Q^. DlC-ov^

THE BOOK OF "PSALMS

AND

HOW TO, USE IT.

A SERMON,
PREACHED. IN ORANGE, M% JERSEY/OCTOBER 21, 1866.
BY
GEORGE B. BACON, IX
PASTOK OF THE OKANGE VALLEY CHUECH.

NEW YORK:

JOHN F. TROW & CO., PRINTERS, 50 GREENE STREET.
' 18S1.

»
[This sermon was written with no thought of any use for it beyond
the church in which it was preached and the immediate purpose for which
it was designed. What that purpose was, sufficiently appears in the.ser-
mon itself. But because it has been thought that it could be of wider and
more permanent value, the writer has consented that it should be pub
lished. He will heartily rejoice if it shall serve to commend to any the
responsive use of the book of Psalms in their households, Sunday-tchools,
or Churches. He is aware that the argument for this use of them, as it
is herein set forth, is incomplete. It does not claim to be complete. For
example, it does not inBist upon,, but rather takes for granted, the neces
sity of vocal expression in worship, — a necessity which, it is conceded, is
not sufficiently met in our rion-liturgical churches, to one of which this
sermon was especially addressed. It is believed that there are many such
churches that feel the importance of supplying this want, and are pre
pared to welcome any movement which tends to give a freer and fuller
use to scriptural forms of worship. Even where such a movement is not
practicable in the church, it may he in the Sunday-school ; and if not in
the Sunday-school, at least it may be in the Christian family.]

THE BOOK OE, P'SALMS
AND
HOW" TO IT SE IT.--;

"l?or it is written in the book of Psalms," — Acjs i., 20.
; This is one of several passages in the New Testament
which prove that the scriptures--, of the Old" Testament,
essentially in the form in ^hich we have them now, were
known and used and valued by the Christian church
from its very beginning. Already". they were arranged in
books, and in the general; order in which we arrange them
still Our Lord spoke of them by the three grand divi
sions which w&recegnizeHo-day. fii«st,:the Law of Moses;
second.^ "the Prophets, including certain historical works
connected with the prophecies' ; and third, the Psalms,
including certain other miscellaneous poetic works. In
deed the argument for the authoritative character of the
Old Testament scriptures rests , largely on the fact that
the canon of them was then complete, and was recognized,
quoted, and sanctioned by the Lc*rd, Jesus, -and by his
Apostles in the scriptures of the ISef,. .
Especially the book of Psalms "has received this Chris
tian sanction, arid has1 been, from the beginning^' of the
church, distinguished from the others by a more constant
and universal use. The pas'sage* from which our text'is
taken describes the first reeorded-, meeting of our Lord's
believing followers, after his ascension* And at this
meeting, we, find the Apostle Peter emphasizing the ad
vice which" he is giving to Ms brethren, by the quotation
of a precedent which, he reminds them, " is written in

the book of Psalms." Such a reference would at once
carry back the minds of his hearers to the golden age of
the Jewish church — the age of David, glorious both as
king and poet, fighter and singer too. And, to this very
hour, there is a sanctity and dignity which we cannot
easily express, attaching to the worship of the Christian
church, when it employs the venerable words which it
finds " written in the book of Psalms." Concerning this
book of Psalms I wish to preach this morning. And in
order that what I say may be the better understood, I have
requested that printed copies of the book may be dis
tributed throughout the church, to which I shall present
ly ask you to refer. , '
First, however, I wish to consider what that charac
teristic of this bo<ok of Psalms is, which has given it
preeminence over the Other books of the Old Testament.
That it has such preeminence as a matter of fact, I think
no one will deny. There is no one of us who does not,
in his Bible reading, turn far oftener Jo the Psalms than
to any other of the books'of the Old Testament. This
book alone of all of them has been bound up, by itself,
with the N~ew Testament scriptures^ or set forth in a
single, separate volume^ as a manual for constant use. It
has been the treasury of golden thought and utterance
for the saints of all the Christian ages. More than from
any other book, perhaps, the memories of religious men
have been stored fnpm'this book. The verses' of it are
familiar to our ears as household words. The writings
of the Pentateuch, the ppetic records of the Prophets, are
consulted rather for occasional purposes, and are made
available more for use ill special circumstances. But the
Psalms are always timely. There is something in them
for our ordinary, daily use, as well as for extraordinary
and peculiar exigencies. Martyrs have gone to the
flames with them, warriors have marched to battle with
them, dying men have uttered them with failing breath;

