CLASS
STORY
PSALTERS
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THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS
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THE
STORY OF THE PSALTERS
A HISTORY OF THE METRICAL VERSIONS
OF GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA
FROM 1549 TO 1885
BY
HENRY ALEXANDER GLASS
=
LONDON
KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH & CO., 1, PATERNOSTER SQUARE
1888
BX
5146
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-004 745 827
Soth.
8173
English - Hanford
3-29-1923
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(The rights of translation and of reproduction are reserved.)
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;
TO THE READER.
THE, copy of "Tate and Brady," edition 1771, pur-
chased for one penny at an old book-stall, was in
excellent condition, bound in whole calf, and gilt-
edged. More than three generations ago it had done
duty in the earliest-founded church in the City of
London, St. Peter's above Cornhill, and had been
carefully used by "Mrs. Cobden on the other side,"
as appeared by a memorandum, no doubt by the
careful beadle, or pew-opener. There was an indica-
tion that the lady had done more than join in the
singing of the general congregation. Faintly written
against the seventh verse of the thirty-fourth Psalm
was the date, “ Nov. 21, '79.”
'The hosts of God encamp around
The dwellings of the just;
Deliv'rance He affords to all
Who on His succour trust.
35.
Who can tell now what was the deliverance which
made the 21st of November a marked day in the
history of the worshipper at the church of St. Peter?
Anno Domini 1779 was a year of wars and rumours
of wars. Spain fighting us at Gibraltar, France in
Jersey and the West India Islands, and the American
420444
vi
TO THE READER.
colonists in the savannahs of Georgia. London
was ill at ease by the news that sixty-six sail of
the line and a host of other vessels were gathering
at St. Malo, preparing for a descent upon England;
and the good citizens of Edinburgh were frightened
half out of their senses by the appearance of the
notable privateer Paul Jones, with "three small ships
of war and an armed brigantine," in Leith waters.
The Psalmist's songs of deliverance must have found
an echo in her own experience when Mrs. Cobden
used her Psalter "on the other side
the other side" of her parish
church!
Pondering over the long-disused Psalter, the writer
of the following pages felt a curiosity to learn more
about metrical versions. The search after a history
was fruitless. The nearest approach to it was The
Psalmists of Britain," a descriptive catalogue of a
large number of Psalm-versifiers, the great majority
of the authors quoted being mere contributors to
Psalm-literature in a metrical form. Whole versions,
or complete Psalters, were only incidentally illus-
trated.
*«
**
(6
The present attempt is the outcome of the reflec-
tions suggested by the possession of the Tate and
Brady Psalm-book of 1771, and the failure of the
search after a succinct history of English Metrical
Psalters.
The writer gratefully acknowledges his obligations
to the Rev. Albert Watson, Principal of Brazenose;
"The Psalmists of Britain," by J. Holland.
TO THE READER.
vii
VANBRUGH PARK,
Sir Robert Raper, of Chichester; Mr. W. L. Taylor,
of Peterhead, who supplied many gaps from his fine
collection of Psalm-books, and rendered valuable
assistance in verification; the Rev. H. Elvet Lewis,
of Hull, for his notes on the Welsh Psalters; the
Rev. Brooke Lambert, Vicar of Greenwich; Mr.
A. Boyd Cummings, of Philadelphia; the Libra-
rians of the Philadelphia Library and the New York
State Library; and to the officials of the British
Museum, Sion College, and Lambeth Libraries, for
their courtesy and attention.
BLACKHEATH, 1887.
THE
STORY OF THE
OF THE PSALTERS.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
1
IN the early Church psalmody appears to have been
a general practice. It was in the year 50 of the
Christian era-if we may credit Eusebius, as trans-
lated by the learned Archbishop Parker, in the
preface to his Metrical English Psalter of 1557 or
thereabouts-that "Philo, a Hebrew born, came to
Rome in the days of the Emperor Claudius, and
saw Peter the apostle, thus describing part of the
services in the houses dedicated to prayer by the
Christian people: 'Furthermore, they do not only
understand the ancient hymns of their elders, but
they themselves devise new to God's honour, whiche
they sing with all kinds of grave numbers and
rythmes in a comely honest manner, and with sweet.
harmony.' And furthermore Philo saith,' Our hymns
are so sung with us, that where one (a chanter) singeth
B
2
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
before one verse orderly and comely by observing
the certaintie of his numbers, all the multitude.
beside, secretlye giving ear unto him, at the last sing
together the latter parts of the hymns.'
)))
Gradually the musical parts of Christian worship
were surrendered to the priests, or to an inferior
order of clergy called Psalmista. Then the Council
of Laodicea, in the year 363, forbade the laity to sing
in church at all, except in certain simple chants-a
prohibition which became unnecessary, as the Latin.
tongue ceased to be the language of the common
people, and was used only in the ritual of the Church
of Rome, or in the writings of the historian or the
theologian. An order of monks made up for the
popular abstinence, by instituting a system of per-
petual psalmody. Relays of the brethren kept the
song going unceasingly. Like the vestal fires, or
the minute-bell of a Greek monastery, the music of
the Psalm was never hushed by day or by night. In
the diocese of Nismes, as late as the end of the fourth
century, this kind of psalmody was known as the
Laus perennis and Psalterium perpetuum.
The practice of metrical Psalm-singing in England
and Scotland was for nearly three centuries after the
Reformation laus universalis if not perennis. Never
in any other country, not even in Judæa in its
palmiest days, was the "Book of Praises" so widely
employed in popular religious services as in the
British Islands. For ten generations our forefathers
lifted their hearts in praise and prayer in the rugged
rhymes of Sternhold and Hopkins, or the somewhat
INTRODUCTORY.
3
more polished verses of Rous, and Tate and Brady.
Although the poetry was for the most part beneath
criticism, the versions had the merit of keeping as
closely to the original Hebrew text as the vulgar
tongue would permit; and the rhymes, or jingles, as
they too often were, conveyed the sense in simple.
language and easy measures. In a strange Anglo-
Saxon garb the aspirations of the sweet singer of
Israel found an echo in the hearts of Anglican, In-
dependent, and Presbyterian alike. Critics might
sneer at "putting David in fetters," but a people's
joys and sorrows found expression in the homely
verses, and hallowed even the jingles in their
memories.
The object of the metrical Psalter was much
nobler than the method and the manner of it. Next
in importance to the translation of the whole Bible
into the vulgar tongue, and declaring every man's
right to read it and judge for himself, were the rhym-
ing versions of the Psalms, which made the jubilant
hymns of the Hebrew poets the songs of the people.
Psalm-singing was a consequence of the Reformation.,
It carried the devout believer straight into the pre-
sence of his Maker and Deliverer, without the inter-
vention of priest or Creed, and enabled him to shout
in triumph-
"Ein' feste burg ist unser Gott."
It helped to lay deep the foundations of the re-
ligious liberty which now spreads more or less over
the whole of Christendom. Wherever the early
▼
4
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
colonies of England were planted the Psalter followed.
The first printed book in America was the "Bay
Psalm-book," and the last of the stereotyped editions
of Tate and Brady was used in the mission stations
scattered over the four quarters of the globe.
The Reformers, John Huss, Jerome of Prague, the
Bohemian Brethren, and Martin Luther, published
certain of the Psalms in German metre for the use of
the common people, "that priests might not be
wanted." They did not attempt an entire Psalter;
the Lutherans were satisfied with a selection of the
Psalms interspersed with their hymns. The only
entire metrical version which at all compares with
the English was the French Psalter of Marot and Beza.
Its history is interesting, not only on account of its.
superior literary merit, but because the tunes which
accompanied it were adapted, in numerous instances,
to the English Psalms, by Day, Este, and Ravenscroft,
and still continue in use, having long outlived the
rhymes to which they were set. Innocents, St.
Michael's, and the Old Hundredth are now sung by
"all people that on earth do dwell," in popular con-
f gregational worship.
“Clement Marot was the inventor of the rondeau
and the restorer of the madrigal," writes Warton. It
occasioned no little surprise when the French poet
proposed to substitute his metrical Psalms for the
Chansons d'amour of the French court, and bade the
ladies of France place their
". . . doights sur les espinettes
Pour dire sanctes chansonettes."
INTRODUCTORY.
5
Whether it was on account of the growing spread of
the new ideas awakened by the Reformation, or the
brilliancy of the rhymes, the "sanctes chansonettes "
leaped into fashion. The first edition of ten thou-
sand copies was speedily exhausted. Princes of the
blood, the king's mistresses, lords and ladies of the
court, began to sing Psalms to the ballad-tunes of
the times. Each one had a favourite out of the fifty
which Marot composed. The Dauphin, as became
a sportsman, chose "As the hart panteth after the
waterbrooks," and Diana of Poictiers, " From the depth
of my heart."
Writers of a later day, Isaac Disraeli among
others, have found much amusement in drawing the
picture of a dissolute court singing David's Psalms to
fashionable jigs. But it is a fact, nevertheless, that
the advent of Psalm-singing in the French court
marked the commencement of a real religious
awakening. Theodore Beza speedily completed the
whole metrical version, which, with the tunes at-
tached, received the sanction of the Sorbonne. The
Psalter was dedicated to the King and the ladies of
France, and was described as admirably fitted to
the violin and other musical instruments: surely no
reason why it should be considered as merely a fad
of a volatile court. No one can take up the Marot
and Beza by Jean Beaufoy, published at Lyons in
1566, or that of Jean Jannon, at Sedan in 1633, with-
out seeing evidence that the Psalms were for the use
of a devout Christian people, although with a good
taste, that was national, they sang out of exquisite
F
6
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
J
little duodecimos in calf or morocco gilt. The genuine
devotional character of the French Psalm-book is
evidenced by the fact that the austere Calvin adopted
it, adding to it the Genevan Confession of Faith; and
its reforming tendency is shown by its being promptly
added to the List of Heretical Books forbidden by
the Church of Rome. Some other metrical versions
in French have been published, notably those by
Phillippe des Portes and A. Godeau; but no French
library can show editions of the metrical Psalms
spreading over the centuries as in the British Museum
and Bodleian Libraries, for the Revocation of the
Edict of Nantes, in banishing the Huguenots, hushed
the voices of the French Psalm-singers until long
after the great Revolution.
As in France, the English metrical Psalter had a
similar court origin. Thomas Sternhold was a Gentle-
man of the Privy Chamber to Edward VI., as Clement
Marot was a Valet of the Bedchamber to Francis I.
Sir Philip Sidney, to whom Ruskin gives a leading.
place as a Psalm-writer, was a courtier of Queen
Elizabeth. Sir Thomas Wyatt translated several of
the Psalms into English metre, published in 1549-
the same date as appears on the first entire metrical
version printed by Crowley. The Earl of Surrey,
another courtier of Henry VIII., not only wrote a
sonnet in praise of Wyatt's verses, but contributed
other Psalms in rhyme himself. Alexander Mont-
gomerie, perhaps the best of the earlier Psalm-versi-
fiers, was a Captain of the Body-Guard to the Regent
Morton, during the minority of James VI. of Scotland.
INTRODUCTORY.
7
That the metrical Psalters first began to be used in
palaces of princes is an evidence of the widespreading
influence of the Reformation, rather than that of a
fleeting fashion in court circles.
The English metrical Psalm was also an outcome
of the early practice of popularizing almost every
literary production by rhyming. It commenced in the
reign of Henry II., when a paraphrase of the Gospel
histories appeared in a kind of tetrameter iambic
verse of fifteen syllables, with a moral poem upon
Old Age in a similar metre; the syllables broken.
into two, the first line containing eight and the second.
seven, each alternate line rhyming. The minstrels.
had already begun to accustom the ear of the people
to rhyme by using it in their romances; so that if the
poet or the moralist wished to reach the multitude,
history and philosophy were taught in jingling
rhymes and simple though imperfect metres. Chaucer
first elevated the practice into something deserving
the name of poetry. The proverbs in use were, even
in his day, almost always in rhyme. Contemporane-
ously with the first editions of Sternhold and Hopkins,
Thomas Tusser published his "Five Hundred Pointes
of Good Husbandrie" in rhyming couplets, in which
he thus paraphrased the simplest article of religious
belief as defined by St. Augustine—
"Since the world began there was and shall be still,
Of human kinds two sundry sorts, th'one good, th'other
ill;
Which till the judgment day shall here together dwell,
But then the good shall up to heaven, the bad shall down
to hell."
M
5
8
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
4/
Dr. Christopher Tye, organist to King Edward VI.,
published, in 1553, "The Actes of the Apostles trans-
lated into English Metre ;" and his example of
Scripture-rhyming seems to have been contagious,
for in a few years many other books of the Old and
New Testaments were similarly treated--canticles,
proverbs, prophecies, and histories alike. Later on,
Dod versified an Act of Parliament, and the practice
culminated when a Mr. John Hopkins clothed
"Paradise Lost," thirty years after it
after it was first
published, in a common metre, for the commendable
purpose of "making Mr. Milton plain." George.
Buchanan rhymed the Psalms in Latin (for whose
convenience perhaps scholars can tell); in turn, his
Latin verses were rhymed into English.
As the poetry, if any, of the metrical Psalms was
subservient to the rhyme, it is hardly fair to criticize.
the early metrical versionists from the standpoint of
our advanced literary culture. Dr. Johnson, the prince
of critics, declined to attempt it. "To have made.
men sing in concert, in the streets, or at their work,
and merry or sad, on all occasions to tickle the ears
with rhyme and touch the heart with emotion, was
betraying no deficient knowledge of human nature.” *
In England the old metrical Psalter is a thing of
the past.
It lingers in the Presbyterian Churches;
but even among them there are signs that before long
the common-metre rhymes of the oft-revised 1650
version of Rous will give way to the chant of the
literal paraphrases. North of the Tweed the Rous
* Timperley's "Encyclopædia of Literary and Biographical Anecdote.”
INTRODUCTORY.
9
Psalter still holds as unchallenged a position as ever
did Sternhold and Hopkins in England. Perhaps,
instead of discontinuing the time-honoured practice,
the kirks of Scotland will still further re-revise Rous,
as the Marquis of Lorne did in 1877, and may
eventually produce a Psalter which will satisfy the
critics, and finally dispose of Dr. Johnson's dictum
that no metrical version ever deserved other praise
than that of “meaning well."
Since Mr. Holland compiled his volumes, although
a considerable number of new metrical versions have
appeared, none of them have come into use for
congregational purposes, and they are already almost
as much memories of the past as Sternhold and
Hopkins, and Tate and Brady. It seems, therefore,
to be a fitting time to sum up the history of the
metrical Psalter, and place on record the long list of
whole versions from Robert Crowley, 1549, to Digby
Wrangham, 1885.
To have singled out all the contributors to metrical
Psalm-literature during the last three centuries would
have been an interminable task. Their name is
legion. Queen Elizabeth composed "two little
anthems, or things in metre," as well as a metrical
version of the thirteenth Psalm, as early as 1548,
when Clement Marot was writing his "sanctes chan-
sonettes." Since then, prince and peasant, lay and
cleric, have produced their little "things in metre
innumerable. The difficulty would be to find among
poetical writers on religious subjects those who have
* Ritson's "Bibliograph Poetica." Dr. Cotton says Ps. xiv.
))
ΙΟ
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
not at one time or other tried their hands at the
versification of a Psalm of David.
Even as regards the entire versions, a still further
elimination of metrical Psalters might have been made
without much loss; for, as far as popular use is
concerned, the versions of Sternhold, Rous, Tate and
Brady, and Watts stand out so far in advance of all
competitors, that their history illustrates the whole
subject of the rise, progress, and decline of metrical
Psalm-singing in England. A proof of this may be
seen in the subjoined table, showing the number of
editions of some of the metrical Psalters now in the
British Museum Library, and the periods in which
they were issued :—

•
Sternhold
Tate and Brady
Scotch Version
Watts.
Wesley
King James
Barton
Patrick
•
•
D
1549 1601 1651 1701
to
to
to
1600
to
1750
1650 1700
206
47
8
1
со
102
6
17
4
3
I20
35
9
2
24
1751 1801
to
I S00
105
103
28
32
8
to Total.
1868
21
159
44
58
601
303
98
97
13
་་
Dr. Cotton enumerates 309 distinct editions before
1700; the above table shows 355.
For the sake of completeness, however, all the
versions and versionists have been described in their
order of time. The full titles of their Psalters are
followed by the first verses of the first and the
twenty-third Psalms, and accompanied by short
biographical or other notices. Should the reader
INTRODUCTORY.
I I
compare them, he will probably be surprised at the
ingenuity with which more than a hundred versifiers
have contrived to differ from each other, while for the
most part adhering very closely to the Authorized
Version of the Bible.
12
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
87
CHAPTER II.
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
THE singing of metrical Psalms in the vulgar tongue
first commenced in Scotland. The Wedderburns
seem to have translated their versions from the
German hymn-books-a practice adopted by Bishop
Coverdale,* as will be seen in the comparison of a
verse in Ps. lxvii.-
"O God, be mercifull to vs,
And send to vs Thy blessing;
Thy face shaw vs sa glorious,
And be euer to vs luifing."
(Wedderburn, 1578.)
"God be mercifull vnto us,
And send over us His blessynge ;
Show us His presence glorious,
And be ever to us lovynge."
(Coverdale, 1583.)
