^ltniiUt
jn-etend that he could mtthe hitUr liytnnx than tlic llnly (Ihoxt. His collection is large enough ;
it wants no addition. It is as p'erfect as its Author, and not cajjable of any imiirovement.
Why, in such a case would any man in the world take it into his head to sit down and
write hymns for the use of the church 'i It is just the satue as if he were to write; a new
Bible, not only bettt^' than the old, luit so mucli better than tlu- i)ld may be tlirown aside.
<»<ly has siil.-
" fl"' <lt'!iL;lit
li!i<l not 111,.
Hi'sdoiii ■•md
f'» foiicliidc
In l>|-CM(lu.
•No tongue
^'.'vnic'd jiiiil
' ;<ii(l itii-ty,
" Hie ()I)st'V-
>l<Tst!|Ilt ill
ci'niii ((( I),.
f'tli.'"I.ii;.,
il wifli the
>n to iiiiich
^t'liililc' llllfil
IHh apo.stU.s
ft, iiitulu llic
■* were sent
■r«' in a liu].-
cli's Iiistorv
'> tile (iiitll.
i't'ii tliccasc
luii'cliiircli
Cliiist ami
i<l lie liiu-l,.
<1 <'vii'l)als.
"•<■ read
laiicc. Si.
flllllpONcI
'■>.if'-t, has
!'Ii'ii palh.
I'flH, Illilli
1 <>f(;,„| V
'•'I' U> his
III) easily
iK'ii, ami
t ayaiiisi.
I' <»/ (i(i(|.
I ; 1 wish
t, ill the
1^ iiiaitiT
tili'lll to
• lt'S|)CCt
h<'<'uusi'
■lllll|IOS(>
o xhdiilil
I'lKlimh;
^''llK'llt.
kMi and
; a lu-vv
n aside.
9
What a blasjjluimous attempt ! And yet our liyinn-monp^ers, inadvertantly, I hope, have
cotiie very near to this blasphemy; for they shut out tlie Psahiis, introduce their own
verses into tlu! church, sinjj them with great delight, and, as they fancy, with great pro-
ht ; although the whole practice be indirect opposition to the command of (iod, and
therefore, cannot possibly be accompanied with the blessing of Uod."
" The words of (Iod are i)ure words " Ps. xii. C.
Lot lis hoar what the ('clebraiod Jonatlian Edwards says on this subject.
In the .')th vohirnc ot'liis Works, i>a<;o 20, wo tii;d the followni<; languago
oniployod by him :
" Those holy s(mgs are nothing else but the expressions and breathings of devout and
holy (iffertionn ; such as an humble and fervent luve to Ood, admiration of his glorious i)er-
i'ections and wonderful works, earnest dexires, thirsiings, and ])anting8 of soul after him ;
dtlif/fit and/tii/ in (iod, a sweet and melting gratitude for his great goodness, a holy ex-
nltatioit, and triumph of soul in his favour, sufficiency and faithfulness; his love to,
imddi'liffht in, the saints, the excellent of the earth, his great (f«/tflf/t< in the world and
ordinances of (>od, his grief for his own and others' sins, and his fervent zeal for God, and
against the enemies of (Jod and his church. And these expressions of lioly affection of
which the P.salms of David are every where full, are the more to our present purpose, be-
• ause those psalms are not only the expressions of the religion of so eminent a saint, but
were also, by the direction of the Holy (Jhost, penned for the use of the church of God in
its public worship, not only in that age, but in after ages ; as being fitted to express the
religion of all saints, in all ages, as well as the religion of the psalmist. And it is more-
fiver to be observed, that David, in the book of Psalms, speaks not as a private person,
but as the PHahimt of hrael, as the subordinate head of the church of God, and leader
in their worship and praises ; and in many of the jisalmshe speaks in the name of Christ,
as personating him in these breathings forth of holy affections; and in many others he
speaks in the name of the church."
Such is the testimony wliich may be add. iced in favour of an interpreta-
tion directly o))|)osed to that of the Dr., by which he has attempted to
represent tlie advocates of an inspired psahnody as refusing to comply with
th»,' solemn command of the Apostle, and such is the testimony which may
be ad(biced in favour of the Scii])ture ]»salms, as every way suited to the
("liristian cliurcli, and those to which the church is boutul to adliere in the
praise of (Jod. We have athluced this testimony, not because we think the
('hristijin should submit his taith to the authority or teachings of any man
or sect of men, but simjdy tor the purpose of sliowing that the views of those
opposed by Dr. Neill, are not those of a few bigoted, and narrow-minded,
old-f;isliioiie(l Seotch l*i4'sbyteiians, but that they are the views of j)ersons
of dilVeient denominations of Christians, and renowned for ti>eir learning and
pii'ty.
To this it may be objecte<l, that there is no evidence tliat all tlu'se per-
sons did not make use of human conii»osition,and there is evidence that some
ol"tliein did use such hymns. In regard to this it imiy be observed that we
ar<' not to infer from the fact that hymn- have been used by j»ersons (tn
<'ertain occasions, for their religious recreation, that they regarded them-
selves in the use of them as performing an act of formal worship to Almighty
<Jod. Uninspired son!.js were doubtless used by the Hebrews on special
occasions, l)ut would they have thought of bringing tlu-m into the temple
of (Jod, or into th<'ii' svnagogues, wheii engaged in I [is solemn worship, atler
receiving from (iod the c(»minand to praise him in the words of David and
Asaph the .^eer? Hut iulmitting tlnit such liyinns were used by these per-
sons in the fonial worship of (iod, it remains to be proved that in (h)ing
so they pretended to assert a divine warrant for what tliey di<l. They
]»erhaps I'litortiMiied views somewhat loose in regard to ('liristians regulating
their worship 1 y the will ami wonl of Ciirist. We know that there is not,
that rog.ard paid to this nnitter by mavy ))rofessing Protestants, which on*'
would reasonably exp» ct. Hut we m-.ist also t.'ike into consideration the in-
in
1 :
fliUMiof'S to whicli tlu'y may liavc been subjected by their associations, and tlio
])eculiarc'ir('un»stancesin whidi they may have been jtUiced. We all know that
persons do, under the force of eireumstauces, and in compliance with the
customs existing in the society to whicli they belong, what, wercthev left to
their free choice, tliey woidd not do. They think it better to comply, than
produce excitement and division in the churdi of (iod. Calvin, in his tract
(m " The necessity of reforming the church," makes these remarks; "We
are not so unacquainted with ordinary life as not to know that the church
always has been and always will be liable to some defects which the pious
are indeed bound to disapprove, but wliidi are to be borne rather than to be
made a cause of fierce contention." How far tliose wlio have thus expressed
themselves were iuHuenced by this consideration, we do not pretend to say,
nor is it for us to account for their c<m<luct. It is with their sentiments as
expressed and delivered by themselves in the sober and calm moments of
thought and study that we liave to do. These we liave laid before the
reader, and it is for Inm to judge what tliey teach. What, f^u- instance,
does the very extract from Home, given by Dr. Neill in his exjiosition teach
us V We presume the sentiment exjiressed by Ilorne met with his approba-
tion. Now let the reader rejieruse thecpiotation, and then ask himself, in all
candour, to what conclusion the remarks of tlie bishoj) must necessarily lead
him. If these psalms be "designed for general use," if they are adapted to
the circumstances of Clu'istians under tlie gos[)el, no less than of tlie Israel-
ites under the law," if " they suit mankind in all situations," if " the fairest
productions of human wit, after a few perusals, like gathered flowers, wither
in our hands and lose their fragrance; but these unfading |»lants of paradise
become, as we are accustomed to them, still more and more beautiful," then,
1 ask, why make use of the "productions of human wit," when you have tlu'
songs of the Spirit, and why throw contem])t upon those who are unwilling
to make the exchange ? It is a mere " prejudice " to refuse to serve (lod with
any thing but the best we have, es|>ecially wlien he himself lias made pro-
vision for this service? Will the Dr. answer this (piestion ?
We shall now give the reader a few reasons for the purpose of showing
him that the Dr. 's exposition of the passage is not more "rational" than the
one advocated by the friends of an insj)ired psalmody.
One would su[)pose that the author, knowing as he must certainly have
known that an interpretation, different from the one he has given, has been
put on the passage, would liave presente<l some reasons for this " mon-
rational" view. Hut the reader will look in vain throughout this exposition
for an argument. All he will find is, " By these (hymns and spiritual songs)
I understand short pieces grounded on partsof tlie Holy Scriiitures, adapted
to particular occasions, and expressive of gratitude to God for his great mer-
cies," and then we have the exclamation, " How strange is it tlnit some
Christians object to the use of such compositions in ri'ligious worship !" We
fihall only remark, that if the Dr. had given us an argument instead of this
exclamation, it would have been nitlier more in jdace. At least it would
have prevented the suspicion that he found it no easy matter to fiml one
that would satisfy a rational and in»piiring mind. The importance of the
subject, and the manner in which it has agitated, and still continues to
agitate the Christian community, rendered it highlv pro]»er for him to give
at least one reason for this " more rational view,'' e^jtccially as those who
oppose it are refusing to comply with an Apostolic injunction.
