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^OVA SCOTJ4
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t0mmmm
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SOMERVILLE
OS
. PSALMODY:
<7
BEING A DEFENCP: OF THE PRACTICE OF SINGING
IIYAINS OF PRAISE TO GOD, OPPOSED TO
THE "EXCLUSIVE USE" OF
DAVID'S PSALMS,
AS ADVOCATED BY REV. W. SOMERVILLE,
fir
ELDER WILLIAM W. LIVINGSTON,
€orun)aHi0, N. j3. :
PUBLISHED BY LIVINGSTON AND T. R BAUNABY,
1850.
I
; t
I' ^
EEVIEW
OP
SOMERVILLE
ON
PSALMODY:
BEING A DEFENCE OF THE PRACTICE OF SINGING
HYMNS OF PRAISE TO GOD, OPPOSED TO
THE "EXCLUSIVE USE" OF
DAVID'S PSALMS,
AS ADVOCATED BY REV. AV. SOMERVILLE,
BT
ELDER WILLIAM W. LIVINGSTON.
€ornt»alli0, 3)^'. 0. :
PUBLISHED BY LIVINGSTON AND T. E- BaRNABY.
1856.
\^^
^
/
'I ■'
\<^MV
>
INTKODUCTION.
I
To those acquaiiitod with the person or reputation of the .gentle-
man to whom the following epistle is designed to he add resse.!; there
IS no douht It will look like presumption in a stranger and ibrei-ner
as your humhle servant is, to attempt to reply to a work which waiits
no other ment, to seeure it any amount of credit. l,„t the name of
Rev. W. hoMERv.LLE of Cornwallis, Nova Seotia. Indeed, I mean
-r flattery either to that gentleman or myself when I say that his
^ation IS th?.t of the very best elassieal scholar and critic, and
' og. J., "nrelentingreasoner in the whole Province. Indeed
'' >t It .. ' -uperior can be found in the British Provinces, or in
-3W I . MP 1 States. And I sincerely hope the gentleman will
i-a, 'u . -" makmg thus free with his reputation, ofwhichlknow
nothing, nly as I have heard. So if I misrepresent the worthy
gentleman, ^hom I will take the liberty of addressing, the mistake
IS not mme, but that of my honored and esteemed friend, the .rene-
rous public ; and I am but giving them back their own.
That generous public are hereby reminded, that in addition to the
er '.arrassment consequent on my consciousness of the reputation of
the individual to whom the following are to be addressed, there is
an additional reason why they should not expect too much at our
hand The reason is this : we are far from home, and thoughts of
friends crowd not unfrequently upon our recollection ; we are day
and night engaged in teaching, having the largest school in these
parts; and even Lord's days and the ^^enm^/. of Lord's days are
denied having all that time taken up in addressing two congrega^
tions of dear brethren. But it will be asked, " When will he write" ^
It ,s, It has been, it must still be, while others sleep. Scraps thrown
thus together can at be^' be patch-work, and if it were a display
which we sought, here is certainly a most barren prospect.
_ But under such circumstances, what can be the motive that cao
induce a stranger, thus forlorn, thus circumstanced, to review thg
J
jiL
IV.
INTIJOnrCTION.
wrilinjis of surlj an author posscs»in;r such advantages, l)otli of'gonius
and popularity V My motives are ci-rtainly not sinistt ■, as no sinis-
tor inotiv(! coulil induce mc to overtax myst'lf witli work, when I
have perliaps as inu'-h on liand without it as any man should have,
and, my friends think, much more than is siihitary.
But tye praises of God are wont to be sung ir all this Christian
land. The aspirations of glad and grateful heart-; arise every day
and every hour to God's throne. The hopi-s, the fears, the wishes,
the humble prayer and praises of the children of their Father, arise
in almost xmbroken strains to the throne of God.
" Rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, and in every thing give
thanks," is the injunction of the Gospel. Servants of (iod, reformers
of every age, and good men of every sect and denomination under
heaven, in all Christendom, liave prayed to God, Jiave rejoiced and
given thanks ; rnd most of their praying, rejoicing, and thanksgiving,
have ascended to God's throne, and arisen like sweet inscnse on the
pinions of measured line, and been chanted in tuneful lays. Hymns
have been always the vehicle of three fourths of all the praises
awarded to Heaven's King since the day of Pentecost. Indeed, the
Ood of nature seems to have adapte<l the heart to musical strains,
that it miglit be moved thereby, in order that he might be thereby
worshipped. But, as if there was danger of God receiving more
than his due ofpraises.and the injunction of the great apostle to the
gentiles being too much adhered to, we find a work most ably writ-
ten by a most able writer and most rt nowned critic, decri/itig the
worship of God in the xiae of IL/mm, and insisting that all the wor-
ship of God practised in singing of hymns and songs of praise, shall
cease ! ! ! Now, the most inevitable con.sequence of all this would be
to cause to cease, as we before hinted, three-fourths, at least, of all
the praises awarded to Ilim, who should be the subject of all our
■tlioughts, every h'our. What tauld induce a gentleman, a Christian,
^nd a Christian teacher in the synagogue, to endeavour to persuade
tnen that it is wi-ong to praise God by singing hymns of praise to His
■name. And strange to say on inspection, we find that liij strongest
Targument in favor of this novel idea, amounts to semething like this :
"That it is right to sing David's Psalms— Rouse's version,— and after
.Sabonring with all his ingenuity to prove that important truth, he
I
1
iNTi:onucTio\.
V.
draws the logical conclusion thenj'mm that it is jiot right to >ing
anything else. When reniindcri that the same ohjecticn may, with
the same propriety. be urged against prayer, k-eaiise it is light, per-
haps, to pray the Lord's Prayer, which he taught his disciples to use
when they prayed ; he urged arguments something like these : In
prayer, only one man speaks, whereas, in singing, a whole ccngre-
gation join,— therefore it is necessjiry that there be "prescribed
term." And (lod has given a book of Psalms but newr a book of
prayer. Now, Ibr these reasons alone, are wu to eoneludc^ it Avron"-,
heinous, sinful, to praise God in hymns and songs, unless we are
able to find the hynui or song in the eoUeetion ascribed generally
to king David, and thrown into admli-able jargon by the Scot-
tish bard — Rouse. Jkit we will not begin arguing the (piestion
here. "VVe design addressing a short epistle to him on the subject,
calling for an explanation of what seems to us so stranf^e. We how-
ever despau- of ever receiving an answer : this is more luinonr than
we ever anticipate at the hands of so distinguished a gentleman as
the Rev. William Sommerville. If he should in the i)lenitudeof his
eondeseension, deign to favor us and our readers with a rcfulation
of our views, on this subject, they will be kindly roecived on the
part of his humble servant. If we shall say some things rather hard,
it is because we know that we have hard material to work upon,
and must strike hard or make no impression : and wo hope he will
take it for the consequence of the high opinion wo entertain of his
powers, and the strength of his mind, more than of any want of re-
spect, or of the kindest feelings we could possibly entertain, for one
we never addressed in our life. We sincerely hojie our feeble let-
ter will be so received, if we succeed in getting it prepared.
W. W. LIVINGSTON.
1
JMiOPGSlTlONS.
" The evidence which wc propo-se to bring forward in support of
the rroposition, that these Psahns were given of fiod for the use of
the Church to the end of the world, in whatever cou,>try or in what-
ever age, rests upon the following four fiicts :~
3. The Rsalmh wkiu-: ,uven by anspiuation. '
2. TriEV WERE GIVEN T.) HE SUNG BY THE MeMBLUH OF THE
LHUKCH— THE WORSKfl'l'ERS OF (U)D.
5. No .SUBSEQUENT BoOK OR BoOKS HAVE BEEN WRITTEN BY
IXSPIRA noN FOR THE SAME PURPOSE.
4. The Book of Psalms is no less adapted to the present
STATE of the ChUROH, THAN TO HER STATE WHEN THEY
WERE ORKaXALLY W^RITTEN."
SOMERVILLE ON P.SAOIODY, mlrorl. p. IG.
REVIEW.
V
t-
CornvmUiz, N, S., Dec. 25, 1855.
Respected Sir:
I am tree to confess that it is witli some degree of embar-
rassment I address to your " Reverenec ' this episth\ I con-
fess likewise being highly gratiticd, much entertained, }<nd
really editied, from a hast Tusal of your excellent work on
'• Psalmody." But I ha ^ all contid'Micc in your Christian
charity that you will pardon ;hc presumption of a stranger, tor
making some few en(j[uiries, that I may l)e farther edified. —
You have, Sir, very Gy?' rnatically and classicaUy, (so far as I
may be allowed to judge,) eulogized a particular book of ' di-
vine inspiration." Sir, all you have said in favor of the p'?;! )-
rity and inspiration of that l)ook I believe, with reg'^r-- 'j ali
the books, of sacred history, and the law. But that our Saviour
or his divinely inspired a{)OStles attached any more importance
to that excellent collection of poetry, I am not aware that you,
Sir, in yoar " Psalmody," assert. But " The Psa^hs were
oiVEN BY INSPIRATION." Granted. '■All scripture is given by
inspiration G^ GoA.^' What follows? Are we consequently
obliged to obser\e the law of Moses, notwithstanding Paul said
'••If ye be c'rcumcised, Christ shall profit you .lotliing?" But,
Sir, what was it of which Paul most complained of the Galatian
brethren ? Was it not, Sir, attaching too much importimce to
the old exploded law of Moses F That law was '' against us,
was contrary to us," and •• He toolc \h out of the way, nailing it
to the cross." But you migiit answer Paul and say : but the
books of the -'law" '•''were given by divine inspiration." But
what answers Paul ? Gal. iii. 23, 24, *' But before fjiith (the
Christian tlispensation) came, we were kept under the law, shut
up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Where-
fore the law vms our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that
we might be justified by faith. But after that faith (i. e. Chris-
tian dispensation) is come, we are NO LONGER under a
■schoolmaster. Yor ye are all the children of God by faith in
oH
8
Clmst Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into
.?v ^bVine™ •"• ' "" "'"f ^'''-■' "»" '>'« P^'^tas were 'i "in
,1^,1 ,• • , ™*« "' '''-'™^ ! '"'•'"M His humiliation
rt^.tateTSi',f L''''T'™v'^'V """ "'^^ "-^be-Hr^^
nous state of llis Church. Nor liave you. Sir, shown inv „»
cuhar ment to be attaehed to that book, over he oZr7ook;
of ,hv,„e n,s,,iralion. But you will doubtles.s coneede ,Ht i,oin
.^d, and to give Xencf tH: p" r' or'SU'rd^ot
another, would be to say that one pari was fc«.. tharanother
But li,s would deny the absolute perfection of the wCe for
over Mo L " mlT."' "'?' "'""'^^ '» ">« ^^''f ""^ ^^^^^,
mCof Godllv h'„ J"! "'f '"" '" ■•ijvhteousness : that the
feclion rf7h„ V 'f ■" """ *" ?'•«»' "''Jf^c" ft"- the pe/-
of CscSu " of I'e nT''"'' '" '"= *?'''"^'' V >te teachi;,^
Tor,MST^.U-,t ^^ Testament, were « doctrine, reproaf,
Z,tl T' \ ""''•'•'""»' "1 righteousness." Those «eem io
oo"™m 7o te~,T .f''°u?^'*' the mediator of abetter
th "eovent?^, "? T ""! "'". "»'-''"' <'"»<'«'> ! ™t according t^
am a«a,e that, to many, this appears like a rude way to
I
9
treat the word of God ; which
was
once enfbroed by Him,
whose spirit dictated the sentiments „..,. „u.u,> i.ujtur. i>e-
vertheless, there could be no perfect testament till the death ol'
the testator. '^ And for this cause He is the mediator of the
jyew lestament, that by means of death, for the redemption of
the transgressions that were under the Jirst (covenant) testa-
ment, they which are called, mijrlit receive the {>romise of eter-
nal mhentance. For, where a t^.tament is there must al-o of
ne^ssity be (brought in) the death of the testator." Hcb. ix. 15.
