IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // A <^ w^ <. ^se proxin\ity to the clergy was no new tiling. He knew that such was the position of the choir in nil the enthedr.ils and other large re)>r('S(nitative churches in England and Wales. He knew that the very re:i»son why, in all such churches, the ujUKn* or easternmost portion of th(! building was calhsd the choir, was because thnt Avas the place where the choristers or singers were intended to be, and where accommodation foi- them was acco.-dingly provided. It Avas not without ditlicuity, liowcver, that the iX)sition allotted to the' choir in the Church of the Holy Triiuty was maintained. Every now and then, at the outset, some dis.satisfaction would be ex])ressed on the part of singer.s who, from previous habit, i)re- ferrtion of a high key, and adltering to it with considerable uniformity in tlie prayer*, in the rejiding of the lessons, and in preaching. Thus Avithout j)remetlitation in the fii-st instance, but after- Avards Avith conscious intention, a monotone Avas adoi)ted — a nioile of con- ducting Divine Avorship which preAdously had nowhere been practised amongst us. In all churches, we kiiOAv, a certain peculiayity of style more B 111 le or less cliaractei-lzcs the clui-oy ^vlio ofliciatn tlioreiii. ^Yitll us the monotone liecame the peculiarity, on a j)iiiici[ilt! of convfiiionce or utility. But it was well known })y all those who were familiar with Enxlaml, tliat fio time inimcmori il such a mo'le of recitation in public worsliip hatl been tl rule in all the catheilrals ami many other large churches. It \v;is well known, too, thiit by sueh a method of reading and si)eaking, the human voice, evr.n when not loud or powerful, can be made to reach a grciit dis- tance with ea?io and pleasure to all concerned ; to penetrate, i^■ need bi\ the nooks and recesiies and labyrinthine iiassages of intricat.j buildings. f). And then a fourth step was taken, giving rise again to the usual wonderment for a bri(>f season. A service wholly choral was ventured on, at first occasionally, and then on Sunday evenings regular) v. and on the •mornings of the greater festivals. Here, as before, all wrll-informed ])ersoiis knew that in tliis there was no deviation from old English practice. From time immemorial, in all the ciiLhcdnds of Kngliuid and in many other distinguished churches ther;-, a service wholly choral has been the rule. G. Finally, when at length it Iny in our jmwer to improve the interior arrangements of tlie ch.uic.d of tliis church, and to lu-ing it into tha state in which it is now seen —furiiish"d. that is to s:iy. with seats and desks of tjie kind usvml iu the larger churches of the uiother country — it was d'cidcil that our singers, men and hoys, should assume the sim{)le white attire wliicli, ffrom time imnumiorial, it hail bi-eu the custom for choristers in the English Church to wear, when occ'upyiug in church that portion of the buildin<^ which from them is called the chou . and cooperating there wath the cler word that I am aware of was exer breathed against the dress v/hich we were instructed to wear. It was univt-rsally regarded as one (jf the beautiful seemlinesses approved of Ity the. Church, and not without countenance in the pages of the New Te.stameut. I re- joiced when it became posHil)le here in Toronto, in the sanetuai-v where we tamo together for Divine worship, to rej)roiluce a spectacle which always seemevi so fair iu the Mother Church — a sighi known to be so attractive thwe to young and old. 7. F.!\v worils tiro nooilod to slio^ tliit a sorvicj to wliioU n jnnsical iii- tonitioii j;iv«'s cliUMctor, is in :iL\v)r.l in:"j with very aiiciout precixleut, aiul ii wi-sjirti;iil piMcticn aiiioug inou. Those ainoiig.st us who ai'o conscious (if professing; little knowledge; in n^Ljiiril to s\ich matters, niiglit reasonahly, without trouMiug themselves to enter on tliis point at all. rest entirely contiilent that there must he good grounds i'ov such a service, or else it woultl never have been used and sanctioned l)y a great National (.