5
but also living men, harassed by adversity or blessed
with prosperity, have found expression in them for their
ordinary joy and sorrow, and have been cheered by them
in the monotonous routine of daily life. They have been
translated into almost every tongue; but they do not
seem to have grown old or parted with the freshness
of their beauty or the strength and fulness of their
power. What they have done for the generations that
have gone before us, they are doing in even fuller
measure for us now, and promise to do better yet for
those who shall come after us. They have been misun
derstood often, often misused, often used with preju
dice of theologic theories, or with defect of literary learn
ing, that have hindered them from having free course to
the glory they deserve. But, after all, what is there
like them? What could we do without them? And
wherein does the secret of.their power and value lie ? Let
us consider, so that we may value them yet more, and use
them better.
I notice, then, that the book of Psalms is, both in its
matter and in Us manner, a book of woeship. Herein
at once it differs from the other books of Scripture.
Other books are occupied with narrative, with history,
with biography, with instructions of all sorts, with warn
ings and advice and invitations. But this book is occu
pied with worship. The others are addressed by God to
man. ' -This one is addressed by man to God. What,
now, can man have to say to God ? For that, whatever
it may be, is the substance and matter of worship ; and
that is the substance and matter of the book of Psalms.
Plainly enough, there is a great deal which any man,
who really believes in God, will need to say to Him.
What he knows concerning God will make him wish to
speak to God, or if he does not speak, at least will make
him feel emotions and think thoughts that urge for utter
ance. And these thoughts and feelings will be, naturally,

of two classes, prompting to two sorts of expression.
When a man believes in God, there are two parties to
the religion which consists in such a faith, — God and
himself; and his religious utterances will be concerning
both. He will wish to speak to God, of God; and he
will wish to speak to God of himself. And what he shall
thus say to God will be the substance of his worship.
It will be praise, therefore ; for he will speak to God con
cerning God's own character and works and ways. And
it will be prayer also, for he will speak to God concern
ing his own wants and troubles — his own joys and sor
rows — his own life and being — his fellow-nien — his friends,
his enemies, his country, and the world in which he lives
— in one word, concerning himself and whatsoever things
are his. Of these two sorts, then — prayer and praise —
will be his intercourse with God, his utterance, emotion,
thought, toward God. These will be the matter of his
worship. And the manner of this worship, what will that be ?
There may • be, of course, uhuttered worship, silent and
unformed, but soon or late it will require an outward
manner. What then will that be ? What will be most
becoming to the object of the worship,— to the subject of
it ? It must be suitable to the greatness of God; It must
be suitable to the littleness of man. It must be worthy
of the prayer and praise which it expresses. Instinctively;
when a man speaks to God, he will speak with some
peculiarity of manner ,-^-not-with affectation, but with quiet
and sincere simplicity; and yet not with that familiarity
with which one" would speak to fellow-men, his equals, but
with a reverent dignity of utterance. It need not be a
studied manner. But the spirit of true worship will itself
construct its own fit expression, — will fashion for itself a
body, will compel a hallowed utterance, an humble atti
tude, a sacred manner. Sometimes this may be the work
of careful, reverent study, or the growth of centuries, re-

suiting in a complex liturgy. Sometimes it may be no
thing but the natural and instinctive poetry of a religious
soul, borne up above the common-place monotony of earthly
conversation into regions of sublimer thought and nobler
utterance. It is fine to see how unlearned men, whose
speech with one another may be awkward, homely, hesi
tant, will oftenj when they speak to God, grow simple,
dignified, poetic even; will pass, as by an impulse irresisti
ble, into the diction and imagery of the Scriptures, and
will find a strange and beautiful freedom in the use of
them. All of us have seen such instances. Perhaps all
of us who really worship are aware of such experiences.
They are at least so frequent, that they give sufficient
illustration of the fact that worship will not only seek but
find a worthy form, a manner fit for its high use. It
naturally tends to poetry — of course I do not mean to
rhyme — but to poetry as somehow loftier than prose, and
less" familiar, as a goodlier form of utterance than the
common-place prosaic speech which deals with earthly
things, and is the vehicle of intercourse with equals. I
do not say, of course, that worship which does not assume
such a poetic form is no worship. Certainly not. But
that the natural tendency of worship is to such a form ;
that, more or less unconsciously, your worship and mine,
when it is best and truest, feels after such a form, and
instinctively endeavors to assume it ; that the specimens of
worship uttered by the saints on earth, which have been
written for our study and as models for our devotion, are in
such a form; and that when we can catch glimpses of the
hosts who worship in the beavens, and can hear the echoes
of their glorious adoration, we can recognize in it the
swell and rhythm of a more than human poetry, —the
sweetness and majesty of an immortal music.
I said that the book of Psalms was, both in its matter
and its manner, a book of worship. And .now that we
have considered with sufficient care what is properly the