A number of the Wedderburn Psalms had been
translated into metre before the year 1546. George
Wishart, who was burnt at the stake for heresy, sang
*Mitchell's "Wedderburns and their Work."
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
13
one of them on the night in which he was arrested.
Foxe, in describing the martyrdom of Adam Wallace,
1550, says, "He passed the night in singing, having
learned the Psaulter of David without boke to his
consolation." These songs are preserved to us in the
"Dundee Psalms," from the 1578 edition of which is
the following from Ps. xxiii. :—
"The Lord God is my Pastour gude,
Aboundantly mee for to feid;
Then how can I bee destitute
Of ony gude thing in my neid?
He feidis me in fieldis fair
To riuers sweet, pure, and preclair,
He dryuis me but ony dreid."
We have no evidence that Miles Coverdale's
Psalms were ever publicly used. Only one copy is
known to exist-that in the Library of Queen's
College, Oxford. In 1539, among the prohibited
books in the injunctions issued by Henry VIII., was
Coverdale's "Ghostly Psalmes and Spirituall Songes
drauen out of the Holy Scripture," in which he had
versified thirteen of the Psalms. "Would God," said
the bishop in his preface, " that our minstrels had
none other thing to play upon, neither our carters
and ploughmen other things to whistle upon, save
Psalms, hymns, and such godly songs as David is
occupied withal!" This is a specimen of his verse-
7
Loundal
C
"At the ryvers of Babilon
There sat we down ryght hevely;
Even whan we thought upon Sion,
We wept together sorofully.
}
14
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
For we were in soch hevynes,
That we forgat al our merynes.
And lefte of all oure sporte and playe;
On the willye trees that were thereby
We hanged up oure harpes truly,
And morned sore both nyght and daye."
The first complete metrical Psalter had gone out of
memory for nearly two hundred years when a copy
of it was discovered in the Library of Brazenose
College, Oxford. Its date was 1549, and its author,
Robert Crowley. He was a citizen of London, after-
wards Rector of Cripplegate, in the ancient church of
which parish he lies buried. Previously to his clerical
career he had been known as a man of parts as well as
a man of business-a printer, bookseller, and occasion-
ally a preacher. He edited the "Visions of Piers the
Ploughman," writing of it that "there is no manner
of vice that reigneth in any estate of men which he
[the author] had not godly, learnedly, and wittily re-
buked." The moral tone which Crowley claimed for
Piers Ploughman" was characteristic of his own con-
tributions to the literature of the times. His teaching
might be summed up in the title of one of his own
metrical tracts—
"Pleasure and Payne, Heaven and Hell,
Remember these foure, and al shall be well."
We can readily understand how welcome an addition
he became to the clergy when Cranmer undertook the
almost hopeless task of filling the parishes of the land
with devout and competent incumbents in place of
the monks and priests who had been ejected from
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
15
their livings. There is no record that Crowley's
Psalter was ever employed in public worship; yet the
author's memory will be preserved in the annals of
the literature of his country as the first Englishman
who versified the whole of the Psalms of David in his
native tongue.
6
Archbishop Parker's Psalter (1557 ?), privileged but
not popular, was as little used as that of Crowley.
It seems to have had a private circulation. Possibly
the reason why it was not put on sale was that Parker,
on his elevation to the see of Canterbury, dis-
countenanced metrical Psalm-singing as savouring
too much of the Puritanism which he detested. His
verse, however, was better than that of his prede-
cessor, as may be seen by comparing the following
lines from Ps. xxxvi. with the verses of Crowley
quoted in the description of the versions :
:
:
"The words of his mouth: he unrightfully weighed,
In sleighty deceit he they craftily lay'd:
Quite ceased he hath to behave him aright;
Good deed for to do: hath he driv'n from his sight.
All mischief he dreams to advise in his bed,
From godly deserts: hath he turned his head.”
Or the refrain of Ps. lxxiii.-
"Yet God is good to Israell,
to them of perfect hart:
:
Though wicked men have here the sweete,
and good men feele the smart.”
The next versifier of the Psalms "sang the rhymes
16
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
L
to his organ."
Simple rhymes to simple measures
were united, and common metre " took the place it
ever after retained as the most popular method of
"singing of the Psalms.”
(C
)) *
Thomas Sternhold, a Gentleman of the Privy
Chamber, 1540-9, whose heart had been touched
by the influence of the religious revival spreading
throughout the country, for his own solace at first,
translated some of the Psalms of David into English
metre. One day, while "singing them to his organ,
in his apartments at Whitehall, absorbed in his de-
votional music, a delicate boy, who had not attained
his twelfth year, approached and listened with interest
and delight. Such strains, in the vulgar tongue, had
never been heard before—
"O God, my Strength and Fortitude,
Of force I must love Thee:
Thou art my Castle and Defence,
In my necessitie."
The little lad was the precocious Edward VI., who
was not satisfied until he had become better ac-
quainted with the author and his work. In the early
part of 1549, not long before the death of Sternhold,
thirty-seven of his Psalms were published by Day,
dedicated to "the Most noble and verteus Kyng of
England, Fraunce, and Irelande, defendour of the
Faith, and in yearth of the churche of England, and
also of Irelande, the Supreme Hed." The pious
author added, "Trusting that as your Grace taketh
Strype.
***
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
17
pleasure to hear theim song sometimes of me, so ye
will also delight not only to see and read therein
yourself, but also to commande them to be song to
you of others, Thomas Sternholde, grome of His
Maiesties Robes, wisheth encrease of health, honore,
and felicitie."
Thus to Edward VI. belongs the honour of having
first authorized a part of the metrical Psalter for
public use. "Your Majesty," says William Baldwyn,
in his dedication of the metrical version of the
Canticles, in 1549, "hath already given a notable
example in causying the Psalmes in fine Englyshe
meter, by your godly disposed seruant Thomas.
Sternholde, to be song openly before your grace, in
the hearynge of all your subjects."
Metrical Psalm-singing at once became popular ;
but the accession of Queen Mary put an end for a
time to all public practice of it. Before Edward's
death the Thirty-seven" Psalter had been suc-
ceeded by the "Forty-four," which contained seven
added Psalms by Hopkins. In 1556 the Psalter had
increased to the Genevan "One and Fiftie," Whit-
tingham being the new contributor. It was this
Psalter that was used in the church of St. Antholine's,
Watling Street, where the practice of congregational
Psalm-singing in church was first introduced, "the
bell beginning to ring at five, when a Psalm was sung
after the Genevan fashion, all the congregation, men,
women, and children, singing together." Strype adds,
"Immediately, not only the churches in the neigh-
bourhood, but even the towns far distant, began to
с
(C
18
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
vie with each other in the practice. You may now
see at St. Paul's Cross, after the service, six thousand
persons, old and young, of both sexes, all singing
together and praising God."
Queen Elizabeth had not acceded to the throne
more than twelve months when, by royal injunction,
a new and entire metrical version of the Psalms was
ordered to be prepared. In an early register of the
Stationers' Company, a year or two afterwards, is the
following receipt: "Received of John Daye for his
lycence for pryntynge the resideue of the Psalmes not
heretofore prynted, so that this maketh up the hole,
iiijd." This "hole" version was completed in 1561-2,
and published in 1564.
In addition to Sternhold and Hopkins, who be-
tween them contributed 100 Psalms to the version,
Whittingham wrote 12, Kethe 10, Pullain 1, Norton
26, Wisdom I, and 5 anonymous, total 155; five of
the Psalms being duplicated.
The writers who completed the Sternhold Psalter
will be chiefly remembered for their connection with
the time-honoured version. Not, however, on account
of the merit of their performances; for, as old Thomas
Fuller said, "They were men whose piety was better
than their poetry, and they had drunk more of Jordan
than of Helicon."
John Hopkins was a clergyman and school-
master in Suffolk, and is supposed to have been a
Little is known of
graduate at Oxford in 1544.
him. Here is a verse of his from the original
edition-
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
19
،،
Why doost withdrawe Thy hand aback,
And hide it in Thy lappe?
O plucke it out, and be not slack
To give Thy foes a rappe!
})
William Whittingham, a Puritan divine, was edu-
cated at Oxford about 1540, and afterwards studied
at a German university. He was first heard of in
connection with the Protestants at Frankfort, then as
minister of an English congregation in Geneva, where
he married Calvin's sister, and wrote the Psalms
added to the 1564 version. He was Dean of Durham
in 1563, his occupation of that office being chiefly
remarkable for his encouragement of good music and
his violation of monuments. He died on the 10th
of June, 1579.
Here is the doctrine of the Trinity in
rhyme from his versification of the Athanasian Creed-
"The Father God is, God the Son,
God Holy Spirit also,
Yet there are not three Gods in all,
But one God, and no mo.”
William Kethe "made to run in rhyme" the
Psalms that are attributed to him, during his exile
in Geneva in Queen Mary's reign. He was Chaplain
to the Forces under the Earl of Warwick in 1563 and
1569.* About 1561 he was settled as a minister in
Warwickshire. He will always be remembered as
the author of the hundredth Psalm, the only com-
position in the Sternhold and Hopkins Psalter which
is still generally sung―
"All people that on earth do dwell."
* He is also stated to have been Minister of Child Ockford, in
Dorsetshire.
20
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
The tune to which it was set is also one of the few
now used of the forty tunes that were attached to the
original Psalters. The "Old Hundredth" was com-
posed by Guillaume Franc, doubtless for Marot and
Beza's Psalter; and appears in the Genevan Psalter
of 1561, a copy of which is in the Library of St. Paul's
Cathedral.
John Pullain was senior student of Christ Church
in 1547, then thirty-three years of age. Queen Eliza-
beth appointed him to the archdeaconry of Colchester.
He died in 1565.
Thomas Norton was born at Sharpenhoe, in Bed-
fordshire. He was
a barrister-at-law. Wood, the
historian, calls him a forward and busy Calvinist.
Robert Wisdom was presented by Cranmer to the
rectory of Stisted, in Essex, afterwards to that of
Settrington, in Yorkshire. Subsequently he became
Archdeacon of Ely. He was classed among Pre-
cisians and Puritans, of one of whom Sir Thomas
Overbury, who had no liking for them, said, "He
conceives his prayer in the kitchen, rather than in
the Church, and is of so good discourse that he
dares challenge the Almighty to talk with him ex-
tempore. He thinks every organist is in a state of
damnation, and had rather hear one of Robert
Wisdom's Psalms than the best hymn a cherub can
sing."
Few works, beside the Bible and Shakespeare, have
been distinguished by a demand for concordances.
In 1694 appeared a Concordance of the Sternhold
Psalter, giving "the most material words in the Book
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
21
of Singing Psalms for Parish Clerks." Until 1856
the old paraphrase was the only version which
attained the like honour, when a "Concordance to
the Metrical Psalms of the Church of Scotland" was
published.
In Charles II.'s time Sternhold was printed in
shorthand. In the British Museum Library are two
curious little volumes in small 64mo (a half-dozen
of them could be laid on the palm of the hand)—
The Whole Book of Psalmes in Meeter, according to that
most exact and compendious Method of Short Writing
composed by Thomas Shelton. Sold by Tho.
Cockerill at the Three Legs and Bible in the Poultry.
The Whole Book of Psalms in Metre, according to the
Art of Short Writing written by Jeremiah Rich, Author
and Teacher of the said Art. London: sold by
Samuel Botley, over against Vintner's Hall in Thames
Street, and nowhere els.
Este, Day, and Ravenscroft, in the early part of
the seventeenth century, issued Psalm and tune books
combined, the former revisions of Sternhold, which
were largely used in the churches. Thomas Ravens-
croft's (1621) was entitled-
The whole Book of Psalmes, with the Hymns Evangelicall
and Songs Spiritvall, composed into 4 parts by sundry
Authors, with such seuerall tunes as haue beene and
are vsually sung in England, Scotland, Wales, Germany,
Italy, France, and the Netherlands, neuer as yet before
in one volume published.
Among the musical contributors were Thomas
22
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
Tallis and John Milton, the father of the great poet.
It is from this and the other tune-books and Andro
Hart's Psalter (Edinburgh, 1615), that the old tunes
are taken which are still sung in Protestant countries.
St. David's is one of them; Dundee, French and
Martyrs are others.
The last edition of Sternhold and Hopkins, in the
Library of the British Museum (1828), is the Cam-
bridge stereotype edition. It is bound up with a Tate
and Brady.
In 1556 the Wedderburn Psalms in Scotland were
superseded by the Sternhold "One and Fiftie," added
to the Genevan Form of Prayer. Parts of the con-
tents of the "buik" are an almanac, a calendar, an
epacte (by which to know the age of the "mune "),
the dates of the Scotch fairs, etc. This was the
'Psalme Buik" presented to Mary Queen of Scots,
with "ane Bybill," by the citizens of Edinburgh, in
1561.*
(6
Arrangements seem to have been made for bringing
out the first Sternhold Psalter simultaneously in Lon-
don and Edinburgh. In December, 1561, “the Kirk
lent Robert Lekprevick, printer, twa hundreth punds
(Scotch money) to help buy irons, ink, and paper, and
to fee craftsmen for Printing of the Psalmes." It was
not, however, until 1564 that the collection afterwards
called the “Old Psalter" was completed. Added to
the Genevan "One and Fiftie" were sixty-eight from
the completed version of Sternhold and Hopkins, with
twenty-one by Pont and Craig, making up the number.
*McCries' "Life of Knox."
-
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
23
The following shows the variations between an English
and a Scotch edition
Sternhold
Hopkins
Whittingham
Kethe
Pullain
Norton
M.
Craig.
Pont
Authors.
•
·
•
་
D
*

·
•
·
•
English
Edition.
40
60
12
IO
I
26
4
I
I
Jant
155Ť
Scotch
Edition.
OMOMANDO
2
39
37
16
25
2
8
2
15
150
Other Scotch editions followed. The earliest in the
Library of the British Museum is-
1602.-The CL. Psalmes of David in Meter, with the
Prose. For the use of the Kirk of Scotland.-
Middelburgh, Imprinted by Richard Schilders,
Printer to the States of Zeeland.
That of 1615 bore signs of considerable revision. The
first verse of the twenty-third Psalm reads-
"The Lord is onely my Support,
And hee that doeth mee feede :
How can I then lacke aniething,
Whereof I stand in neede ?"
*Livingston's "Scottish Metrical Psalters."
Five duplicates.
In 1634 Andro Hart, Edinburgh, published an
edition, followed by another in 1635 by his "Heires;"
0
24
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
and Robert Bryson, from his shop at "the signe of the
Jonah," issued a third in 1641.
In 1693 the first American edition of Sternhold and
Hopkins was published at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
In England, from the first, the Sternhold version ran
through a fire of adverse criticism. Almost every
scribbler thought he could improve upon it. But the
few who tried their hands at a metrical version failed
to produce anything more satisfactory. Lampooned
by wits, Sternhold bore the brunt of the ridicule of
Psalm-singing. A century after its publication and
the adoption of Sternhold and Hopkins in public
worship, on the eve of the glorious Revolution of 1688,
a Cavalier poet wrote-
Singing with woful noise,
Like a crack'd saints' bell, jarring in the steeple,
Tom Sternhold's wretched prick-song for the people." *
((
In this Victorian era, two hundred years still later
on, there yet lingers among the older of our hymnal
collections some of these "wretched prick-songs "—a
sufficient reply to the irreverent criticisms of an
irreligious age.
Following the Sternhold Psalms appeared the
"Seven Sobs of a Sorrowful Soule," by William
Hunnis, 1585. His seven penitential Psalms will
be chiefly remembered by one of the additional
hymns attached to them, perhaps the first metrical.
Evening Hymn composed after the invention of
printing.
* Ed. Phillips.
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
25
A MEDITATION WHEN YE GO TO BED.
"O Lord my God, I wandred haue,
as one that runs astraie,
And haue in thought, in word, in deed,
in idlenes and plaie,
Offended sore Thy Maiestie,
in heaping sine to sine;
And yet Thy mercie hath me spard,
So gratious hast Thou bin.
O Lord, my faults I now confesse,
And sorie am therefore,
But not so much as faine I would-
O Lord, what wilt Thou more?"
Hunnis was
one of the Gentlemen of hir Maiesties
honourable Chapell, and Maister of the Children of
the same."
Alexander Montgomerie was a Psalm-versifier. It
is a pity that he did not attempt an entire version.
His verses are vastly superior, with the exception of
Sidney, to the rhymes of his contemporaries of the
sixteenth century. The Psalms of the Scottish poet
might have outlived all the popular Psalters with
their awkward rhymes and monotonous measures.
The title of his contribution to metrical psalmody is-
The Minde's Melodie, contayning certayne Psalmes of the
Kinglie Prophete Dauid, applyed to a nevv pleasant
tune, verie comfortable to everie one that is rightlie
acquainted therewith. Edinburgh: printed be Robert
Charteris, Printer to the Kings most excellent Maiestie,
1605.
26
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
7
Compare the first Psalm in this collection with the
specimens given later on of the various metrical
versions, and the conclusion is obvious that the
earlier poet has not been excelled, if equalled—
"Blest is the man
Yea, happie than,
By grace that can
Eschew ill counsell and the godles gates;
And walks not in
The way of sin
Nor doth begin
To sit with mockers in the scornfull sates;
But in IEHOVAES law
Delites aright
And studies it to know
Both day and night.
That man shall bee
Like to the tree
Fast planted by the running river, growes;
That frute doth beare,
In tyme of yeare ;
Whose leaf shall neuer fade, nor rute vnlouse."