■hurcli like that of which they are memhors. It w.;ro folly to imagine that there is any partich) of the Book of (Jommon Prayer, whether in relation to tloc- trine or ceremony, wliich has not juissed the ordeil of strict independent scrutiny ; any partich^ which has not been well studied and deliberately a])proved by minds veiy competent to decide on such subjects. 8. The ancient precedent for a public Divine service of a musical cha- racter, which will at once occur to every one, will, of course, be the j)ublic worship in the great national temple of the Jewish people at Jerusalem. This involved music in a very great degree, as every reader of the First Book of Kings, the Second Book of Chronicles, and the Book of Pslams must hav(; again and again observed. And this character was not im- pressed on the service for the first time by the kings, David and Solomon. These kings only increased the dignity of the music which was already customary in Divine worship. And elsewhere in the land, besides Jerusa- lem, vys^ to this dav, that ciistoni, dorivcnl from iimiioniDriiil use, coutimu's, as aiiv one iii:iy observe for himsjlf who has access to a uio.l.'ni syuag();,nu) win'H hi', in" worshi}) is going on. 9. The institutions of which mention has just l).'t'ii iiiaili' as <'\istiii'4 iu tlie olden timo for tht'. training of the Levites, arc known aiuoii^ stu Idits of Jewisli history as *' Schools of the Pi-opliots '' — an ex[)rt;s.siou sonu'wlmt unintelligiblo if we take the term '• j)roj)het " to tleuote one who pr.'.liets future events, which is tlie sense the word onliuarily bears, i>iit tiiis is not the only, nor even the primary, nieauing either of tlie Heljrcw words emph>yed in this relation, or of the Greek correspondent words. tV.Mu wiiieh our Englisli correspciiident terms ai-e derived. They demte lalher the utterances and office of (me wlio interprets ; of one who s[»eaks for another ; pre-eminently of one who s[)eaks for (ioil, or who is su[)pos;'d to spi'.ik for God. The words include the notion of musical loiies — of lallgual;(^ and comi)ositions to which a musical accoMipaiiiment would be an aid. Thus in 1st Chronicles xxv. 1, the sons of A.sa[)h, of lleman, and of Jedutliuii aiv^ si)oken of as being appointed "to prophesy with har[)s, with psaltt'ries and with cymbals ;" whihi at verso the same [)ersons are said to be !i[)pointjd for song in the house of tlu! h )rd. with cymbals and jjsalteries and hari)s, for the servic;; of t!n' house of (rod; showing that pi'ophe.sying and singing in jmblic woi-.ship were in some sort ('([uivalcnt ex|)rv)ssions. In other places, also, in books of the Old Testament, a like meaning must be given to tlus Avords "'prophet," *' iiro[iln'ey," •' prophe.syiug." It is hence to be deduced that in the schools or colleges (jf yo\ithful Levites, in the Levitical cities, the training in rhythmical expression and musical intona- tion was so j)romuient a thing, that these institutions cime to bi^ [lopjihirly known as " Schools of the Prophets" — schools, /. f-., where ihe peculiar modes of recitation adopted in [irayer, ])reachiug and song, by inspired pro- phets, were i)racti.sed. 10. St. Paul, it may be noted, in two of his H[)istles, employs the words "prophet," " pro[)hecy," " ])i()[»hesying." in this technical Jewish sense. In the early Christian assemblies, especially among those Christians who. by birth were Jews, the prayers, the hymns, the j)ul>lie iliscour,ses, {)artook, as was natural, of thi^ ancient Jewish rhythmical manner, the ancient Jewish musical intonation, and S) were referred to under ancient, Jewish technical expressions. 1 1. But we ni.iy go liack to tlm?s anterior to the Jewish t;v.u^)le, ant 'rt(jr to the Jewish tabernacle, and to ar^^^is of th? earth greatly exceeding Judaa,. 1 find find nwr jtjvtT' Iciits, if \v(> de.sin! tlicm. for imisii- fu [I'lldic w.ir liip. From Iiiiits givou us in tlii* Ji'wish r»"(>r.ls tlicins"lv!s, jis mIso from onli- n uy liistorie.il dii-umcnt.