We wish the reader to notice that the Dr. takes it for granted that the
" hyinus and spiritual songs," hero mentioned by the Apostle, were such as
Tnmm^mm^'
1 1
ho lias in his liymn-ltook. Tliis ho lias assumed, aii<l on this a8sunn)tioii ho
jtivsents those whoso views he opposes in a false liujht before his voa<ler. He
risks, " dm it bo doubted, in the fiieo of our text, that the Christians of
K|)hesus used hyiniis and spiritual soni^s ?" Who doubts this? Did tho
Dr. ever hoar a doubt expressed on this |)oint ? The doubt, Dr., ia not that
they used " hymns and spirituid s()n«i;s,'' but the doubt is that they used
sMoli hymns and s])iritual sonirs as those for tho use of which you contend.
This is the " fact," however " curious" it may appear, and the removal of
this doubt requires something more than a mere assoi*tion that the point
which we cAll in question is " perfectly obvious and incontestable." That
it is not so self-oviilent, we shall now proceed to show.
Li't it be borne in mind that tho Dr. admits that the ])salms of David, or
at least those soii^s which are contained in the Scriptures, are intended by
the Ajtostlo in tho use of the term " psalms," which he here employs. lie
does not, it is true, assort this in so many words, yet it is obvious that this
is (ho way in which ho would liavi' his reailor to inter])rot his remarks; for
after speakinii,' of the j»salms of David in the lan<iuau;e (jfeulotry, he dismisses
tlio discussion of this term, and then (piotos simply tho words " hymns and
spiritual son^s," and then jirocoods to ox])lain what he understands them to
be. If this 1)0 not the distinction which he mrkos between those terms, ho
has failed altoi^ethor to distinguish thorn, for he represents the hymns and
s|)irituai sonirs as boin;:: "bottomed on the word of God." Whether this,
however, bo tho Dr.'s view of the import of the word i)salms, employed bv
tlio Apostle, nothiuii' can be more certain than that it is tho jtrovailing view
of those who ailvocate tho use of uninspired compositions. The very first
(piostion which the friends of an inspired psalmody will be likely to hear, is,
Aro we not commanded to sinu; hymns ami spiritual soni^s as well as psalms?
Uosidos, we have the highest autliority for regarding it ns an admitted fact
that the ])salnis hero referred to are the j)salins of David. We have the
authority of tho editors of tho I'rincoton Koportory, a work j)ublishetl undi'r
the auspices and sustainctl by tho patronage of the same church as tho om^
to which our worthy father belongs, and edited by men of superior learning
and talent. In tho \i»l. for lH'2f>, tho editors say, in an article entitled, "Tlu^
sacred poetry of tho early Cluistians," "We can hardly conceive it possil)Io
that tlio p^^ahns cf Da\ iil could have been so generally adopted in tho
clnuclios, and so highly istoomed by the best of tho fathers, unless they had
bc( 11 introduci'<l ami sanctioned i»y the A]>ostles and inspired teachers."
Again, they say, "It seems noro c()rres)»ondent to scripture usage to con-
sider till' term psalms lu'iv as moaning the book of psalms, as used in Luke
xxiv, 4 4, to which the Xow Tostainont writers so fretpiently refer for prophe-
cies, proofs and illustrations of their tlu'ts and doctrines." In another part
fif the sanu' artich', tho reader will find the following remark, which will, no
doidit, eoinmond itself to his good sense: "As the first Christians wore
drawn from the synagogue, they naturally biv tight with them those songs of
Zioii which wore associaled with all their earliest recollections and best tool-
ings, and .appropriated them to the services of tho New Dispensation." In
addition t<> this we may adduce tho fact that the book of Dr. Watts is pro-
fessedly made upon an admission that the jisalms here mentioned by the
.\l»ostle aro somehow or other the jisalms of David, for we ha\e in this col-
lection one hundred ami tiftv psalms w liieh our W(.rtliy father calls a " ver-
sion of the |)salnis." We tlien, surely, have tho very best of reasons for
<'<ttniiig to the concl ision that all parties are auireod that the A]»ostlo here
refers to tho iisalnis if T)a\ id.
■ I
I 1
fii
I
12
Tlio tnio question, then, before us is, Have we any reason for sn])posini;
ll»al the hymns and spiritual songs lierc mentioned are any tiiinijf ditierent
from tlic psahnsV If not, then there is n() " evidenee," to tlie "foree" of
which the prejudice referred to by Dr. Xeill can be supposed to " yieUl."
The Dr. himself has given us no evidence, and here we might leave the
matter.
But have the friends of an insjured |isalmody nothing to support their
j>osition, that the Apostle, by these three terms, refers tt> the same thing, or
at least that he does not, by hymns and spiritual songs, mean those which
are not inspired? In order that the reader nuiy judge of this, we shall sub-
mit to his candid attention the following considerations :
(1.) The difference contended for by the advocates of human psalm(»dy is
not |»i*actically observed by themselves. The very church to which the Dr.
belongs has taken a metrical translation of the 2;Jd jtsalmand of the huiulreth
j*saliu, and ]»laced them among their hynuis. Let the reader compai'e these
psalms with the prose translation, and we are satisfied that he will at once
acknowleiltre that if there can be such a thing as a metrical translation of the
psalms, t)»ey may with the greatest propriety be so called. Surely if ther(f
l)e one among the one hundred and fifty of l)r. Watts that may be called a
]»salm, these two deserve the name of " psalms." Let me ask, then, An;
these two metrical translations of the [tsalms of David hymns ? So have the
(General Assembly declared. Why may not the rest, be called by the same
name ?
(2.) If there be a distinction between the psalms and hymns, we are
bound by the same mode of inter[>retation to suppose a distinction between
the hymns and spiritual songs. But can the Dr. tell us what this distinction
is? Let a hymn or spiritual song be read from their collection, and who
can tell to which class they belong. Has not the Dr. himself confounded
them in the exposition which he has given of this passage ? In this he has
violated the very rule of interpretation by which alone he can establish such
a distinction between the first and second as the one for which he contends.
(;?.) There are strong presumptions against recognising such a distinction
as the one contended for l)y Dr. Neill, and those who symj)athize with him.
Either these hymns or spiritual songs were written by divine insjnration, or
they were not. If they were thus written, then we fiave in this command a
direction to sing an inspired psalmody, and, of course, the Dr. must give uj)
his position, for this is the very thing for which we contend. But what is
the conclusion to which this admission brings us, on the su|)position that
these hymns and spiritual songs are not found in the Scriptures? The neces-
sary conclusion is, that a part of the inspired writings have been lost, a cotw
elusion to which we are sure our friend would be unwilling to ctune. The
pious feelings of his heart would revolt against it. He will no doubt be
ready to say, with the editors of the Uepertory, that " It is not probable that
any were written under the influence of inspiration, or they would have been
|)reserved with other insi)ired writings." Suppose, however, we take the
other position, and say, with these editors, "'I hat men of education, genius
and piety, employed their talents in the compositions of hymns and spiritual
odes, which, l)eing aj)proved by the Apostle, were introduced into the ser-
vices of the church." Then leaving altogether out of view the important fact
that we have not now the Apostles, to whose judgment we can submit our
uninspired hymns, and that those which our worthy father has so highly
praised, do not profess to have the imprimatur of these holy men — tour
difficulties present themselves to the mind : {a.) Why is it that we have not,
i
or supposini;
liiiu; jirt'eri'iit
le " force " of
to " yicUl."
lit leave the
■support their
line thinjx, or
1 those which
we shall suh-
» psalmody is
hich the Dr.
the huiitlreth
ompare these
l! will at once
slatioii of the
Lirely if tliero
y be called a
,sk, then, Ant
So have the
by the same
•mns, wi' ari>
'tion between
lis distinction
ion, and who
If confonnded
In tliis he has
establish such
» he contends.