Another sixteenth-century versifier of the Psalms
was Sir Philip Sidney, courtier and soldier, whose
work was completed by
"Sidney's sister, Pembroke's mother,"
and her counthan
excet his!
and remained in manuscript until the year 1823,
when it was printed by the Chiswick Press. Ruskin
writes that there is more poetry in the seventh stanza
of Sidney's version of the seventy-second Psalm than
in the whole edition of Tate and Brady-
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
27
"Looke how the woods, where interlacéd trees
Spread friendly armes each other to embrace;
Joyne at the head, though distant at the knees,
Waving with wind, and lording on the place;
Sa woods of corne
By mountaynes borne
Shall on their shoulders wave ;
And men shall passe
The numerous grasse
Such store each town shall have." *
Among the heroes of the Elizabethan age, who
were skilful alike in the arts of peace and war, was
William Myddelton (Canoldrev), who grieved that
his beloved Wales was hymnless while the new-found
song of praise rose from thousands of English and
Scotch worshippers. He was the elder brother of
Sir Hugh Myddelton, of New River fame. Shortly
after Captain Myddelton's return from the Azores,
where the English fleet had failed to intercept the
Spanish galleons, he wrote the "Art of Welsh
Poetry;" and two years subsequently (1595), off
the island of Scutum, in the West Indies, he com-
pleted a metrical version of the Psalms, translating
from the Hebrew into Welsh, and "keeping as near
as he could to the mind of the Holy Ghost." Like
those of Montgomerie and Sidney, his metres were
too elaborate “to be song of al men," and little Wales
* "Rock Honeycomb." Ruskin adds, "Join at the head '-Sidney
thinks over the words, shall shake like Libanus,' till he imagines the
ears of corn so large that they shall touch, and close up together as the
heads of the trees do.”
28
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
had to wait for nearly a generation before the metrical
Psalm became part of its public worship.
Ainsworth (1612) better helped "the saints in the
comfortable use of the exercise" by his almost count-
less annotations than by the facility of his rhymes.
The version was, however, frequently used by the
Puritans in their services, and was the first to enter
into competition with Sternhold.
Dod's version (1620) received scant courtesy from
his contemporaries. Wither wrote savagely of it:
"Dod, the silkman's, late ridiculous translation of
the Psalms was by authority worthily condemned
to the fire." His Psalm-book, nevertheless, will
always attract the curious, if only for its "Act of
Parliament in Metre "-a work, doubtless, never
attempted before or since.
It was an "Act en-
joyning a Public Thanksgiving on the Fifth of
November."
"Be it therefore enacted by
the royall maiestie
Of our good King, and by his Lords,
divines and temporaltie-
And also by authoritie
of this whole parl'ament.
Th' foresayd poures and Commons all
assembled nowe present,
That all and singular diuines.
in Churches Cathedrall,
And ministers in eurie Church
which is parochial :
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
29
Or other place, that is for vse
of prayer knowne by name
In England's Realme or within
dominions of the same,
Shall alwayes on the fifth day of
the moneth of each November,
In prayers to Almightie God,
give praise and thanks foreuer :
For this most wondrous happinesse
in our deliverance ;
That so the same may be preseru'd
in due rememberance."
Edmund Prys (1621) published a complete version
in a simple metre that could be sung by the people.
It is the metrical Psalter of Wales, for until recent
years no rival version appeared, and it still partially
retains its hold on the popular affection. The Rev.
H. Elvet Lewis says that ever since the Welsh
Psalter of Prys appeared, it has been one of the
chief treasures of Welsh hymnology. Many a simple
verse, rugged and massive in form, has been taken
up in great assemblies in unison, at first in slow and
halting tones, gradually rising and swelling, till at
last with overwhelming force it seemed to break on
the shore of ten thousand souls like the splendid roar
and rush of a mighty sea. This Welsh version, up
to the present time, has had a longer life than any
other. Sternhold has been completed about 250
years, Tate and Brady 140, the Scotch version now
counts 240, and the Welsh 270.
The Psalter which bears the name of King James
A
30
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
20
(1631) was in reality the "Lord of Stirling's," as it was
called by Zachary Boyd. William Alexander, born
at Menstrie, in 1580, was a young sonnet-writer who
attracted the notice of the king, and being attached
to the court, became his royal master's "trustie and
well-beloved coadjutor" in a new versification of the
Psalms. After the accession of Charles I., 1626, he
was commanded by that monarch "to consider and
revew the meeter and poesie of the work as far as
it had progressed, and confer with the original text."
Alexander considered and revewed" the verses of
the pedantic monarch so thoroughly that nothing
of King James was left to be "conferred with the
original." Possibly the reviewer was of the opinion
of George Buchanan, the Latin versifier of the Psalms,
who, being reproached that, when James's tutor, he
had made the king a pedant, replied that "it was
the best that could be made of him."
((
How far "our late deare father" was the author,
as claimed by his son, Charles I., may be seen by
comparing the verses of the 1631 edition with his
manuscript, preserved in the British Museum. About
thirty of the Psalms, finished or unfinished, are all
that he is known to have versified, for before he made
further progress—to quote the words of the Bishop of
London, in his funeral sermon on the occasion of the
death of the king-" God called him to sing psalms
with the angels; "-let us devoutly hope in better
measures than he employed on earth. Here is the
commencement of the first Psalm in the manu-
script-
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
31
"That mortail man most happie is and blest
Qho in the wickedis consalis doth not walk;
Nor yet in sinneris way doth stay and rest,
Nor sittis in seatis of skornfull men in talk.
But contraire fixis his delicht
Into iehouaise law,
And in his law both day and nicht
To think is never slaw."
And part of Ps. xix.-
"The heauenis of michtie godd the glorie lett,
And of His handes the workes spread out doth shou.
Even so the nichtis do scyence (?) make us knou
No wordis nor kyndlie speaches from them flou ;
Yet without this thaire uoyce is understand,
Theare beames and drauchtes (?) they with thaire speaches
sou
Thruoch all the earth and habitable land."
The king seems to have been satisfied with his work
as far as he had proceeded with it, if that meaning is
to be attached to a note on the page containing the
first Psalm: "Dimidum facti qui bene cæpit habet!"
Upon the appearance of the royal Psalter in Scot-
land, a zealous Presbyterian, probably David Calder-
wood, the historian, drew up, at considerable length,
"Reasons against the Reception of King James's
Metaphrase of the Psalms." King Charles, however,
was "fully convinced of the exactnesse," and enjoined
the Privy Council of Scotland to use "no other
Psalmes whatever." But when, in 1636, a new edition
was issued, it was evident that the objections had
taken effect, as the version was so much altered that
32
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
hummm!
it bore only a partial resemblance to its predecessor.
This new edition was authorized by the king "by
open proclamation at the Market Crossess of the
Head Burrows of this our Kingdome," and being
added to the Prayer-book, an attempt was made to
force it upon the Church of Scotland. An irresistible
opposition was offered to it, however, and, in the
troubles which soon overtook the king, all further
efforts to introduce it were finally abandoned.
George Wither, in 1632, published his version. It
was in lyric verse. He was one of a group of
nine writers, headed by James I. and concluded by
Zachary Boyd, who endeavoured to improve upon
the Sternhold and Hopkins version. Day, Este
and Ravenscroft altered many of the most rugged of
the rhymes, without pleasing the critics sufficiently.
Hence the attempts towards an entirely new versifi-
cation. Wither seems to have published his first
edition with some perturbation of mind, if we may
judge from his preface: "If I have pleased my
readers, I am glad; if not, yet I am glad; I have
honestly endeavoured it. And (being assured my
labour shall not all be lost) I will sing and be merry,
by my selfe, in the use of this translation, untill others.
please to sing it with me; or untill a more exact
version shall be produced and allowed." Poor
Wither commenced as a Royalist lawyer, expanded
into a major-general under the Commonwealth, and,
after the Restoration, spent the greater part of the
few years of life left to him in the Marshalsea and the
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
33
Tower. He received but scant courtesy from his
contemporaries. Getting a patent for his Psalms
from Charles I., the Stationers' Company fought
against his privilege before the Council, when their
Lordships were good enough to " damn his patent," as
far as adding his Psalter to the Bible was concerned.
When he was afterwards taken prisoner during the
Civil Wars by the Cavaliers, Sir John Denham, him-
self afterwards to be enrolled in the list of versifiers,
desired his Majesty not to hang him, "because that,
as long as Wither lives, I shall not be accounted the
worst poet in England." The vice of Wither,” said
one of his critics, "as it was generally of the literature
of his age, was a passion for ingenious turns and un-
expected conceits, which bear the same relation to
beautiful thoughts that plays upon words do to true)
wit."
(C
George Sandys (1635) was a poet, "ingenious and
learned," said Dryden, "the best versifier of a former
age." Addison acknowledged the benefit he received
by the study of his style. His version was set to
new tunes for private devotion," and must have
been a solace to many readers, as well as to his
royal master Charles I. when he was a prisoner in
Carisbrooke Castle.
The Puritan writer of the Rotterdam version (1638)
very rightly thought that the following and other
verses in the Sternhold collection "called for amend-
ment :"
Ma
D
34
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
"Lord, when wilt Thou amend this geare?
Why dost Thou stay and pause?
O rid my soule, my only deare,
Out of these Lions clawes."
(Ps. xxxv.)
"O God, break Thou their teeth at once.
Within their mouthes throughout,
The tuskes that in their great jawbones
Like Lions whelpes hang out."
He claimed for his version a "tolerable smoothness,"
and that is all that could be said in its favour.
Another version of the same date, "conferred with
the Hebrew Veritie," will be chiefly remembered on
account of the disputes concerning its authorship. It
was written either by Richard Brathwaite or Richard
Burnaby. Possibly the writer was not anxious to
prove himself the author of a Psalter commencing
with the lines-
"Blest is the man, whose walks are cleer
From wicked counsells aire."
The Bay Psalm-book, printed in America, 1640,
was hopelessly bad. Quotations from it have afforded
amusement to almost all writers on metrical psalmody.
How far the critics were justified will be seen by the
following "plaine" translations, as they are called in
the preface:
"Like as the hart panting doth bray
after the water brooks,
even in such wise, o God, my soule
after Thee panting looks."
(Ps. xlii. 1.)
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
35
66
"I as a stranger am become
unto my bretherren,
and am an aliant unto
my mother's childerren."
(Ps. lxix. 8.)
Prayse yee the Lord, o to the Lord
give thanks for good is Hee :
for His mercy continued is
to perpetuitie."
(Ps. cvi. 1.)
"And sayd, He would them waste; had not
Moses stood (whom He chose)
'fore Him i'th breach; to turne His wrath
lest that He should waste those."
(Ps. cvi. 23.)
The Minister of St. Martin's, Leicester, Mr. William
Barton, wrote a version in 1644, and had it printed
by order of Parliament, and sold "at the Brazen
Serpent, in St. Paul's Church Yard." According to
the testimonials of his friends, his translations are
"sweet," "exact," " apt," " excellent," "exquisite," and
"elaborate; " but they almost immediately came into
competition with the famous "Mr. Rous his Psalms,"
and, after a struggle, gallantly maintained by Mr.
Barton, the original versifier of the Scotch Psalter won
the victory. Barton, however, always claimed that the
version was "mostwhat" composed out of "mine.
and Mr. Rous's."
Francis Rous, the "old illiterate Jew of Eton," as he
36
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
was maliciously called by the Royalists, was the next
versifier. In 1643 the Assembly of Divines, sitting at
Westminster, were desired by Parliament to consider
the subject of psalmody. They took up a recent ver-
sion made by Francis Rous, read it over, and suggested
sundry amendments. While it was still under con-
sideration, in 1644, appeared an Ordinance of the
Lords and Commons, substituting for the Book of
Common Prayer a "Directory for the Publique
Worship of God." One of the concluding ordinances
was " Of Singing of Psalmes:" "It is the duty of Chris-
tians to praise God publiquely by singing of Psalmes
in the Congregation, and also privately in the Family.
In singing of Psalmes, the voice is to be gravely and
humbly ordered: but the chief care must be to sing
with Understanding and with Grace in the heart,
making melody unto the Lord. That the whole Con-
gregation may joyn herein, every one that can read is
to have a Psalm-Book, and all others not disabled by
age or otherwise are to be exhorted to learn to reade.
But for the present, when many of the Congregation
cannot read, it is convenient that the Minister, or
some other fit person appointed by him and the other
ruling officers, doe reade the Psalmes, line by line,
before the singing thereof."
The Assembly sent up the amended Rous version
to the House of Commons, November 14, 1645,
making report: "Whereas, the Honourable House
of Commons, by an Order bearing date November
20, 1643, have recommended the Psalms published
by Mr. Rous, to the consideration of the Assembly
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
37
of Divines, the Assembly has caused them to be
carefully perused, and as they are now altered and
amended do approve them, and humbly conceive they
may be useful and profitable to the Church, if they
may be permitted to be publicly sung."
The debates in Parliament spread over two or
three years, and great opposition to the decision of
the Assembly was raised in the House of Lords,
caused by their preference for the version of Mr.
Barton, whose Psalms were sent to the House of
Commons, backed by a resolution recommending
their consideration. They were returned, however,
with reasons for not entertaining the proposition, the
chief of which was that they were already committed
to Mr. Rous. During the contentions between Lords
and Commons, some of the Scotch delegates in the
Assembly of Divines recommended the adoption of the
version made by Mr. Zachary Boyd, with no better
success. At last, on April 16, 1646, Mr. Knightly
carried the Psalms to the Lords for concurrence, when
the order for the singing of "Mr. Rous his Psalms"
throughout the kingdom of England, dominion of
Wales, and town of Berwick, was finally consented to.
The present Scotch Psalter (1650) is the revised
version of the Assembly of Divines at Westminster,
which, after still further revision, was enjoined to be
used in the kirk by public authority. "It was then,"
says an anonymous writer, "the concurrent judgment
of the Churches, that nothing ought to be sung in
public worship but those Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual
38
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
Songs which God has provided His Church with in the
Inspired Word." That judgment has prevailed in the
Church of Scotland long after hymnal collections had
superseded the use of the Psalters in England.
Forty eminent and representative English Non-
conformist divines subsequently adopted the Scotch.
adaptation of Mr. Rous, as they thought it "came
nearer to the original of any that they had seen, and
ran with such a fluent sweetness that they could not
but recommend it." Undoubtedly the Scotch is one.
of the best of the old popular versions. With all its
defects, there is a ring about it which we do not find
in Tate and Brady, and a smoothness which was not
a characteristic of Sternhold and Hopkins. It is
difficult for Englishmen to realize how much the
Rous Psalter entered into the religious and social life.
of the Scotch people. Wherever they went they took
their psalm-book with them, and while Tate and Brady
was slowly vanishing from sleepy parish churches in
English rural districts, the sturdy Presbyterian might
here and there be still heard shouting his Psalms with
as great vigour as ever. Mrs. Oliphant, in her "Life
of Irving," says, "Whenever his friends and followers.
sang the praises of God, it was that rugged version
of the Psalms of David which we in Scotland know
from our cradles, and, all poetic considerations out of
the question, cherish to our graves.
Those rugged
measures by turns grand in their simplicity, by turns
harsh and unmelodious, as only translated lyrics can
be, which cheered the death-passion of the Covenanter,
and which Carlyle, with an almost fantastic loyalty
r
1
اینستا
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
39
(in rebellion), puts in the mouths of his mediæval
monks, Irving, in actual reality, put into the mouths of
his English followers."
After the Restoration and the ejectment of the two e
thousand ministers, the English edition of Rous
naturally fell into disuse. As an authorized version,
it was not to be expected that the restored Church
would suffer it to supersede the Sternhold Psalter,
hallowed by old associations. Even the Dissenters
neglected the Rous Psalter in its English form. Psalm-
singing was no longer universal. In the early days
of the Commonwealth, the general use of the
metrical Psalter was evidenced by the fact that in
1644, at a grand banquet given to members of Parlia-
ment in Guildhall, the feast was ended with singing
the sixty-seventh Psalm, Dr. Burgess giving it out a
line at a time. In 1710 the practice of Psalm-singing
had so far gone out of use in Nonconformist Churches,
that it is stated of the songless Church, meeting in
Devonshire Square, that disputes arose about congre-
gational psalmody, which resulted in a compromise.
After the morning service, those who objected to the
'unchristian infection" retired, and they who re-
mained joined in singing one or more appropriate
hymns.*
The New England Psalm-book (1650) was an
American version of Rous, intended to take the place
of the unsatisfactory Bay Psalm-book. It was
largely used in the American colonies for more than
* Pike's "Ancient Meeting-Houses."
We
40
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
}
7
a century afterwards; for no poet appeared who could
improve upon its versification.
Cotton Mather's blank-verse Psalter, in the early
part of the eighteenth century, was inferior even to
the rhymes of Peter Foulger of Nantucket, the grand-
father of Benjamin Franklin. The Quaker school-
master thus warned the rulers in his country not to
“meddle with God's worship "–
And I am not alone herein; there's many hundreds more
That have for many years ago spoke much upon that score.
Indeed, I really believe, it's not your business
To meddle with the Church of God in matters more or
less."
"> *
Mr. John White, the "Patriarch of Dorchester,"
was one of the ministers who sat in Council to decide
which was to be the authorized Commonwealth Psalter.