-!, fiiul likcwisi' from st-idpturrs to Itc kccd in Eiy])t and Assyria, and othi • j)ai'is. w- Icai'ii (hat in tlic nations, fir and wide, rc'lii^'ioiis ^voi-slii]) was ai l.vl liy music, iiuisi(^d instrunionts and son^j. In all this we liav(^ tfruund foi- iK'licf tliat cvcmi anion;^ tlic primeval ]»co- plcs to whim l»y inspiration or rovolition an acccptahle niodo of l)iA iiie woi-shii) was made known, such a jinictiec preMiihid. For such a conciir- rence of usaf4,f' like this amon:^ tiihos locally severed would scarcely be found, were it not a relic of a pi'imitivt; use obtaiiung in the human family whil(! yet conipiuutively small. 12. Now. the calliui( in the aid of uucsical intonation in (giving exprossion to devotional fi^elin^ and i'eliy;ious thou srrli in s, fill' iuid anil song, icval pco- of Divine a (loncviv- icarcoly bo \an family oxprossion thing; for \ man em- ;ed, checks beanty and [ — each and lood of the lis emotions jico which, ate speech. )e wondered ices should union expe- [mprtssioned lily detect a fe within a " singing," liymns and ler and pii- jbserves, in iitious, most i-s too, have too. The lud Sankey as an illus- leiideucy iu )eecli iu the: 1.^. If the eas^ be so, then we cm w.-ll couiv-iM' guardiaiiv, and guides of juiMii- \v.M-s)ii|i fccliug it t i 1» • a duty t» r.'gal it ■ iu s.iui • wav this natural mode of religious ('xpr>'ssi;)U -to suhjert it to rule, tn niak.' it in some sort an art ; otiicrwise public assemblies for worship might (piiekly dcgcnerat;' into comfortless llaliels. Ilence (-ime autiioriz vl modes of i-e- oitation of a musical cli ir.icter ; and wo m ly If sure lint the Jewish " Schools of the Prophets " were not tin; lirst (.-xamples of such institutions, hut that they were representatives of earlier .schools, anu)Ug that people and elsewhere, existing i'or a lilce purpose. 11. The case of worshi)tp -rs likewise, as well as that of ministrants. rerpiired to ho eonsidiTed. hy the early guides and guardians in religious matters. Hence, iu due tinu-, arose aullioritative directions for tlie people to follow. W(< all know liy experience the instinctive sympathy which is at once set up between a midtitude and any man who, with i-eal fiHtling, speaks to them, especially on the subject of religion. Tic guardians of V. orshi]) had to see to it that this instinctivo sympathy did not generato tumuli and confusion in ])ublic assemhlies. They took into consideration, therefore, what it would be seemly lor the people to do. when they yearned to express the ooucurreuce of their hearts in words which were uttered to and for them ; and finally responses, somewhat in the tone and strain of the ministering otHcial, were allowed. When, for example;, in the tone of supplication, the uiinistrant said, '•() Lord, hear our jirayer," th<' people might re.s})ond in a similar strain. '• And let our cry come unto Thee." When, in tones (jf praise, the ministrant said, " Pi-aise ye the Lord," tho peoidii might reply, " The Lord's uauje he praised." A ri'spousive worship, in modulated, appropriate tones, had tjnis its origin iu the instinctive sym- pathy which Hul)sists between soul and soul, between voice and voici' : and we can feel little suqu'ist^ that such a practice should have been instituted, and should have prevailed among the primitive races. < >f all nations, tho Hebrew people maintained the primeval jtvactice iu the greatest vigour and purity, and whereever any of its lineage spread, iu the P^ast and in the West, there a mode of Divine worship was set up which moi'(! or less ex- emj)lified the [tractice referred to. 1 0. No Avonder, then, when the employment of a certain musical manner iu religious ministrations w;us known to Ije of early and very ex tensive use, and was felt to be, under authoritative guidance, reasonable — no wonder that such a i)ractice suggested itself to tlu? (.'hristiau t'lmrch from the very beginning of its existence. No wonder that such a jtractice has obtained throughout the whole area of Christendom, iu its eastern or Greek 8 ! II division, in its contnil or TiUtin division, and in its wosteni or En^dish division : nowlicrt*, indeed, iiisist<'d on as an indisponsalile tiling' — for thoro are |»Iac'e;-j wlxin^ sucli a practice is intixpedient, and soino whcro it is perhaps inipussiljle — but ovorywliuro allowed, and la tittiiig quarters en- couraged. 