But, Sir, you may perhaps say: this tends to dishonor the
Jiom/ Law of Moses. Sir, if the decalogue falls, it fidls not
m our weak hands; l)ut if the same Almightv power Who dic-
tated that then excellent code, on Sinai's sublime h(>io-ht, and
amid Its tremendous thunders and liditenings, has since by hi<
all wise dictates, through his Holy Spirit, declared that law
null and void, he had the right so to do, and we will at lea^t
assume the liberty of noticing the fact.
Paul compares the two testaments to Sarah and Ha^^ar, or
rather to their sons, Isaac and Ishmael. He says tluU they
are alllgorical or figurative of the " law" ami the " faith" or
gospel dispensation. " For it is written, that Abraham had two
sons, the one by a bond woman and the other by a free woman.
But he that was -S the bond woman was born' after the flesh,
but he of the free woman, by promise ; which things are an al-
hgory (or figure, or tyi)e) : for (mark) these are the two cov-
enants (or testaments) the one on Mount Sinai which gender-
eth to bondage, which is Hagar: For this Hagar i^ mo'imt Si-
nai m Arabia, and answereth for (or represents) Jerusalem
which now is, and in bondage with her children. But Jorusa-
• lem which is above, is free, which is the mother of us all."—
Gal. iv. 22. " Now we brethren, as Isaac was, arc the chil-
dren of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh
persecuted him after the s])irit, even so now, (doth the Jews
persecute us). Nevertheless what saith the scripture?" Now
mark the fate of the law of Moses deli vered /?-o?« Mount Sinai.
"Cast out i\\Q bond woman (law of Moses, 'decalogue and all)
and her son : for the son (law) of the bondwowan "shall not be
heir with the son (testament) of the free woman (or Church of
Christ). So then, brethren, we are not children Of the bond-
woman but of the free." Gal. iv. 28.
But what says Paul's exhortation to those who, (as some
m-^;;
10
Judaizers do now) regarded the law of Moses a.s binding as
t»iut ot Chnst? It had better be put on and and worn by those
whom It may fit. Stand fast, therefore, in tlie liberty where-
with Christ hath made you free, and be not entangled again
witJi the yoke of bondage." Gal. v. 1. & »
^ But you are no doubt ready to enquire— What, then, do you
insist on the ten commandments having been repealed ^ " Thou
shah love the Lord thy God with all chy power, and thy
neighbour as thyself, on these two commandments hano- the
whole Z««; and the prophets." Jesus. For all the Imv is fit!-
jMed m one word, even in this : " Thou shalt love thy neiffh-
are NOT UNDER THE LAW." Paul.
That an old law has been repealed, is no conclusive evidence
that no part of it has been re-enacted. Tiie old law was be-
yond all doubt repealed, and so much thereof as it Avas the will
ot God to still enforce was re-enacted in the new code.
But Isaiah, in the spirit of prophecy, not less graphic, poeti-
ca/, and ins*-ired than the Psalms themselves, in describing
«ie futui;e state ot the Jews, and the times of the dispensation
of 'the laith, writes as follows: " Bring no more vain obla-
tions ; incence IS an abomination to me : the new moons and
the Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies I cannot away with: it
IB iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and
your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto
me; I am weary to bear them." Is. i. 13, 14.
Parallel to the fbregoing are the words of Paul "Let no
man therefore judge you in meats or in drinks or in respect of
a iiohday or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath, which are a
shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ." Biif
Paul says in very plahi terms, to the elders of Ephesus, at
Miletus: " >V hereore I take you to record this day that I am
free from the blood of all men : for I have not ceased to de^
cUue unto you the whole counsel of God." Now, was Paul
prepared to do this ? Wa. the - whole counsel" delivered to
«ie ajjostles, and by t hem to us ? Peter says : - Grace be mul-
taphed unto you through the knowledge of God, and our Lord
Jesus Christ, according as his divine power hath givr>n unto us
all tilings that pertain to life and godUness, through the know-
ledg<. of Him that hath called us to glory and virt'ie "
So we hnd - all things that pertain to life and godliness"
mmm
mm
U
even - the whole counsel of God," delivered to us fuithiuUy in
the New Testament writings. And among other things we find
there the fiict so little understood, and seldom believed, tliat
the old Testament dispensation has long since gone by. If the
counsel of God contain such things, is there ^ot danger of re-
jectmg them, that we be like the '' Pharisees and Lawyers"
who ^' rejected the counsel of C jd against themselves, being
not baptized of him." But again : The old Testament dispen-
sation says : " Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot
^r foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
Exoa. xxi. 24. But Christ in his sermon on the mount says :
" Ye have heard that it hath been said, *an eye for an eye, and
a tooth for a tooth.' But I say unto you that ve resist not
evil : but whosoever shall smite thee on thy rif^ht cheek turn
to him the other also." °
Though adapted to the times in which they were delivered,
yet we think decidedly that that order of things which tolera-
ted polygamy, slavery, and retaUation, is but })oorly fitted to
the reign of him who taught his followers, that whosoever was
angry with his brother without a cause was guilty of murder !
Will you. Sir, condemn your humble servant, for doing just
what our Saviour has done in so strong terms, and what'has
been so plainly sanctioned by the Holy Spirit in the writings
of His holy apostles ? — for drawing a distinct line between the
old and new Testaments? -The law of the Lord is indeed
perfect, under every dispensation of divine grace ; but it is
equally true, that additions have been made to the divine re-
velation from the beginning ; and it is manifest, that unless
these had been needed, tiiey would not have been granted by
Infinite Wisdom." But I find not half so nuuiii difficulty in
finding arguments, enough to satisfy any reasonable mind, as I
do in stopping, after my point has certainly been made out. —
For I read that there is even danger of adducing too much
proof to j)rove a proi)osition ; thereby giving that the ai)[)ear-
Jince of strength, wliich is weak, by saying more than is ne-
cessary to refute it. But your second proposition concerning
the Psalms is " T/tef/ loere fjiven to be sung hy the members of
the church— the icorshippers af God:'
^ Your first argument, if I understjuid your arrangement, is,
The Psalms were originaJy written in measured line. They
were poetical ; were calculated to be sung. In this, as in your
riii.
12
for
mcr
proposition you carry yon: poinf, and prove tl.at which
we have no JiieJination at all to d
of " confession and avoid
of the Psalms,— and not
lead us throii<r)i the Lai
eny. liuf we put in the plea
mce as before. We say true indeed
toppin;r here, are willinfr you should
Solo
the S(
iientations of Jeremiah; the Son.r of
)mon
r.ALKKU Jo , etc. These we read wei-e suno-, not exact! v l.v
pmnt,ve Christians, hut by more primitive^er^r^^f '^'d
1 e Jewish natio,,; in Jewish tinJes. So we beli^ w^e
he 1 salms of Davi.l. But how a.-e they, from that amnrnt
to receive their e.clusfve and peculiar not ce ; tl e n;^.5'ereS
But, furthermore, you assert that " The names, however
uS ThM tJ^ p' collection, clearly indicate it. chir^:;^
Tntothe Fnl . '' '"^'1''^^' the Greek word introduced
di't^t r, efbv -t '"^V"-'^ 'r'''' "-^ '''^' the compositions
-it So^r^ Z^^' ^^' " ^^'^ ^^"^^ ^'^^ «-^^ «^ ^^- ^-d,
thp^^l'^'ve ''/''" -stop here, and rot go on to teU us what
he Song of Solomon was calle.l ? Indeed my judc^eme U is
poor, f any dann you have laid to the Psalms of Duv d wi
o the eXdon f 7 '^'' ^:"'^^^"^^ ^^ ^'»« Psalms of David,
Pi ml Id. 1 '^fT'^^'^'r' "^ ^"'^ ^'^'^^ ^'^^ ^^nnally m-
spue . indeed the father and th«3 son appeal-, fitly to renre-
.e t he ol<l and the new dispensations; the fb mer of>«.X
deed tEf' '^"' *''■"""■ ^^'"'^"■' *'^^^ '^'^'^ or wisdom In-
much n^ '"''' ""^'^ ^'^'^'^^ ^'^''"^ ^'^' ^"^^fher David, ina.-
ent ttfwn ^ '• ^''^^''^ ^'""'^"'' ^^^^^''^ '"^ ^«ther was not
ent ted because Ins hands were poliute<l with blood. ]sC
not t f. 'r' y^^'^^ ^J^<^ Church of Clirist, nn^htwe
ry bo called r^ '^' ^^^^^'«^'« ^^^^^ch
Testwnt win T" ') ''""^""'^ '''''' '•''^•^^'■^'^'^ "^ the old
lestament, wdl certainly repr.xsent it well. But we mi-ht
ggg^
^■^^'^-"'^•^4if-»ai^
•13
no doubt advance as much argument in favor of the exclusive
daims of " The Song of Songs," and perhaps of many other
poetic effusions, as you have i-o learnedlv and ingeniously
claimed for the " Songs of Zion." David cidled something the
songs of Zion in his Psalms, and complains that the captors of
the Jews required them to play the-u, but he very plaintively
•smgs: "How shall we sing a song of Zion in a strange land?"
'' How shall we sing a song of the Lord in a strange land J"'—
Where is yom authority for infering thence, that this song of
the Lord, tiiis song of Zion, was one of tliose very songs which
thus speak of them ? It appears to me that you'liaveliit upon
a cheap plan of proving a hypothesis by saying that because
David's Psalms call something the '' Song of Zion" there-
fore that something is David's Psalms.
But not stop{)ing here ; not satisfied with obtaining logically
warranted preference for the Psalms ; you put your ca.i)ital
thus acquired to usury, and nuike, or claim two hundred per
cent, upon it; and recpiire us to believe with you that because
David calls his Psalms the songs of Zion (?) therefore they
exclude all other songs, inspired or uninspired. Sir, is not this
logic with a vengeance ? liut to the proposition under consi-
deration. How far ha^'e you, Sir, gone towards proving it ?
That " they were given to be sung by the members of" the
church— the worshippers of God, does not certainly follow upon
the fact, if it he a truth, that they were called the songs of
Zion, any more than that Solomon's Sung, which is called "-The
Song of Songs " is therefore, and on that account, entitled to
the same credit. " The Song of Songs," from a divinely in-
spired pen, is certainly as ''pccuUarhj" honourable a title, as
any of which I can think, and of that title there can be no mis-
take. Inspiration calls them so, and no unsup[)orted hypothe-
sis about it.
But we beg your [)ardon, before we inform you that we ab-
solutely doubt if you have succeeded in proving the important
proposition that "they were given to be sung by the church."
Indeed I doubt most seriously whether it is in yoin- power to
prove that they ever were sung by the church, in any age !