He was not a competitor for the honour, and his
prudence will be commended by the reader when his
version (1655) is examined and compared with Rous
or Barton.
Dr. Roberts, a Presbyterian divine, and a leading
member of the Assembly, also produced a Psalter in
1675, and failed to show any marked improvement
upon his predecessors.
The Bishop of Chichester's (1651) was a praise-
worthy attempt to get rid of "the unhandsome
* "The Looking-Glass for the Times."
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
4I
expressions" in the old Psalters. "This worthy
bishop," says Anthony Wood, "being at divine.
service on Sunday, in a certain church (at Langley,
I think, in Bucks.), and hearing there a Psalm sung
whose wretched expression quite marred the penman's
matter, and his devotion, he did, at his return home
that very evening, try whether, from the version of our
Bible, he could not easily and with plainness, suiting
the lowest understanding, deliver it from that garb,
which indeed made it ridiculous. From one and
another he passed on until the whole book was run
through."
Dr. Woodford (1667), before he entered into holy
orders, was a prolific writer, who at one time proposed
to versify the first chapter of the Book of Genesis as
a "History of the First Great Week of the World."
In this undertaking he says he expected "great
assistance from the Royal Society"! He does not
seem to have had any scientific assistance in his
edition of the Psalms; but they were of sufficient
merit for the next poet on our list to consult him
in connection with George Buchanan and George
Sandys.
Sir John Denham (1668 ?), probably bearing in
mind his savage criticism of George Wither, wrote a
Psalter which was not published until long after his
death. He was better entitled to the praise of “fluent
sweetness" than Francis Rous. Here is a verse from
his Ps. cxlv.-
42
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
a
C
"O Lord my God, my songs to Thee
Shall, like Thyself, immortal be!
For ever I'll Thy praise express,
And every day Thy Name will bless."
Miles Smyth (1668) and Richard Goodridge (1684)
were scandalized by the defects of the old version.
Smyth blushed to think how the metre had disguised
so eminent a portion of Holy Writ, and Goodridge
endeavoured to expunge many low and indecent
expressions. "How rude," said he, "are the following!
and taken from amidst the manners and language of
the street! "__
"Our soul in God hath Joy and Game."
"There! there! this Gear goeth trim."
Goodridge certainly improved upon such lines as
those he quoted, but not more than Dr. Ford (1688),
who took for his model the Stirling translation of
King James, and issued his Psalter "at the Three
Pigeons, over against the Royal Exchange."
Dr. Patrick (1691) wrote his version with such
"pious skill" that Baxter said "his holy affections
and harmony hath so far reconciled the Nonconformists.
that diverse of them use his Psalms in their congrega-
tions."
-
Richard Baxter followed (1692), and immediately
preceded Tate and Brady. He claimed to have done
that which no man had ever done before him. By
the use of brackets, his Psalms became long or common
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
43
metre at discretion. His bracketed version has an
odd look in the present day. Thirty years before,
Baxter had drawn up a reformed Liturgy. Had the
Presbyterians attained the supremacy in the two first
years of the reign of Charles II., as appeared not
unlikely at one time, instead of the ejectment of the
two thousand, the parish Churches might have
echoed with Baxter's Liturgy and Baxter's Psalms,
as appointed to be read and sung by royal au-
thority!
The glorious Revolution of 1688 found the Church
of England firmly established, and the would-be
reviser of her Liturgy a persecuted Nonconformist.
More than a hundred editions of Sternhold and
Hopkins had been published since 1650, and its use
was well-nigh universal everywhere out of Scotland.
But there was a growing desire for an improved
version that might on its merits fairly be entitled to
supersede the Elizabethan Psalter.
In 1696 the version of Tate and Brady appeared,
which, by Order in Council, was allowed and per-
mitted to be used in the churches. "His Majesty's
most obedient servants," Nahum Tate, the poet-
laureate, and Dr. Nicholas Brady, no doubt suc-
ceeded in improving Sternhold and Hopkins. Not
more, however, than some other versifiers. During
the period that intervened between the two Psalters,
many writers had advanced far beyond Sternhold in
poetic feeling and smoothness of the rhyme. Com-
pare the first verse of the eighty-fourth Psalm of
A
44
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
Milton and Rous with those of Tate and Brady, and
the latter is far from showing any superiority:-
Q
"How lovely are Thy dwellings fair,
O Lord of Hosts; how dear
Thy pleasant tabernacles are,
Where Thou dost dwell so near!
"My soul doth long, and almost die
Thy courts, O Lord, to see;
My heart and flesh aloud do cry,
O living God, for Thee!"
(Milton, 1608-1674.)
"How lovely is Thy dwelling-place,
O Lord of Hosts, to me!
The tabernacles of Thy grace
How pleasant, Lord, they be !
"My thirsty soul longs veh'mently,
Yea, faints Thy courts to see;
My very heart and flesh cry out,
O living God, for Thee!"
(Rous, 1579-1658.)
"O God of Hosts, the mighty Lord,
How lovely is the place,
Where Thou, enshrin'd in Glory, shew'st
The brightness of Thy face!
"C
My longing soul faints with desire
To view Thy blest abode;
My panting heart and flesh cry out.
For Thee, the living God!"
(Tate and Brady, 1696.)
The new version failed at first to make any impres-
1
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
45
sion upon the continued use of the old familiar rhymes.
It was immediately attacked by the critics, who
accused its authors of " rebelling against King David,
and murdering his Psalms." Its zealous defenders
had to engage in a polemical warfare. "A True Son
of the Church of England," in a pamphlet published
in 1698, alluding to the charge that the sense was
frequently sacrificed to the exigencies of the rhyme,
wrote, "Cavillers and objectors say that these New
Psalms are too Poetical (?), and yet I am certain that
none of them are more poetical than the original, or
have bolder Expressions or more lofty and exalted
Metaphors, or more lively Flights of Fancy, than
those of David." A less flattering defence was that
the version, "though not excellent, was not in-
tolerable."
Only two or three of Tate and Brady's Psalms
survive in our popular hymnal collections; but pos-
sibly one verse, wedded to Spöhr's music, is likely to
be immortal-
"As pants the hart for cooling streams,
When heated in the chace;
So longs my soul, O God, for Thee,
And Thy refreshing grace."
The version never even succeeded in entirely sup-
planting that of Sternhold and Hopkins. The
nineteenth century was nearly reached before the
former distanced its competitor; and not long after
both became reminiscences of the past.
Like Sternhold and Rous, the Tate and Brady
46
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
version was subject to much revision.* In fact, some
of the Psalms were versified by other authors. This
will account for the Tate and Brady first psalm, as
familiarly known, being different to that of the original
and suppressed edition. The "scoffing crew" in the
1696 Psalm-book was eliminated in the lines-
"How blest is he who ne'er consents
By ill advice to walk;
Nor stand in sinners' ways, nor sits
Where men profanely talk."
This verse has become historical in the well-known
anecdote of Lord Palmerston and Wilberforce, then
Bishop of Oxford. They were staying in a country
house one Sunday, when the bishop elected to walk
to church. It came on to rain, and as Palmerston
passed him in the carriage, a shout was heard, "How
blest the man who ne'er consents, by ill advice to
walk!" Always ready with a repartee, the bishop
promptly responded, "Nor sits where men profanely
talk."
Possibly the Tate and Brady version has suggested
more humorous quotation than even Sternhold and
Hopkins, and the Bay Psalm-book. A reading-party
of Oxford men, as late as thirty years since, with
vivid recollections of a party of old dowagers, who
used to spend their time in discussing their neigh-
bours, were nearly convulsed as they listened in
Dolgelly parish church to the singing of Ps. xli. 6—
*The late Provost of Eton, Dr. Hawtrey, used to say that he had
heard in his youth that Dryden revised Tate and Brady, and that to
him are due the few poetic touches.
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
47
"Suppose they formal visits make,
'Tis all but empty show ;
They gather mischief in their hearts,
And vent it where they go."
Was it inexcusable, when two friends were listening
to an illogical sermon, for one of them to pass his
Psalter to the other, marked against Ps. xlix. 13?—
"How great their folly is, who thus
Absurd conclusions make !
And yet their children, unreclaim'd,
Repeat the gross mistake."
That "Ancient Presbyter of the Church of Eng-
land," Luke Milbourne (1698), quickly followed upon
Tate and Brady, and was the last versifier of the
seventeenth century. It was of him that Pope wrote,
"Dulness is sacred in a sound divine." But the
critics never treated fairly the metrical translators of t
the Psalms.
If Pope satirized Milbourne, Swift's ridicule of Daniel
Burgess (1714) was yet more bitter. The popular
Nonconformist minister was accused of mixing up
with his oratory "unction with incoherence and
ribaldry." His Psalms fared little better with some
of his reviewers, if we may judge from the allu-
sion in Billingsley's preface to "little impertinent
criticisms."
Sir Richard Blackmore (1721) improved the versi-
48
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
fication of the English Psalter. As a literary pro-
duction, his version possessed considerable merit,
although it did not escape the satire of the wits of
the period. Pope, in the "Dunciad," wrote-
"But far o'er all, sonorous Blackmore's strain;
Walls, steeples, skies, bray back to him again.
>
All hail him victor in both gifts of song,
Who sings so loudly and who sings so long."
In 1719 the Dissenters recovered their capacity for
Psalm-singing in the "Imitation of the Psalms in the
Language of the New Testament," by Dr. Isaac Watts.
Its poetical diffuseness gave a new appearance to
the Book of Praises. The Psalms became hymns, and
not mere rhyming paraphrases of the Hebrew poets.
What they lost in literalness they gained in fervour.
It soon became apparent that the days of the old
"closely-fitting" Psalms were numbered, and that the
effort in future would be to produce the Psalms
"newly dressed." To use his own language, Watts
was the first who "brought down the royal author
into the common affairs of the Christian life, and led
the Psalmist of Israel into the Church of Christ with-
out anything of a Jew about him." He accomplished
his object, however, by completely changing the
character of the Psalms. "Watts was almost the
inventor of hymns in our language," wrote James
Montgomery.
It is remarkable how instantly Watts's songs
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
49
gained the ear of the people. Pike says that four
thousand copies of Watts's Psalms were sold in
the first year of its production; and when he joined
his collection of hymns with it, the "circulation of
these sacred pieces far exceeded the bounds of human
comprehension." The same writer adds, in another
place, that Watts's "Poems for Children" were even
more popular, and were "dispersed by millions." In
fact, no "closely fitting" metrical translation of the
Psalms could ever reach the height of the fresh
inspiration of a Christian poet. What verses of Stern-
hold, or Rous, or Tate and Brady, could bear com-
parison with such hymns as "When I survey the
wondrous cross"?
Yet Watts did not escape the fierce criticisms
which followed after all other Psalm-versifications.
Bradbury contemptuously spoke of his verses as
“garblings, manglings, and transformings;" and was
said once to have stopped a clerk who was giving out
one of his hymns, with "Let us have none of Mr.
Watts's whims."
Many of the subsequent versionists used the ex-
ample of liberty set them by Dr. Watts very freely.
David was sacrificed to doctrine, rather than enlarged.
in the spirit of Christianity, as claimed by Kit Smart.
The following shows what a wide range was taken by
some of the authors :-
E
50
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
3
q
Date.
Author.
1754
Wheatland
and
Silvester
1765 Smart
1773
Maxwell
1776 Barclay
1824
1825
1828
1797 Winchester
1801 Cottle
1811 Goode
1815 Donald
1821 Woodd
Turner
Sankey
Patullo
1829
1831
1833 Musgrave
Wrangham
Bartholomew
1833
1834 Lyte
1844 Feilde
1847 Irons
Ducarel
1848 W. H. B.
Object.
Translated into heroic verse in as liberal a
manner as rhyme and metre would allow.
Put evangelical matter in the place of expres-
sions that seem to be contrary to Christ.
Substituted the sacrifice of Christ for all
allusions to "brutal sacrifices.'
Paraphrased according to New Testament in-
terpretation.
Adapted his Psalter to Christian worship ac-
cording to the doctrine held by Universalists.
Gave a connected train to the ideas of the Psalm
when they were disjointed.
Adapted his version to the Christian dispensa-
tion.
Made the Psalms hymns of Christian experience.
Directed the mind to the life, death, and
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Adapted the Psalms for the purpose of con-
gregational singing.
Had an eye to the beautiful in Church music.
Adapted her version to all denominations of
Christians.
Suited it to general parochial psalmody.
Rendered the Psalms more applicable to
parochial psalmody.
Rendered his Psalms in different terms from
those to which the ear of the many had been
accustomed.
Gave more connection and continuity to each
composition.
Gave the spirit of each Psalm in such a com-
pass as the public taste would tolerate.
Paraphrased for the inmates of a cottage.
Trusted that Socinians, Arians, and Arminians
would find no music in his version for their
falsehoods.
Sought to develop Christian doctrines in strict
accordance with those maintained by the
Established Church.
Some of these versionists, if they did not murder
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
51
the Psalms of David, took very great liberties with
them. The "Sweet Singer of Israel" was employed
in aid of Calvinist and Arminian, Methodist and
Presbyterian, with a recklessness which makes the
reader of the present day stand aghast at the temerity
of the rhymers. Mr. Irons (1847), in his metrical
version, clothes his hyper-Calvinism in the language
addressed to the "chosen people," as if the doctrine
of election had been held by Moses, and had found
expounders in the other writers of the Book of
Praises. Winchester made David tune his harp to
the glorification of the doctrine of the "final restora-
tion." W. H. B. (1848) made the Psalmist develop
Christian doctrine as maintained by the Established
Church; and Miss Patullo instructed him to sing so
as not to offend "the various denominations."
But perhaps the most remarkable instance of
using David with a purpose was that of Maxwell
(1773). Full of the prejudices of his Church against
instrumental music being employed in public worship,
he tried to eliminate or explain away all references to
the subject in his new version. How he succeeded
will be seen by his paraphrase of the ninth verse.
of Ps. cxliv., "I will sing a new song unto Thee,
O God: upon a psaltery of ten strings will I
sing praises unto Thee."
•
Ma
•
"I'll sing a new song to the Lord
With my whole heart and tongue,
By me His works, His ways, His Word,
Shall cheerfully be sung."
Also Ps. cxlix. 3, "Let them praise His Name in
52
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
the dance: let them sing praises unto Him with the
timbrel and harp."
"Let them their Saviour's glorious Name
With praises high advance;
And loud His mighty power proclaim
Who doth their joys enhance."
Finding it impossible to keep out the instruments
in Ps. cl., he ingeniously lays the responsibility of his
compelled references on the Jews. Ps. cl. 3-5, “Praise
Him with the sound of the trumpet: praise Him with.
the psaltery and harp. Praise Him with the timbrel
and dance : praise Him with stringed instruments
and the pipe. Praise Him upon the loud cymbals :
praise Him upon the high-sounding cymbals."
"As did with instruments the Jews
His praises high proclaim;
Let us our hearts and voices use
To magnify His Name.
"As they with timbrels in the dance,
And instruments well-strung,
Prais'd God, let us His praise advance
With well-tun'd heart and tongue.
"Like cymbals let our cheerful tongues
His praises sound on high:
And let our sweet harmonious songs
Transcend the lofty sky."
The "Bard of Methodism," Charles Wesley (1740),
kept the Jew out of the Psalms as successfully as
Dr. Watts. They became Methodist songs. John
Wesley, his celebrated brother, with an entire absence
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
53
of any false modesty, claimed for the poetical com-
positions of himself and his prolific coadjutor, that
in them "there are no doggerel, nothing put in to
patch up the rhyme; no feeble expletives. Here is
nothing turgid or bombast, on the one hand; or low
and creeping on the other. Here are no cant ex-
pressions, no word without meaning. Here are (allow
me to say) both the purity, the strength, and the
elegance of the English language, and at the same.
time the utmost simplicity and plainness suited to
every capacity."*
Poor Kit Smart (1765), unhappy poet! was the
only one of the versifiers of David who wrote a song
to him. His metrical Psalter, like a hundred others,
is likely never to be read except by the curious; yet,
when freed from the necessity either of closely fitting
his rhymes or enlarging them in a Christian spirit,
and addressing himself to the object of his lifelong
admiration, he rose to the occasion, and produced a
poem which placed him in the front rank of the
writers of his age. It seems almost incredible that
the same hand that composed the rhymes of the
metrical version, inscribed, with a key upon the
wainscot of a room in which he was confined as a
lunatic, the noble "Song to David," remarkable, not
only for its intensity, but for its Miltonic sublimity.
Surely the Hebrew poet never had a higher tribute
than the lines in reference to the Psalmist's antici-
pation of the long-promised Messiah.
* Preface to the Wesleyan Hymn-book.
54
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
Q.
"Glorious the sun in mid career;
Glorious th' assembled fires appear;
Glorious the comet's train.
Glorious the northern lights astream;
Glorious the song, when God's the theme;
Glorious the thunder's roar ;
Glorious-more glorious is the crown
Of Him that brought salvation down,
By meekness, called Thy Son;
Thou th' stupendous truth believed,
And now the matchless deed's achieved,
DETERMINED, Dared, and Done."
Till the end of the century, now and then a versifier
still attempted the old-fashioned literal Psalters.