) a distinction
ize with him.
nspiration, or
is connnand a
must give up
But what is
(position that
< V The neces-
en lost, a coiw
come. The
no doubt be
pr<»bable that
nld have been
, we take the
•ation, genius
) and spirit \ial
1 into the ser-
mportant fact
m subnut our
has so highly
ly men — foiir
t we liavc not.
l:)
in nny of tlic Scriptui-os, i1h> IcMst :i!liisioii to the mnhhni of hymns and
sj)ii'itiial odes, l)y these men '' of educatioii, genius and piety?" On this
subject there reigns throughout tl;" Scriptures the stillness of the grave. Is
not tlii< straiigi', es|)e<'i.illy when we (•onsi<ler the importance ofi)raise as a
part of Divine worslilp, and the agitation which " the introduction of hymns
into the services ofthe cliurch," often |)roduces !it the present time? (/>.) Is
it I'l'asoiiabje to suppose that there wouhl be found in the very infancy of tlie
\e\v Testament cluirch a sutficient luimber of such men (pialitied ti) suj)]»!y
the ehui'ch with these hymns and s])iritual odes? Taketliese Ki)hesiaus, for
instance. \Ve know what they were bt'fore convert tjd to Christianity. Tliey
\ve!-e suid< in all the ignora'ice ami pollution of idolatry, having been from
their childliood worshippers of the great g(jddess Diana. Without at all
]):'esuining to call in (piestion the existence among them of education, genius
ami piety, we think it is ]»y no means an unreasonable supposition, that it
would not have been safe to commit to men just converted from their i<loIa-
trous worship, and conseipiently but partially enlightened and established in
the truth, the making of" hymns and spiritual songs,'' in which to celebrate
the praises of Jehovah. To our mind it would seem to be a dangerous ex-
lierinit'iit. ('•.) The making of hynms by uninspired men, would, in all pro-
biibility, produce ditliculties between the Hebrew and (ientile Christians.
In the language ofthe edit(»rs ofthe l*e])ertory, "The Hebrew Christians
had prol)ably been accustomed from childhood to consider ins[>ired psalms
aloiH' admissable in tlu' worship ofthe sancttiary, and cherished a holy and
<'ven superstitious di-ead (»f every thing like innovation or departtire from the
good old customs of their fathers." Is it probable that luuler these circum-
stances the ajxistle would ilirect totiie use of uninspired hymns, when they
had "those songs of Zion which were associated with all their earliest recol-
lections and best i'eelings?" ."'.nd ifthe direction in regard to hymns and
s)iii'itu;\l songs were only designed for the (Jentile Cliristians, would not
their intro(luclion be ealculatetl to keep up a bad state of feeling between
these two ilasses of Christians, who were so dis])osed to cherish unfriendly
l'( "linu-> towai'ijs each other? ('A) The strongest jiresumption, however,
t hat presents itself to our mind against this interjjretation is, that it places
uninspired compositions upon a ]iar with those which are inspired. Here
we have, according to our author, the apostle associating, in the most inti-
mate coiHiexion, that which is confessedlv the wonl of (lod, with the word
of man ; and not only so, but directing it to be used for the same end. Now
AvcAXould address ourselves to that reverence which we know oiw pious
father cherishes for the word of tlod, and ask him whether an inter])retation
involving such a presumption as thi<, is reasonable? Were we to hear him
giving an allirmative answer to this (|ui>stion, we must say we would receive
it with no little sin-ju-ise.
(t.) Another evidence in favour of snp))osing the apostle by these three
teru's to mean the same thing, is the tact that they are so em]»loyed by
Knglish, ( ii'cek and nel>rew writers who are not inspire(l, and also l»y the
ins|iired writers. A nudtitude of instam-es might be given, but we shall
(•online ourselses to a few. In the preface to a late work, entitled " 'i'lie
Psalms of David, translated by .1. A. .\lexaiider, Professor in the Theologi-
(^al Seminary at Princctott," the reader will find the following remarks: "A
still more marked r 'semblance is, that they (the Psalms), are all not oidy
])oetical but lyrical, i. e. songs, poi'ms, intendi'd to be stmg, and with a
nuisii-al accomjian'ment. Thirdly, they are all religious Ivrics, even those
which seem at His sight the niosi se(ailar in theme and spirU, but which are
I(
. I
il
i(
il
'I
all found on inquiry to bo strongly expressive of religious feeling. In the
fourth place, they are all ecclesiastical lyrics, j)salms or hymns, inteiuled to
he permanently used in the worship of (iod, not excepting those which hear
the clearest impress of original connexion with the social, domestic or ])er-
sonal relations and experience of the writers." Now we liave this learned
and highly esteemed I*rofessor, in the same church as the one to which our
worthy father belongs, declaring not only that the Psalms of David are all
intended to be pernuinently used in the jjublic worship of God, (a remark
worthy the attention of his brethren,) but also that they are all songs and
hymns. Will this language be justified ? Then why suppose that the
apostle means any thing else by these terms, but the same Psalms of David,
and why represent those who confine the matter of their praise to these
psalms, as opposing the use of hymns and spiritual songs? Josei)hus refers
to the Psalms of David under the name of songs and liynuis. The Apos-
tolic Canons contain this hijunction : " Let another sing the hymns of David,
and let the people repeat the concluding lines." Here we have not only a
proof of the very great antiquity of the use of David's Psalms in the Chris-
tian church, but also a proof that they were known by the name of hymns —
the very same name in the original which the apostle emjiloys in the text.
Dr. Gill tells us that they are spoken of in the Tahnud by the name of "songs
and praises, or hymns." Let us now open the sacred Scriptures, and here
we shall find proof to the same ettect. We find the Psalms called " Sepher
Tehillim," (the Hymn Book,) in the very title of the Hebrew copy of the
Psalms. The 145th Psalm is called 'lehilla 1' David, which Gesenius trans-
lates, " a hymn of David." The same term is fretpiently introduced into the
body of the Psalm. Let the reader compare Psalm 22d and verse 28d of the
Hebrew, with the Gretik of Hebrews ii, 12, and he will find the declaration
of the Psalmist, " In the midst of the congregation I will praise thee,"
Iahalleka] rendered by the apostle, " I will sing a hymn to thee. The word
lalleluja, which so frequently occurs in the Psalms, is just a call to sing a
hymn to the Lord, Other illustrations of this might be given, but let these
suffice. Now when we find the sacred writers, and among these the apostle
himself, using this very term " hymn " in application to the songs of inspira-
tion, is it not fair to infer that he used it with the same application in the
passage before us ? But this is not all. It is generally supjjosed that the
apostle made use of the Septuagint version of the Scriptures. With this
version the Ephesians and CoUossians, being (Greeks, were no doubt fiimiliar.
Let us open then this version of the Psalms, and we will find some of them
bearing the title of a psalm, others of a hymn, and others of a song exactly
corresponding to the three Hebrew titles, Mizmar, Tehilla and Shir. These
words in the Septuagint are the very same as those which are emjiloyed l>y
the apostle when he directs the Ephesians and CoUossians to " sing ])salms,
liymns and spiritual songs." Will the reader then look at this, and ask him-
self whether it is so " perfectly obvious and incontestable," after all, that the
apostle intended such " psalms and hymns and spiritual songs," as those con-
tended for by Dr. Neill? We may just remark, that the editors of the IJe-
pertory say, vol. 7, page 76, " External evidence places the titles of the
Psalms precisely on the same foundation with the Psalms themselves."
Professor Alexander, of Princeton, says, " They are foimd in the Hebrew
text as far as we can trace its history, not as addenda, but as integral parts
of the composition."
(5.) Another consideration which makes it highly probable that the book
of Psalms is intended by t';e \postle, is the fact that the same language is
I
lin<>'. In tlio
, iiiteiulod to
c which boiir
nestic or per-
tliiH k'ivnu'd
^o which our
[3a\ id are alt
d, (a remark
11 songs and
>se that the
us of David,
lisc to these
sei)hus refers
The A|)os-
ms of David,
■e not only a
in the Chris-
! of hymns —
in the text,
me of "sonj^s
es, and here
led " Sepher
copy of the
senius trans-
iced into the
<e 2;klof the
; declaration
>raise thee,"
The woni
ill to sing a
)nt let these
the apostle
of inspira-
tion in the
d that the
With this
)t familial',
ne of them
itj exactly
ir. These .
ployed l)y
ng ])salms,
d ask him-
1, that the
those con-
uf the IJe-
es of the
emselves."
e Hebrew
^ral parts
; the book
nguage is
employed by the evangelist in Matthew xxvi, 30, where he tells us that the
Saviour and his disciples at the celebration of the passover sang a hymn ; [they
haiilnij hi/mntul.] That a portion of the Psalms of David was used, is
almost universally admitted. Indeed there is hardly anything upon which
commentators seem to be more generally agreed than this. The evidence in
its behalf is as strong as it well could be without being positively asserted by
the historian. The writings of the Jews abound witli testimony to prove
that it was their custom during that solemnity to sing the six Psalms of
David, beginning with the 113th, and emling with the llHth. There is no
evidence that a hymn was made for the occasion, and we know that it was
his custom to comply with the observances of the Jews, of which this was
one part, and certainly a most appropriate part. Now if it be admitted
that the hymn sung l»v our Saviour and his disciples on this most affecting
occasion \\as an inspired hymn, we argue, from this admission, that the
hymns referred to by the ap»)stle in this passage belonged to the same
inspired collection. If this inspired collection was used by our Lord and his
<lisciples, the presumption is, in absence of all i)roof to the contrary, that they
would still continue to be used by the disciples. That this admission is
made by those who use uninspire<l compositions, we have only to refer to
Mr. llarnes. He says on this itassage : " The passover was observed by the
Jews by singing, or chantuig, the 1 liuh, 114th, 115th, 116th, 117th and 118th
Psalms. There can be no doubt that ou/ Saviour and the apostles also used
the same Psalms in their observances of the passover." Why then doubt
that the apostle referred to the same collection when he |,old the Ephesians
to "sing hymns?" Surely if any argument can be drawn from the nsus
loquciidi of the sacred writers, it is on the side of those who maintain that
the reference in this passage is to the Psalms of divine inspiration.