What avails it to adduce numerous exauiples of the Psalms
having been sung by the Jewish people ? You are not, I hoi)e,
getting on another logical circle, and proving, that because the
Jews sung David's Psalms therefore they were a church ; and
:1
14'
because a churcf, tJiorefor. tluj ,ung D.vids Psalms Prav
seems to be the original meaning of the word." Xt^,, ^^''
If'e collective body of Christians, or those wl^, rof;.. to
believe ,n Christ, and aeknowledrre him M bo ho ^1- .■
Whose i^nge ami ^p , .{fe^V'''^ of .peecl..-
ished if you find in the o d ^the new trti-'i"'''- '^''^""
where called a church. ' '^'''^'*^* "^^^^«» ^"^y
Now you must either prove that fl^^ T...,m- i, .• •
the church, which you h- ve not Ift ^^^'^I^'ation is or was
prove beyond a t Je " mL; br.^'S Zl '" '^'' •"' ^'".""^^
tians sung David's P.aST. or ^^^'^^ ^'^^ primitive Cliris-
Imve proved tha the P<a^^^ "°^ I^^'^^^"<i to
excluLely by ik^^ :^ ^^^L^^T f™ ^o be sung
ments in fay.jr of your second ,4:^;,J:l^^
They were originally written in metre. "
„ therefore
" liiey were given to be sung by the church "
Again : They were called the son|s o^f zlon ("j
_ therefore,
And again :'^ ""''" ^''''" '^ ^' '""^ ^>^ ^^^ ^^^"^'^l^-
They were sung by the murderers of God's prophet. »
rp, therefore,
appears .0 be .c„ short Zf:!^ ',':U^ZZ: "^' ^'^""
15
Pray,
tie of a
!(1 to the
This
'' But you direct our attention to tlie circumstance of the Sa-
viour cfuoting iroin tiie Psalms to ]>rove his divinity. So iu-
deed he did, what follows ? That therefore he and his di.-«cii)lfcs
sang nothing else ? He quoted also ii-om Isaiah, perhaj)S much
I oftener than he did from David ; the book of Isaiah is for the
most part metrical, — must we thence infer that He sang Isaiah
and nothing else ; and so also his apostles, and all his true dis-
iciples from that time to the present ? This proves too mucii,
and consequently proves just nothing.
■ Again, you kindly inform us that '• There is a circumstance
which is deserving of particular attention, as it appears to teach
:; that the Psalms which, in a collective form, constitute a por-
J tion of divine revelation, were not only designed to supply the
matter of the church's praise under the Jewish dispensation,
but embrace all that (iJod dictated for that purpose. Several
songs, composed on particular occasions, have no place assign-
ed them in the book of Psalms. Such are the songs of Moses,
composed when the Israelites had passed through tlie Red Sea,
and immediately before his removal from their head ; David*s
pathetic lamentation over Saul and Jonathan ; the song of De-
borah and Barak after the defeat of Sisera ; the song of Han-
nah when she came to present her son Samuel before the Lord
at Shiloh ; the song of Hezekiah after his recovery from sick-
ness, with several others. BE IT REMEMBERED, that
the collection of the Psalms into one book must have been the
work of inspiration; no less than their composition, otherwise
the Saviour never would have given them his sanction in their
present form. Since, of the songs interspersed through the
different parts of the old Testament, some are inserted into the
book of Psalms, and several are passed by, it naturally occui's
to ask what the ground of distinction is, between those which
have been omitted, and such as have been incorporated with
the Songs of Zion."
In other words, there are just so many songs incorporated
in what you say is called the Songs of Zion, (because the same
Psalms call something " the Songs of Zion") and there are no
more than just so many, therefore they are to be sung in Chris-
tian assemblies to the exclusion of all other compositions ! ! !— -
But you are not done yet : The Saviour quoted from them,
therefore the collection of them into one book is no less the
work of inspiration than their composition ; and taking you:?
'tM
1()
last coiiclusioii thus ocouv-edior voiir npvf .......v • • r>
TJIKRFM^'OT^Ft n ^ ^""''' "* inspiration (?)
mu^t be sung to the abroluto exclusion ofeveryth n' In
You must sornewl.ere have f'oun.l an ea.y system r^l
a systeui of eas, lo,ie, by which perso."^ p^,!^ ^^L^r
IS convenient, at small expense ^ ' wJutevei
A^k not bod to do what you mav do yourself
Mau could „ot ,.r,.atc tho world.-God made tl o world •• In
t :;;;;;';."' "r '"■-".^ -'-i *™'"'--. '".^ «ioriou; work
ffucnilv nrov,. fi,.., u»e(l ni his public service, conse-
fo su imK , ■' '""'»""■ >«" '"*l'i™l. was not at all ,|ualified
to sup lij tins desideratum n tlii> ("'liiir..li " tu """eu
mav be stited th.,.. f' "' t"e L,nurel]. The argument
th4t,,!'r'.i,t.-,i; e ;rjc™r*s nTr "■"^"
to ns c/,,,,.;, by „,e nnm^diate liSence 1 S*' s' ■ it^'Il™
book of l.,ai,„,, ,„ be „,„,, i„ „,„ ,,,,,br„ti(,„ of hisT^. • "'"
lberefor(. man, not immediately directed bv l,e ^ ll •""
adequate to the composition of fucira lio k b ud "'r e "
God has given to his church" the book of Psi n w "^ K,',
m,or of the Psalms over any and every other book of the
I
y
fciiiiiMfriiiii
i^^^
17
Paul exploded old Testiiment song-! ? Did Chnet saj to hw
diaciple-s, whoii ye aing prau?ea to God ye shall use; Uie Paalms
of David ? And if he even h.'id said ao : and Oh ! what a vic-
tory you would have claimed : but even if he had so said to
his disciples, that would not prove the exclusive right you claim
for the Psalms.
^ Christ did say to his disciples, " When ye pray, aay, Our
Father which art in heaven, hallow(;d be thy name," eU;. If
we arc therefore forbidden to pray any other than the prayer
which the Lord taught his disciples, th(m we would have been
prohibited singing any other than David's Psahns if Christ 'iad
used tluise words in reference to them, liut I have no doubt
you yourielf habitually use your own words in pn ^er to him.
Now, if your logic is good, you should be very car^' I, for if t
mistake not, cvcsry objection you have urged in your bo.>k
against tiie use of hjmns of iiuman oomposkion, holds equally
against the use of a prayer of human composition. And more
than all, the word of the Lord says, " When ye pray say Our
P'ather," etc. Almighty power wii3 tOso put forth, and vol-
umes of doctrine preached by our Saviour on the mount. This
according t« your dictum was Absolutely necessary, because
man could not have done it. Therefore— we must not preach
any other sermon. But you may object that there are other
Kormons giveu by inspiration, in God's book. What then ?—
Is the difficulty removed.? Nay, it is enhansod. The more
has been done by Divme agency, the less, yourself deciding, is
our excuse for doing any thing. The Holy Spirit has, on^'so-
veral occasions, put forth Divine agency in Uie production of
inspired disco irses, suited not to any particular, loc^l occasion,
bat of a general nature ; suited to the wants of man in society
generally. All good men in the Jewish nation, and in the
church, have prayed. Very many of their prayers were left
on record, and are given tx) us: were inspired by the Holy
Spirit. No prohibition lies against passing them all by with
silence, as it were, and asking in faith, nothing doubtin*, those
things which we feel desirous of obtaining for ourselves and
others. But these arguments may apply better perhaps to
your third proposition which we now propose to notice: i. e.
'No subsequent book or books have been written by inspiration
for that purpose:* Neither has any subsequent book or books
oontammg prcyitrs or sermons " been written by inspiration for
2
18
llial purpose " Yet , hat j.rovex no arpument ir favour of tho
;ionX" "■" "* "" "™°" """ "™y^- g-"" Kr in°pi--«-
But, you mlvance an argument in starting out upon ihi.
proposition to all the benefit of whi<.h you are ecrtai XveilJ
.eleome. It ,s tins. " The New Testament, whiel, we uZ
the happmess to possess, is umlerstoo,! to he eompleTc Its
parts are vanous-historieal, .loetrinal and atZmemative
praelteal or preceptive, and pro,,hetieal ; hut itCteins no
collect,o„ of songs, no one portion written n metriea Ifo™ „r
pr<-sent,ng a shadow of internal evidenec that the HoIvTniri?
If the New Testament be " complete," yet wanting in soncs
of praise, dictated by the Holy Spirit; or if the New Testa
ment does not regmrejn.^nred «ongs and is still " colivle! "
man compute.^ What are we to nndersta-id from vour
cxpresHion "complete?" My understanding is that™ com!
plete so far as mspiration can go; so far as is nece 4i4 'for
doctrnu^, reproof, conviction, and instruction Trigh eou^ne.s ''
And these thmgs perfect the man of God and^Sh Mm
' thoroughly unto every good wort" But still the N^w S
^ament leaves us at liberty to preadi, pray, and sing priises t
God ; to exhort one another; without dictating the precise
words to be used. If inspiration furnishes the'man of S
thoroughly unto evenj good work by furnishing him the mat^
rials, or the rules of" doctrine, reproof; correction and mruo
tion in righteousness," it is indeed complete witho^ d cS;
^rmons, exhortations, prayers, or hymns of praise, provided i^
furnishes the doctrine according to which they must be indked
or spoken, or the reproof and correction wherrthey mat be
wrong, and lustruetion generally as to their fo^ Z naL^
But It was the ".m>^,,..." which were thus "profitable"-
True It ,s not however the source, but the princiSe" to which
tionm righteousness may be found, the scriptures are «rS.
A/^ for them, and they " thoroughly furnish.^ ^^
l-erhaps you are not aware that your third proposition co-
vers more ground than necessurv Tt \^ r.r.1 ^^^"P"^'"^'" co-
prove thflt th*. ..^^l;! "^^^^^'^^y-. . -^t IS not necessary that we
prove that the apostles and primitive saints sang nothing but
I *
19
Lir of the
' inspira-
ipon th\fi
\]y very
we have
2te. Its
L'ntative,
tains no
form, or
f Spirit
latter of
n songs
Testa-
iplete ,"
it more
m your
is com-
7 "for
isness."
ish him
w Tes-
aises to
precise
>f Gud
! niate-
nstruc-
s^ating
ided it
ndited
lay be
lature.
le."-~
which
istruc-
'afita-
n co-
at we
gbut
inspired mx\ff9, in praising God. If wf proved that they had
songs given them by inspiration Kubsccpimt (o the day of Pen-
tecost we would prove too much, for we wouh! pro\c ultno.-t
that modem christians should sing nothing but inspin-tl songs.
You can afford to amend your df'claration by erasing " I y in-
8|»iration, and not raise a false issue, lest ymx drown yourself
in ; our own sophistry. But will you preten<l t<» assure us (hat
the ijrimitive saints sang ;u) hymns other than inspired ? You
say ''gi-anted that th<' apostles wrote p«^ahns, hymns, and spi-
ritual songs, it doe- not follow that they w<m(' dictat('<l by the
Spirit, ami intended to <'onstitute a ruh> of fiiith and practice,
or any such rule." IJut you assert that "if (Christ, or his
ajwstles, by the Spirit, made or wrote p>alms oi- hynms or
8f)iritual songs, (iod, in his providenc*', has been l(!s's caniful
of them than of other inspired compo.^itions." Such indeed is
true of all hymns. They pass away after they have become,
old fashioned. But that is no argument that IIk^ apostles and
primitive saints did not all sing hymns of their own com|M)si-
tion. " There is no need to occupy much time in proving that
in the primitive church hymns were used in addition to the
psalms. No man who pays any regard to his leputation fijr
knowledge will dispute this fact. Ev»^ry jxM-son who is com-
petent to pronounce .judgment has given it in one direction.