Mr. Pike (1751) preferred closeness to the text to
the rhyme; Thomas Prince (1758), taking the New
England Psalm-book as a model, endeavoured to
find a nearer approach to the inspired original;
James Merrick (1765), whose Psalms were extensively
used in Tattersall's editions, kept as rigidly as he could
to the text; and Boswell (1786) improved the metre
of the Scotch version while retaining its literalness.
Not one of them, however, was popular in a
national sense. More than a hundred editions of
Sternhold and Hopkins were published between 1750
and 1800, and as many more of the version of Tate
and Brady. The latter reached its culminating point
in the first half of the next century, while the Stern-
hold sale diminished to nothing, anticipating a
S
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
55
similar extinction of Tate and Brady by compara-
tively a few years.
In the present century more whole versions have
been produced than in the two hundred and fifty years
which preceded it. They have suffered the same fate
as the more ancient Psalters. Hymnals have super-
seded them all. Yet not a few of the recent metrical
paraphrases leave little to be desired as translations
faithfully reproducing the sentiments and rhythm of
the Hebrew Psalter, whilst clothing its songs in more
or less polished English verse.
Some of the most painstaking and satisfactory
versions of the nineteenth century will be found to
be by American writers. Dr. Allen (1835) gives as
many as six original versions of some of the Psalms
--a metrical feast to the lover of the Book of Praises.
Professor Abner Jones (1854) renders his version in
various measures, divided according to musical ca-
dences, the responsive lines being kept unbroken.
He retains the original compass of the words of the
prose versions, which he laboriously calculates in his
preface. Here is his comparison—
Hebrew version, 150 Psalms, 5280 lines.
Abner Jones
Rous
Tate and Brady
Dr. Watts
>>
>>
>>
""
5338
8340
8632
9500 (not complete)
>>
""
>>
>>
As the object of this work, however, is to give a
history of metrical Psalm-books, and not a criticism,
the reader must be referred to the details of the
versions for a closer acquaintance.
56
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
要
​*
No one has succeeded in the attempt to provide a
new national Psalm-book to take the place vacated
by Sternhold and Hopkins, and Tate and Brady; nor
has any single writer ever succeeded in making his
mark on each of the hundred and fifty Psalms and
anthems which constitute the collection called by the
name of King David. An ideal Psalter would, per-
haps, be a selection culled from the best versifiers;
but what compiler, or number of compilers, could
satisfy the requirements of the critics, and at the
same time overcome the prejudices and meet the
tastes of a nation? And if an attempt to produce a
generally accepted selected Psalter were successful,
it would, after all, only become an accessory to the
hymn-book. The hymn is now embedded in Chris-
tian worship, not only as an addition to the ritual of
a cathedral, but as the only part of the service, in
Churches without ritual, in which minister and people
can unite with one heart and one voice.
* The author of "Anthologia Davidica" and others have attempted
the work; none of them, however, gaining the public ear.
Date.
( 57 )
CHAPTER III.
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
THE following, as far as can be ascertained, is an
exhaustive list of those who are, with few exceptions,
versionists of the whole of the Psalms. Lowndes
mentions versions by George Scott, Edinburgh, and
James Neligan, Dublin. The inquiries for them have
proved fruitless. Doubtless some metrical whole ver-
sions have escaped notice, and it may also be thought
that if Bishop Hare's and the Tingstadius versions
have been inserted, others of a similar character might
have been placed in the list, notably the scholarly
and refined paraphrase of the Rev. T. K. Cheyne, D.D. ·
The Gaelic versions in Scotland and the Erse version
in Ireland, appear to be translations from Rous.
Name.
1549
Robert Crowley
1557? Matthew Parker
1564 Thomas Sternhold
1565? George Buchanan
1580? Sir Philip Sidney
1603 William Myddelton
Henry Ainsworth
1612
Rank or Occupation.
Rector of Cripplegate.
Archbishop of Canterbury.
Groom of H. M. Privy Chamber.
Poet, historian, and statesman.
Soldier and statesman.
Soldier and naval commander.
Puritan minister-Brownist.
58
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
Q
$
С
Date.
1620
1621
1631
1632
1636
1638
1638
or Burnaby?
1640 Bay Psalm-book
1643 Francis Rous
1644 William Barton
1648
1650
1650
1674
1684
1688
1691
1692
1696
Name.
1651
Henry King, D.D.
1655 John White
1667
Henry Dod
Edmund Prys
King James
George Wither
George Sandys
Rotterdam version
Richard Brathwaite
Samuel Woodford, D.D.
1668? Sir John Denham
1668
Miles Smyth
1704
1714
1718
1719
1721
1740
1751
1752
1754
Zachary Boyd
Scotch Psalter
New England Psalm-
book
1698 Luke Milbourne
Charles Darby
Daniel Burgess
Francis Roberts, D.D.
Richard Goodridge
Simon Ford, D.D.
John Patrick, D.D.
Richard Baxter
Tate and Brady
Wheatland and Silvester
Francis Hare, D.D.
Rank or Occupation.
1754
1755
1758 Thomas Prince
"Silkman."
Archdeacon of Merioneth.
James I. of England, VI. of Scotland.
Lawyer and major-general.
Poet and traveller.
Puritan divine?
Dep.-Lieut. county of Westmoreland.
Three New England ministers.
Provost of Eton, and member of Com-
monwealth Parliaments.
An ejected minister of 1662.
Minister of Barony Church, Glasgow.
Rous, revised by Commissioners.
Rous, revised by "thirty-two learned
and pious persons."
Bishop of Chichester.
Minister of God's Word in Dorchester.
Rector of Hartley Malduith, Hants.
Knight, author of "Cooper's Hill."
Secretary to Dr. Sheldon, Archbishop
of Canterbury.
Rector of Wrington, in Somersetshire.
Cotton Mather
Isaac Watts, D.D.
Sir Richard Blackmore
Charles Wesley
Samuel Pike
Sandemanian minister.
John Barnard
Pastor at Marblehead, New England.
Thomas Cradock, D.D. | Rector of St. Thomas's, Baltimore,
Maryland.
Rector of Old Swinford, Worcester-
shire.
Preacher to the Charterhouse.
Parish minister of Kidderminster.
Tate, poet-laureate; Brady, Vicar of
Richmond, Surrey.
Rector of St. Ethelburga's, Bishopsgate.
Rector of Kedington, in Suffolk.
Minister of Church meeting at New
Court, London.
New England minister.
Independent minister.
Knight, physician to William III.
Methodist minister.
Bishop of Chester.
Pastor of South Church, Boston, New
England.
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
59
Date.
1773
1776
1786
1794
1797
1759 George Fenwick
1765 James Merrick
1765 Christopher Smart
1767 Protest. Dutch Psalter
1801
1808
1809
ISII
ISII
1815
1820
IS21
IS21
1827
1828
1829
1831
1831
1832
1832
Name.
1822 James Montgomery
1823 James Usher
1824 Baptist Noel Turner
1824 Richard Mant, D.D.
1825 Matthew Sankey
Edward Rowland
1826
James Maxwell
John Barclay
Robert Boswell
Tingstadius version
Elhanan Winchester
1833
1833
Joseph Cottle
Thomas Dennis
John Stow
Wm. S. Towers
William Goode
Robert Donald
G. F. Holford
William Coldwell
Basil Woodd
John Maule
Margaret Patullo
William Wrangham
Walter J. Trower, D. D.
Alfred Bartholomew
Edward G. Marsh
Henry Gahagan
1833 J. P. Bartrum
1834
George Musgrave
P. J. Ducarel
H. A. S. Atwood
Henry F. Lyte
William Allen, D.D.
E. Farr
1834
1835
1836
1838 C. Foster and E.
Colling
1839 John Keble
Rank or Occupation.
Rector of Hallaton, Leicester.
M.A., a clergyman.
Poet, or hack writer?
Consistory of Dutch Church, New
York.
S.D. P., Glasgow.
Minister of the Bereans, Edinburgh.
Writer to the Signet.
Professor at Upsal University.
"Final Restoration" minister of the
Gospel.
Bookseller.
Curate of Haslemere, Surrey.
A lay member of the Church of
England.
Private gentleman.
Rector of St. Ann's, Blackfriars.
Member of Parliament.
Geological surveyor and architect.
Rector of Drayton Beauchamp,
Bucks.
Editor, printer, poet.
Rector of Denton, Somersetshire.
Bishop of Down and Connor.
Retired timber-merchant, afterwards
clergyman.
Doctor of medicine.
Scotchwoman of good family.
A tradesman of Louth.
Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway.
Architect.
M. A., Minister of Hampstead Chapel.
Barrister-at-law.
American.
Curate of Marylebone.
Curate of Kenilworth.
Perpetual Curate of Brixham.
President of Bowdoin College.
Vicar of Hursley.
60
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
Date.
1840
1841
1843
1844
1845
1847
1847
1848
1850
1850
1850
1851
1853
1854
1854
1856
1857
1858
1859
1859
1860
1863
1864
1867
1868
1870
Name.
George Burgess, D.D.
John Eden
Francis Skurray
E. Feilde
1871
1875
Thomas Spalding
Joseph Irons
B. T. H. Cole
W. H. B.
Samuel McClure
Morris Williams
Frederick Fysh
M. Montagu
(
"A Layman
Abner Jones
Edward Churton
G. T. Townsend
1862
1863
1863 Robert Young
"
Anonymous
Edgar A. Bowring
"An Octogenarian
Thomas Turner
C. B. Cayley
W. C. Yonge
Arthur Malet
William Milligan
American
Psalter
1865 Viscount Massereene
""
Metrical
Dalman Hapstone
James Keith
Thomas Slater
John Burton
William Rees
1876 B. H. Kennedy, D.D.
1877 Marquis of Lorne
1878
1882
1883
1883
D. C. McLaren, D.D.
W. D. Seymour
"Ben-Tehillim "
David McLaren
1885 D. S. Wrangham
Rank or Occupation.
Bishop of Maine
Vicar of St. Nicholas', Bristol.
Rector of Winterbourne, Dorset.
M.A., Pastor of Rock and Ren-
nington.
Wholesale stationer.
Calvinistic minister, Camberwell.
Rector of Warbleton, Sussex.
American.
Clergyman of the Establishment.
Author of "Anastasis Examined."
Lieutenant in the Royal Navy.
Professor of Music, New York.
Archdeacon of Cleveland.
Author of "Flowers from the Garden
of the Church."
Member of Parliament for Exeter.
Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.
Author of "Psyche's Interludes."
Minister at Henley-on-Thames.
M.A., Minister of Free Church,
Chapelton.
Justice of the Peace.
Bishops of the Episcopal Church.
10th
Viscount
Massereene
History."
Timber-merchant.
Ferrard.
Master of Arts.
Bookseller at Dingwall, N.B.
(C
Author of Compendium of Ancient
Preacher, journalist, and poet.
Canon of Ely.
and
Governor-general of Canada.
American Doctor of Divinity.
Q.C., Recorder of Newcastle.
Minister of Humbie.
M.A., St. John's College, Oxford.
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
61
Name.
Although metrical versions of the Psalms were
usually added to the Prayer-books, their use was
never obligatory, if the Commonwealth Psalter be
not excepted. No mention of them is made in
the rubric. The anthem only is referred to: “In
quires and places where they sing, here followeth the
anthem." The rhymed Psalters were privileged,
allowed, or permitted to be used, by royal or other
authority. The following is a list of these privileged
versions:
Crowley
Parker
Sternhold
King James.
·
Wither
G. Sandys
Barton
Rous
Tate and Brady
Sir R. Blackmore
·
Date.
1549
1557?
1562
1631-6
1632
1636
1644
Privilege or Permission.
1721
Cum privilegio ad imprimendum solum.
Cum gratia et privilegio.
Cum gratia et privilegio.
perused and allowed.
Faithfully
Allowed to be sung in all the churches,
and authorized to be added to the
Prayer-book.
Authorized to be added to all editions.
of the Bible.
Cum privilegio Regiæ Majestatis.
Printed by order of Parliament.
1643-50 | Ordered by both Houses of Parliament
1696
to be sung throughout the kingdom.
Allowed and permitted by royal
authority to be used in all the
churches.
Royal allowance that the same be per-
mitted to be used in all the churches.
Dod is also stated to have received the royal sanc-
tion, but only one authority* has been found to verify
the statement.
The writer has endeavoured, in the following
* J. H. Todd.
62
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
Q)
descriptions of the metrical Psalters, to supply the
names of the authors who published their works
anonymously or under fictitious names. In some
cases he has been successful; but five versions have
baffled his research :—
ROBERT CROWLEY.
1549.-The Psalter of David, newely translated into Englysh Metre, in
such sorte that it may the more decently, and wyth the more
delyte of the mynde, be reade and songe of al men. Where-
unto is added a note of four partes, wyth other thynges,
as shall appeare in the Epistle to the Reader. Translated
and Imprinted by Robert Crowley, in the yere of Our Lord
MDXLIX, the xx day of September, and are to be solde in
Eley rentes in Holbourne. Cum privilegio ad Imprimendum
solum. BLACK LETTER.-Brazenose College Library.*
I.
"That man is happy and blessed that hath not gone astraye
In the counsel of wycked men, nor stand in synners waye.
That man is blest, I say, that hath not sate in companye
With scornful men that thyncke wysdom to rest in them
onlye.
But hath in the lawe of the Lorde set his onely delyht :
And will in the same exercise hymselfe both daye and
night."
XXIII.
"The Lorde is my Shepherde, and I shall never stand in
nede;
For in pasture exceedinge good, He leadeth me to fede,
* The writer is indebted, for the extracts, to the courtesy of the
Principal of Brazenose, the Rev. Albert Watson.
† Psalm i. The first verses of Psalm i. and Psalm xxiii. are given
in all the versions.
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
63
He causeth me to laye me downe in pasture full of grasse;
And dryveth me to caulme waters that be so cleare as
glasse."
Crowley was a printer and bookseller in London,
who edited and published, among other works, the
"Visions of Pierce Plowman." During the reign of
Edward VI. he exercised the gift of preaching. He was
Fellow of Magdalene College, 1542; Prebendary of
St. Paul's, 1558; Rector of Cripplegate, where he was
buried.
MATTHEW PARKER.
1557?—The Whole Psalter translated into English Metre, which con-
tayneth an hundreth and fifty Psalmes. By M. P. Imprinted
at London by John Daye, dwelling over Aldersgate, beneath
St. Martyn's. Cum gratia et privilegio. BLACK LETTER.-
Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
'An blest no doubt: who walketh not out,
In wicked mens affayres ;
And strondth no daie: in sinners waie,
Nor sitth in scorners chayres."
XXIII.
"The Lord so good: who geueth me food,
My Shepheard is and guide:
How can I want: or suffer scant,
When He defenth my side?
To feede my neede: He will me leade
To pastures greene and fat;
He forth brought me : in libertie,
To waters delicate."
64
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
Archbishop Parker, born 1504; Fellow of Corpus
Christi, Oxford. Chaplain successively to Anne Boleyn,
Henry VIII. (1537), and Edward VI.; Dean of
Lincoln (1552), when deprived of his spiritualties by
Queen Mary; and Archbishop of Canterbury from
1559 to his death in 1575. The Bishop's Bible was
published under his direction in 1568.
Parker's version was probably printed in Holland,
during his enforced retirement between 1533 and
the accession of Queen Elizabeth. It must have been
a work of considerable labour, and is undoubtedly one
of the finest productions in black letter of the typo-
graphical art of the period. One of the copies—a few
only of which were privately distributed-is in the
British Museum. The Psalter is prefaced by a
metrical address to the reader, and long translations
from Athanasius, Basilius, Augustine, and Eusebius,
on the use of the Psalms.
Each of the Psalms in Parker's Psalter is preceded
by a collect, and followed by an argument or homily;
and, at the end of the book, are added eight tunes,
the "meane, contra, tenor, and base," separately
written, with the following quaint description of the
L character of the music :-
"1. The first is meeke: devout to see,
2. The second sad : in maiestie,
3.
:
The third doth rage: and roughly brayth,
4. The fourth doth frowne: and flattry playth,
5. The fifth delyth and laugheth the more,
6. The sixth bewayleth: it weepeth full sore,
7. The seventh tredeth stoute: in forward race,
8. The eyghte goeth milde: in modest pace."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
65
STERNHOLD AND HOPKINS.
1564.-The Whole Booke of Psalmes collected into English Meeter, by
Thomas Sternhold, J. Hopkins, and others. Conferred with
the Hebrew, with Apt Notes to sing them withal. Faith-
fully perused and allowed according to thorder appoynted in
the Queens Maiestyes Injunction [51st Injunction Queen
Elizabeth, 1559]. Very mete to be used of all sortes of
people priuately for their godly solace and comfort, laying
aparte all vngodly songes and balades, which tend only to
the nourishing of vyce and corruption of youth. Imprinted
at London by John Daye, dwelling over Aldersgate. Cum
gratia et privilegio regia Maiestatis per septennium, 1564.
-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"The man is blest that hath not bent,
to wicked rede his care,
-60
Nor led his life as sinners do,
nor sat in scorners chaire.”
XXIII.
My shepherd is the liuing Lord,
nothing I therefore neede;
In pastors fair with waters calm
He set me for to fede.
He did conuert and glad my soule,
and brought my mind in frame :
To walke in pathes of righteousnes
for His most holy Name."
Thomas Sternhold died in 1549. In addition to
his Psalms he also wrote, "Certain Chapters of the
Proverbs of Solomon drawn into Metre."