(G.) In the preceding remarks we have looked simply at the names
emplove<l by the ap<)stle in <lesignating that which he would have these
Ephesians to sing. We now re(pu'stthe reader to give us his attention while
we present to his consideration some additional evidence, drawn from the
language employed hy the apostle in connexion with the use of these three
terms, [a.) These songs are called '•'• spirttnal songs." The heathen made
use of odes. In order to distinguish those which the apostle would have
them to use, he calls them '' spiritual." Now we apprehend that there is, in
the use of this term, a j)roof that the songs referred to by the apostle were
those contained in the Sc,ri[»tures. If the reader will take the pains, as we
have done, to examine those places in the New Testament Scriptures where
this word occurs, he will tind that in every instance where the reference is
not to created spirits, there is a distinct reference to the Spirit of God as
the author of that to which the term is applied; unless, indeed, 1 Pet. ii. o,
and IJev. xi. 8, should be regarded as ex(;e[)tions, which we think is question-
able. Thus "spiritual gifts" are such as are communicated directly by the
Sjtirit. We shall here (piote the words of Mr. Barnes on the word "spiritual"
as it occurs in 1 Cor. x. ;3, 4, " And did all eat of the same spiritual meat, and
did all drink of the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock
that followed them." "The word spiritual here," says Mr. liarnes, "is
evidently used to denote that which was given by the Spirit, or by (iod ;
that which was the result of his miraculous gift, and which was not produced
by the ordinary w.-^y, and which was not the gross food on which men are
usually suppi'i'ted. It had an excellency and value from the fact that it was
the immediate gift of 'iod, and thus called angels' food, Ps. Ixxvii. 25. It
is called by Josepius ' flivine and extraordinary food.' [Ant. 3, 1.] In the
ifr^
m\
ii
M
' 1(i
lanLCuatr*' of'tlic S('ri])liir('s, thfit wliicli is (listiiiuuisli('<I tor ('.voillciicc, wliicl)
is the iiiiiiu'diuto ti^it't of (Jod, which Is uiilikt' thiit which is i^ross, and of
cartldy origin, is cidlod sjyiritiKil, to <U')iotc' its ]»iirity, vahio, and oxci'IUmicc ;
compare liom. vii. 14, 1 Cor. iii. I ; xv. 44, f (J ; K|»li. i. :{. The idea of Paid
here is, tliat all the Israelites were nonrislie(l aii<l su]>iiorted in this ri'inark-
al)le manner by food jjiven directly hy (lod." Annin lu- says, " The word
spiritual mnst ne used in the sense of supernatural, or that which is imme-
diately u,iven by (Tod." In addition to the j)assanes to which ,Mr. Harnes
refers, let the reader consult Koui. i. 1 1 ; xv. '27 ; 1 Cor. ii. i;<, 14, l."> ; ix. 1 I ;
xii. 1 ; xiv. 1, 'i7; (Jal. vi. 1 ; Col. i. 0. Now let this meanin;^ be attached to
the word in tlm passan^je before us, and wi' are brounht to the concluHion that
the souii's here referre(l to l)y thea[>ostle, are those winch wi're "<;iven by tli(!
Spirit or by God," which were "not produced in the ordinary way," but which
wore " bestowed in a miraculous and supernatural manner," and where will
we find such souths but those which are contained in the Scri|)tures ? In
sinyint; the Psalms of David, we know that we are sinuint; such soni;s, for
he himself tells »is, that "the Spirit (jf the Lord spake by him, and his word
was on his tonufue." That this is the import of the word f<jun'ti((/l, as here
used, is ren(b'red lui^hly probable from the circumstance that the aj)ostle has
expressly mentioned the Holy Spirit in the same sentence, (f*.) Another
reason for this intei'pretation is, that the apostle directs to the use of these
"psalms, hymns an<l spiritual sonus," as the means ot beini:: "liHed with the
Spirit." Now is not the wonl ot' (lod, the very wonl ot" (lod, the means
which he makes use of in fillinu- the hearts of his people V When the Sa\ iour
prayed that the Father would sanctify his disciples throuuh his truth, he
adds. '' The word is tn:th." There we must <j;<), if we would be filled w ill)
the Spirit. Out of these livinuf wells we must draw water, with which to
refresh our sotds. (c.) By referring; to the jjarallel passaiji' ii> Col. iii. ](j,
we find that tlie aj)Ostle directs to the sinoiiii; of psalms, liynins and s])iritual
songs, as tlie means of letting "the word of Christ dwell in them richly, in
all wisdom." (Juyse has a sermon on this text, entitled "The Scriptures the
word of Christ." This he shows from thre(! considerations. "He is its
author;" "He is its great subject;" aiul "He works and (-arries on his
interest by it." "The Spii-it of Christ," we are told, " was in the ]ti-o]jhets,
when they testified beforehand of the sufferings of Christ and the glorv that
should follow," and it is said, "He went and i)reached to the sj>irits in
prison;" so that the Psalms of David may, with the greatest propriety, bo
called "tlie word of Christ." "There is not," says Bishoj) Hoiselv, " a paij-e
of this 1)ook of Psalms in which the pious reader will not find his Saviour, if
he reads with a view of finding him." " We are in these IValms," (says Dr.
Ilussell, in his admira1)le Letters,) "brought, as it were, into his closet, ai'c
made the witnesses of his secret devotions, and are enabled to see even the
inward workings of his heart." Cluyse, in the sermon l)efore referred to
infers that the "word of Christ," as here mentioned by the apostle, includes
not only the New, but also the Old Testament Sci'littures. He reniarks,
" It is in this most extensive view, that our ajjostle seems to take it, by his
speaking, in the remainder of tlie verse, of teaching and admonishin<'- one
another in psalms and hynuis and spiritual songs, which look with .-i very
strong aspect toward the Old Testament writings, sonu^ of which are sc*t
fortli under these titles." Add to this the consideration that but a part of
tlio New Testament Scriptures was written at this time, so that we m.'iv
readily suppose that the reference of the apostle is to the "psalms an<l hynni's
and spiritual songs," of the Old Testament Scri])tures. At all events they
ir
IK'O, wliicli
SS, illltl of
•xci'llciicc ;
lea ofl'aui
lis rt'iniirk-
' Tlic word
li is iiiiiiu'-
ilr. Uai'iK'S
].-, ; ix. 1 I ;
ittaclu'd lo
liisioii that
veil I)y tlio
'l)ut wliich
will' re will
lim'sV In
soiiijs, for
(1 his won!
(il, as hiTc
i|»ostk' has
,) Another
!(' of these
»l with the
the means
,he Saviour
? tnitli, lie
tilled with
1 which to
Jol. iii. 1(3,
1 s]>iritual
riehlv, in
iptures the
lie is its
les on his
prophets,
L-lory tliat
sjiirits in
)priety, be
\', " a paii'e
Saviour, if
' (says Dr.
closet, are
even the
fei'red to,
I', includes
remarks,
it, by his
sliiiig one
ith a very
ch are set
a part of
t we may
iiid hymns
•cuts thev
must be such as beloiiire-l to the Scri))iur('s, and this is all for which wv are
now conteiidiiiij:. Now the readi-r will ol»serve that it is this " word," (not
simply the ])rinciplcs (if this word, lint the word itself,) wliii'h the aimstle
would have these Kphesiaiis to let dwell in them, by sinurini^ psalms and
liymiis and spiritual soiiu's. Is not this more likely to l»e done by sini;iii<^
the acrcil soiius ol" tills word, than by siiitiiiiLi- those which have been coni-
porcl 1\ ciiiiiij,' ni'.n. wiiati vir may be his jiiety and learninu'? Is it not
more likely that we shall in this way attain to that "wisdom''' of which the
njiostle speaks in the same iiassau'eV We know liow it was with David
" I have more understandiiii'',"' he could say, "than all my teachers, fur t/it/
ti'xtliiniiihf^ are my meditation."