AH the scholars who have spent their days and nights in in-
vestigating the early i-<K'ords of Christianity, and who are thus
entitled to speak with authority, are unanimous upon this ques-
tion. There is no solitary exception. This might be regard-
ed as sufficient, but instead of resting upon this unchallenged
fact we shall pi-oceed to give an outline of the argument on
which the opinion is based." " In two epistles, written at the
same period, by Paul when a prisoner in Rome, reference is
made to hymns and spiritual songs," and to which you have
yourself refern d. The Hrst appears in the epistle to the Col-
lossians iii. 16, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord, in psalms and
hymns and spiritual ;,ongs." The second is found in the epis-
tle to the Ephesians v. 19, " Speaking to yourselves in psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs ; singing and making melody
always in your heart to the Lord." The same words are used
in both instances to mark the distinction — psahns, hymns, and
spiritual songs. Paul, then, here enjoins the use of hymns and
_«li^
ni
20
-piriMuil .^„.n., in addition to tlio P.^alms of David. If aar
on.- ol>,.c to t ns .tatwHent and .nuintain, n. you are dispel
t_) d'<, tl U thrso words hivo rrflrcn.-P mrrcdy to a threefold
d.v.sH.n of tlH> PsHll.T its<,lf; cne ehuHs l,ein^ de u m r^Ued
psahns anoll.er l,vrnn., and a third spiritual .on,.s W'Tillta
den.7.Ls ;,o..sv/./.V.y." But aeeordinl' to law ami the laws a"
o s-.y t. .M,„H. t.n.) or phni.e .neant Homethioi. at u former
ptT,o. .1, h.n.„t ,,o,,. ,.hat it <loes .u.vv. So we take the ™nd
that th. burthen of proving, this position rest^ upon the ra^
vl.o afn.,ns that u, the aposlolie c-hnrch no reli^ous ^L^^.
t.onH uer(> ever sun- save the P.alms of David. ^
Uj)on tJH. tirst fiiee, flu. mere readin- of the verses the in
ft'rone.; ,s all in favor of those whose vi^ws we rep'M ;/t and
h.s evHlenee reeolves overwheln.in. ecnflrmation'llylle 1^
vUue ,s thrown upon ,t by tlie imn.edialclysneeeedhi,. period
We thns eonelnde, that thiriy years after our Lord's areonsbn
there were Hun^ in the ar.ostolie ehurehes hymns .-md "onS
not found u, David's Psahns." In n.i oinciardoeumentor mf
mona drawn up for the En.peror Trajan, furnishin^hlrwTh
.^on.e a,ls n. re latum to the ehn.tians in this provinee ^^^
tm, ebb l?nt It also furnishes us with data for another rur
pose. "Some of tJie ehristians hul beer, put to Uie tortur^ to
oornpel them to di.elose what took place in ^ n^J^Uiol
What was the result of sueh invesLj^ations ? 'They Tffin^;
T^u^' '/'f "'fJ "'^'t on a eertaln stated day beforri;
"In the coivf^e of tioie, contrororsies arose in the christian
oiiureh on th. .u :.mc divinity of our blessed Redeemer!^
There was one Paul, (of Samosata,) bishop of AntTo^h to
wards the close of the third century, who endeavored oinf^
duce his heresy into the church. What was one oft^e nla^'
use.1 for tins ^.rpose ? He banished the hynm-bo^k 'om (h^
Xt^'of T '" '"". "^^ ^"P^^^«^^ the^ymoTthatw ro
•n honor of Jesus, on the ground that they wei4 of reoent ori'
mi
Mil
21
'■ disposed
thn'cfbid
lominatcd
'! will not
ri laws oC
a former
le ground
the man
OOmfKKHl-
s, the m-
<'rit ; and
the light
;^ period,
ic.oiision,
id songa
itormc-
ilm with
nee, vvr,
L wa.s on
ler pur-
rture to
Rmbliea.
affirm,'
^.fore it
elves a
d'fl day
supper
no fair
of the
irifitian
mcr. —
oh, to-
inf,ro-
i plans
>m (ho
. were
It ori-
I
gin and eomposed by modern aulhor?. Tli. book of Psjilms
waa lean i*i his way, and ti.r an cthvions reason, than th«Mtrtho-
dox hynift^ of thr churih, which \v(!rc full of Christ, in the
followinj; cenfiny th" poairf of th<* chui(;h was far more dis-
turbed by flu' ontbrojik of th"-<' hen'tical opinions. It was af-
firmed that t!w (iivinity of dhrist was a ii"\v doctrin*', a cor-
ruption which iiM-l been iritrodn-ed of late years, Jind which
(y)uld claim neither the authority of the apo des nor that of
the {Tftneration which succeeded them. It wa^ a (loelrin*', they
Haid, unkru)wn till a!br the death of Victor, a bishop of Uome,
at the end of th(^ second century. Mark how this MijL'ument
was met. Ku-^eliins, th(^ ecchisias'icnl hislorian, arjiuos that
this mi;.!;ht be probable if it wen? not f()r tiir- testisnotiy of (he,
scripture-i, for tli;- te..(iniony of distinfrni- .icd wi-itejv since; the
apwthis, who jUI say that .lesus (Jhrist is (iod. Vr-d then he
introduced a third ar;.':nment, which w(; state in ids words :
' How many son;;s and hymns are Ihere anion- flie brethren,
written from the beginnin.ij: by tii'' fiiilhfid, who "-in^thal .h'sus
Christ is the AVord of (jlo;l arid is a> (Jod ?' Fnither proof is
superfinous."
"Ti'.us it is clear, that fhe ad'.ocat<\s of the exclusive use, ot
psalms, are the innovalors who have abandoned tin' pra'5tic.e of
the ehristian church."
" AMBUOSIAN JllANT. a mode of sinj^nn- or (thanting
introduced by St. Ambrose." — Webster.
" Aj-'bro^e the iamoiis bishoj) of Milan, belon^'s to (he tbiirth
century. He was born in ^;40. He was Mtiy fluid of sacred
music, and was the author oi' twelve hymns, wliich are still ex-
tant. So eminent was his name, in connexion %vith sacred
poetry, thai a hynm wa"-' often ealUid from him Anibrosian." —
Were not the saints in liie first, second, th^rd, and ioin'th cen-
turies, as likely to have been right in their jn-aetices as (Jhris-
liansnoware? and that, too, before the days ot I'apal dark-
ness, when the pure, simple gospel of Christ Wivs the lamp to
their feet and the light (o their patii.
1. So, yon have succeeded in })roving, that the Psalms of
David werr- inspired as the Thirty-lirst ('iiaptei- ol* Numbers,
or any other ^ .-k m tlic old Testament.
5. Yr,u iiave proved that they were adapted to be sung by
the Jews, as well, perhaps, as Isaiah, dereuuiLn, or the •• Song
of Songs."
^^%5^v^*' " "■
j I
}«;■„
M
22
"Sing tl.e words wWol ,U"eS ,t' '""■'' ''"'*'''• P-^^-' ^"•-
8. Finally th^H,. ^^ themselves to our minds, and
V'our W ,1 "'"■'■? -™" P™™ "'e less yo.. effect
lor ftisl three propositions Imye been prolific
%.n:r..::L;:,: t':fS'"^off ^""-"'p'^ «- -Modem
Whose works a.? most ev?o!, • T 't^,'""' ?«'«• »"'' 'hose
ally used «(m|d. as we Xtll l!f -^^ express.onsoccasion-
upon a, nK,rrcl c-^tc .^ ?Z '.l '''™*'1.''^™''''<='» '«'*»'«i
ere." ''"^" l"*"""" "■"" SO""* of the inspired writ-
vere!^'''' tHuZ^::;: :':* ;" ■t^ •"■-' ."•"'^^s'' - '- -
credit, and even eE tot^f • a ''^''^''^s unwarranted
Jamente,! I,y ever " Ohri ,'•"''"'' 'I'' *^?" "'^''y ""'<^'' «- "e
God's !,„ly Lk ^.«B ISr th'e me^k """r t", ''"T^''^^
assume the .-ittiiud,. of an insXJ •' ^"' '"' "''o will
HiiiiS els.. s.,vs (L TJiM " P "■"'*■'■' <"■ speaker, or any
.„• ^ ,.'•' 'ne Bible 13 not eomnletc in .i ■ ' "*"/
taunnir to t^ ftriJ mwii:., "«• '■ompurf. All thmjfs per-
for me to declare The ,1„„; • ; ^"' ^"^ something
struetion in S ^ou^ne s T .''• '7"""*^ correction, and in?
roughly furni^ rr^VSf !" ,"" '''"''""''' «'""«' «>o-
not make liim ,„rfe(t in .h„ • ""' "l"''^ ««"' "'"•'I'-can-
to God hin,sdf - de , "J^tk i''"f • , '" '""" ''« S'™'^ "'« "e
"f ""■ glory of l,is bKf hook 'i ^ " "'"^'"P" "> '■"'' ^^
the merit of the salv;Vr>nVr '^".V'' P^''-*"" would claim
aed Redeemer " P""*"^'"'' '"^ «""'"' "'»>• "y the hie"
'•"'• ■"> "- "ume of the five sense, wh.t ha.s tl.at to do with
iiai&iiitf II ffiBfei-,
ifound the
he quoted
»g nothing,
'aul "ceas-
all neees-
te."
written by
of human
)ray, etc.,
(Is, and
sfFect.
"Modern
md those
anything
oceasion-
waiT.f.it
I to stand
red writ-
" too aor-
arranted
ch to be
v^rence
vho will
or any
gs per-
Paul
nething
and in-
lot tho-
— ean-
Mie lie
>b God
I claim
bles-
with
f
23
the singing of hymns ? Because some men are superfluously
rash and indiscreet, is no good rea^son, it would seem to me,
why we should not sing the praises of God which they have
set and rhymed in order to be sung. The arrogance and as-
^ssumptions of a poet can be no objection to his productions, if
they are right. We might reduce the argument to an argu-
mentum ad absurdum, by throwing it into sylogistic form, thus :
The productions of the pretender to inspiration should not
be used in worshipping God. But, ministers of the gospel
often pretend to inspiration,
Therefore — Sermons being the productions of ministers,
should not be used in worshipping God.
But you may object that only some ministers pretend to in-
spiration : And you have not pretended that more than some
poets pretend to inspiration. So much i'ov that argument, which
is certainly not too cheap. If you have nothing to urge against
the innocent lines that chant the praises of God and the dying
love of a Redeemer ; the lost estate of the natural man in his
imregenerated state, and the glory that awaits the justified
through Christ's blood ; it certainly is not generous to cast up
theu- parentage to them; to abuse them, and turn them "out
of meeting" on account of their father's indiscretion.
After winding up your Jlrst three great propositions, with all
the energy and learning which I have so frequently heard as-
cribed to you, having been certainly displayed to advantage, if
not totally exhausted, you begin your Chapter IV. with a truth,
than which my existence is not more plainly demonstrated to
me. Tlius you begin : " The reason why it was not necessary
that a second collection of songs for the use of the church should
be given by inspiration remains to be pointed out." How
long it will thuis remain, remains a matter'for the remainder of
your book to decide. But you say "It is found in the fourth
FACT, from which we argue in favor of the exclusive use of the
' Songs of Zion' in the celebration of praise."
"The fourth fact from which we argue in favour of the ex-
clusive use," etc. And what, pray, have you been writing
about all this time, if you are just now going to commence ar-
guing in favor of the exclusive use of the Psaims on ti\e 150th
page of your book, which contains but 189 pages.
May we not legally and logically set that down to yoti as an
admission, that all you liave said amounts to ;just nothing,
24
plus ipse dixit. But we proceed to notice your fourth all pre-
vailmg proposition, which promises to do it all. You huve mo-
aJZr ''T./^-''^ ''.'^^' '^ ''''^ •^^■'"«'^"^» of Israelites,
and the times of their i^aiionn] existence,"
Wcli til. : term " na^iowaZ cx/.9^^«^e," oomos nearer the Jer-
irsalcm laiiguage than the one you sometimes take to represent
the Jewish nation an being a church. But in speaking of Z
r/JZfr ^'"'^''^'r']' y'}',''y "This/ac^ will be Admitted
hj every one acquainted with tlie book." What ' is your
rn^ghty proposition going to begin begging the question with
Its very nrst breath ? No Hercules, certainly. If it were not
" a « r/' "' Tf'^ '"'^ ^'''' ""^ '^"^«'-' ^^ y«" ^he definition
doL Tf \i • I - ""^T^' ^"derstood it to be Bomething
to^i- I r "" '' •'"'* definition, what fact are you here
speakmgofwhenyousay "^Ais/acr-^" :f ^^-^
bJt!drvp''''?^^'^'''^"ri'^ ^^^ T>«r-^f your excellent
r. C " f' proved that -fact" or whatever else it
may be, to prove wh.eh you started out, and this "fact" is so
wiThtreb.uk ^7'%"^^ V ''^''y ^^^'- ^>" »'"^oming aequainted
have been o have proved to those n„ac<iuainted, by those a/-
S" erJ'i ''' J3ook the. truth of the 1' fact" in ^estion.!