The Sternhold version had the merit of being
simple and popular; yet Warton called it "the dis-
F
C
66
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
grace of sacred poetry;" and a later writer, who
attempted its defence, concluded his argument by
asserting that there was no proof that it did any
harm: "that it ever did impede devotion has not
even been attempted to be shown."
Of the 150 Psalms in this version, 40 were by
Sternhold, 60 by Hopkins, 12 by Whittingham, 10
by Kethe, I by Pullain, and 26 by Norton.
GEORGE BUCHANAN.
1565?—* Psalmorvm Dauidis Paraphrasis Poetica, nunc primùm edita.
Authore Georgio Buchanano, Scoto, potratrum nostri Sæculi
facilè principe. Eiusdem Dauidis Psalmi aliquot à Th. B.V.
Versi. Psalmi aliquot in versus itē Græcos nuper à diuersis
translati. Apud Henricum Stephanum, & eius fratrem
Robertu Stephanum, typographum Regium. Ex Privilegio
Regis [impressum Parisiis, 1670].—Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Felix ille animi, quem non de tramite recto,
Impia sacrilega flexit contagio turbæ :
Non iter erroris tenuit, sessorve cathedræ.
Pestiferæ, facilem dedit irrisoribus aurem."
XXIII.
“Tota quidè Domini terra est, et quicquid vbig.
Vel parca celat, vel benigna sufficit:
Quiq: colùt motésque feros càpósque feraçes,
Verbèsque sanctes temperatus legibus.” †
* This Latin version is inserted among the whole English metrical
Psalters, because one author translated it into English, and others were
evidently influenced by it.
"Verbesque sanctis temporatas legibus " in Plantin Press copy, 1609.
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
67
George Buchanan, the Scotch historian, born 1506,
died 1582, translated the Psalms into metrical Latin
while confined in a monastery in Portugal, by the
officers of the Inquisition. "His Latin translation
of the Psalms shows him to have been a poet of a
high order; though he is, perhaps, more remarkable
for the harmony of versification and richness of style.
than for strength of imagination." * Mackenzie says
that he translated his Psalms "with such inimitable
sweetness and elegancy that his version will be
esteemed as long as the world endures, or men have
any relish for poetry."
The accomplished author of the "History of Scot-
land" was appointed by the Assembly of the Scottish
Nobility preceptor to the young prince, afterwards
King James I., who found him a strict master, if we
may rely on the story, too coarse for quotation,
founded on the statement that the prince received
from him once at least a severe whipping.
SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
1580-The Psalmes of David in Metre. By Sir Philip Sidney and his
Sister, the Countess of Pembroke. Printed from the original
MSS. in 1823 by the Chiswick Press. -Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"He blessed is who neither loosely treads
The straying steps as wicked councel leads,
Ne for bad mates in way of sinners waiteth,
Nor yet himself with idle scorners seateth.”
* Thomas's “Dictionary of Biography.”
68
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
Wrong!
Ince mary's
•
XXIII.
"The Lord, the Lord my Shepheard is,
And so can never I
Tast missery.
He rests me in greene pasture his;
By waters still and sweete
He guides my feete."
Sidney, nephew of Dudley, Earl of Leicester, soldier
and poet, whom the Prince of Orange judged to be
"one of the ripest and greatest councillors in Europe,"
was born in 1554, knighted in 1582, and slain in the
battle of Zutphen, 1586. His sister, the Countess
of Pembroke, also translated a play from the French
called "Antonius; or, The Tragedy of Mark Anthony,
1575." She died in 1621. Her additions to the
Psalms do not reach the standard of her brother's.
The metre and the poetry, however, of either of these
Psalm-writers could never have become as popular
as the simpler although coarser rhymes of Sternhold
and Hopkins.
Ruskin, in the "Rock Honeycomb," says, "Never-
theless, I should not have thought it necessary to add
any other version of the Psalms to the accepted one
of the Prayer-book for use in St. George's Schools,
had not these paraphrases of Sir Philip contained.
many illustrative or explanatory passages, making
the sense of the original more clear, while, at the
same time, their exquisitely accurate use of the
English language renders them, on the whole, the
best examples known for the early guidance of its
faithful students."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
69
WILLIAM MYDDELTON.
1603.-Psalmæ y Brenhinol Brophwyd Dafydh, gwedi i cynghaneddu
mewn mesurau Cymreic gann Capten Willm. Middelton, yn
nesaf y gallodh at feddwl yr ysbryd glân. Simon Stafford.
Thomas Salisbury ai printodh yn Llunden.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
The following extracts from the Psalms are taken
from an edition, 1827, by Walter Davies :—
I.
"Gwynfyd o'i febyd gwinfaeth,
Gwirion dôn i'r gŵr nid aeth
Ar ol cyngor lwc anghall
Y drwg a ro 'i fryd ar wall ;
Ni saif yn ffordd brif-ffordd brys
Bechaduriaid, baich dyrys,
Nac ar gadair gyfair gawdd
Gwatwarwyr a gyd-dariawdd."
XXIII.
"Duw yw 'Mugail, arail un ;
Ni bydd (Duw a rydd da rym)
Arnaf, er a gaf o gam
Diau o'stad, eisiau dim.
Gwnaiff i'm orwedd, gyfedd goel,
Mewn porfa las, urddas wyl;
A'm t'wysaw yn hylaw hael,
Ddifyr Iôr, wrth ddwfr arail."
Myddelton, who was educated at the university of
Oxford, was a native of Gwenynog, Denbighshire;
served in the army under Elizabeth, afterwards had
a command in a ship of war; wrote a grammar, and
70
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
the "Art of Poetry," 1593. He was one of the three
captains who first publicly smoked tobacco in the
streets of London.
"His version is more skilful than useful. The
technical form is in accordance with the rules of
'assonance' a well-known peculiarity of Welsh
poetry. For instance, taking the first lines above,
the following balancing of consonants will be ob-
served:
In the fifth
duced-
1
Gwynfyd| o'i febyd | gwinfaeth.
G nf
g nf
Gwirion don | i'r
Grnd |
| gŵr nid aeth.
g r n d
line another form of assonance is intro-
Ni saif yn ffordd brif-ffordd brys.
'Ffordd' and 'brif-ffordd' rhyme; and then the initial
consonants of the latter word are taken up again in
the last word of the line (br . . . br)" (Rev. H. Elvet
Lewis).
HENRY AINSWORTH.
1612. — The Booke of Psalmes Englished both in Prose and Metre. By
Henry Ainsworth. Amsterdam, printed by Thomas Staf-
ford, and are to be sold at his House at the signe of the
Flight of Brabant, upon the Milken-market, over against the
Deventer Wood-market. (Edit. 1644.)-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blessed man, that doth not in the wickeds counsel walk :
Nor stand in synners way; nor sit in seat of scornful-folk;
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
71
66
But setteth in Iehovah's law, his pleasurefull delight,
And in his law doth meditate, by day and eke by night."
XXIII.
Jehovah feedeth me, I shall not lack.
In grassy folds, He down dooth make me lye,
He gently leads me, quiet waters by."
Ainsworth was a leader among the Brownists in
Amsterdam, where he died in 1622 or 1623. His
annotations, showing immense study and labour, are
massed in small type as a preface to the Psalms. His
motive appears in his statement, "To the help,
therefore, of the saints in the comfortable use of this
exercise have I imployed my strength in this work;
and shall think it wel bestowed, if it may serve to
God's glory and the good of His people."
Ainsworth was the author of a most learned com-
mentary on the Five Books of Moses; a master of
Oriental languages and of Jewish antiquities. He was
called the "rabbi of his age.
>>
HENRY DOD.
1620.-All the Psalmes of David, with certeine Songes and Canticles
of Moses, Debora, Isaiah, Hezekiah, and others, not formerly
extat for song and manie of the said Psalmes, dayly omitted,
and not song at all, because of their defficult tunes. Now
faithfully reduced into easie Meeter, fitting our common
tunes. By H. D.—Brit. Mus. Lib.
* Neal's "History of the Puritans."
C
72
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
I.
"O blessed man that doth not in
The wickeds counsel walke:
Nor stand in sinners waye, nor sit
In seate of scornfull folke."
XXIII.
"The Lord my gracious Shepheard is,
So nothing want shall I;
In pastures greene He makes me rest,
By th-sweete streames leading me.
In an address to the Christian reader the author
states that he had, in 1603, translated nine of the
Psalms for the use of his family. They were so well
received by his friends that he had them printed, and
it pleased "our dread soveraigne" to privilege the
same; and then he was requested to versify the
whole in simple metre, which he did, and after wait-
ing nearly eighteen years for "some godly learned,”
whom he hoped might have done it better, he finally
printed it.
EDMUND PRYS.
1621.-Llyfr y Psalmau, wedi ei Cyfieihv, a'i Cyfansoddi ar fesvr
cerdd yn Gymraeg. Drwy waith Edmwnd Prys, Archdiacon
Meirionydd. A'i Printio yn Llundain.
I.
"Sawl in rodia, dedwydd yw
yn ol drwg ystryw gyngor,
Ni saif ar ffordd troseddwyr ffol,
nid eiste 'n 'stol y gwatwor."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
73
XXIII.
"Yr Arglwydd yw fy Mugail clau,
ni âd byth eisiau arnaf;
Mi a gâf orwedd mewn porfa fras
ar lan dwfr gloywlas araf.
Fe goledd f'enaid, ac a'm dwg
'rhyd llwybrau diddrwg cyfion;
Er mwyn ei enw mawr dilys.
Fo'm tywys ar yr union."
Edmund Prys was Archdeacon of Merioneth, born
at Harlech about 1541, and died 1624.
He was
educated at St. John's College, Cambridge, appointed
archdeacon in 1576, and a Canon of St. Asaph, 1602.
A man of scholarly attainments, he had an intimate.
knowledge of Hebrew, and was an eminent poet
among his people. A great number of his composi-
tions have been preserved, mostly in manuscript.
(C
In the verse quoted above from his version of
Ps. xxiii. one characteristically Celtic touch deserves.
to be noticed. The Celtic imagination delights in
nature-colours. So we have the 'still waters' of the
Hebrew bard minutely described as the 'clear blue
water slow'" (Rev. H. Elvet Lewis).
→
74
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
10
J
KING JAMES I.
1631.—The Psalmes of King David translated by King James. Pic-
torial title-page representing King David on one side and
King James on the other, holding up this new version upon
which the Holy Spirit is descending. Facing the picture:
"Chas. R. Haveing caused this translation of the Psalmes
(whereof oure late deare father was author) to be perused, and
it being found to be exactly and truely done, we doe hereby
authorise the same to be Imprinted according to the Patent
graunted thereupon, and doe allow them to be sung in all the
Churches of our Dominion, recommending them to all our
good subjects for that effect." Oxford, printed by William
Turner, printer to the famous University.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"The man is blest that doth not walke
Where wicked Counsells guide;
Nor in the way of sinners stands,
Nor scorners sits beside."
XXIII.
"The Lord of all my Shepheard is,
I shall from want be free:
He makes me in greene pastures lie,
And near calm streams to be."
This version is in reality that of William Alexander,
afterwards Sir William Alexander (Earl of Stirling),
who was the author of several dramas. Jacob, in his
"Lives and Characters of the Poets," "to shew that
this nobleman sometimes wrote in a very good strain,"
quoted the following lines:-
"Love is a Joy, which upon Pain depends;
A drop of Sweet drown'd in a Sea of Sowres.
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
75
What folly does begin, that Fury ends;
They hate for Ever, who have lov'd for Hours."
Another King James's version, apparently by other
authors, although Lord Stirling's consent was required
for the alterations, appeared in
1636. The Psalms of David, translated by King James. London,
printed for Thomas Harper. BLACK LETTER.—Brit. Mus.
Lib.
I.
"The man is blest, who to walke in th' ungodlies counsell
hates,
And stands not in the sinners way, nor sits in scorners.
seats."
XXIII.
"The Lord of all, my Shepheard is, I shall from want be
free:
He makes me in green pastures lye, and neare calm
streams to be."
Through the Civil War and its results, Sir William
Alexander lost any pecuniary benefit he might have.
anticipated from the patent for sole printing which
the king gave him; but the "trustie and well-beloved
coadjutor” of King James had been consoled by a
peerage. As "Lord of Stirling," he enjoyed the
reward of his silence concerning the little share his
royal master had in the King James version of 1631.
Stirling was born in 1580.
76
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
GEORGE WITHER.
1632.-The Psalmes of David, translated into Lyrick-Verse, according
to the scope of the Original, and Illustrated with a Short
Argument, and a Briefe Prayer, or Meditation; before and
after every Psalme. By George Wither. Imprinted in the
Neatherlands, by Cornelis Gerrits Van Breughel. Dedicated
to the Princess Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia. (Reprint
published by the Spencer Society.)—Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blest is he who neither straies
Where the Godless man misguideth,
Neither stands in sinners waies,
Nor in scorners chair abideth."
XXIII.
"The Lord my Pastor daignes to be,
I nothing, now, shall need ;
To drinck sweet springs He bringeth mee,
And on green meads to feed."
George Wither was one of Oliver Cromwell's
major-generals, and held the command of the county
of Surrey. After the Restoration, he was long a
prisoner in Newgate and the Tower. Born in 1588,
he died on the 2nd of May, 1667, aged seventy-eight.
In 1619, he published a Preparation to the Psalter,
and was concerned in succeeding years in what may
be called the Battle of the Psalters, and much other
controversy. Wither tried to supersede the use of the
Sternhold and Hopkins version by his own, and suc-
ceeded in getting a patent from the king, one of the
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
77
stipulations of which directed that his version should
be added to all copies of the Bible.
He entered into competition with the contemporary
versions of Rous and Barton when the Assembly
of Divines at Westminster consulted about a new
Psalter; but Rous held the field with the Presbyterians
and others in England, Scotland, and America, the
Sternhold and Hopkins version retaining its sole
authority in the churches of the Establishment.
Wither's office of major-general was not bestowed
upon him on account of any military education. He
was a lawyer, and was taunted by his opponents with
the fact when he was advocating the claims of his
new Psalter; being accused of "indecently obtruding
upon the divine calling." He replied, indignantly,
"I wonder what divine calling Hopkins and Sternhold
had more than I have, that their metrical Psalms
may be allowed of, rather than my hymns. Surely,
if to have been groome of the privie chamber were
sufficient to qualify them, that profession which I am
of, may as well fit me for what I have undertaken."
78
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS
GEORGE SANDYS.
1636.-A Paraphrase upon the Psalmes of David, set to new Tunes for
private devotion, and a thorough Base for Voice or Instru-
ment, by Henry Lawes, one of the gentlemen of His Majesties
Chappell Royall. By George Sandys. Dedicated to the
Best of Men and most excellent of Princes, Charles; by the
Grace of God King of Great Britaine, France, and Ireland;
Lord of the Foure Seas; of Virginia; the Vast Territories
adjoyning; and dispersed Islands of the Western Ocean, by
the humblest of his Servants. Printed in the Yeare 1648.—
Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
“That man is truly blest who never strays
By false advice, nor walkes in sinners wayes,
Nor sits infected with their scornful pride,
Who God contemne, and Pietie deride.”
XXIII.
"The Lord my Shepheard, me His sheepe
Will from consuming Famine keepe,
He fosters me in fragrant meads,
By softly sliding waters leads."
The copy of the 1636 edition in the British Museum
Library is entitled-
S
A Paraphrase vpon the Psalmes of David, and vpon the Hymnes
dispersed throughout the Old and New Testaments. By G. S.
London: At the Bell, in St. Pauls Church Yard, CIƆ.IƆC.XXXVI.
Cum Privilegio Regiæ Majestatis.
And there is added the following: "Summa Ap-
probationis. Perlegi hoc Poema Paraphrasticum in
Psalmos Davidis, et alios Hymnos Sacros, in quo
nihil reperio S. Paginæ contrarium, quo minus cum
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
79
utilitate, ut et summa lectorum voluptate imprimatur.
Dat ex Ædibus Lambethanis, Novemb. 28. 1635.
Guil. Bray, R. P. D. A. Cant. Capellan Do-
mesticus."
This version also contains a metrical address from
Lord Falkland, who says of his "noble friend, George
Sandys"-
"Yet now thou hast
Diverted to a Purer Path thy Quill ;
And chang'd Parnassus Mount to Sions Hill :
So that blest David might almost Desire
To heare his Harp thus echo'd by thy Lyre."
Sandys was born in 1577, at Bishopsthorpe, the
palace of his father, the Archbishop of York. He
was a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to Charles I.
During his extensive travels he occupied for a time
the post of Treasurer of the English colony of Virginia,
in America, where he translated a "Metamorphis " of
Ovid. At a later period he wrote "Christ's Passion;
a Tragedy," and rhymed some of the books of the
Old Testament.
Richard Baxter, describing a visit he made to the
seat of Sandys' nephew, Mr. Wyatt, at Boxley Abbey,
where the poet died in 1643, said it did him good to
see upon an old stone wall in the summer-house,
"In that place Mr. G. Sandys, after his Travels over
the world, retired himself for his poetry and contem-
plations."
>
80
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
Dunwron
ROTTERDAM VERSION.
1638.-The Booke of Psalmes in English Meeter. Printed for Henry
Tutill, Bookseller, at Rotterdam.-Lambeth Library.
I.
"The man is blessed that to walke
In wicked wayes doth feare,
And stands not in the sinners path
Nor sits in scorners chaire."