We have thus lai<l before the rea<ler the reasons which have led us, in
common with the other friends ot" an inspired |isalmody, to believe tliat tlu're
is, in this pass.iLM., no warrant I'or the makinix and siiigin<;f of human hymns;
and it" such a warrant cannot be found here, we think our worthy fatlier, ami
thosi' who synipathi/.e with him in his views, will search the Scrijiture- in
vain for it. We hope tlie>e reasons will receive a fiir and impartial con-
sideration — that our position on this subject will not be pronounced a " preju-
<lice," before we have the l»enelit (if a liearinir. We o]ten our bibles, and
there we tind a divine jisalter — one which theu'reat God himself has i)rej)ared
lor us, and one, too, which he comniande<l his peojde to use in the eelebra-
lion of his praises. Weilo not read, in all the volume of insjiiration, oi" any
thint;- beinu' made use of which was not indited by his Spirit. We tind, too,
ill this same blessed book, that he who has ))rovided us with this book of
Psalms, has uiveii us the most explicit directions to adhere to his own insti-
tutions, and by the awful niaiiiiestations of his wrath on various occasions,
tauirht us that it is hii^hly provokiim to the eyes of his <;lory to depart from
them. We there learn tliat it is not eiioutrli for us to abstain from wdiat he
has forbidden, but that we should h:ive nothing to do with any thing as a
means of worship, which he lias not couiiiKtinh'ih We have solemnly pro-
fessed, too, that it is a violation of the second commandment, to "worship
(iod in any way not npjxtliitol In /u'n irord,'''' and that this command requires
WA Xo ^^ iih.^iri'f kikI hi( jt pure aiiij entire all aiicJi ordhuoivcs as God hat/i
(ijtpolntKf in hiM ii'ord.'''' We unroll the records of ecclesiastical history, and
there we tind the most abundant and satisfictory evidence that this divine
Psalter has been in usi' in the church from the days of the apostles to the
ju'i'si'iit time. It is true that we tind plain intimation of hymns of human
<-oniposition Inning been introduced into the church at a very early period
of her I'xisteiice. Hut we know that they had no more authority to do it
than we have. We know also, from these records, that the introduction of
such hymns was made iiistruniental "in invading the jnirity of the church,"
and poisoning her with the most deadly heresies. We know, too, that there
were "many voices raised against" the use of any other but those of divine
inspiration ; that their use was condemned by the first Council at Braga,
juid also bv the Council of Ephesus,* the very place in which the Christians
resided to whom the words that we liav been considering were addressed.
We consult the exp'.'rieiice of tlio^i' Christians of different denominations,
who have been most eminent for their Jiiety, learning and soinidness in the
faith, and we hear them speaking in the most explicit manner of the snttici.
eiicy and suitableness of the songs of divine inspiration to the purposes of
*S('(' Uildiciil |{ci)tTt(!ry, vol. 1. ])]>. ."iliO-l-S, and the Hitcs and Worship of the early
("liristiiiii C'hiirchi's, from tl »■ (ieriiian ot Ncaiidt^r. as trar.shitcd in the Biblical Ui'ijortory
of volinne foiirtli.
IS
M!
m
('liristiaii worslii]). We rciiiciiibcr tliat our <liviiic IMastcr. iiiiiisclf" '' cliosc
to coiicliulc liis lit'c, t<» solace Iiiiiisclt' in his uiH-alcst au'oiiy, aixl at last lo
l)r('Mllic out liis soul, in the I'salniist's t'onn of words, rather than in hi-
own." We call to mind, too, the fact th:it the I'etinniers of blessed nieniorv,
"tauyht and adnionishi'd one another" in tlu'se psalms, and liynnis, and
s])intual soni^s, and that not a lew ol" the martyrs of .Fesus ha\e liy them
been " tilled witli the S]>ii''.l," 'a hile si alin^' tlieir te simony '.v itii iheii- bldod.
Wo are sure that in sin<j;inn' these sonys we have Mimethinti- upon which our
soids may rest witli that contidence, joy and hojte, which the very word of
(iod alone can inspire. Such ai'e our views, and such our feclinn's. We
would iu)W submit it to our worthy father, and the Christian community,
wliether the friends of an inspiretl ])sabnody should be regarded as tlu-
victims of" prejudice V"
There is one respect in which it nnist be a<lmitted that we have the
.•idvaiitau:e of all others, and that is in the catholicity of our hymns. I>v
tin' use of this term we mean the opposite of sectarianism. From the neci's-
sities of the case, tiie hymns of all chui'ches must bear, to a ui'cater or less
d(\t(ree, a denon\inntional impress. Hence we lunc Methodist liynnis, iJap-
tist liymns, Presbyterian hymns, and I'ven I'niversalist hymns, and we mav
reasonably expect that these various hynuis will exhil»it the peculiarities df
the cliurches by which they luive been respectively adopti'd. Lest it mi^ht
be tliou-^ht thill we are biased by " prejudice " on this subject, we shall (piote
tlie words of the editors oi' the IJiblical Kepertory, or J'rincetttn IJeview,' a
work of hio'h authority in the church to whii'h Dr. Neill, our author, lieh)ni;s,
and edited by men who have doubtless had the best op])ort unities of obser-
vation, liiid wlu) no doubt make use of an uninspired psalmody. On pa^c
505 of vol. IS, nniy be found the followint;- remarks: " 'J'he psalmody oftlu'
Christian assen\bly has generally partaken laruely of those characteristics of
thought and exi)ri'ssi()n, whicli arise from the circumstances of the j)eople.
In a divided state of the church, when the ditierent denominations are
zealous for their respective forms of ilot-tinne and worship, the lyric poetry
becomes strongly argumentive and polemical; addresses men, I'ather than
(lod ; aiul is en\ployed to defend and incndcate theology, and to contirm tlu'
attachment of the people to their peculiar articles of faith. Hence each sect
has its psalmod}'. Both policy and conscietice are deenu-d to lecpiire the
hymns to coincide in sentiment throughout with the creed of the sect. And
the doctrines are not only stated in i)oetical language, or laugiiage professed-
ly jioetical, and dwelt upon in a strain of devout meditation, but are li-e-
quently inculcated in a sort of metrical argument, and apjx'al to persons not
supposed to believe them." Whatever objections, then, may be brouLiht
against the " ])salms, hymns and spiritual songs" with which (iod bv tiie
ins})iration of his Spirit has provided his church, it must be a<lniitted that
they are not liable to this objection; they are as catholic as the word of God
itself
Our worthy father intimates that the views nuiintained by us are not
on
'y !
ess
rational," but less "liberal" than those which he advocate;
The charge of illiberality is so often and so easily ma<le, that it is but little
regarded by serious people. One thing is certain, we ask no one to sing sec-
tarian hynnis, hymns " eniploj'ed to confirm the attachment of the ])eople to
our j)eculiar articles of faith," and to proselyte others to these articles, mdess,
indeed, such be the duiracter of (lod's word.
ikI :if I;is1 ),,
tliaii ill lii,
t'«I llU'Illoiy,
liyillllS, ;||i,|
v ]>y tlifiii
tlicir Iilddd.
1 wliicli oiii-
I'.v word of
lilies, \\\,
•<>iiMmiiiit\-,
iliMl ;is (Ik.
I' liavc (lie
i'lllllS. |{y
till' IICCI'S-
itt'i- or less
■iiiiis, 1J:,|,.
1 we lii.iy
iiiirifics (If
•f it Miin-Iit
•liail (|iiot('
Icvicu-,' ii
', IlL'loilo's,
< of ohsor-
Oll |»;iu(.
"ly of tile
I'l'i^tics of
It' ]H'OJ.l(..
'ions arc
U- [locti y
'hm- tllilM
<ii'm the
iicli sect
l"iiv tlic
t. All, I
•ol(.'S.S(',i-
ivrc irc-
OIIS Hot
l'i'oni>lit
♦>y the
t'<rr,hai
of (io,|
arc not
"ocatcs.
It little
illy scc-
n|»lc to
uiih'ss.
ID
TIIK KHIKNDS OK AN INSl'IHHD PSAl-MODV AM> WATTS' PPALMS
A few words ill \ indication o|' tlic li'caf incut wliich tlic " version," as it
is cillcil, "f I )r. NVatts has rcci'ivcd from the tViciids of an ins|iircd jisahiiodv,
and \vi' sliall Itriic^' this ih-fciicc to a close.