^^nd cer.a.nly one would almost infer from the, a(hnsisi(.ns, that
your book was something like one ot" Shakespeare's pla.^-—
JVIuch ado about nothing." ^ -^
But if I were tired writing T would tredy admit all you claim
n your last proposition, after all you ha^e proved in your thi^^
preceding on(^^. And, indeed, but one thin.<T prevents mv
makir^theadmissicm: only simp], because TdiLliev^it^
ted to Chnstmn worship as to Jewish, which I am not at all
prepared to bel eve ; still I would need to be persuaded ha
ne Jews sung David's Psalms - exclusivelpr 4ich you your-
elfarefreeioadmit.theydidnot, or I could not infer an
exclusive preference for them in Christian worship. For
admit your last proposition a,s proved, and what follow. ?-
i hey are as well adapted to the church of Ch.rist as they were
to the Jewish nation. Therefore ^
Christians should treat them as J(;ws did.
i^ut the Jews did not use the Psalms of David " exclusively '
, n
r-'TT^Villl ■ ' »•'-
jUggiijib^ii
g^^
lfttiWtMliitf^1-^it-i If iltTwrti fl
'th all pre-
huve mo-
ted to our
Israelites,
r the Jer-
represent
ng of this
admitted
is your
ion with
wore not
Icfinition
Dinething
^'ou here
E'xcellent
'iT else it
ct" is 80
qnainted
•ortainlj
hose a<?-
vstion. —
3n8, that
ay?
:>u daiTn
111" thre<^
nts my
ve it. —
II adap-
wt at all
?d that
III your-
ifer an
•• For
)w.; ? —
!y were
ively,"
25
but with many others of their own comj.osition. Therefore
Chnstians are not bound to use the PHalms of David " exclu-
sively," hut with mamj others of their own composition.
Now, suppose we admit your " fact" a,s you call it— what
have you proved, pray? that you may 'Miavo a .-^cal for God "
but accordmg to the knowledg(; of educational prejudice. But
siippose we <leny it, and show that you have not proved it.—
Then what follows ? liut we i)ropose cxaminin<r vonr argu-
ments m favour of your "slicet anchor" propo^Kion 'which you
have called in as physician to visit a coi-pse. But, Oh, if the
doctor dies! But now your strong work hcglns.
Sect. 1. There is no part of scnpturc wliTcJi })rin."-s ihe Sa-
viour more fully to view than the book of Psalms:^ Now I
had always been under the impression that the four accounts
written by Matthew, Mark, Luk<s and John, who converses]
with, saw, handled, and bore testimony to Jesus, brouglit the
Saviour more nearly to vicnv. than the obscure, firniratfve He-
braisms of the Psalms. ' '
I had always viewed the Psalms, jis the rest of the old Tes-
tament, as containing the metaphorical " shadoio of things to
come,"— but the apostles, certainly turn our eyes away from
the sha<low, fkintly j.dumbrated, dimly sketched, iinpeiveptible
to the most learned J(nvish doctors ; to ihi.^. sithstaiicc. the thing
ttseff. Tn.e the Psaiins, in common Avith the rtther propheti-
cal writings, fliintly aUude to many incidents in the life and
sufferings of the Blessed Redeemer. And even these are so
interspersed throngli, and promiscuously scattered ovei-so much
of so many men's writings, that but for tho afiostles, who wrote
the New Testament, we could not by any possibiM^y .ruc^'^ to
what circumstances iho.y allud(Ml. *Hut the Eyangelists take
ap the narrative of the birth, life, mirticles, sayings, doinfrs,ae.
cusations, condemnation, sulfei-ings, death, burial,'resurrection,
gbrification, commission, promise of the comforter, and ascen-
sion to his Father; in order of time, adapted to the understand-
jng and mind of the little child as it sits on the knee of its mo^
Jer, and all else profitable for us, to know, of our blessed
Saviour.
But I here leave the candid mind to judge how near you
come to proving your assertion, which you choose to use as an
argument in favor of your Mammoth proposition, which ha.s
pledged itself to do the whole work.
M^
Sect, 2. Mollis up itd head and savn • " In fi,* u i
specially, there i., a moat happy aZ,»,i„'„''fj,/r^ ■»»"'
the state of the chukch " •'"''P'*"on of Uie language to
«X;^t^^;hrK^!;a=>pp^v'"''«''^^^
else, ami both be most happy' Om,hT>: "■^'"'» "nothing
persons ? If one is mos? h^nnv Vi '"' """ """^ *"??»
language ofthel4Xs J inon^' ,"i *' '"fer that S
tl/ch,^eh ,b„: .hat? ■ X Z '^^ '"te'' ro'"^ ^'"^ "f
pt^lt^^»ut;srr^
directed expressly to tl e churnh f "'". u'*^' '^"'''^' ^^^"
praise him from the /'W^r But ^rhl ,h J 1 ""' ""■""'" ^
s J- s^rn - ns£f '^« -r^^» tf
GmI God Tthinit ^''^'"'^^^'^' ^*^«'^« «ingeth h^ns
piXtr::^!;;;!^:^^/-^-^^^ U. cheapest .to
tow nearly it resembles someinWr^^^^ \ ^^^^"^^
propos tion. You sav tl.^ p!„i ^ • "^ ^ ^" ^^"^^ JO""-
aptation of thlZ^lJ^ ^otZTT u "?''' '^Wj'' ad-
order to prove tKsTrtJnn . "" ""^ .^^^ '^•"•'^'^- ^nd in
Psalms witrLtffsolr' 'T^^'\\^'^ '^ngi.a^e of tlie
less " hapriVa^uD ed '^^^^^^^^ '^'k' T^"''^' ^^'^^^^^^ "'^^^ ^^
a-Uelism, JTZdbT^'c^^ ''^^'''"" i'T *''" «"^^^^a"ent par-
the pen „e,rof thp pLf ^<>n\Pfnson of the ternis emplo>ed by
^TewishamlcSv' in ^v'"'^ 'J'^l '^''' '' something
^'oudy ,n t vvr.tmas of Christ and hi. apostJea,
!ij
'i
^^^^y^< '
sser
i';t;:
hna more
iguage to
perlative,
anything
'St happy
's happj,
that tlie
J state of
strange I
is better,
h, when
lar con-
sh never
on page
If jou
ht have
at who-
loose to
fe is too
rans of
10 sings
oso of-
hymn$
'■ use of
>t hi to
lowing
e your
y" ad-
Vnd in
3f tlie
ust be
>Iance,
itency
istitu-
t par-
ed by
New
ithing
wtJes,
27
which is removed by tlie more hicid modes of sjjeech which
some of their more spiritual followers may teach us to use" :
PSALMS. NEW TESTAMENT.
S- •Jvi.4. There is a river, the Heb. xii. 22. But ye are come
streams of which shall make glad unto Mount Zion, and unto the
the city of God, the holy place ot city of the Living God, the hea-
thetebernacle of the Most High, venly Jerusalem. Rom. ix. 6,7,8.
xlvm. 2. Beautiful for situation. They are not all Israel which arc
the joy of the whole earth, is of Israel : neither, bef^aujc they
Mount Zion, on the sides of the are the seed of Abraham, are they
north, the city of the great king, all children : but, in Isaac shall
h. 18. Do good in thy good plea- thy seed be called. That is, they
sure unto Zion: build thou the which are the children of the fesh,
walls of Jerusalem, liii. 6. Oh these are not the children of God :
that the salvation of Israel were h\xi tha children of the promise ixrQ
cope out of Zion ! When God counted for the .sW. Gal. vi. 16.
bnngeth back the captivity of his Peace be on them, and upon the
people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Is- Israel of God.
rael shall be glad.
Ps. xxvii. 4. One thing have I John ii. 19. Jesus answered and
desired of the Lord, that will I said unto them, destroy this ^em-
seek after ; that I may dwell in pie, and in three days I will raise
the /iowsg ()/<7je Zor^ all the days it up. 1 Cor. iii. 16. Know ye
of my life, to behold the beauty not that ye are the temple of God,
of the Lord, and to enquire in his and that the Spirit of God dwel-
Temple. xlviii. 9. We have lethinyou? 1 Tim. iii. 15. That
thought of thy loving kindness, thou mayest know how thou
O God, in the midst of thy Tern- oughtest to behave thyself in the
pie. Hi. 8. But I am like a green house of God, which is the church
olive tree in the house of God. of the Living God.
_ Ps. liv. 3. For strangers arc Eph. ii. 19. Now, therefore, ye
risen up against me, and oppres- are no more strangers and foreign-
sors seek after my soul, cxxxvii. ers, but feUow citizens, with the
4. How shall we sing the Lord's saints, and of the household of
song in a strange land ! God.
I have copied thus far fliithfully your garbled and detached
quotaxions from the Psalms, beside texts from the New Testa-
ment containing the same. vmrd. Do you imagine it would be
hard for us to take the Th'-jlogical works of the \lv.\. Thomas
Paine, and garble and detach sentences contuining certain
words; unA set them opposite certain New Testament phrases
containing tlie same words. A strong argument this would be
to prove, that " h\ Thomas Paine's Theological works especi-
ally, there is a most happy adaptation of the language, to tlie
^|l
I
2H
state oi tije chiir^k " ii' w^ni/^ .., « '
but th. «rr/.«,.., is just the same. SsU^.^^^t it ''
we still doubt if yvuiZ^^^t^"^' ^'^ '^'^^ ^^ ^^^^'' '^"^
/• • j^^ii. «jv,.i nymris of iiuinan corn now fm. m..
fau-or way of tryir.g th, adaptatior. wo. d bfto 'dV ,^7 f
samp e, a whole r^-dm ^ ^ „ j '*'^^ '^ 'My/e
your.,:,; ,l.„,,,,.H,ln,,, .„„ .ic Jl ,^^-"^,,0,. /„'f,'r"'
position, to liave your sentouorq thnt, .i .^ i i /'"irpro-
in some word or L-d< IvT'^ ^''"'^/^'^■f' '^.^'^^^^ fo 'i.irroo oniy
i'fiALM.
Sot thou the jmii- man ovor
hun, and let .Vrr^an st<ind at hi-;
right ;jaud. When rn; s.'uall be
ju<%v-d N-th^n be cc.i^^^»jn.f/,
aua Jet his ;;ra,</cr bocomc am—
^Let his days be few, and Jet ano-
ther lak(3 his oni;.(.. Let his
c/iUurcn be jafnerlest!, and his
Wife a m<io,a. Ut i,;^ ehlldrtjn
be contmaaliy vaf/ahonds and yr,'>-
lot tacin seek their bread also oui,
ot the desolate places. Let the
extoruoncr eateh all he hatli away:
and let the stran<];er s})oiJ his la-
bor. i,ot there be none to CKtend
mercy to hiiii : neithar let there
be any to favor hi, fathcrlesi^
ebiidren Let ids posterity be cut
oj;,a.na m the generation fbl-
lowmg let their name bo b!oi:cd
out. Let the mi(iuitv of his h-
father be remembered with th<-
son ; and let nor the ^;in of his
mother be blotted out Let then)
be before tlie Lord rontiuualiy,
;7;, '"' ;"ay cut off the memory
oj them from the (;arth. Because
he remembered not mercy, but
persecuted the poor and needy
>(KW TESTAMENT.