XXIII.
"My shepheard is the living Lord
And He that doth me feed
How can I then lacke any thing
Whereof I stand in need?
In pastures greene and flourishing,
He makes me down to lye,
And after drives me to the streames
Which run most pleasantly."
Apparently the author was a Puritan divine. He
says, "Apprehending for many years past that a
Forme wholly new would not please many, who are
fastned to things usuall and accustomed, I assaied
onely to change some pieces of the usuall version, even
such as seemed to call aloud, and as it were undeniably
for a Change. These being seene, it was desired that
they should be increased; which being done, they
are here subjoyned."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
81
RICHARD BRATHWAITE, OR RICHARD
BURNABY.
1633.-The Psalmes of David, the King and Prophet, and of other
Holy Prophets, paraphras'd in English. Conferred with the
Hebrew VERITIE, set forth by B. Arias Montanus, together
with the Latine, Greek Septuagint, and Chaldee Paraphrase.
By R. B. London, printed by Robert Young, for Francis
Constable, and are to be sold at his Shop under St. Martin's
Church neere Ludgate.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blest is the man, whose walks are cleer
From wicked counsells aire;
To sinners way who stands not neer,
Nor sits in scorners chaire."
XXIII.
"My shepheard is the Lord, whose care
Provides me fold and food:
Whose goodness, plenteous and to spare,
Supplies my want of good.
In pastures green He makes mee lye,
And softly lodge my side;
He leads mee forth where pleasantly
The streames of stillness glide."
Richard Brathwaite-born 1588, died 1673—a volu-
minous writer, was at one time Deputy-Lieutenant of
the county of Westmoreland. His works were chiefly
in rhyme.
Luke Milbourne, in the preface to his own Psalms,
alludes to the R. B. version as Mr. Burnaby's book. This
allusion, and another in an old copy of Milbourne in his
G
82
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
1
possession, where there is a manuscript note to the
same effect, strongly convinces Mr. Taylor, of Peter-
head, that the R. B. Psalm-book is by Burnaby, not
Brathwaite. Mr. Holland was of a similar opinion.
But Mr. Hazlewood, editor of "Barnabee's Journal,"
which he discovered to be by Richard Brathwaite, ist
confident that the Psalms are by the same author. The
Rev. Thomas Corser, editor of "Collectanea Anglo
Poetica," holds the same view.
THE BAY PSALM-BOOK.
1640.-The Whole Book of Psalmes Faithfully translated into English
Metre. Whereunto is prefixed a discourse declaring not
only the lawfulness, but also the necessity of the heavenly
ordinance of singing Scripture Psalmes in the Churches of
God. Imprinted 1640.-From Reprint in Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"O Blessed man, that in th-advice
of wicked men doth walk :
Nor stands in sinners way, nor sit
in chayre of sinful folk."
XXIII.
"The Lord to mee a Shepheard is,
want therefore shall not I,
He in the folds of tender grasse
doth cause me downe to lie."
This book was the first printed in North America.
It was versified under the supervision of the Rev.
Richard Mather of Dorchester, the Rev. Thomas
Weld, and the Rev. John Eliot of Roxbury; and
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
83
was published at Cambridge, New England, by Mr.
Stephen Daye.
The preface states, "If therefore the verses are not
alwayes so smooth and elegant as some may desire.
and expect, let them consider that God's Altar needs
not our pollishings: Ex. 20; for wee have respected.
rather a plaine translation, than to smooth our verses
with the sweetnes of any paraphrase."
An English edition was printed in 1647, a copy of
which is in the British Museum Library; and in ten
years the Bay Psalm-book passed through twenty-
seven editions.
Mr. Shepherd, of Cambridge, Mass., noting the
"different genius" of the writers of Roxbury and
Dorchester, addressed them-
"You Roxbury poets, keep clear of the crime.
Of missing to give us very good rhyme.
And you of Dorchester, your verses strengthen,
And with the text's own word you will them lengthen."
The Bodleian Library possesses a copy of this very
rare book. James Lenox, founder of the Lenox
Library, New York, hunted among old black-letter
books in England for seven years before his persis-
tence was rewarded by finding the invaluable volume
in a bundle of black-letter Psalm-books, knocked
down to him at a book sale in London for nineteen
shillings. He afterwards bought a complete library
for £2000, chiefly to obtain another Bay Psalm-
book. This second copy was subsequently sold
for £250.
-
84
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
FRANCIS ROUS
1643.* The Psalmes of David in English Meeter, set forth by Francis
Rous. It is this day ordered (April 17, 1643) by the Com-
mittee of the House of Commons in Parliament for Printing,
that the Book entitled The Psalmes of David, etc. (according
to desires of many reverend Ministers), be published for the
generall use: And for the true correcting of it, be printed
by these the Author shall approve. (Signed) John White.
I do appoint Philip Nevill and Peter Whaley to print these
Psalmes. (Signed) Francis Rous. London, printed by
James Young, for Philip Nevill, at the signe of the Gun in
Ivie Lane.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"The man is blessed that to walk
In wicked waies doth feare,
And stands not in the sinners path,
Nor sits in scorners chaire."
XXIII.
"My shepheard is the living Lord,
And He that doth me feed ;
How can I then lack any thing
Whereof I stand in need?"
Another edition appeared in
1646. The Psalmes of David in English Meeter. London, printed by
Miles Flesher, for the Company of Stationers. Die Veneris
4 [14] Novemb. 1645. It is this day ordered by the Commons
assembled in Parliament, That this Book of Psalmes set forth
by Mr. Rous, and perused by the Assembly of Divines, be
forthwith printed: And that it be referred to Mr. Rous to take
care for the printing thereof; and that none do presume to
print it, but such as shall be authorised by him. H. Elsinge,
Cler. Parl. Dom. Com.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
* Cotton gives the date 1641 as that of the first edition.
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
85
It was succeeded in the following year by an edition
which had been revised by the author, who had made.
considerable alterations.
1647.-The Whole Book of Psalmes. Faithfully translated to English
Metre. By Francis Rous.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
CC
I.
"O Blessed Man, that in th’advice
Of wicked doth not walk.
Nor stand in sinners way, nor sit
In chair of scornfull folk."
XXIII.
"The Lord to me a shepheard is,
Want therefore shall not I;
He in the folds of tender grasse
Doth cause nie down to lie."
Our old friend Rouse," as Carlyle calls him, was
a younger son of Sir Anthony Rous, and was born at
Halton, in Cornwall, in 1579. He was M.P. for Truro
in the Long Parliament; at first Chairman, and then
Speaker for a month of the Barebones Parliament;
successively a member of Cromwell's Council and hist
House of Lords; and a lay member of the West-
minster Assembly of Divines. During the Common-
wealth he was Provost of Eton. The origin of the
derisive title," Illiterate Jew of Eton," was doubtless in
reference to Rous's proposition to form the English
Commonwealth after the model of the Jewish theo-
cracy. He "looked upon Cromwell as a compound
of the characters of Moses and Joshua." How little
86
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
the term "illiterate
illiterate" was deserved is seen by his
antecedents. He took a B.A. degree at Oxford,
afterwards studied law, and then, it is said, took
orders and preached. He was "principal trier and
approver of preachers." In 1650 he published a thick
octavo, "Mella Patrum," containing, says Chalmers,
"the beauties of the Fathers of the first three cen-
turies." His writings were collected in a folio
printed in 1657, under the title of "The Works of
Francis Rous, esq.; or, Treatises and Meditations.
dedicated to the Saints, and to the Excellent through-
out the three nations."
-
Rous died in 1658. He was buried with great
pomp at Eton, and a standard pennon, and other
things relating to a baron, were erected over his
grave; but these were taken away at the Restoration.
His portrait is still preserved in the Provost's Lodge
at Eton.
In the preface Rous states, "As for other objections
taken from the difficulty of Ainsworth's tunes, and the
corruptions in our common Psalm-Books, we hope
they are answered in the new edition of the Psalmes,
which we here present to God and His people."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
87
WILLIAM BARTON.
1644.-The Book of Psalms in Metre, lately translated with Many Whole
Ones, and choice Collections of the Old Psalms added to the
First Impression. Printed by Order of Parliament, and now
much Augmented and Amended with the cream and flower of
the Best Authors, all following the common Tunes at this day
used in and about London; with the approbation of more
than fourty eminent Divines of the City and most of them of
the Assembly. By William Barton, Mr. of Arts, and Minister
of John Zecharies, London. Printed by G. M. and are to be
sold by S. Gelibrand, at the Brazen Serpent, in P. Church
Yard, T. Kirton next Goldsmith's Hall in Foster Lane, T.
Underhill at the Bible in Wood Street, and Stephen Bowled
at the signe of the Bible in Pope's Head Alley. (Edit. 1645.)
Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"The man is blest that neither strays
By counsels of ungodly men,
Nor standeth in the sinner's way,
Nor sits in scorners seat with them."
CC
XXIII.
My Lord's my Shepherd to provide,
I shall be sure to be supply'd,
And by this means
In pastures green I couch between
The silent streams."
+
Barton's Psalter has a dedication in rhyme to Sir
John Wollaston, knight and alderman, and a number
of poetical testimonials from friends complimenting
his translations as "sweet," "exact," "apt," "excel-
lent," "exquisite," and "elaborate." They take the
place, apparently, of the modern practice of extracting
88
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
favourable notices of the press. Alernative versions of
a number of stanzas and lines are added at the end of
the book, “that the judgment of the intelligent reader
may mend the rest (if any change be needful) by his
own skill."
Like King James's versions, those of Barton dis-
played an amount of revision that deserved to be
called "re-writing." These are the verses of the 1644
edition in Mr. Taylor's collection:-
Ką gr
I.
"That man is blest and blest agen
That doth not walk astray,
By counsels of ungodly men,
Nor stands in sinners way."
XXIII.
"The Lords my Shepherd to provide
No wofull want shall I abide :
In pastures best he makes me rest,
He leads me by still waters side."
Barton took his degree of B.A. at Oxford in
1633, and in 1656 was Minister of St. Martin's,
Leicester. The living of Cadeby was given to him
by Cromwell, and he was one of the ejected ministers.
in 1662. His son says that he caused his new trans-
lation of the Psalms to be published in 1644; the im-
pression being speedily exhausted. Another edition
appeared in 1645, and a third in 1654. Within a
short time after Barton revised his last work for the
press, "he sickened, and upon the 14 day of May,
1678, it pleased God to call him out of this life to His
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
89
heavenly Kingdom, being aged about 74 or 75." His
amended edition, "as he left it finished in his life-
time," was printed in 1682, and continued to be re-
printed until 1705. He also published " Six Centuries
of Hymns," reprinted in 1688.
ZACHARY BOYD.
1648. The Psalmes of David in Meeter: with the Prose interlined.
By Mr. Zachary Boyd, Preacher of God's Word. Dedicated
to the Right Reverend the faithfull Ministers of God's Word,
of Britain and Ireland. Printed at Glasgow by the Heires of
George Anderson.—Brit, Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blest is the man who walks not in
Th'ungodlies counsell ill,
Nor stands in sinners way, nor doth
In scorners seat sit still."
XXIII.
"The Lord's my Shepherd, I'le not want,
He makes me down to ly
In pastures green, and He me doth
Lead the still waters by."
Boyd was Minister of the Barony Church, Glasgow,
and Lord Rector of the University of Glasgow, 1634,
1635, and 1645. Died 1653, aged about sixty-five.
He left behind him seventeen quarto manuscript
volumes, among which were the Four Evangels, and
many incidents of Holy Writ in rhyme. "He put his
hand to the work of the Psalms at the direction of
&
;
90
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
.
the General Assembly at Edinburgh, anno 1644.
(Preface).
Boyd was the author of "Zion's Flowers; or,
Christian Poems for Spiritual Edification," commonly
called "Boyd's Bible;" also "Last Battell of the
Soule in Death" (1628).
U
THE SCOTCH PSALTER.
1650.-Psalms of David in Meeter, newly translated and diligently
compared with the Originall Text, and former translations,
more plain and smooth and agreeable to the Text than any
heretofore. Allowed by the Authority of the Generall
Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland, and appointed to be sung
in Congregations and Families. Edinburgh, printed by
Evan Tyler.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
'That man hath perfect blessednesse
Who walketh not astray
In counsell of ungodly men,
Nor stand in sinners way,
Nor sitteth in the scorners chaire."
66
XXIII.
}}
"The Lord's my Shepheard, I'le not want,
He makes me down to ly
In pastures green; He leadeth me
The quiet waters by."
This Psalter was a revised version of the Rous
edition, authorized by the Westminster Assembly, as
will be seen by the following appointment: "Edin-
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
91
burgh, 23d November, 1649. The Commissioners of
the General Assembly having with great diligence
considered the Paraphrase of the Psalmes in Meeter,
sent from the Assembly of Divines in England by
our Commissioners while they were there . . . do
appoint them to be printed and published for public
use after the first day of May, 1650.”
THE NEW ENGLAND PSALM-BOOK.
1650.-The Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs of the Old and New
Testament, faithfully translated into English Meeter, for the
Edification and Comfort of the Saints, in publick and Private,
especially in New England. London, printed for Richard
Chiswell, at the Rose and Crown, in St. Paul's Church
Yard. [English edit. 1680.]—Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"O Blessed Man, that walks not in
Th'advice of wicked men,
Nor standeth in the sinners way,
Nor scorners seat sits in."
XXIII.
"The Lord to me a Shepheard is,
Want therefore shall not I;
He in the folds of tender-grass
Doth make me down to lye."
Like the Scotch Psalter, the New England Psalm-
book is largely a revised Rous version. In 1647
President Dunster, of Harvard College, assisted by
Mr. Richard Lyon and thirty other learned and pious
92
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
persons, attempted a better version than the Bay
Psalm-book. After three years' labour the new Psalter
was completed, and came into general use in America.
A copy of the twenty-fourth edition, printed at Boston,
New England, 1737, is in the Library of the British
Museum. It was also sung in many English congre-
gations until as late as 1717. "It went through fifty
editions, including those published in Europe."
HENRY KING, D.D.
1651.-The Psalmes of David, from the New Translation of the Bible,
turned into Meeter. To be sung after the Old Tunes used
in the Churches. London, printed by Ed. Griffin, and are
to be sold by Humphrey Moseley, at the Prince's Arms in
St. Paul's Church Yard. Ian. the 7th, 1650. Imprimatur
John Downaine. Allowed of the Company of Stationers.
-Dr. Williams's Library.
I
"The man is blest whose feet not tread,
By wicked counsailes led :
Nor stands in that perverted way,
In which the sinners stray;
Nor joynes himself unto the chaire
Where scorners seated are."
* (
XXIII.
"The Lord my Shepheard is, and guide;
I shall no want abide ;
He makes me lye in fruitfull meads,
And by stil waters leads."
*Thomas's "History of Printing in America."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
93
Bishop King, born in 1591, was Chaplain to
James I., Residentiary of St. Paul's, and Canon of
Christ Church. He took his doctor's degree in 1625,
and held the see of Chichester from 1641 till his
death in 1669.
The author says, in his introduction, "The generall
distast taken at some unhandsome expressions in the
Old [versions] which bothe disfigured the meaning of
the Holy Ghost, and reproached our English Tongue
(that did not afford a decent cloathing to preserve
them from the scorne of those who apprehended any
occasion to quarrell us), invited me to try in some.
Few, whither they might not in the plainest dress of
language be freed from those disparagements of the
Text which gave offence. After I had privately
shewed Those (intended no farther than for an assay)
persuasion of Friends, who had power to command,
made me (having now leisure from those greater
employments, to which I was called more than I ever
expected) willing to run through the rest."
He trusts that his attempt will be acceptable to
"the Most Renowned Mother Church of England."
JOHN WHITE.
By
1655.-David's Psalms in Metre, agreeable to the Hebrew, to be sung
in usual Tvnes, to the benefit of the Churches of Christ.
the Reverend Mr. John White, Minister of God's Word in
Dorchester. London, printed by S. Griffin for J. Rothwel,
at the Fountain and Bear in Goldsmith's Row in Cheapside.
-Brit. Mus. Lib.
C
94
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
"
I.
"Thrice blessed is he, that to walk
In ill-mens counsel fears;
Nor stands in sinners way, nor sits
At rest in scorners chairs."
XXIII.
"My shepheard is the living Lord,
And He that doth me feed;
I cannot then want anything
Whereof I stand in need.”
John White, called the "Patriarch of Dorchester,"
had been the rector there for forty-two years. He
was one of the clerical assessors of the Assembly of
Divines at Westminster, in 1643. Born 1574, and
died 1648. His version was not published until after
his death, as he did not wish to enter into com-
petition with other versionists, who were "strugling
which of them should get the Civil sanction."
The preface was written by Stanley Gower, who
writes thus of White's Psalms: "Thus to sing them
in good meeter, and easie Tunes, shall find Vulgar
quantities and Smooth Verse, without harsh synalæ-
phas, as in some other versions. No New Version,
For he saith the old is better, hath not well drank
of either; for the old prose needeth not more New
Translation, then in many places doth the old Meeter."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
95
SAMUEL WOODFORD, D.D.
1667.-A Paraphrase upon the Psalmes of David and the Canticles, with
Select Hymns of the Old and New Testament, to which is
added occasional Compositions in Verse. By Samuel Wood-
ford, D.D. Printed and sold by Samuel Keble, at the Turk's
Head in Fleet Street. (1713. Reprint of the edit. of 1678.)