10. Tn considerations such as thoso which liavn now been presented, I lind a justification for having asstnited to the introduction of u so-called musical service into the Church of tht; Holy Trinity. It cannot bo wrong to have assisted in handing on tones of prayer and strains of sacred song hallowed by the use of our fellow-men in Divine woi-ship in the reniotest ages ; heard in the assenddies of the primitive ChristiauL^ ; licard in the assemblies of their predecessors of each preparatory dLsjiensation. It cannot be wong to have contributed to a coiuitlete presentation of the English Church system in a new region. While there was wanting among us an example of a congnigatiou worsiroping (lod in the antique choral way, it coidd not be said that the English s\ set uj) such a service in villages or nussions where there is but one place of woi-ship of the English communion. lUit in towns like oui" own, where, there is a large choice of churches belonging to our conunuuion, it ought surtdy to be an ott'eirx? to no one thatthert; is one place of worship where such a service can be partici[)ated in. In a city of sixty thousjiud inhal)itauts or more, V. ■ '-e must be a sufficient pro[)ortion of Church people of musical predilections to i-ender such a service desirable and useful. 17. A further i-eason for such a service has aiisen since its esfeiblishment. Of late yeara theix^ have arri\-ed anxongst us emigrants in inci-eased num- bers from England proper, where now, throiighout the length and breadth of the laud, a sung service is a familiar thing. Those who have be- come thoroughly habituated to .sue!) a mode of worslii[) feel its aUsence to be a great [(rivation ; they feel as if they were cut off from worship which to them seems truly congregational — from prayer which to thenx seems truly common. It is proper, therefore, that there should be a church amongst us where such emigrants may find Avhat they desire — such emi- grants being, however, at the same time, admonished that there are some things connected witli choirs, practicable enough in English parislies, whicli or English ig — for thoro wlioro it is quaj-ters eu- . pi-csoutcd, I >f n so-callec^ not be wrong ■ sacrtMl song the remotest lieiml in tho on. It cannot : the English among us an L'lioral way, it ntirety. The a service first lat it was in o have availeil >y the hearty I do not say nissions where iiion. But in 'S belonging to Kit then; is one In a city of put proportion rvico desirable ostjiblishinent. ucreased uuui- h and breadth who have be- its aUsenco to worship which to thenx seems d be a church ire — such emi- there are some pavislies, whicli ai^e discovered liy experience to bi' fiital to the cordial acceptance of chorul services if insisted upon hen-. Of sncli things, the responsible clergy on the spot must bi- held to }>♦• the licst Judges. IS. From time immemorial the musical service authorized })y the Churcli of Knglanil ha.s comuiended itself to tl .^ " 'dgment and taste of Kiiglishmen of the highest intellect and the sincerest Jiiety. Ifoly George Hei-bort walkf in twico a week to Salisl>iiry from I5eni((rton to attend the Cathedral service, urn', at liis retani ho wouhl say, as his biographer, Fzaak Walton, tfdls us, " that his time spent in [)ray(!r and Cathedral nnisi-' eUv vated his soul, and was his heaven upon earth." P^iglish lawyers, Engli.sh statesmen, English scholars, English poets, have ;J1 felt tiieir hearts lifted up to God in the choral service ; while the pooi, the ])umble, the illiterate, the young, have, by their fondness for it, given, in iiiany an instance, perha])s unconscious evidence of the same experienof Without rebuke and without olfence, nay, witli the full apj :• obation of C' rgy and Vviy of every school of thoK.'Iit, has till! musical service l>fton maiutrii'jed in all the Catliedra's of England, in all Minsters and Collegiiitc C'nU lies theit>, in the lloyal Chapels, in the Chapels of Colleges, in the Ch:i[)(ds of the Inns of Court, in the famous Temple Church, and the almost oipially famous < 'hurcli of the Savoy, from time immemorial. No