matter of worship— that is, in what it consists, — and. also
what the manner of worship is, when it takes on an out
ward form, we are ready to see the truth of my assertion.
.1 said that it differed from the other books of Scripture
in the one respect that it is a book of worship rather than
a book of instruction ; that whereas the others were, in a
sense, addressed by God to man, this one was addressed
by man to God. But, though different from the others, it
is not inferior, but rather has a certain singular preemi
nence among them. Almost any book might be spared
out of the Old Testament scriptures sooner than this one.
The Bible as a religious book would be most incomplete
without it ; for in a complete religious book must be not
only revelation, but the response to revelation. And the
response is no whit less inspired and sacred than the
revelation is. We know from whom the inspiration of
true worship comes. The prayer and praise which go
up to God, from hearts that worship him in spirit arid in
truth, first came down from .Mm. And the worship which
" is written in the book of Psalms," because it was real
worship out of honest hearts, that meant it when they
uttered it, that prayed because they needed to, and sung
because, for their religious joy, they could not but sing,
was doubtless prompted by the presence of the Holiest
within them, kindled by the breath of God, illumined by
his light and quickened by his life. It is with this consid
eration that the argument for the inspiration of this book
of Psalms should start. They are real prayers' and real
praises — most intensely real, and therefore verily inspired.
The men who uttered them, and wrote them, felt what
they said and meant it heartily. They cried out for help
because they must have help, — because if help were not
forthcoming they must, perish. They sung praises and gave
thanks, because their hearts were full, and they could not
restrain expression.
This then is the substance of the book of Psalms.

There is a marvelous variety in it. There are prayers of
almost every sort, uttered in almost every mood, fitted for
almost every circumstance. There are praises copious
enough for all exuberance of worship, various enougli for
all the varying use of gratitude and joy. Every one of
them is full of worship. Almost every one is, either
wholly or in part, directly spoken to the Most High; and
the others utter holy meditations, sacred memories, devout
longings, which are no less 'worshipful for being indirect.
They are by various authors. They were written at
various times. Some of them bear marks of careful study,
and of the most laborious and artificial arrangement.
Others seem to have come glowing with the fervor of a
mighty inspiration which refused constraint. But, how
ever this may be, each one of them is the utterance of a
man who had something to say to God, and said it there
fore-:— something about God, or else something about him
self, or yet more probably something about both himself
and" God. It was something that he wanted to say to
God. It was not enough that he could tell it to Ms fel
low-men ; he needed also to utter it to God. If he kept
silence, it was as if a fire were burning in him ; he could
not keep silence. He wanted to tell God how much, how
lovingly, how gratefully be bore in mind the memory of
His goodness. He wanted to tell God how pleasant and
how. comforting a thing it was to trust in Him, to be a
lamb in His safe fold, to be a citizen in His strong city, to
be a soldier in His. unconquerable hosts. He wanted to
express to God the wonder and delight with which the
mighty works he witnessed in the world about Mm had
impressed him. He wanted to declare how grand the
course of nature seemed to him, how magnificent the
works of Providence. He wanted to rehearse to God the
glorious history which His right hand and mighty arm
had wrought out for the people. These things he wanted
to express to God, — these things he called upon all people
1*

10
to express and say — not to themselves, and not to one
another, but to God. Not that God needed to be told of
them, of course, — that was not it. But because it was " a
good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing
praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is
comely." This was what each psalmist, as he wrote his
psalm, believed.
And so, too, with the prayers. These psalmists need
ed to speak to God concerning themselves also. They
wanted to ask Him for His help and His continual bless
ing. They wanted to ask forgiveness for their sins, real
sins, great sins, that needed real forgiveness, great for
giveness ; as when David prayed his fifty-first Psalm,
for instance, which is so deeply burdened, that the lan
guage fairly groans with the passionate repentance of a
sinful soul. They wanted to ask for help against enemies
who plagued and persecuted them in all sorts of ways.
They wanted to commend to God the interests of their
country and to supplicate His favor for it, that He might
give it victory in battle and prosperity in peace, and al
ways righteousness. They wanted to sustain their souls,
in doubt and darkness and despondency, that came to
them as they come to us, by crying out to God in earnest
supplication. Not that He needed to be told what they
desired, for they knew that He would know, before they
asked Him, what they were in want of; but because their
needs must speak ; because their God was one who could
hear prayer and answer it — a living God, a Spirit, to whom
it was not a matter of mere unconcern, as it was to the
stone gods or wooden gods of heathen people, whether
they were prayerful or silent ; because, as one of them
expresses it, while he kept silence his very bones grew
old with the inarticulate pressure of his emotion ; be
cause, as another one has said :