, I'e have hoard that it hath
'^e-n said, an vye for an eve and
a tooth for a tooth: hut' I say
into you tnat ye resist not evi] •
i^nt if any man shall smite thee
Oil thy right cheek, t.irn unto
him the other also. And if any
i^un will sue thee at the law,
and take away tiiy eoat. let him
have tny cloak also. And who-
so<jver shad compel tlu'e to go a
nule, go with hhu twaiu. Give
to hmi that asketh thee, and from
ium tliat would borrow of thee
turn not thou away.
Ye have heard that it hath
been said, tliou shalt love thy
ncignbcur and hate thy uumiy.
i>ut J say i-Htoyou, love your
enemies, bless them that cuive
you, do good to thern that liate
you, and pray for them which
despite^ illy use you, and perse-
euteyou; that ye may l>c the
ehddron of your Father which is
m heaven : for he maketh his
sun to rise on the evil and on the
gooa, and sendeth rain on the
just and on the unju-'t. For if ye
to jro a
Give
29
inan, that h-. mi^ht .ven si.y tbo iovc them which lovo you, wl.at
broken m heart. As he loved reward have ye ? do not even
cui^in^r so ot It come imfx, him ; the pu^.licans the same ?-ard if
and as he d,.hshte,l not in hies- ye salute your brethren, what do
ye more than others? do not
even tlie publicans .so? Ho yc
I)erFe(;t. oven an your Fatlier in
heaven is perfect. Jesvs.
aing so hhv^s him not at all (or lot
it be far from him). As he (cloth-
ed himself with cursinof like as
with his ijarment, so lot it (jome
into his bowels lik(! wat>',r, and
'ike oil into his bones. David
Now, hero, is no j^mrblinnr, and such a plain hone.^t paniilol
as Rhows olHhe whole matter of resemblanee in hnwlm-rQ^
AdmiL your provin- a man U) be the be.st looking, man of all
men, by compa.nn,i.- his Iwka with tlHwe of sorr.o -ood lookinff
man, to be good log ., which no m;m ir. hia senses" can believe!
still vvhat docs a j.ist and fair oornpariion offacitd do to prove
fiiat In the P.a ins morrj cspcciaHy, there is a most happy
.^idaptation of the lan-uage to the citato of riiv. ciujkcii '^ A.
dc^e ULspection of the above will s-jpersede anv commenta
5,ut last, thou-h not least, section 3 lifted up its voice say-
'"^'•" t\ ,1^/1'"' '^'"''^^ "^^^""S ^""^ ^^'« lan-iage of Unvm.
vennrf FAITH."
N\)w this ia all that remains of the last and ail-r,revailln<T
proposition, which was pledged to show ''the reason why S
second collection of Hongs for the use of the church should not
be ^iwv,n by msj)ira.tion" \:^, your assertion that the l»salms con-
lAin nothing but the language of unwavering faith. But the
section in cjuestion i.^ fairly ca.iculated to ovcrtlirow all you
have attempted to prove. For, if it is true that the Psalms
contain nothing but fiith, tliey are veiy deficient indeed —
Paul saj.s " Thou-!i I speak with tongues of men and of an-
gels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass and as
a tiUKhng cymbal. And though 1 have the gift of prophecy
and understtmd ;ill mysteries and knowledge; and thourrh T
have all FAITH .o that 1 could remove mountains, and have
not love, Turn no'hing:'
Taking your last section an true, and granting all that you
cieck to prove, L e., that the Psalms Rhould be sung " exclu-
^ive^lh what do you prove? That the church of Christ need
to be exercise^ in nothing but faith ! But Paul says, with all
taith he would be nothing. Or fu other words,
You have said that the Paalins contiiined nothing but that^
1
3(1
with which Pinil ivoi.i,! havo been nothing, and wiihaU »-.„
.ns.st „„ not «cr,.i.«i„g the ..hurd, in anyMngtl\^,Z
w had any ,„,er,,t in proving your 1^., section away wo
could J St read l'«, ,„ Ixxvii. 7, which looks more likeZnoT
be no more V '' « ^'V""'' ""'' ""' ^ be favora-
Die no in re .' U his inervy clean gone for ever > dolh his
, on„se a, (or , vern.orc i Ilath God fi,rgotte.rto be "raei-
ous/ ha h he n. anger shut up his lender mercies " fiSt we
.10 not w,sh any advantage ot' this as an argumen We 1,2
wsh to show that, if we chose, we might pfove"te lism^
quue so nude as you have afHrmed them to be.
But where there is faith there must be the object of tha-
fa,th llow extensive is the object of faith .as eiprLed t
the "language of unwavering faith" of David's Psalms Vtk!
.foetrme of the eternal Godhead is nowhere so mueHs himed
f, v,^'"^' "" «™" mferencially do we find a hint at thTof
Ihc Resurrection from the dead, a doctrine of Xh •» verv
■Cnn; If" "T ''"''^■" '""' "'-'J -■•<! .-'mired hJ
l-salnis 1. the times when 0|)portunities were neeuliarlv nf
el?e or t^l^fT T"' ',""'' ™™«<'"I«, who had nothing
du-ng tha fajth of which they are now the qmnSence ^
of ft behev:;. iM,ro; a,risr ■" "'"^ ""' "• '"^ '•^^""-"o"
fer:r:rth:t;:f''i;^;'ei:^, .■",:' f- ",•:' 'f r'^''"=™«'
T^„ -1 • 1 . / , . -^ ^'"•-cost ; ana, pointina to the tnmh ni
i rwa,"a :;"t^i'; ''^'«" -"■''■' «';" 4osini hetser th:
Cza™ h wmm of '"^""'**'°," "'^ """"y"' poet of Jesus of
tb:r1p;^l:„'rfSl^rz;„rh;'^,^^^^^^^
over, mternai evidence is quite sufficient, apart from tte In"
w li not eee corruption. ' Eartb to earth and dust to dust '_
huel, .s the kw of mortality. It is true only of the Holy 6^
of God, who.se body, placed in the tomb. wL not sailed "o
■'i^.
1
a.i ' ^ g*
^^ "4-1^ ,^^^^ 4 '^,^, ^..., .^-«-g^-
31
eec corruption. No doubt lUe resurrection of Christ ii. npledfje
of ours, — in his resurrection the bodies of his saints are virtu-
alJy raised ; but even in this ciAse, all that can be said is that,
in singing the sixleenth Psalm, we are by implication, and by
a logical inclusion, making mention of our own bodies being
delivered from th(; humiliations of tlie grave on the morning
of the resurrection. Jiut why not sing aceording to our know-
ledge o{ this important truth? Why not give it that promin-
ence in our psalmody which it luis in the prayers and discour-
ses of our churches ? Why object to forming into numbers,
by poetical genius, th" New Testament «ievelo|)nient of this
truth ? '
Wherein consists the criminality of reading or singin«T the
following, or such lines as *" "
" Whk.n the last trumpet's awful sound
'1 his rending earth shall shake,
When opening graves shall yield their charge.
And dust to life awake ;
" Those bodies that corrupted fell
Shall incorrupted rise,
And mortal forms shall spring to life
Immortal in the skies.
" Behold what heavenly prophets sunj;
Is now at last fulfilled,
'Jliat death should yield his ancient reign,
And vanquished 'qi it the field."
Or what can be so cj-iminal in chanting the praises of tho
common Saviour of all mankind in such lines as
" How sweet the name of .Jesus sounds
In a believer's ear !
\i sooths his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And drives away his fear.
" It makes the troubled spirit whole,
^ And calms the troubled breast ;
'Tis manna to the hungry soul,
An(i to the weary rest.
" Dear name !.the rock on which 1 stand
My shield and hiding place ;
My never failing treasury filled
With boundless stores of bliss.
;J2
•• By thtic! uiy prayera aocepU\rire gain,
Although with sin ddilcd ;
Satan aociHos mc in vain,
An'I I am ownod a child.
" .W.su:y\ my shepherd, husband, frifnd,
Mv propljct, priest, and king;
My Lord, my life, my way, niy end,
Aceepk tlie prai.sc! I bring.
•■ Weak is the effort of my luiart,
And rold my wamieat thought:
l!ut when I know thee as tliou art,
ri' pral.-x^ thee an I ought.
• 'J'ili then I would thy love proelalm
With every fleeting breath ;
And may tlx^ imisie of thy name
Hufni.sh my rioul in death,"
A-iia, if.soruo teachers of the gospel of Christ would attend
more to tiio tcacJiings of tlio Now Tc^atament, and not taive up
,30 much of their timo in pedantic an//V/wancs of Judaism, they
might Ifiarn tlie sentiment of the following lines, faintly hinted
at, aiul just jKieriiig through the ml.«^t of Hebraisms in tJie Old
Testament.
" 'Ti3 not til e law often conunandH,
On holy Sinai given,
Or sent to men by Moflea' hands,
Can bring us wife to heaven.
'^ 'T is rof the blood which Aaron spilt,
Nor smoke of aweetcrft smell,
Can buy a pardon for our guilt
Or save our houIs from hd\.
" Aaron, the priest, rcHtgns his breath
At God'n immediate will;
And in the deaert yi ;!d8 to death,
Upon the appointed hill," etc.
^ Or can you point out your objections to the fientiment of the
loUowing lines ? Or have they lost any of their force and de-
votion by tJic changes wrong upon them in the following gtan-
sasf °
" Rljess'd is tic man who ehima the place
Where einners love to meet,
^11
! d
x\
-I
Wlio fears to tread their wicked wayn,
And hates the seoHer's seat :
" But in the statutes of the Lord,
Has plaeed his chief delijrljt;
Hy day he reads or hears the word.
And meditates by night.
" (jlreen .as a hvif, and ever fair,
Shall his profession shine :
While fruits of holiness appear
Like elusters on the vine.
" Not so the impious and unjust:
What vain designs they form !
Their hopes are blown away like dust,
Or ehall" before the storm.
" Sinners in judgment shall not stand
Among the sons of (irace ;
When Christ the judge, at his right hand
Appoints his saints a phice.
'* His eye beholds the path they tread ;
His heart approves it well ;
But crooked ways of sinner's lead
Down to the gates of hell."