The Doctor speaks of" tliis "• ricli and hcaiitiful version," as beinu; "dt-
Tiouncc(l."" It is (piitc |>-oh;ilih' tlcu nuich has Keen said in relation to it
that shouM not lia\e hccn said, Iii;t vc would resiiectfiilly siilnnit it to oiir
friend, w hclher he can find any tliinn' more harsh and oireiisive amonLr the
(tp|ioiitaits of this " version," than he lias employed in speakini,M)f the one
whicli has heel! displaced liy it, and that, too, in the very same sentence in
wliich he complains of demmciatloii V Did he think, when sayiiiii thai " the
iniscraltle ilouui'iel ol" Koiise is siiii^-, or attem]tted to he siiiiu^, to the no small
aniiovaiice of all correct taste f(tr the harmony of numbers or the charms ot"
music," that lie was liimself tisiii'j: the liiiiiiMiant' of demincialion ? Let the
reader l>ear in mind, too, that the friends of this version have iievi'r '"ewUided"'
Dr. Waltr.' hymn hook *• from the sanctuary." They have only said that the
one which they lia\e, am! which they havi' recei\t'(l from the \V'estmiiister
(Jeiieral Asseniiily, and from the (ieneral Assembly uf the church ofScotlaml,
shall not lie excluded by it from the sanctuary. lithe simple fact ofe\clu-ion
is to constitute a ground of cliar;j;e, we think oui' friend and those who syin-
pathi/e with him are liable to it. It is ///cy who have excluded a version
from the sanctuary, not we. If the claims of these respective vi-rsioiis are
to be decided bv a referaiice to the authority with which thev come to us,
iIk' decision must be ufiveii ill favourofthe oik; which has been excluded fr<<m
the sanctuary, toinake room Ibr that ofDr. Watts. Suppose we view it sim-
ply as " Kouse's vci-sion," (which liy the wav it is not, as it underwent ma-
terial alterations al'ter it came from his hands,) is it to be despised on this
account y lie was.accoi'din'j,- to " The History oft he Westminster Assembly,"
before referred to, "a hiii^lily esteenu'd member of Parliament," and was also
a member of the Westminster -Assembly. IK' was also provost of Eton col-
IcLi't", and any one who has read his " Acadi'inia delestis," cannot but be im-
pressed with till' coiniction that he was a man of vast erudititui, as well as
dre]> and fervent piity. The " vi'ision " of Dr. Watts has the authority of
the (leiieral Assembly of lie rniteil States in this c<»untry, and has not the
\ t'l'sion of IJouse the same authority? The History before referred to, tells
ii> that it is "still authorizcir" by this ]»ody. IJut in addition to this, this
version was adopted bv the \\\'st minster Assembly of Divines, and afterwards
by the (ieiu'ral Assembly of the Church of Scotland, after a careful revision,
in w hicli they were tor at least Xhwv years emphiyed. This is tin' version
which Dr. Xeill speaks ot'as a" miserable doiru'erel." Uy way of an otfset
to the remark of Dr. Xeill, the reader may call to mind the recommendation
oi'it by Dr. Owen, ifcc., to which we have already directed his attention.
Di". Ikidii'cly also i;-ives it the preference to any which he had seen. The
same preference for it is expressed by Key. William Komaine of the Ei)iscoj,al
Church. Here let me also (piote the remark of the ]»ious and amiable
."M'Cheyne in relrjionto it. All who know any thiut;' of this devoted servant
of (lod, know' that he was not only as i'vvi' from prejudice as is common to
mortals, but possessed a highly cultivated and poetic tasti'. In an excellent
treatise, entitled " Daily Ibea'd," under the head of" Directions," he >>iyes
the Ibllowiiii'-. "The inetrical version of the Tsalms should be read or sung
tliroui«h at least once in the year. It is truly an admirable translation Irom
the Hebrew, and is fri'(iueiitly more correct tlian the prose ver>ion. If three
verses be sim;:: Mt each diet of" family worsliip, the whole psalms will be sung
20
:
tliroutjli ill tlic y<'.'ir." We lliiiik, too, ilio yr-cat Iciiirtli of time in wiiicli i(
lias Itt'cii ill use, ami the stioiij^ atlacliiiu'iit svitli w liich il i> clicrislii'il, ai'»'
pretty coiu'liisivf »\ iilciici's tliat, uliati-viT may !>«• its di-trcts, it is not <lr>ti-
tiilc ol"|io('tic taste. It lias at least tin- |ioelry of tliouu'lif, ii' there is any of
il ill t lie Tsalius of I )avi(l, for we think it uoiiM be hard to iliscovrr a thoiinht
there whieli is ii(»t brought <'Ut in this viTsioii, aiil !hat, too, aliiiost in the
very wonls of the prose; mil win.' ihe,' are ■> 'ri:;ii ;;- bci .\' mi tin in,
there is soiiietinies a LCreattr eonfiinniiy to the sjiirit ot the oriLfinal. We
hIjuII lu'lT give il seale, (for tfiis we are inilel)teil to the 0th volume of the
Keli^'ioiis Nionilor,) which (•xliibit> all (In- \ariatioiis oi" any eoiist'(|ii(iicc in
thv tirst two I'salms, Irom w liieh tin ifa'U'i- may form an i<lea of its faithful-
ness as a metrical translation.
I Prose 'IVawlnlitm.
I'Ktilin I. 1. I Uli!t>r'fd U till* initii.
(If) Wulkelli not.
do ' Seat.
Vfr^f TrtinnlaHon. Hi'jniHintiiiii of the word In the oHf/inal.
riiiil inaii lii\lli pcrl'uct () Ihi' lil('t>^(>(1ii<'M< ot' tlic iiinii, or iiiohl
bltfmediii-'i^h.
I Walki'tli not il^<trll)■.
, (Mmir.
I)rlv(!t< to iiiul t'ro.
(^iiltc Dvcrthrowi).
Minil.
rriiircH.
4. I Driveth iiwnv.
0. PrriHti.
I'Halin 11. I. Iiim<;lne.
'i. RiilerM.
a. I TakeiDiiiiccI t()^"^thpr' Coinliiticd to pint
.5. ; Sore (llMploiunrt'. j Uiixc.
H. Set. Aiiolulod.
7. My Hon. j Mine otilv Hon
H. ! UtortnoHt parts. i Utinowt lliii'.
l)li>(»cd i- the iiinn.
Iti-piirti". walkH liwny.
Ijitiu, Catliedr.'i. the chair occiipii'd liy
one teai tiiiii: or prufidlng.
Sea It fret h, disptTxeth.
ni '^'ll H'cd. l()!*t.
Mi'dita'tc.
I'riiirt'H, couiiHellorv, those next the kiiii;.
Consulted fo;,'ether, eounpired.
Uaire. fury.
.Vnciinted.
My son.
The horderi' or DtnioHt lines oTtlie etirlli.
The T)r. seems to insinuate tlml this version ea" it be sunif. He speaks
of it as Iteinix "attempted to bo smi^."' We presume the remark was not
desijfiied to fipply to the two which have been selected by his own ehiiich
!ind |)laced timoni:' their hymns; oi- jierhaps they liave cliaiiiied their charac-
ter since they have received the h///jriiin/fi>r ol' the "(Jeneral .Assembly of
the Presbyterian C'hurcli t>f the Tnite*! States." If he will favoin- any of the
])salm-sinu.iii<j; churches with his ])resen<-e, he will tind that those who nse
this versi(»n have no ditlicidty in siiii^imr it. There is one thiiiLf of which we
can assme him, he will not see wliat he acknowledjjjes to be the ease with
the contrreirations of his own cliurch, the siimiiii; "continedto perhaps less
than halfour conirreutitions.'" As a specimen of the way in which lioiise's
version is " jittempted to be smii;,''' we mtiy take the fbllowiii<;' accomit of
the meetiiiir <>f the last (General Assembly of the I'ree Church of Scotland,
t^iven by a corresiM^mdeiit of the Pres'hvterian, and one whom we take to be
a member of tlie Presbyterian Chiu'ch ni tliis cotuitry :
Messrs. Editotis ; — While here, I s])etit one cvcniiij^ in the General AsHpmbly of tlit^
Froi; Church of Scotland, in (.'anr)n Mills' IIhII. 'J'liis is a sinj^ular Ijiiildinjf, covfiii.p: »
f^rciit surface, and cajiable of si^atiii^ tlirci- tlmusand iH-oidc; with a low roof, iliroiigh
which it is lighteil by means of sky lights. 'I'lu' seats frradaally rise from the center to
the outside wails. It was literally crammed — every seat Ung occupiini ; I was glad to
get standing room. As that great concourse of iieoplo united in singing the niiiety-sixtii
Psalm, with that enthusiasm and earnestness so jieculiar to Scotchmen, everj' one; joining,
it formed a noble chorus, the mighty swell of which seemed almost stiiilcient to niise tln^
roof from off the walls. No organ or other kind of instrumental music was needed ihere.