11
" As the hart panteth after the water-brooks^
So panteth my soul after thee, 0 God.
. My soul thirsteth for God, for the-living God :
When shall I come and appear before God f "
This was what each Psalmist, more or less distinctly
and "profoundly, felt ; and it was in this way that he spoke
to God about himself and all that was his, fully, freely,
earnestly ; till at last the whole catalogue of human wants
has found an utterance, in this complete collection of the
inspired prayers of Hebrew worshippers.
As for the manner of these Psalms, I may not dwell on
it so fully as I should be glad to. Only, what I said of the
manner of worship in gerieral, is here preeminently true.
There is, in all literature,1 no sublimer poetry than this
which " is written in the book of Psalms." It is, like all
greatest poetry, siinple — so simple that it may be intelli
gently used by unlearned worshippers ; but it is Unap
proachably magnificent. Even in the very sound of it —
in the flow and rhythm of it — if we could listen to it with
out knowing what it. meant, if we could hear it in the
language it was written in, for instance, there would be
something strangely impressive. The men who prayed these
prayers and spoke these praises felt, that it was no trifling
thing to speak to God ; that they ought to bring to Him
the choicest offerings of language which their lips could
frame, as well as the siricerest thoughts and holiest emo
tions of their souls. They felt that, if they came to wor-
sMp Him, it should be solemnly and fitly done ; and they
would not be " rash with their mouth, nor let their heart
be hasty to utter anything before God ; for God was in
heaven, and they on earth : therefore they would let their
words be few." They would seek choice words for the
expression of good thoughts, So that their Psalms should
be " like apples of gold in pictures of silver." Sometimes
the psalm, bursting forth from the full pressure of a po
etic soul, took on this form almost without an effort.

12
Witness, for example, some of those Psalms of David
which were called forth by the exigencies of some great
peril from which God had rescued him. And sometimes
the poem is constructed by continued and pains-taking
study, taking on the form of an acrostic, for instance ; or
the curiously artificial form of the one hundred and nine
teenth Psalm, where the praise and prayer is shaped in
arbitrary moulds constructed in the order of the Hebrew
alphabet. But, however this was, the principle by which
the manner of this worship was determined seems to have
been that, when one speaks to God, the worthiest words,
the grandest style must be employed. This principle, as
I have shown, we, all of us, practically recognize. In
accordance with this principle it is, that worship tends in
stinctively to a poetic form of thouglit and speech.
It is not possible, in the compass of this discourse, to
multiply examples from the book of Psalms of what I
have just said. Tbeir poetic merit is of course not uni
form ; some are better, a great deal, than others ; but
none are insignificant. To a wonderful degree their
poetry is natural. It is by. the study of the works of
God in nature that their imagery is suggested, their
thoughts created, their language elevated. The most
singularly beautiful descriptions of nature to be found in
any literature, perhaps, are to be found among these Psalms
and in the other Hebrew poetry of which they are a part.
I cannot forbear to cite one instance, and to cite it, not
in the words of a theologian, or a poet, or a preacher,
or a man distinguished for religious profession, but in the
words of the pMlosopher Humboldt, who notices one
Psalm — the one hundred and fourth — as representing in
itself the image of the whole universe. Turn to it, if you
please, and see how perfect it is, as a poem, simply. I
am not now criticising it as a religious work, but rather
as a poem simply, and I give tbe very words of the
far greater critic whose name I have mentioned. See

13
how complete the picture is of nature as the work of
God: " Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment :
Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain :
Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters :
Who maketh the clouds his chariot:
Who walketh upon the wings ,of the wind :
Who laid the foundations of the earth,
That it should not be removed for ever.
* * * He sendeth the springs into the valleys,
Which run among the hills.
They give drink to every beast of the field :
The wild asses quench their thirst.
By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation,
Which sing among the branches.
* * * He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle,
.ind herb for the service of man :
That he may bring forth food out of the earth :
And wine that maketh glad the heart of man,
And oil to make his face to shine,
And bread which strengtheneth man's heart.
The trees of the Lord are full of sap ;
The cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted ;
Where the birds make their nests :
As for the stork, the fir-trees are her house."
The great and wide sea is then described :
Wherein are things creeping innumerable,
Both small and great beasts.
There go the ships :
There is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therem."
The description of the heavenly bodies renders this
picture of nature complete :
" He appointed the moon for seasons :
The, sun knoweth his going down.
Thou makest darkness, and it is night :
Wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth;