But, as quoted by Dr. Carson fi-oiri the. Christian Observer,
" Take a familiar example ; a ])avent saya separately to four
children, ' Call your brother Richard.' One simply repeats
the message as the words of his parent, ' Richard, father de-
sires to call you.' A second makes the messag . his own,
',Richard ! fath(?r wants you.' A thii-d rep(!ats it as an injunc-
tion, ' Richard, you must go to father.* The fourth, ' Richard^
pray run to father, for lie wants vou.' Are not all these ex*
actly the father's message? at it to contravene this propo-
sition to say, that each was delive r<'d in a manner characteris-
tic of the respective speakers ?" '* The same individual does
not always express the same thouglit by the same combination
of words. For the sake of greater elegance, perspicuity, effect,
or simply variety, different forms of speech are used by a
speaker or writer when he has not the least design of adding
to what he hao said, or of introducing a modification of the
idea to be expressed. And if in the saine language the same
communication is made by different speakers, or the same
speaker in difl(prf.nt words, why should a difficulty be raised,
3
mm- ^-.
i
lii
ill:
■^1
84
ns if'tlu' iiiforniJifion fo ho iinpiirhMl is not plvon, and we aro
not in<l('l)t('«l to the ori^^ri,,;,! .vo„,rc. hccauso an cutin-lv ditrcrent
tow^nv \a used to enihody the orijrinal eoiu-eptioii. y\ physieian
prescriljes to different patientn, speakinjr «., niany (h'ff'erent
lanf:na;:<'s, hut lal)orinf,^ under the; same (li.se;i.<e. iff M)eakM lo
eaeh in hU ovii lan;rua<(e ; hut who will .say the pn-scriptions
are not idrntieal hceaut,e thcv are enunciated in dilVerent
tonoriies? Al)Hudity itself would hardly ventme so broad an
assertion, as that they are not precisely the same. 'Vliv. rase
is oidy sliirhtly modified if we suppose the physician ac(juainted
with one lun.iTuajre. and imder the necessity of comnuniicatin^r
with all his patients, except one, hy means of an "nterprefer
or interpn^ters. If hr express himself and)ijr,iou.-.|y or defec-
tively the interpreter may misunderstand him, and j^dve in-
struftions to the patients different from what he intended ; or
they may connnit the same ern.r from an impcHect ac(pia'int-
ance \\ ith the language of the physician or the patients. IJut
assuming that the phy>ician has expressed his prescription ac-
curately and lucidly, and that the interj)reters peifectly under-
stand hoth th(^ language of the physician and that of his 'patients,
and honestly communicati^ to each, in his own tongue, the mind
of the jdiysician, no i)e»-son would hesitate lo ascribe to hir.j the
direction given to the sick, although he understands not the
words in which it is expressed, more than if all who are under
his care spake a Iai:guag(^ <'onmion to him and them, and re-
ceived instructions innnediately from his own lij>s. The ui-
terpreter is not transnmtcd into the doctor, nor is lie in any
sense the author of the given preser-' Mons." This n^asonin-
IS cerlaudy not such as 9/ou can cci/ijilain of, fi)r the ol)viou3
reason that it h—your own faifhfully (pioted from your "iVp- '
pendix." And if it prove any thing it cerlainly Iroos far to-
wards establishing the fiict, tht.t the last j)icce which we have
given, as an example, of modern hymns mav be consi<iered, on
comparison with the first Psalm of David, as good inspiration
as that Psalm. The sentiment is certainly tlie same, and beiuo-
expressed in somewhat different wonls does not most certMinly''
as you have shown, constitute it a different matter. If the
language of modern poets constitute the inspired Psaftns of
David, merely human comi.osition, by their transfbrmatiou fo
suit modem usages of language, it must b because the first
translators were inspired. And indeed we* are aware that
m
85
many p'^rsonfl belir-ve not only E.s(|uir»'( Rouse, but also Kinj;
James' hired tnm-lator.-*, tolmv«! been inspired; and that every
other version of the ^eriptures, which have been, or may here-
after be gotten up, ot" (jrod'n word, is mere iiunian omposition.
Now the sin;^n«? ot' David'.n Psahn;*, even E:-(iui.(; House's
musieal vei*sion, we believe to be perfectly ri;;htand eon;<istent
with christian zeal, ;md the decency and order spoi<en of by
the apoUle. IJut if tlie diffen'tU words u>ed by the <lifferent
persons, in conveyin!:^ the same ideas, do not tend at all to
reniler the s{?ntiment theirs, or any one's but the Holy Sj)irit'!s,
where is the objection to the same sentiment, yen, th • same
idetis, conveyeil by more modem translators and poeis, and
bett^T suited to the time ? You say, and i/tsisf, that the in>ipi-
ration attaches to the ideas, to the sentiments rather than to
the words, then what are you contending; for? When modern
poets give you the sentiment, the ven/ same sentiment, in words
better adapted to tlui ajje, you contend tor tlie wouds of
Esquire; Uou!«(^ just as it'/ie had been in-pired. as W(dl as I)avi<h
Hut do you not see that you are {)utti?ij; words into tlie mouth
cf the infidel? lie say;?, You [)ret<Mul that the Bible was jj^iven
by inspiration of (iod — but it was jriven in a lan2ua;j;o now no
longer known as it once was. But the Rev. William SomnKM'-
villa, the most learned and talent(-'d genlleman, perhaj)s, in th(»
British Provinces, has said that th<^ language, the sentiment,
the ideas contained in those books, so soon as ch.anged from,
the condition in which King James' hired trasislators left them,
and adapted to the language 71010, cease to l)e insj)iration, or
at least he. insists that they are not proper to bo sung. Now,
says he, if they have lost their inspired character by this ope-
ration, what became of that character of in.-[)iration Avhen
translated from the obsolete Oreek inti^ all modern languages?
But I would respectfully ask your rev(M'ence, what is the
sentiment generally, yea, r.niversally breathed forth in the
hymns by which- God is worshipped? Is it not supplication,
praise, acknowledgments of God's mercies and of our own un-
worthiness?
Should we not cherish such sentiments ? If cherished should
they not bo expressed? Is it criminal, heretical, irreligious,
to express our prayers and praises to God ? The overflowing
of our hearts with sentiments not to be sup^ essed ; has the
prayer, praise, or acknowledgement of the devoted heart lost
- imstimm x' '..'.mniitv.'smi^ .
-* tl'
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36
anything of its merit by being written as David's Pi^alms were
originally ; that is, in measured line ? Or do you find fault
with the prayers, praises, and acknowledgenrnts, thus written,
being chanted to a time ? Or, if our catechism is not too long
already, 1 will enquire of you, with all due deference to your
character, as a genileman :md profound scholar. What are your
objections about ?
Christ taught liis disciples to pray ; and even suggested to
them the sentiment to be used *.n prayer, and compressed that
sentiment into the most pithy, logical, and comprehensive style,
of which human language is susceptible. Did he tell them ne-
ver to pray till they could find an appropriate psalm to their
purpose ? Simon Peter instructed Simon Magus to pray that
if possible (he thought of his heart might be forgiven. There
is no doubt that Peter designed for him to pray, using his own
words. Peter liimself went up to the house top to pray, on the
occasion of his being instructed as to Cornelius' case. Paul
speaks of praying in an unknown tongue. 1 Coi. i. 4. And
the Saviour adverts to the parable of the importunate widow
to teach tlic necessity of frequent and fca-vent prayer to God.
*' And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and s<ing praises
to God,'' Acts XV i. 25, (and tliey had as good a right to sing
their own words, as they had to pray using their own words).
David says Ps. cvii. 8, ''Oh that men would praise the Lord."
*^' And that the gentiles miglit glorify God for his mercy ; as it
is written for this cause I will confess to thee among the gen-
tiles, and sing unto thy name. And again hf nith rejoice, ye
gentiles, with his people. And again he sau-^i praise the Lord
all ye gentiles, and laud him all ye people." Rom. xv. 9. —
" Sing unto him a new song." " Sing unto the Lord a new
song, and his praise from the end of the earth; ye that go down
to the sea, and all that are therein ; the isles and the inhabi-
tants thereof. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up
their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit; let the inha-
bitanta of the rock sing, let them shout from the tops of the
mountains." Isaiah xlii. 10. "O sing unto the Lord a new
song : sing unto the Lord, bless his name ; shew forth his sal-
vation from day to day." Ps. xcvi. L " And they sung as it
were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts,
and the elders : and no naian could learn that song." Rev. xiv.
3. And they sang a new song laying, Thou art worthy to take
1*;^
4 ^^
f>7
the book," etc. Rev. v. 9. " I will ^\\\^ a nevj song to thee," etc.
Ps. cxliv. 9, and almost innumerahle other example.^ are
given of exhortations to praise God with " new songs" both in
the Old and New Testaments.
The scripture exhortations to i)ray, j)raise, exhc»rt, sing, etc.,
are all couched in precisely the same j^eneral term< ; no one
being restricted as to how or what or >\hen or where ;_ but the
injunction is to " Rejoice evermore, prny without ceasing, and
iri every thing give thanks." And in-t'>ed there is no devo-
tional exercise of which we know a!,\ thing that api)ears to
bring the soul so n'\'ir to God as singing. And the overflow-
ings of a heart, fraught witii lively emotions, with love to God
and the children of their Father, with a sense of their weak-
ness and dependence on God, and with a sen^e of their neces-
sities, can in no way be so fully expi-essed a-; through well-
executed songs of praise.
» The man that hr.th no nuisic in Vii^ soul.
And is not moved with conconi of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils :
The motions of his heart arc <l;nk as Erebus,
And his affections dull as nisht, —
Let no such man be trusted." Shakc^penre.
" The accomplished orator may open the treasure,-, of the
richest rhetoric, and disi)lay masterly skill in meta))hors and
tropes that almost live and move and have a being. And from
both and all how many go away untouched, unmoved, unsub-
dued ? The strongest argument sometim<'s sets the soul on
defiance, and it may be parried by evasion. Ihit the sweet,
attractive charms of music, calm the turbulence of the human
soul, soothe to rest the passions that revel in the halls ot our
spiritual nature, divest us of our hostility, and cause all the
kindlier sensibilities to pervade the brea4. It allays, it softens,
it persuades. It touches with tendcrnes-^, it teaches with gen-
tleness, it smiles with benignity. It comforts, it wins, it exhorts.
It inspires hoi)e, and courage and zeal. It breathes contentment,
peace and Ionc. It awakens, it enkindles, it arouses. It
bathes us in tears, and it wipes them away. It takes away
our breath and inspires us with life. How Tuuch has been
done by sacred song to convert sinners to (iod .' All created
nature, from the glorious sun to the mea)iest re].tile, praise
(iod in tacit notes not, however, to be mistaken. Musu-, ble*
38
sed messenger of lioaveri. which comes with j.o^vcr. and Uilies
hold oi' the secret recesses of the immortal soul of man, ripphng
in liic little rivulet ; -of'tly bi'eathing in the goutle zephyr; ut-
(eriug its suhlime notes in the deep-toned tliiuider; warbled
in the throats of the -weelly j)Iumed songstei's vi' tlie dense
forest, whose very darkness and serene beauty are jdaintive
music: tlie stars oi'tlie firmament sing togethei-; and man, the
created imelligence. who alone can render intelligent, in(el!cc-
tiial praise to his supreme (Unernor, his almighty Creator,
should praise God with every bi'cath. Every thought .-huuld
arise towards the throne of the Most High. Let all the earth
praise him. Let every niduntain and vrlley reujund \vhh his
Hallelujahs. Let cj'eatetl iiuelligenees cons})ire to icndec the
earth vocal with noAV songs (o Him wlio created and him who
redeemed them. Lei the merits of Chrisl'.s l)l<n»d })lead with a
wor-ld not reconciled to their God and Saviour. Let the scenes
of mount Calvary plead wirli a sin hardened and unreconciled
world. Sing of the niiM-cy n,' (iod in the gift of his Son for our
redemption. Sing ot the magnificent height from whence that
Saviour descended to earth. Sing of the glory \v hich he enjoyed
in the bosom of the Father before the world was. Sing what
he did and suffered for oui- redem])tion. Sing tlu^ lost condi-
tion of fidlcnn]an without a Kedeemei-, withoin (iod.and with-
out hope in the world. Aliens and enemie.-, reliel conviei;' un-
der sentence of eternal death. And the glorious estate of the
redeem<;<l through the merits of the blood of Christ. The glo-
rious crown of righteou-^ness which awaits all w ho lov<^ the ap-
pearing of the Lord and Saviour who redeemed them at to
great a ransom. Sing of the relation of that Ide^sed Ivethcm-
er to his Heavenly Father. The Everlasting Word which
became flesh; the pow<'r of God by which he made ihe woi'lds.