Every one sung as best he «;oul<l, and truly it was a glorious concert. * * * * *
We ^vollld not bave said so mucli in defence of this version, liad it not
been for the Dr.'s remarks, and did we not know that false imin'essions e.xist
among our bretliren of other denominations in relation to it. Tliat it has
serious defects, as mijjlit readily be j)resunie(I, eonsiderint; the great length
of tune since it was made, we freely admit. We think that either a new
version, or an improvement of our present version is greatly needed; and if
tlic l)r., Of the cliiirth to uliicli lie l»i'l(»ii.;s, (•■•in |ii'f>»'iit us uilli one, (:iiiil wo
hclicvc this (jiiitc |Mc;sil»l(',) liasiiiu,' tlic --aiiu' claiiiis as a iiittfi<al translation
as oiii' j»n<('iit Nt'i's'on, and trci' t'lom it ilct'ccts, we shall most fonliallv
receive It, an'l we think we can make this remai'k in Ix-halt ol'all its I'lientls.
It'oMf lii'ethreii will coiitiinie to e\|»iess their sm'jii'ise that we use this ver-
sioii, we can only I'epiv t > tle^m a-; IJouiaiue diil to those who tlumn'ht il so
stiaijee tii:it he s luihi e.^' tlie , eixi tii ol" Si ernliohl and IIo|(kilis:
Tlicy WDiuler 1 wiMiM inaki' use lit' ihis vcrsiim. wUicli tliey think is )M)<)r, tint s'ntl',
the poein Ih iniscralile, mul thi? hiiiLiiiiiiri' 1"W ^uiil li;isi'. '[\i wliii-li 1 uiU'Wcr, tiny liti.i ii
scrupuldiis re^riird lor ilie vi'iy \vipi\ls of Sfiiptwii', uikI li> tlicse tliey lulhered clusely atid
sti'ictly ; so intich us to reiiiliT t!ie vcrsiticjitiuii nut i'(|anl tn Mr. Popi'. 1 f;nint il is nut
always Hinooth ; it is only liere Hiul fhrn- lirilliant. Hut wliat is a thousand timeH more
vnluiii)l(', it is >rr«ii('rally the sciitiinciit oftlio Holy Spirit. That is very riiri'ly lost And
this sliould silence every ol)j(>ction — it in tlir irni'd i if (hid. Mi>r(M)V('r tlic version coiik^h
nearer to the orij^inid thnn any I liuve ever seen, e\ccpt tiie Scutch, of whicli 1 havi' luade
use, when it ui)pcarcd tunic l)etter expressed ilnui the l']iij^lisii. Vo\i laav tind (iiuli uiih
the manner of ckcitif^ out a verse tor tlie sake of the rhyme, hut wluit of tiiat '.' Here is
every tiling' t{rciit and nol)Ic, uitiiou^rh nut in [>r. Watts' way or style. It is not like his
fine sound and florid verse ; us jjoud old Mr. iiidl used to call it, Wiittn jiinjii . I do not
mutch tlio.se psiilins with what is now admired in jxictry; ullhou;.''li time was when nu less
a man than the H(;v. 'I'. Bradliury, in his sulier Judi^'inent, thuut,'lit su meanly of Waus'
liymns ascumnionly to term iheni Wdtts irhyiDim. .\nd indeed compared to the Scripture,
llu^y arc like a '''tie tajicrto the sun ; a-< for his psalms, these are so far from the mindui
the Spirit, that . mii sure if David Wiis to read them, he would nut know any one of
them to he his.
l>ut hero the in(|iiiry may !•<' ma<le, why not use (he version of Dr.
Watts? Tlie friends of an inspired i»sahiiody are often met with this
iiK|uiry, To us it seems strano-e indeed, tliat .any one aeciuaiiiteil with the
]»sahus of Dr. Watts should make such an ini|iiiry ; hut as it is made, and
doulitU'ss sometimes iiia(h' in all sincerity, it (h'ser\ es an answer. We car
not tliink that our wortliy fathi'r, when he ccjinplains of tlu' treatment whicii
these jisalms li.ave received, (U'sioiied to create a false issue between himself
aud those whose views he eon<h'miis; althouoli, lieyond all (luestion, his
remarks lia"e tins teiuleuev. We would therefore resiieet fully sid)mi( to
his consideriition tlie followinu; reasons for the o|)[)ositu)n wliieh we manifest
to tlie iise of these psalms.
1. We do not regard them :xs a " version" of the Psalms tif David, in any
|)ro|)er sense of tlitit term. What is a version? Wehster defines "'version"
to lie "the act of translatinijj ; the reuderiiic^ of thouu^hts or ideas e.\])ressed
in any language into words of like sinnifieatioii in another laii^uaj/e." A
version is accordino; to him a "translation, thai which is rendered from
anotlior language." The correctness of this delinition we ]»resume will not
be questioned. Now, Dr. Watts expressly says, in a note to the prefiu-e,
" Since the sixth edition of this book, (meaning his hymns,) the author has
finished what he had so long promised, namely, the Psalms of Daviil,
imitated in the language of the New T(>stament," We would then submit
it to tlie candour of Dr. Neill, whether Dr. Watts being judge of the chai--
actcr of his own production, we can attach to this jirodiurtion the character
of rt version? Are the Psalms of David, "imitate<l in the language of the
New Testament, a version ?" This is the question. If it be not, why call it
by this name? Who thinks of imitations when they hear of versions of the
Scriptures? Dr. Neill may jirefer an imitation, but what we want is the
thhifj iUdf. This we have not in the songs of Dr. Watts, (live us a faith-
ful version containing this, and we promi.se you not to "exclude it from the
sanctuary."
r>iit. moroovoi-, wv deny lliat it even diScrNCs tlic luiiiic oC an imitation.
^Vc shall liciv Miiulii make (uir a}»jt('al to Dr. Watts liimscH'. IK' cxpri'ssly
fiays, ill his jjivfacc, "It iiiiist he ackiiowkMlM-fd tliat thiTc arc a tlioiisaiid
linos in it, (the psahiis of David,) which wric not iinuk' tur llic cliuich in
our days to assuinc as itsowii." < X'coiii'sc they have bt'cn omitt.od. Where,
then, is tlic imitation of tlu'sc thousand linesy He further tells us that he
"lias eutirelv omitted several whole ])s;i]!ns, and lafLre |)ieees of inaiiy
others;" wliere is an imitation of these |»salms? Ilut has iie left them out.