14
The young lionB roar after their prey,
And seek their meat from God.
The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together,
And lay them down in their dens.
Man goeth forth to his work
And to his labor unto the evening."
" We are astonished," says Humboldt, " to find in a
lyrical poem of such a limited compass the whole uni
verse — the heavens and the earth — sketched with a few
bold touches. The calm and toilsome labor of man from
the rising of the sun to the setting of the same is here
contrasted with the moving life of the elements of na
ture." * And the picture is as complete as it is impressive
and magnificent.
This one example must suffice to show the high poetic
manner of this book of worship. It is poetry which has
never, been excelled, perhaps, by any master. But it is
poetry, which any child can understand and love and feel
the power of. We shall never understand nor get the
value of the book of Psalms until we treat it as a book
of poetry. It is mournful to think how it has been mal
treated ; how its words of ^passionate emotion have been
coldly scrutinized through theologic lenses, and tortured
for the purposes of speculative dogmatism ; how, for in
stance, David's most pathetic, broken-hearted prayer of
penitence has been used to justify some hard and extreme
dogmas concerning human depravity, and imported lit
erally into formal bodies of divinity, where it has no
proper place. Such dealing is preposterous. These are the,
words of high poetic worship, not of cold and exact
science. This book must be treated as a book of wor
ship, taken broadly and not microscopically, if we wish
to get the value of it.
Thus far we have considered it as containing acts of
individual worship, the utterances of personal need or
* Humboldt's Cosmos, Vol. ii., pp. 413-4, Bonn's Ed.

15
personal devotion, which, having once been used by
individual men, can fitly be so used again. But there are
some of these Psalms that were written not as the expres
sion of the worship of a single soul, but for the use of
multitudes. And there is Something in the very structure
of them all, which fits them in a very singular way, not
only for your use and mine in private, but for our common
use, together — for the use of households, churches, nations.
Let me point out what that is.
It is what is called the parallelism of the poetry. Tou
may have noticed that there is a kind of regularity of
repetition— sometimes of the thought, sometimes of the
words, sometimes, in part, of both — in each one of these
poems. Take for example the sixty-seventh Psalm, — for
that is short and very simple in its structure. As that psalm
is printed in the books before you, you see at a glance
what I am pointing out ; how what the first line states
the next line takes up and completes ; and how what is
true of these two lines is true of the two following. The
thought and language of the Psalm are thus put into
couplets ; two parallel lines or verses (or sometiines
three or four) bring out the perfect thought. What the
first begins the second finishes ; one is the song, the other
is the echo. It is, as a German critic has most beautifully
said, " like the alternate stroke of a bird's wings ; " and
the song mounts up by these pulsations as an eagle mounts
into the highest heavens.
Now what is the use of this construction of the poem ?
Plainly one use was that it might be employed by multi
tudes together in united worship. For example, when the
maidens of Israel welcomed from the wars their victorious
armies, they answered one another, saying (1 Sam. xviii.
6, 8.) : " Saul hath slain his thousands," —
that was what one chorus sung ; and then another took
it up and answered, completing it :

16
"And David his ten thousands."
So, if you will turn to the one hundred and thirty-sixth
Psalm, you will find a poem, to which, in the book of
Ezra (chap. iv. 11, 12), there is an obvious reference, and
a description of how it was, then used in this responsive
manner which I have described.
It is thought by many that there is a reference to this
use of the Psalms, in the .New Testament, where Paul
exhorts the Ephesian Christians to worship (ch. v. 19),
" speaking to yourselves " — or, more properly, to one an
other — "in Psalms." Certainly it is singular, to say the
least, to find a Eoman officer, who was ordered, in the
first century, to investigate and report concerning this
new sect called Christians, writing to his imperial master
that he found them a harmless kind of people, with certain
peculiarities of worship — among which was the fact that
they " spoke with themselves, (or with one another,) by
alternations, in religious song." * Certain it is that,
through the Christian church, there has lingered always
the belief that there was some such use as this to be made
of the book of Psalms. In a great portion of the Chris
tian church they are so used to-day, unintelligently and
awkwardly,! because not in accordance with the structure
of the poetry, but yet with real profit and to edification.
The book, of which copies have been placed before you
this morning, explains itself. It is the book of Psalms,
* " Carmenque Christo quasi Deo dicere secum invicem." See Alford's
note on Eph. v. 19, .
\ These words are used with no intentional disrespect to the liturgi
cal method employed in the Episcopal Church. But it is scarcely too
much to say, and indeed it is confessed by many of the clergy of that
Church, that the alternation of whole verses containing, each one of them,
several parallelisms, is an " awkward " substitute for that method of response
which is in accordance with the very structure of the psalms. And it is
simply the record of a fact to say that this use of them ia, on the part of
the great multitude of worshippers an " unintelligent " use ; for if they
better understood the structure of the psalms, no doubt the method of the
response by parallelisms would supersede the present practice.