one, therefore, has a right to stigmatize such a service as a parti.san thing, and brand a congregation with odious names for adoj»ting it. It is only within a feu- yeaivs — })erhaps within twenty — that efforts have been made to throw discredif 11)011 such a ser- vice ; a result which has bcicn br()Ught about by the eccentricities of a few in the mother country, whose indiscretions we strive to eschew, bein,' sincerely desirous that the example set here should be cordially followed whei'ever such a coiu\se miirht be found advi.sable. li). Happily, in our communion there has been no prejudice to overcome ngjiinst the organ as a help in Divine woi-ship. Tiiat instrument, as it is to be met with now in various places in Euro[>e and on this Continent, is one of the noblest products of human ingenuity — one among the niaiiv pieces of mf^chanism whereby, especially in th(> [)i'esent ag<\ the weak hands of men are enabled to accomjdish the work of Titans. The organ, as j)er- fected in these days, is felt to be a worthy offering on the part of man to God — ^to that beneficent Fatlier who has endowed man with wit to contrive, aiid power to construct. We are taught to [)raise G(xl with the best meml)er that we h.'ive — i. c with the tongue, the instrument of speech ; with all the beauty of language and all the graceful modulations of souiul of which the human voice is capable. When, then, such a piece of mechanism as the organ was contrived ; when such an extension of man's power, in a musical ggaaBtewgasgaMTTmBr 10 direction, wms discovered, it was natural that devont i)er.sons should seek to st'ize upon it as an auxiliary in the conduct of Divine worship, espe- cially when Divine worship had alread}', as we have heard, availed itself from time immemorial of the aid of musical tones. The terms of the "■ statute for Israel " ran thus : "Siut,' al-om the pari.sh churches of large towns to those of thehund)lost villages. Again, M. Danjon, organist of Notre Dame, in Paris, descri])es what lie saw at a religious festival at Liege : " There were twelve bishops," he says, " and a numerous body of clergy on their knees befoi-e the altar ; ther(i was a vast multitude of the faithful in the church. Nothing wouhl have produced an eli'ect,'' M. J)aiiion thinks. "• similar to the magniticent plain chant of the y/«Hlace to add a few words on the germ out of which the organ has s[)rung. Tlie word orijan itself sim[)ly denotes an in- strument — an ajiparatus, animate or inanimate, for effecting any purpose. Thus we say the organs of speech — the trachesi, the larynx, the epiglottis, the tongue, the ]>alate — by metins of which we form articulate, intelligible sounds : the organ of a school or party — the printed sheet or periodical through which tJie school or party gives vent to its ideas. The term is applied to a uuisical instrument in three books of the Bible, and it is from this application that we derive tlie familiar use of the word, as denoting by l)re-eminence the instrument or organ ])y means of which, bettei than by any other, man can embody in musical si)eech the emotions of his soul. We have the word in Genesis (iv. 21), where Jubal is spoken of as " the father of all such as handle the harp and organ." We have it again iu the Book of Job (xxi. 12), where of the i)ros[)erous wicked it is said: "They take the timbrel and harj) ; they rejoice in the sound of the organ." And iu the Book of Psalms we have it (Ps. cl. 4) : " Praise liim with the timbrel and dance ; praise him with stringed instruments and organs." The Hebrew I 13 enty-five operas ig, it may be ob- ey Review, it is -for that, it is to the writer (Mr. 1 St. Peter's in (Unary daily ser- d, if my memory iwise, comphiints ic worship, — tlie baiiig usurped to org lu has never A\ is somewhat of one of those perfection, fitting I liave been well, animents become science of music, 'e been induced, nongst them, and k'ed, II the germ out of ly denotes an in- ting any purpose. IX, the epiglottis, ulato, intelligible leet or periodical \s. The term is )le, and it is from rd, as denoting by 1, bettei than by ions of his soul, token