The Creative power which became the Kedet'ming j)ower. —
Let not the ])raises " to (iod and the Lamb" be cii-cumsci'ibed
by any {)rescripiions, Imt above all, by proscrij)tio!is. S'* not
bounds to God's worship, ])y condemning those who join with
pure and warmheart> in his ])raise, for giving uttereuce to their
own feelings — s})eaking forth their own sentiments. What shall
damp and mar the anlor of the sincere worshipper of (iod ? —
Those who speak forth the boiuidless mercies of the God of
love, tlie God who is love, in songs of love, from purest motives
of praise, are to be told that the Psalms of David are entitled
3i)
to tlu; " cxdasive" right to be sung. ILjw many luindreds of
tlioustiiid^ of dovout and devoted Chi-istians — lovers of God
and his Ciirist, who sing praises to (iod from the [iiirest mo-
tives, who join with all created things i!i ;\scril>ing glory to
tlie IriiaeuiaLe. name of Jehovah, are to be told now, in the en-
lightened tiineleenth century, that th.«'y and their predecessors
have, for eighteen hundred years, b< en disj)ieasing that Ood
of Love by singing ])rai«es to his name. If we are in this he-
retical, we are cortai'.dy in very good company. You do not
take into (jalculation the Greeli and the Roman Catholic church-
es ; the ciiurches in America, of every (ienomination ; all the
mission (tlmrche^ })lantcd by Britain and Arnei-ica ; Jill the
Protestant churches; all the"E>>iscopali:in clmrchesin the liri-
tisji empire; all the Independant churches; all the Baptist
eimrches ; all the Methodist churches; the Established church
of Scotland; the Free cluu'ch of Scotland ; tiie United Presby-
teriiin church, yea. all who Wi)r.-hip God of own-y denomination,
are ail discovered to be displeasing C/od.
What! seal the moutln of all wnu ('hoo-e tc sing the praises
of tlieir God, of every denomlnatio:!, m Qvarj lam.^uage and of
every land. But he who would sing the TucriLs of Clu'ist's
death : he who would tell in >ong of the fallen condition of our
imture : who would e^'timatc the value of (:iirisL^s aioncinent,
the glory iVom which he descended ; wiso would prai.-e God in
soniis of adoration ibr his boundless ..tores of grace and mercy
bestov.-ed \\\ the un:-]^cakable gift of his Son, must go (dx'where
than to i.\ivids Psalms. il(rwho would sing of the crown of
riiriiteousness purchased by the common Redeemer of our once
lost ra."e, must lind his sejiiimcnt in the New Testament, ile
who would sing of that immortality and its infinite joys winch
are merited to \v> by the sacrifice oftered on rugged Calvary,
will have to find his strains <'l,ewhere than in the odes com-
posed by the king of the; Jewish nation. In those odes the
idea of a fut} ire 'stale of existence b(;yond the confines <)f the
tomb is not so much as hinted at / Who is this who will ^Imt
tile mouths of all who sing praises to (Jod fortiie gift of Christ.''
Who is he who seals the lips of praise to Christ for the pur-
chase of Immortal Glor>f? Who says to the Christian world
of worshippers that Cah ary's Hill shall not inspire then- songr'
Who that prescribes the shadow of things to come and pro-
scribes the body which is Christ? Who would prosecute the
I
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40
study of the old and pe; ttpcute tho .students of the new cove-
nant? Who is it that sing ''exclusively" the hatred of the
king of the Jewish nation to his enemies ; anathematizes all
the Christian world, excf'j)t a little handful of a particular sect
of the Church of Scotland, for professing the dying *Ofe of the
'• King of kings and Lord of Lords." Uut the praises of Christ;
the inostiniahle value of his sacrifice, the unspeakahlo Love
of God in the giil of his Son to reconcile a world of rebels ;
the lost condition of the sin sick and guilt stricken world, dead
in Adam ; the meritvS of Christ's blood in furnishing the means
of salvation ; and the conditions implied in the covenant of
Grace ; the glorious plan of salvation, are themes which can
nerer, NEVER emanate from the lips of the "exclusive" sin"-er
of David's typical Hebraisms, now to us alm.ost unintelligible.
Vainly do you quote from such excellent Christian reformers
as Athenasius, IJasil, llorsley, Bishop Home, etc., eulogiums
of David's Psalms : tb(^y do not cover your ground. Be it
remembered they all used hymm in public worship. Tliey can
be of no use to the advocates of the " exclusive" use of the
Psalms of David. But they are inspired and good, and there-
tore they alone are good, is the syllogism to which the whole
matter is reduced by your logic. We can do without hymns,
therefore, it is Scottically wrong to use them ! We might le-
gitimately go on and say, upon the samo princi[)le, having thus
established the ''facV (us you would say) that whatever the
Psalms teach is right; therefore, whatever they do not teach
is wrong. But they never mention one word of a future
state, the Divinity t)f Christ, the merits of his blood, the su«
perior merit.s of the New Covenant, nor of His second coming
--yea, many other points of most vital interest to the 67«m-
^mn— therefore, by your logic, if ifc be worth anything, these
doctrines aro essentially wrong. Yea, the doctrines of Bap-
tism and the l^ord's Supper — the very name Christian, or dis-
ciple is, by your theory, essentially ivrong, and you would by
it unchristianise the Christian world. Indeed, the very least
that may be said of the salutary effects of your doctrine is,
that it is in its tendency most decidedly anti-Christian. It is
a doctrine no where to be found but among those who have
gone as tar as possible towards destroyiiuj the ordinances of
Christ. Now this may seem a very harsh charge, but what
would be said if it were found time ? But it is neither the
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41
time nor place to drag in another question, — and say how the
Clu'iMtian ordinances have suffered to make v/ay for Judaism :
how Christ, in iiis ordinance.^, has been saeriticed to Moses.
You have, Sir, searched long and successfully for miat, thyme,
and rue ; but we are labouring under a great mistake, if you
have not been passing by some of the most weighty matters
of the law of Christ.
Have you not, in common with your brethren, to wiiosc
imrty we had the honor in early life to belong, set aside the
" ordinance of the New Testament instituted by Christ for the
remission ofsijis,' and substituted it with an ordinance claim-
ing no higher authority than the ^'•traditions rf the fathers." —
You must be aware that that ordinance which you have en-
grafted into the " Perfect law of liberty," is not yet six hun-
dred years old. The saints of God met always on the Lord's-
<lay to eat the Lord's Supper ; and Paul, in upbraiding the
brethren in Corinthians first epistle xi. 20 says: "When ye
come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the
Lord's supper." So would the apostle say also of you, how
could he say less? for when ye come together, it is not to
eat the Lord's supper, except twice, perhaps, in a year.
Destroy baptism, as you have done, entirely, so far as your
inflience goes; destroy the ordinance of the Lord's supper
except a bare shadow, a mere remnant ; and now, aim a death
blow at singing praise to God ! This looks like " breaking
m pieces and stamping the residue with the feet of it." —
What is there of Christianity that you will condescend to
leave ? Will you let your admirers have the NAME of dis-
ciple, which their Saviour conferred upon the first believers
in him ? or will you grant them the name of Christian, given
them at Antioch, and concurred in by the Holy Spirit ? Or
do you think to spite Saint Paul fur complaining of the Cor-
inthians because they had their Paulites, Apolosites, Ceph-
ites, and Barnabites, and other ites ? though they had no
Calvinists, Lutherans, Armenians, Wesleyans, nor any of the
modern ites. You, however, retain the name Christian, just
as you do the ordinance of the Lord's table : that is, y^u grant
it a mere existence, but make very little u.-e of it.
But now what think you would the dear little old apos-
tle to the gentiles say, were he to come back to earth, and
v-l^t Europe and America, a.nd find millions of persons calling
%
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42
themselves by 66(5 ditterent names ; and having nimost as ma-
ny different suostitules for the laws of heaven, in the form of
Co7t/tssi'ms of Faith, etc., with their rival ministers, rival
meeting hoii?e?, sporHng rival spires, and ] (laying rival hells,
manufacturing praises to God on rival organs ; going to law
with one another witli impunity because of rival denominations,
and he is to le told these are Christians. Would he not strain
his eyes looking ibr the '•^man of sin" he talked about when
he was here before ? But he is told that some of the -e omnites
are straining at a hymn of praise to God aiter tlu'y swallowed
all the above vocabulary, and, insidiously as all other rites of
God's service liave been crowded out, appear determined that
that shall t-hare no better fate. Would not he imagine the
Corinthians in their worst form had still degenerated and ex-
tended their borders, and swallowed all the congregations of
Christendom? All these matters considered, sir, we hope you
will pardon our intrusion, and not be surprised that we have
been thus bold. Our motives, as we remark in our Introduc-
tion, ar(3 certainly not sinister, and if we are laboring under
mistaken notions of things, we will be set right very freely and
with the kindest feelings on our part. Especially, would we
be glad to hear from you how you can reconcile your fastidi-
ousness in relation to the Psalms, with your making to your-
selves laws for the regulation of what yea would call Christ's
Church.
Our Saviour either could not. would not, or did, mak(> laws
for the governnieiU of his own Church.
If he could not, which you will not be disponed to insist
upon ; or if he v<ould net, your own best logic will go to prove
that it must have been because no such laws Avere necessary.
Now, your propositions in reference to the Psalms, will ap-
ply to the laws of the Christian Institution. Whether or not
they will ap])ly as reasoiiubly to the latter as the former, will
be left to an enlightened Cliristian public to judge.
Here are your proj^ositions,
1. The Psalms were given by inspiration.
2. They were given to be sung by the members of the
Church. (?)
3. Mo subsequent book or books have been written by in-
spiration for that same purpose.
4. The Book of Psalms is no less adapted to the present
□
43
stiite of the Church, than to her state when they were originaDj
written.
Those are the propositions we have reviewed : now for tlicr
application to your avowed practice about wliich you have no
conscientious scruples.
1 . The laws of Christ for the government of his Churdi
were given by inspiration.
2. They wei-e given to be observed by the members of tliC'
Church — (true).
3. No subsequent book or books have been given hy in^i'
ration for the same purpose. (But one called the *• Confesskjn
of Faith," without inspiration.)
4. The book the Laws of Christ is no less adapted to tlic
present state of the Ciiureh, than to lier state when they were-
originally written.
While you have been standing in judgment upon the wor-
shippers of God for dishonoring God's word, behold ''thou
ART THE MAN," wlio luive subscribed a work of 4G5 jiages
purporting to give laws to the Church of Scotland! Now,,
provided that Church of Scotland is not the Church of Christ,
you have a right to enact laws, or acquiesce in those already
enacted, for its govemment. Otherwise not. "Who hath re-
quired this thing at youi- hand,"' to garble, disjoint, distract
and derange, tlu^ word of inspiration, as though the learned
councils of presum|)tuous men could amend cither in matter «r
form, the complete work of the Holy Spirit.
The Psalms wei-e given to the Jews .• — the New Testarne*rt
was given to Christians. ,
We are no where told that all things proper to be sun*-
were given in the Psalms of David even to the Jews.
The Apostle says, " All things are given unto us that j^r-
tain to life and godliness," and, " I have not ceased to declaftc
unto you the whole counsel of God."
The singing praises in wor^jhip is an exercise in which ao
error may not prove fatal.
The governing of a Churcli is a matter in which an error
must prove fatal.
You decry the singing of hymns, though they be the doe-
trines of inspiration, conformed to the modern style of the iaa-
giiage.
Yet you solemnly set yourselves up to legislate for the " Kin^
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44
of kings and Lord of lords" in matters o^ doctrine and govern^
tnent.
You have solemnly sacrijiced the laws of Jesua Christ to
the " Westminster Confession of Faith," and pronounced a whole
volume of imprecations upon dishonoring the Psalms of Rouse.
I have the honor to be yours,
W. W. LIVINGSTON.
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T H R END.
jI..^.
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