11
exactly as it stands in all your Bibles, only printed, as it
was written, in the form of poetry instead of prose. I am
going to propose to the church to introduce this book
into its worsMp. I believe the beauty and value of the
book of Psalms cannot be appreciated till it is so used. I
believe that it was written, and preserved for us among
the sacred Scriptures, that it might be so used. I believe
our Lord so used it. I believe that the whole Christian
church would be the better for so using it.
Brethren, I have no desire to see our worship merely
formal. I should deprecate, more than I could express,
the tyranny of forms. I would riever surrender the liberty
of unwritten prayer. But while worship which always
uses written forms is almost certain, sooner or later, to
grow formal, cold, dead, I believe that worship which
never uses written forms is almost certain to grow diffuse,
familiar and, in so far, unworthy of the Holy One to whom
it is addressed. The sternest Puritans, with all their
dread of form, fell by inevitable and religious instinct into!
such forms as they found " written in the book of Psalms."
Cromwell's soldiers went into Dunbar battle with the
Psalm, " Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered,"
on their lips ; and all the worship of the saints in that great
epoch of Christian history— so far as there are traces of it
left to us — was full, not of the spirit only but of the very
language of this book. So, to this day, with those who
have inherited the. traditions and the spirit of the Puritans.
Listen, for example, to the prayers in a New England
family at their household worship, or at a prayer-meeting ;
they will not only breathe the spirit of these Hebrew
poems, but also they will use the very words and phrases
of them. It ought to be thus — nay, it must be thus.
Whatever notions we may 'have concerning liturgies,
whatever prejudices for them or against them, it is im
possible that this book of worship should be in our hands,
read by us with such reverence, listened to so often, and

18
should not.be in fact a liturgy which, more or less intelli
gently and with more or less of form and frequency, we
should ourselves employ.
For myself, I want to use more wisely and more fre
quently the prayers and praises which are " written in the
book of Psalms." There is no nobler liturgy than this —
none richer, none so venerable. It is richer now, a great
deal, than it was at the beginning ; there has clustered
around it a great throng ,of good associations, of sacred
memories, which have given it a holier value. What was
first spoken and written as the prayer and praise of David,
and of the poets and musicians of whom he was the great
teacher, has, since then, been in the hearts and on the lips
of multitudes of worshippers in the ancient Jewish church,
and of yet greater multitudes, whom no man can number,
in the church of Christ. The saintliest men the world has
seen have found no better words with which to worship
than these words of David ; and the " Son of David "—He
to whom David in his Psalms looked forward, and saw Him,
" but not nigh " — He whom the King of Israel from afar
saluted as his coming LotcI — He sanctioned them with His
own holiest use. In the celebration of that passover by
which, in its Christian form as the Lord's Supper, we are
wont to " shew the Lord's death till he come," the hymn He
sang with His disciples was selected from this book of
Psalms. And even from the cross to which men nailed
Him, He cried with a loud voice, in words which those who
heard would recognize as a quotation from a Psalm of
David, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!"
He died with David's words almost upon his lips, adopting
them as the best utterance of his dying worship. Surely
if He used them thus there is a use in them for us. I
want to see them used, in unison and in response, as they
were written to be used, and as our Lord and his disciples
used them. I think that it would be a goodly thing, for
instance, if, in our household worship, when the father of

19
the family should summon them to worship with the
words, " 0 give thanks unto the Lord ; for he is good."
they should answer back, not with one heart only but
with one voice also,
"For his mercy endureth for ever."
I think that it would be a goodly thing if the worship
of the great congregation on the Lord's Day were ex
pressed in these fit words; and if, in these Christian
sanctuaries, as of old at the foundation and in the daily
ministrations of the Jewish temple, there might be the
responsive utterance of prayer and praise. Glorious would
it be if the whole Christian church should join in this
inspired liturgy, and should " shout with a great shout "
as " with the voice of many waters," calling one to
another, " Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord ;"
and answering back again one to another,
"Praise te the Loed."

Published by Mason Brothers, 696 Broadway, New York.

THE
BOOK OF PSALMS
ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THE ORIGINAL PARALLELISMS.
FOR RESPONSIVE READING.