of as " tin? A-e it again in the tis said: "They he organ." And II with the timbrel ns." The Hebi-ew word hu'jdh, which the English word on/nn is made to represent, denotes, as we are assui'od by scholars, a reed or l>il>e ; a set of reeds or pipes : that which, in fact, was the germ of the organ, viz., the primitive iustruuient of music which we still occasionally see in use : the syrin.x, or pi[tes of Pan, a row of reeds of unetpial length, to which the human breath, forcibly api)lied, gives voice. When, inst^'uil of the l)reath of man, a mechanical conti'ivance was ust'd to (dicit musical notes, the apparatus at once ))ecanu> an organ, in the nKjdern sense of the term; and the mediieval instrument of nuisic pre. sented to Pepin by Constantinus Co])ronymus was little more than an ap'-aratus of this kind, Avith tinger-keys addeil for the? admission of air to the reeds. In the common representations of St. Cecilia, the; media'val patroness of sacred nuisic, such an instrument of music is usually seen in her hand. For (>xaniples you may reter to woodcuts in Mrs. Jameson'.s Sacred and Leyendarij Art (pp. 'X){)-\). 24. But it is time to turn to our own organ — the instrument by means of which we aim to add dignity and expression to the psalms and hymns and spiritual sungs of the worshippers in this church. To j)rovide such an accessory to pul)lic worship here was one of the earliest enterprises on which our ct)ngregation ent.'red. It involveuilder, Mr. John Th')nias. of this city, has survived to undertake, and wdiich Le litis executed with skill. W(i now make our api)eal to the congregii.tion for the funds requinxl to meet the ex[)endit\u-e. I coulidently hope that many hearts will bi' moved to generous contributions — that the real and often exalted pleasure which is ex[)eriei '^ed here in "the joy of worship" by large nund)ers of young and old, by large nund)ers of the comparatively rich and the eompai*atively but not utterly poor, will render it .10 difiicult tiling to gather in the sum that may be necessary. 25. The instrument, as renovated, will sufiice for our wants. Appliances for music " exceeding magnifical," wouhl assuredly l)e out of place here, in a church designed as this is, by and from its very origin, for the common use of a promiscuous nudtitude, it is not desirable to have a service over-elaborate, over-artistic — -a service for the display of brilliancy in vocalists and other I ' i li performers ; but ratlier .1 service whcroiii iudividiiiili.sni .shall l>e laor^'ed, ftud general devotional efft;ct alone studicnl ; a service winsome and concilia- tory ; attractive to nil estates and conditions of men ; and not impossible t'j bo copied in any Canadian tow.n where there is a Church population suttkra.'utly larg'i' to furnish forth a pro])er (piota of musioally-inclined wor* shippers. 20. As to the one modernism here to which exception may be taken — namely, the singing in pro^jession on entering the churcli, and again on leaving it— tlio practice ne^d not b) adopted by any w'lo think it impropn*. For my own i)art, I r.^gard the new ciistoin in this way : the choristers and tjlergy must enter th^ clmrch in some m inner, and depart from it in some manner. If they choo-je to sing a hymn as they W,dk, instead of walking in silence, it surely is not out of character in a choir to do so ; and if the congregation choose to unite in that hviim at the op ;ning and clo.siug of Divine service, it is not uiu-eason able that they should be permitteci to do ,so. It does not displace or abolish the opening and closing voluntai'ies on the organ, which are customaiy things; it only adds to them the human A'oice and appropriate words. 