fis unfit to he used in thi' n'orship of tiod";:' No; had he merely done tliis,
our feeliuiis would have l>een t'ar less slnxdvcd. He has <j;iven the whoh' one
hundred and ilfty " I'salins of David, in metre," thou<,di several wliole j)salnis,
and lartie |»ii'ees of many otlieis have heeu entirely omhted, accordiiisi- to his
express deelnration. T>et us look, for instance, at the lOOth psalm. The ori-
li'inal, as we have it in our prose and in our metrical translation, contains
ithirtv-six' verses; that of Dr. \\'atts contains six verses, and thei'e is not nii
idea in the one to he t'ound in tlie other, unless it be the address in theiirst
line, "(ioil of my praise." The ])salin, as it comes from Clod, is taken up
with a tearful tli'scription of the awful doom of his implacable enemii's, and
is applied ill the New Testaiiu'iit to Judas. The subject of Dr. Watts' im-
itation — of Dr. Watts' "• rrr.v/o;;," is " Love to eiiemie> from the ex.nnple of
Christ." ("an there possible be u liieater jterversioii of lauutiauc than to call
this a version of the lt)!»th psalm? and yet Dr. Xeill charges thelriends of an
inspired psalmody with excliidini; Dr. Watts' " lich and bi'autiful version of
the Psalms from the sanctunry.'" What wiMild he think if the Apocrvphal
psidm, in the St'ptiiae'int version of the jysalmsof David, were published to
the woi'i>l, and used in the worshiji of ( nxl as one of tiie ps;dms ot'David, and
shall he think it "strange" that we ari' unwilliiiLC to admit into tlie sanctuarv,
as a version of the psalms of David, psalms which, in the lang-uan'e of the
iiiotis liomaine,"are so far from the mind of tlieS})irit, tliat I am sure if Da\ id
wire to read them, lie would iiot fiioWHiiy oiu' oi' them to be his?" How
could we rt'^ard with feeling's of complacency their introduction into the;
sanctuarv, as a version, believing;-, as w i' do, with Professor Alexander ol'
I'riiKtet oil, that they arc "(^/Hnter.ded to be used in }>ublie worsliip ;" and be-
lievinu, also, with the same author, that "the arranuement of the Psalms was
the work of J<2/.ra, the inspired c;«llec!or and ;'('/"r/r?n' of tin- canon ?" \o,
we caiuiot so retr;ir<l thi'ir introduction. We must eonlimie to protest against
it however stran!j;e our opi»ositioii may appear to the admirers of what they
call "Dr. Watts' rich and beautiltil version of the jisalms." We shall briiii;-
our remarks on this point to a eoiicliision, by callinu' tlu' attention of the
reader to the sentiments ex}»ressed by (ieor<^-e Junkin, D.D., a learned and
hiu'lilv' esteemed divine of the Old School (leiu'ral Assembly Presl)yteriau
Church, and who thei'idbre cannot be su))Mosed toln' influenced by sectarian
" j)rejU(lici'." In his work "on the ])roj)iiecies," l)age '2."?1, he thus remarks:
" Dr." Watts has attempted, professedly, to bnprove upon the sentiment, the
very matter, and the ordi'r, by various omissions and additions, to fit the
jisalms for Christian worship. This is unfair. If I'ope had taken the same
•icetisi' with the Poems of Homer, all the amateurs of (Jreek poetry in tlio
world would have criecl. Shame on the presumptuous intruder. IJiit it is a '
pious and zealous Christian divine who has taken this liberty with the soI!^•s
of/ion, and almost the whole Church ac<[uies(H' in it. What would we think
of the French poet, who, proposiuii' to (>nrich l-'rciich literature with a \ ersi-
ficalion of the masterpiece of the KnLi,lish muse, should man^ie an<l tr.iiispose
the torn limbs of the Paradise Lost, until Milton himself mi^'hl nu'il his jiivt-
2n
Imi'ii (111 till' iiiLi,-h\v;iy ;ni.l not rcciuMiisc it ? Ami must tliis literary butflicrv
1)1' tolri'atcd, Itccuiisc, rorsootli, tlic victim is tlic iiis]iiri'(l ](Siilmist ? Wliv
sliouM till' lu'avcn-lautilit liani lie iiiisrcprcsi'iitcMl tliiis? Let us rather lia\'t'
the siiuLis of iiis|iiratiou, as(;nil ius|iire(l them, and as nearly as is possihle,
ami eoMsisteut with the laws ot' I'jiiilish xcrsiticatiou. ( Jod's o/v/rr of thought
is doublli'ss best Ibr his Church. It'any one thinks he can write better s|iir-
itual soii^s than the sweet siii'jer mi' Israel, let him do it ; but let him not
dress the savoury meat which (ioil has prepareil, until all it substance and
savour are u'oni', and then ju-esont it to us sis an imitation ol" DaviiTs |>s:dms I"
2. We cannot y'ive our consent to the introduction of these soriL-s of Dr.
Watts into the sanctuary, iiol only because, in receiviuLj them, we would
have only the name without the icality, but because they htive been |ii-e-
])ared u])oii a ])rincii)le which we rei;ard as exM-eedinu'ly objecti<tnable. It is
surely but tiiir to i^o to tin a\ilhor"s |n-eface to ascertiiin the ])rinci]»le upon
which he has eomposed his work. Now iiy referenci' to the i)rei'ace of a
eo|>y which we have in our possession. v>e tind the Dr. <lec!arin<j,' his own
desitxn to be " to accommodate thi' ISook i>f Fsalms to Christian worshi])."
To this ]»rinci|)le we can by no means u'ive our consent. \Ve believe, with
the ))ious r)isho]> Ilorne, as cpioted by Dr. Xeill hiinselt', tlitit the psalms arc
"mo less adapted to the t in iimst.auce-. <tf C'hi'istians under the u'ospi'l than
they were to (Jod's people under the lav.." .\uain. Dr. Watts says, aftt>r
lament iu'j; the " inditference" with which the orfliiianee of praise is regarded,
" I havoloui;" bet'ii comiiicetl tliat one Li'reat occasion of this evil arises from
the mattt'r and words to which we conline all our sonu's.''' This inxolves in
it .'I serious rellection upon the character of the Divine I'saiter which we
cannot but contemplate with i^rief and pain. Airaiu, after (piotin<x a portion
of the onth psalm, (a ]isalm applied bv the tijiostU' to the crucitiers of iMir
Lord,) he a<lds, " which is so contrarv to the in /r c<iiHHi<iii<hiHiit, Love your
enemies.'' lie also spi.'aks of '•the powers of our souls Iieiiiir shocked on a
sudden, tuid otir spirits rutHed,"' by the sino-inLi; of certain portions of the
]>salins. lie therefore informs us that. ''•Where the psalmist uses sharp in-
vectives ati'ainst his ]»ersonal eiu'iaies, I have endeavoured to turn the ediro
of them au'ainst our spiritual ailversaries, sin, Satan, and temptation."' These
<piotatioiis !ire onlv sjH'cimens of much more of the sanu' character wliich
niiL;"ht be •uldnced to show the jirinciple upon which these son^s were pre-
pared by Dr. Wat's. We have (pioted the Dr.'s own woi'ils, and there is no
mistakinL( their meaiiiuLr or import. We feel it to be altoiiether unnecessary to
make any retntirks with the \ii'w of showinix the impropriety ofthis principle,
and tlie irreverence which it manifests for those ]isalms which wi're Liiven
" by insjtiration of tiod.''' W«' know of no hitin-uteje eniployi'd, by the Ha-
tionalists ol the present day, that can be more obji'ctioiialde. We can con-
template it with no otiier feeling" than that of <j,'riefand sorrow. \\'e brim;-
no charge ajjcainst Dr. Watts, We have no disposition to detract from the
hiuh charac'er which he sustains as a learne.l and pions divine. Miiny of
his works we have read Avith )»rotit and comfort. We can say, as Toplady,
his ardent tulmirer, has siiid of hiin in his " ( )iitlim's of the Life of Dr. Watts,"
in relation to what he crdls " Di. Watts' scheme of one Divine person, and
two I)i\ine powers.'" that we are "happy in lielievinu" that tiie li'iMce and
failhfiiliiess of the Holy (lliosl did not pi'rmit him to die under the delusions
of so horri'ile and pernicious a ^'eresy."' It is not with Dr. Watts' tah-nts,
learninjj; or piety, that we ha\(' t.> <io in this cont rovi'rsy, but with the prin-
ciple, ;is evpi'cssly declare'! liy hini-'if, an<l a^ is (d)vious from his psalms,
njion wliiih he has prepared this '" ri( h ;ind l»eai:tiful version." It is ti prin-
-^0^
2i
('i|)l(', dislioiionrinii' to tliiif blessed Ixxik Avliicli Ims cinantiled froin tlie "F:l1ller
()i'liL!;hts," uiul wliich !is it comes tVoiii this Foiintain of purity is tin- sttiiree
ofour dearest hopes and Iuu,Iiest Joys, and therefore we cannot, hy the intro-
duction of this " version" into tlie sanctuary, ni^e it our countenance.
We have thus, we tliiiik, in a very |)hiin and unambiguous manner, laid
before such ofour brethren as may have tliouoht it worth while to give ns
their attention, some argi'ini-nts in (kfencc of a ]>ositi()n wliich a venerable
father of the Old School I'resbyterian church has seen ])ro})er to pronounce a
"prejudice." It is for the reader to judge whether we have not been able to
give a reason for this position. It is a position to which we have but little
inducement to adhere, apart from a conviction of duty, as it subjects us to a
separation from beloved brethren, whose society and regards we would esteem
it a privilege to enjoy. This privilege, however, " wefeel it to be a duty to
forego, rather than worship (lod in a manner not aj)]»ointed in his word."
The author of this book congratulates his readers that this ])rejudice is
"yielding by little and little to the force of evidence, and will ere long- give
])lace to more rational and libera! views." We know not on what gi'ounds
the Dr. lias made this statement, but we think tliat facts do not warrant the
conclusion to which he has come, or the expectation in which lie is disposed
to indulge. Those branches of tlie church that adhere to a Scripture psalm-
ody have never, so far as we are aware, manifested any disposition to change
their position on tliis subject, and we are very sure that they Jiave been in-
creasing more rapidly within the last ten years than at any former period
of tlieir history. We think it liighly probable that the number of stn<lents
at their respective seminaries has doubled witliin that time, and we doubt
not that there are now in circulation four copies of Bibles with ])salms, and
of psalm-books, for every one that was then to be found. We know that,
several large editions have lately been published. But however few and
feeble the friends of an inspired i)salmody may be (and our worthy fatliei*
is too well acquainted witli the history of the church to judge of the merits
of a cause by the number of its advocates,) if our principles on this subject be
correct. He, whose eyes are upon the truth, will not suffer them to perisii.
ToIIim would wo commit them, in tiie words of the sweet psalmist of Israel:
" Do thou, Lord, arise, and yilead
The cause that is thine own,"