Happily the use of the Psalms by responsive' reading, as a devotional
exercise, is coming into favor in Sunday and day schools, churches, and
families. It has much to commend it. In their very structure the
Psalms are so exactly adapted to this use, that this is in itself proof of
their intention. In all, or nearly all of them, the two parts, lead and
response, are clearly traceable throughout. Thought answers to thought,
emotion to emotion, and the responsive utterance by leader and people
develops ihe beauty and power of their inspired words in a much higher
degree than can be realized by ordinary reading.
A difficulty in the way of the best use of the PsalmB.in this manner has
been the lack of an edition in which they were printed in convenient form, ..
As ordinarily printed they are divided only into verses, and these divisions
do not indicate the parallelisms. Generally both lead and response are
included in one verse ; though there are many exceptions to this. Some
times two separate leads and responses are included in one verse ; at
others a single lead or response fills more than one verse. In use, the only
practicable plan has been to read by alternate verses, the leader giving
the first verse, the people the second, the leader the third, and so on.
But in this way it is impossible to realize their full beauty and value for
responsive reading; because the proper division of leads and responses
is not preserved; frequently two jparts are included in one, or, one is di
vided into two ; the lead becomes, the response, and vice versa.
To remedy this difficulty, the publication of the edition now announced
was undertaken. It is the current version of the Psalms with neither
omission nor alteration ; its only peculiarity being the typographical ar
rangement, by which leads and responses are always clearly indicated.
Each lead and each response commences a paragraph ; the lead is always
printed in italic letters, and the response in Roman letters.
Two editions are published : —
16mo, pica type, superfine paper, cloth, extra, TO cents. The same, in
boards, paper, BO cents.
32mo, brevier type, flexible, cloth, 35 cents.

Published by Mason Brothers, 596 Broadway, New York.
THE SABBATH
HYIN AND TUNE BOOK SEMES,
FOR, THE SERVICE OE SONG IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD.

THE SABBATH HYMN BOOK.
THE SABBATH HYMN AND TUNE BOOK, with plain tunes.
THE NEW SaABBATH HYMN AND TUNE BOOK, with popular tunes.
THE SABBATH TUNE BOOK.
THE SABBATH SCHOOL HYMN AND TUNE BOOK.
By, Edwards A. Park, D.D., AUSTIN PHELPS, D. D., and
LOWELL MASON, Mus. Dr.
The very wide acceptance and introduction of the SABBATH HYMN
and HYMN AND TUNE BOOKS, which are already in use in more than
one thousand churches, give the publishers yet greater confidence in
urging their claims. The SABBATH HYMN BOOK has been adopted by
about four hundred churches, and the SABBATH HYMN AND TUNE
BOOK by more than six hundred. The latter book especially enjoys a
much wider circulation than that of any other hymn and tune book. Its
Bale, the last year, has been more than double that of any other.
The attention of any who are about selecting a new hymn or hymn and
tune book, is respectfully asked to the following considerations':
1. No books ever employed in their preparation authors more eminent
ly qualified for such work than these. Recognized talent, ripe, practical
experience, and abundant facilities fitted them for their labors, in which
were exercised the most scrupulous care and enduring patience. Books
of extraordinary excellence were confidently expected from such sources.
2. The tests of examination and use have proved the value of their
work. Eor comprehensiveness and completeness as a whole, and iu all its
parts ; for the excellent taste and judgment exercised in what was admitted
and what was excluded ; for philosophical arrangement ; for the proportion
of hymns upon different subjects ; for the completeness and convenience
of its indexes, and for all those points which constitute excellence, the
Sabbath Hymn Book stands acknowledged as occupying the first rank ;
unexcelled, if equalled, by any similar work in this or any other country.

Published by Mason Brothers^ 596 Broadway, New York.
3. In respect to tunes, there cannot, from the nature of the case, be
such unanimity of judgment and opinion, because taste in music is so vari
ous and positive, and yet so little founded on any accepted canons ; and
because motives and ends sought in congregational singing are so different.
The fact that the Sabbath Hymn and Tune Book has such wide acceptance
by the public is, however, the best possible evidence in its favor. Yet, in
order to meet the various tastes and opinions in regard to music, another
book, THE NEW SABBATH HYMN AND TUNE BOOK, with popular
tunes, has been prepared. The hymns are of course the same, and are,
throughout, on the same pages. -The most popular tunes in the other
edition have also been retained, but a large portion of the plain tunes are
omitted, more popular tunes from all sources being substituted in their
places. The publishers are confident that THE NEW SABBATH
HYMN BOOK will be found to include the most complete and attractive
collection of popular tunes, such as have been widely used and liked —
which has yet been made. The choice is therefore now presented between
an edition with plain times, for those who believe that such only are best
adapted to congregational singing, and one with popular tunes for those
who desire greater musical variety.
4. These books are more economical — cost less in proportion to their
contents — than others, and are also published in a greater variety of styles,
adapting them to different tastes and requirements. The Hymn Book con
tains 1,290 hymns, with numerous doxologies and selections for chanting,
and yet an edition of it in good clear type, as large as that of hymn books
generally, is furnished at retail for one dollar. An edition in large type is
furnished for those who require it. The Sabbath Hymn and Tune Book
(old or new) is furnished complete for one dollar and thirty-eight cents at
retail, while there are editions in large type at corresponding prices. In
excellence of mechanical execution, quality of paper and print, beauty and
durability of binding, they compare favorably with any books published.
6. The adoption of these books ^promotes uniformity in the service of
song, a consideraiSon of much importance. Not only is it pleasant to find
in use the same hymns to the same tunes among different churches of the
same faith, because Christian fellowship and unity are thereby promoted,
but as a matter of convenience to families removing from one church to
another, and in other respects, such uniformity is valuable. A greater
degree of uniformity may be hoped for in the use of these books than with
any others, because they are already so widely introduced.
The publishers will be glad to send, gratuitously, to any address, a cir
cular containing an index to tbe New Sabbath Hymn and Tune Book, and
giving the first lines of all the hymns, and the names of the tunes to which
, they are set. i>