27. In regard to the accaptauco or non-acceptance of ii sung service else- where in the Province of Ontario and other parts of Canada, much will depend upon the discreetness of the choir and organist of the Church of the Holy Trinity. Lot the choir and organist here adhere, in essentials and externals, to old English practice, as gathered from Cathedrals and other great national churches of mirk,— ^and then it is probable that a service musically recited will be respocted ; will be loved ; will, in due time, be adopted in convenient localities. But let the choir and organist here prefer the example of exceptional places of wor.ship in England, where the caprices of a com[)arative few have in recont timo.s obtained ascendancy, and where ^^recklessness of tlie Christian sentiment of the Oliurch at large, within the limits of their own country, is avowed, — -then the same service will, of course, be evil spoken of far and wide in Canada; will be loathed and rejected, and never beconie an element, as it might otherwise be, refining refreshing, exhilarating, in Canadian Church life. 28. It does not fall within the scope of this lecture to speak of congre- gational singing and hymnody. In respect of these there is little to be desired. I suppo.se no Sunday or other festival ever passes without the hearts of many being warmed and elevated by the power of united sacred song in the Church of the Holy Trinity. Everywhere, in these latter days, choirs and congregations are greatly to be congratulated on the copious 15 all be mov<,'ed, le and concilui- iiot iiii[)t)ssiblo rcli j)Oituliitu)n y-incUued wor- nay 1)0 talcon — , ami again on ilk ifc iniin-opn-. ti clioristiu's anil from it ill some taad of Nvalkiug so ; and if tlie g and closing of psrmittod to do » voluiitavies on ihem the human uma service else- iiada, mucli will lie (Ilnirch of the in esHCuthd^i ami ledrals and other )le that a service ill duo time, be rauint here prefer vhere the caprices aucy, and where I at large, witluu ,u) service will, of II be loathed and wise be, refining, spoak of congre- )ve is little to be asses without the of united sacred n these latter days, ed ou the copious Kton-s o( adiuirabh! hymns to which tluy liave access. All C'linstendonl has bcvn laid iindi'r tril>iit;! for tlu'ir benefit; tlu' Greek Clmrchos. the Latin riuirdies, the Syrian Churches, the Lutherans, th(( Calviuists, the Moi'aviaiis, tlie Englisli Nonconformists, ( 'ongrcgationalistH, "SVosleyaiis. !Pi'esbvtoriiiiis — to sav nothiii'f of the manv "sweet siiurevs" of our own comnumion in i)ast and present times. Never, in any branch of the Church, wore siu'li privileges ])osHessed in ])oint of iiyiniiody as we at this iiHiiuent enjoy. No longer ai'c assemblages of intelligent men and women to be invited to join in uncoutli doggerel, in nni'e;d iliapsody, ui puerile and niauw tendiH-and full of })atli >s, iKnv i^rave and sorrow-laden —but always religious in character, I'everential and churclily. In homes and communiti;'S where s\ic!i hymns liecome household words, such melodies household sounds, a reiining iinil ehnating etiect must bo the result. .■^0. Will it be said that the Psalms of David, have Ijeen displaced? Not in our communion. In discarding the verses of Tato ;iud Brady we do not discard the Psalms of David, any more than our fathers did when they dis- carded Stex'iihold and Hopkins. In common witii all Christendom, we religiously cultivate the use of tlie Psalms of David, so called. We honour them by not tampering witli tlicau : by not versifying thein. We enshrine them in our Book of Public Praytn- aj^ in an ark or holy chest. We thence draw thorn forth daily, and r.icito them in strong old Saxon Engli.sh: in words and ])hrasos which exhibit the same power, the same rhythms, tlie same parallelisms, the same distinctions of emphasis, the same irregular" flow, the same cadences, that characterize them in their native liebrew. And when, in addition, we hear ilu>m sung by responsiv(! bands of singers, as here — a sympathetic multitude of '-young men and maidens, old men and children," at the same time heartily johiing in the venerable melodies, and observing the venerable tones .vhich, with due thought, have lieen appro]>riated to each— then we hear the Psalms of David, in ellect, to a very great extent, as they were heard of old by the ass(>mbled tribes of Israel in the courts of the Lord's House, tlu; great Temple at Jerusalem, the type in this, as in so many other respects, of that wider and nobler Temple, the Chris tiau Church, which is the Mother of us all.