Published by Mason Brothers, 596 Broadway, New York.
.*- STYLES AND PRICES.
The Sabbath Hymn Book. 4
Shall Quarto Edition, Brevier type (being as large as ijhat used in the
18mo edition of " "Watts' and Select"), double columns, 336 pages, with
Index of First Lines of Hymns, and Index of Authors, printed on super
fine paper. A very neat and attractive edition ; in various bindings, as
follows : *
Cloth, extra, marbled edges  :.*.*.  $1 .00
Sheep  1.15
Morocco  1.30
Sixteenmo Edition, containing 962 pages, with very large type, in
cluding the following indexes : Classification of Hymns ; Alphabetical
Index of Subjects ; Index of Subjects of Selections for Chanting ; Index
of Scriptural Passages ; Index of First lanes of Hymns ; 'Index of
First Lines of Stanzas ; and Index of Authors ; printed on superfine
paper, in various styles of binding, as follows : j
Sheep  .*.  2.00
Morocco  ,  2.38
Morocco, gilt and gilt edges  3.00
Turkey Morocco, gilt edges, plain or flexible, or full gilt  5 • 00
Antique, or beveled  '.  6.00
1 Duodecimo Edition, containing the same matter as the 16mo edition,
but printed on extra superfine paper, with wide margins, bound in vari
ous elegant styles, for the pulpit, presentation copies, etc., as follows :
Turkey Morocco, gilt edges, in various elegant bindings.. ..8.00 to 10.00

The Sabbath Hymn and Tune Booh, wfeh plain tunes ; containing
all the hymns set to appropriate tunes,; the words? and the music being
on the same page. The arrangement! is generally such that, at each ^ '
opening, two or more tunes are presented, thus affording a choice ; con-
, taming also a considerable number of chants and short anthems.
Sixteenmo Edition, Brevier type, corresponding with the large edition
page for page, except that the topical index is omitted.
Cloth, extra, marbled edges  j,*:.........  1.38
Morocco " " "  .,  1.88
The same, gilt edges  •'•  2-50
Octavo Edition, with large plain type. 512 pages, including a full
topical index. **
Cloth, extra  2-25
Morocco  3*00
Morocco, gilt edges  3.50
Turkey Morocco, extra, gilt edges, in variqns patterns  7.00 to 10-00
'* ' „ • &
The New Sabbath Hymn and Tune Book, with popular tunes ; with
the same arrangement of Hymns, and the same indexes, but with differ-

Published by HEason Brothers, 596 Broadway, New York.
ent tunes. In place ofthe Anthems in the other edition are a number
of popular tunes. *
Sixteenmo Edition, Brevier type, corresponding with the large edition
page for page, 'except that the topical index is omitted.
Cloth, extra... |  $1.38
Morocco  .'*  1.88
Morocco, gilt edges  2.50
Octavo Edition, with large, plain type, including a full topical index.
Cloth, extra..'..*.;  2.25
Morocco  3.00
Morocco, gilt   *  3 . 50
Turkey Morocco, in various patterns  7.00 to 10.00
WaylancPs Editions.
%.* Editions ofthe above, prepared Jbr the use of Baptist Churches, by
Bev. Dr. "Wayland, are also published. Parties desiring these should
order " Wayland's Editions."
T%e Sabbath Tune Book; containing the tunes in The Sabbath
Hymn and Tune Book.
Flexible Embossed Cloth  ,.:- 0.75
The Sabbath- School Hymn arid Tune Book. 96 pages.
Containing 220 hymns, set to appropriate melodies. Selected from The
Sabbath Hymn and Tune Book.
Thin covers  #  0.15
Stiff covers  j  0.20
Full cloth  0.35

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