-Brit. Mus. Lib.
The title of the 1667 edition was—
A Paraphrase upon the Psalms of David. By Sam. Woodford.
London. Printed by R. White for Octavian Pullen, neer the
Pump, in Little Brittan.
I.
"Thrice happy Man, who in the gloomy ways
Of careless Sinners, never blindly strays,
In Counsel stands not to maintain their part,
Nor boldly thrusts into the Chair
His own to vent, or others scoffs to hear."
XXIII.
"The Mighty God, who all things do's sustain'
That God, who nothing made in vain,
Who nothing that He made did e're disdain
The Mighty God my Shepherd is,
He is my Shepherd, I His sheep."
Ps. i., in the 1667 edition, reads thus-
"Thrice happy man, who in the beaten wayes
Of Careless sinners never blindly strayes
In their assemblies, nor maintains their part,
96
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
い
​Their scoffs, or their debates will hear,
But leaves the place as well as chair
And keeps his ears as guiltless as his heart.”
Woodford was born in 1636, died in 1700. He was a
voluminous writer, and at one time proposed to versify
the first chapter of the Book of Genesis, as a "History
of the First Great Week of the World," in which he
promised himself great assistance from the Royal
Society. After his principal rhyming works were
published, Woodford entered into holy orders, took
the degree of B.D., and was Rector of Hartley
Malduith, Hants, and Prebendary of Winchester.
'After versifying the civ. Psalm," he writes, “I
know not how, on a suddain, all my heart was laid,
and the greatness of the labour, together with my
own insufficiency, deterred me at the time from pro-
ceeding any further. Hereupon for about three years
the design slept with me, till, reading over with a
little more than ordinary intention the cxiv. Psalm
of Mr. Cowley's, I was again warm'd, and in imitation
of him I was resolved once more to try how well or
ill I could write after so excellent a copy."
Anthony Wood describes Woodford as "a violist."
SIR JOHN DENHAM.
1668-A Version of the Psalms of David Fitted to the Tunes used in
Churches. By the Honourable Sir John Denham, Knight
of the Bath. London, printed for J. Bowyer, at the Rose in
Ludgate Street. (Edit. 1714.)-Brit. Mus. Lib.
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
97
I.
"Blest is the man, who never treads
Those paths, where evil Counsel leads
In sin's deep Ways, nor standing fast,
Nor on high Seats, with Scorners plac'd.'
XXIII.
"My Shepherd is the living Lord;
To me my Food and Ease
The rich luxuriant Fields afford;
The Streams my Thirst appease."
>>
Sir John was the author of "Cooper's Hill" and
other poems. He was born in 1615, died in 1668, and
was buried in Westminster Abbey.
There are two prefaces-one by Heighes Woodford,
and another by the author, who says, "I consulted
the best commentators, and three paraphrasists-
Buchanan, Woodford,* and Sandys."
"He consecrated his poetical powers to religion, and
made a metrical version of the Psalmes of David. In
this attempt he has failed: but in sacred poetry who
has succeeded?" (Dr. Johnson).
"Denham and Waller improved our versification,
and Dryden perfected it" (Prior).
* Denham either wrote his Psalms in the last year of his life, or he
must have had access to Woodford's manuscript, which was transcribed
at Albrook, in 1665.
H
98
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
MILES SMYTH.
1668.-The Psalms of King David Paraphrased, and turned into English
Verse, according to the Common Metre, as they are usually
sung in Parish Churches. By Miles Smyth. London, printed
for T. Garthwait-in S. Bartholomews Hospital, near Smith-
field.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blest is the man who walks not where
Ungodly Counsels guide;
Nor stands in sinful ways; nor sits
With those who God deride."
XXIII.
"The Lord's my Shepherd, Therefore I
Can nothing want; In flow'ry meads.
And Pastures green He makes me lie,
And to the quiet Waters leads."
In the first edition, 1664, the twenty-third Psalm
reads-
"God, by whose Providence we live,
Whose care secures our rest,
My shepherd is, no ill can touch
Nor want my Soul infest.
"He makes Luxuriant flow'ry Meads
Serve me for Food and Ease;
And leads me where the cooling Streams,
My thirsty heat appease."
Smyth was secretary to Dr. Sheldon, Archbishop
of Canterbury. "The author of this version of the
Psalms of King David, considering the Excellency,
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
99
not only of the Divine matter they contain, but of
the Sacred Rapture wherein they were penned, and
the sublime Poetry wherewith they were set out, and
adorned by the Royal and Inspired Prophet, could
not but blush to think, how that Metre in which our
Parochial Churches usually sing them, hath disguised
so Eminent a part of the Holy Writ, which bears a
more than ordinary stamp of that ever-blessed Spirit
by which it was dictated and given. This gave the
Author occasion to make Essay, whether (without
taking the advantages of an unconfined Fancy) it
might not be easie enough (even in that narrow and
low kind of Verse) to make them speak their own
genuine sense, in proper and smooth English" (Preface).
FRANCIS ROBERTS, D.D.
1674.-The Book of Hymnes or Praises, viz. the Book of Psalmes,
translated immediately out of the Hebrew, and Analytically
Expounded. Together with a General Preface, prefixed to
the Whole Book of Psalmes. By F. R., D.D. London,
Printed by J. R., and are to be sold by Peter Parker, at his
Shop at the Leg and Star over against the Royal Exchange,
and Thomas Guy, at the Corner-shop of Little Lumbard
Street and Cornhill. 1674 [published in folio, with Dr.
Roberts's "Clavis Bibliorum "].-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
“The-Blessednesses of that-man,
That hath not walkt astray
In Counsel of the wicked men,
Nor stood in sinners way,
Nor hath in seat of scorners sate."
2449
m) •
100
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
· · · ..
0
……
J
XXIII.
66
I shall not lack the Lord a me feeds,
He-makes-me-down-to-lie *
In folds of budding grass: me leads
Of rests the waters by."
"To this end the grand and primary intendment in
this Version hath been, to bring it to the greatest
nearness possible unto the Hebrew, that as much of
God, and as little of man, as may be might appear
therein, and the spirit of God's people might con-
sequently receive the more abundant satisfaction and
consolation in this sacred PSALM melody" (Preface).
Dr. Roberts, "Pastor of Austin's," was assistant to
the Commissioners appointed by Parliament for the
ejection of scandalous ministers and schoolmasters,
and one of the Presbyterian divines who protested
against the sentence passed upon Charles I. by
Parliament. He died in 1675.
Another edition appeared in that year.
1675.-Clavis Bibliorum. The Key of the Bible, unlocking the richest
Treasury of the Holy Scriptures, etc. Whereunto are added
the Metrical Version of the Whole Book of Psalmes, Imme-
diately out of the Hebrew: And the Analytical Exposition
of every Psalm.
Fourth edition, diligently revised. By
Francis Roberts.
"The meetre of this version," says the preface, "is
so ordered that Barbarismes, Obsolete and antiquated.
Expressions, and light frothy Poetical flashes are
studiously therein declined."
* The hyphens used explain the terms "implicitly comprised under
the force and emphasis of the Hebrew word, and linked thereto with a
makkaph (-)" (Preface).
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
ΙΟΙ
Dr. Roberts's verses are in simple long and common
metres; before each Psalm is a summary of contents;
and after each "the Kinde, Penman, and Occasion,
the Scope, and the Analysis of the Principal parts.”
،،
RICHARD GOODRIDGE.
1684.-The Psalter or Psalms of David Paraphras'd in Verse. Set to
new Tunes, and so designed that by Two Tunes onely, the
whole Number of Psalms (Four onely excepted) may be sung;
one of which Tunes is already known (being the usual Tune
of the C. Psalm), the other Tunes onely are New; but any
one of them being learnt, all the other Psalms may be sung by
that one onely Tune: As on the contrary any one Psalm may
be sung by all the new Tunes. So that a greater facility for
those who are less able to sing, or a greater variety for those
who are more able, cannot reasonably be desired or afforded.
The Second Edition, wherein the whole Number is Compleated.
By Richard Goodridge. Oxford, printed by J. Lichfield,
Printer to the University. For Jo. Crosley.—Chichester
Cathedral Library.*
I.
Blessings croun his fair Soul, who does not stray,
Led by false Counsels, in the Sinners way:
Who has not sate in the Proud Scorners Seat,
Who mock at Piety, and God forget.
That in Gods Law hath plac'd his whole delight,
And makes the Law his study Day and Night."
XXIII.
"How can I want, whose Shepherd is my God?
His mighty Scepter deigns to be a Rod;
*The author is indebted to Sir R. G. Raper for the extracts from
this scarce version.
102
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
Calm Streams, cool Shades, my high Refreshments be,
My Soul has Heavens own rest, Tranquillity."
Preface: “What offence is generally taken, and how
justly, at our English Version of Davids Psalms into
Meeter, is sufficiently known. Some have endeavoured
to make it more tolerable by expunging those many
low and indecent Expressions, and putting others in
their Places: but the attempt is fruitless. Wherefore,
a New Version is doubtless the only Expedient. All
should humbly present the utmost they are able to
contribute towards the copying out the Beauty of the
Divine Original. The Reader I hope will believe that
I present them out of Duty, and so excite those of
greater Abilities to pursue it by a joynt Endeavour.
I have endeavour'd to avoid all obscurity, that it
should be intelligible to all, High and Low, Rich and
Poor. In order to which I have not rendred it
litterally, but by way of Paraphrase. In the choice of
words and expressions, I have taken care to use such
as may be intelligible to the meanest.
It seems
expedient that (as the Original it self has given the
Example) Paraphrase should be in Verse. We are to
remember that the Psalms are Forms of our Addresses
of Praise and Prayer to God: of whom and to whom
nothing ought to be spoken, but with the highest
veneration.
The liberty of Connexion in this work is no more
than what is usually taken in the litteral Prose-version
of the Psalms. The same care has been taken to
keep close to the Text, that its own proper vigour be
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
103
not lost in too wide a Paraphrase. Doubtless it is
not lawful for any one, to take, leave out, or add what
they please; but adhering firmly to the Original, to
transcribe the whole Truth; to raze out nothing but
the Veil, which (as to us) was drawn before it. I have
rejected the Verse of seven feet, as being worn out of using
use. I have made choice of the Verse of four or of five
feet (one Psalm excepted), each following Verse giving
the Rhime to the preceding; as seeming to me, more
indifferent to be either Read or Sung than those of
shorter and unequal lengths; or where the Rhime is
alternate or of greater distance and they are more
proper to be set for Church-Musick. The Verse com-
posed of three feet will be too moving, and the Air set
to it will be too light, for any subject which is in
Dignity. So ought we to sever those Airs, which
tend to Gayety and to Rapture. It were utterly (
needless to shew, how the Psalms, throughout all the
Ages of Christianity, have been an express part of the
Forms of Devotion. The Disciples oft sung them,
and the Apostles after, and the same has been the
undoubted Practice of the Christians throughout all
Ages."
SIMON FORD, D.D.
1688.-A New Version of the Psalms of David in Metre, Smooth, plain
and easie to the most ordinary capacities: by Simon Ford,
D.D., Rector of Old Swinford, in Worcestershire. London,
printed for Brabazon Aylmer, at the Three Pigeons over
against the Royal Exchange.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
104
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
C
I.
"That man's an happy man indeed,
Whom ill advice doth not mislead :
Nor doth he in that way remain,
Which men to sin accustom❜d beat :
Nor sit, where haughty scorners treat
Both God, and goodness, with disdain.”
XXIII.
"The Lord my faithfull Shepherd is ;
Of nothing therefore can I miss,
Which, to promote my good, I need:
In pastures fair He doth me place,
All overspred with tender grass,
Where to the full He doth me feed."
Dr. Ford was born in Devonshire, 1619, and died in
1699. He explains his design: "I endeavoured to
keep as near to the New Translation of the Psalmes,
made in the Time, and by the command, of King
James I."
JOHN PATRICK, D.D.
1691.-The Psalms of David in Meter. Fitted to the Tunes used in Parish
Churches. By John Patrick, D.D., Preacher to the Charter-
house, London. Printed for John Churchill, at the Black
Swan in Paternoster Row, and L. Meredith at the Star in St.
Paul's Church Yard. (1694 edit.)-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blest is the Man whose vertuous steps
No wicked Counsels lead aside
Nor stands in Sinners ways; nor sits
Where God and Goodness men deride."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
105
XXIII.
"God is my Shepherd, who will see
That all my wants be still supply'd ;
I shall not be exposed to wrong,
Nor left to stray without a Guide."
*
Dr. Patrick first published, in 1679, a “Century of
Select Psalms for the use of the Charter House." It
was republished in Hamburgh by T. Wierlag, in 1692;
and in 1694 an edition of the Psalms with about
twenty tunes was published. The latter has been
frequently reprinted.
RICHARD BAXTER.
1692. Mr. Richard Baxter's Paraphrase on the Psalms of David in
Metre, with other Hymns, Left fitted for the Press under his
own hand. Licensed June 2nd, 1692. London, printed for
Thomas Parkhurst, at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheap-
side, near Mercer's Chapel.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blest is the man who doth avoid
The counsel of ungodly mates ;
Who stands not in the sinners way,
Nor sitteth in the scorners seats."
XXIII.
"The Lord Himself my Shepherd is,
Who doth me feed and [safely] keep ;
What can I want that's truly good,
While I am [one of] His own sheep?”
* Mr. W. L. Taylor.
(2
106
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
C
*
Baxter is well known as the author of "The Saint's
Everlasting Rest," and other works. He was parish
minister of Kidderminster, Chaplain to
one of
Cromwell's regiments, and subsequently one of the
Court Chaplains to Charles II. That monarch
offered to him the see of Hereford. After the
passing of the Act of Uniformnity he was a much-
persecuted and imprisoned Nonconformist minister.
His views have been called "Baxterian," a mild form
of Calvinism. He drew up a reformed Liturgy
when he was a member of the Savoy Conference for
the revision of the Prayer-book. He was born in 1615,
died in 1691.
Certain words in his lines are bracketed as capable
of being omitted or retained, that his Psalms might
be sung either in common or long measures. He
claimed to be the inventor of the plan. "His poetic
compositions sometimes lack finish, as he begrudged
them the time necessary for their perfection, but they
contain some fine passages.'
"I have in the end showed why I have done that
which no man ever did before me, to fit the same
Psalms to various Tunes and Measures, longer and
shorter, specially to gratifie them by variety that are
used to be dull'd with customariness in the same, and
to give them expository notes who use but obscure
abbreviation and conciseness in words, and I hope
the Printer will make so visible a difference in the
characters that the additional words shall stumble
none" (Preface).
* "Our Hymns," by Josiah Miller, M. A.
در
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
107
The family copy of the 1692 edition is now in the ()
collection of Mr. W. L. Taylor, of Peterhead.
TATE AND BRADY.
1696.-A New Version of the Psalms of David, Fitted to the Tunes
used in Churches. By N. Tate and N. Brady. London,
printed for the Company of Stationers. "To His Most
Excellent Majesty William III. of Great Britain, France,
and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc., this New
Version of the Psalms of David is most Humbly dedicated
by His Majesty's Most obedient subjects and servants."
Attached to this and the following editions was a copy of
the Order in Council:
CC
"At the Court of Kensington, Dec. 3rd, 1696. Present, the
King's Most Excellent Majesty in Council: Upon the humble
Petitions of N. Brady and N. Tate this day read at the Board,
setting forth that the Petitioners have, with their utmost care
and industry, completed a New Version of the Psalms of
David, in English Metre, fitted for public use; and humbly
praying his Majesty's Royal Allowance that the Version may
be used in such congregations as may think fit to receive it:
His Majesty, taking the same into his royal consideration, is
pleased to order in Council, That the said New Version of
the Psalms in English Metre, be, and the same is hereby
Allowed and Permitted to be used in all Churches, Chapels,
and Congregations, as shall think fit to receive the same.
W. Bridgman."
S
)) *
I.
Happy the man whom ill advice
From virtue ne'er withdrew :
Who ne'er with sinners stood, nor sat
Amongst the scoffing crew."
* This first edition was recalled and destroyed on account of some
objectionable passages.
108
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
0
2
XXIII.
"Since God does me, His worthless charge,
Protect with tender care,
As watchful Shepherds guard their Flocks,
What can I want or fear?"
Dr. Nahum Tate is described by Jacob as
(( a man
of learning, candour, and courteous to all. He had
a good share of wit, and a great deal of modesty,
which prevented his making his fortune." He suc-
ceeded Shadwell as poet-laureate, was the author
of several plays which were frequently acted in the
last two decades of the seventeenth century, and died
in poverty in the Mint in 1716.
Dr. Nicholas Brady, a zealous promoter of the
Revolution of 1688, was Vicar of Richmond, Surrey,
and held other benefices. His Psalms were trans-
lated at the Richmond Vicarage. Born 1659, died
in 1726.
By a very long deed, dated December 3, 1696,
Tate and Brady entered into partnership with the
Stationers' Company for printing the new version
of the Psalms, the copyright being divided into three
great allotments of eighty shares each; with option
of purchase by any one or more of the shareholders.
The property, however, very soon after vested in the
Stationers' Company.
In 1703 the Council at Hampton Court allowed
and permitted a supplement to Tate and Brady, con-
taining "the Psalms in Particular Measures, Hymns,
Gloria Patria, etc. ;" with appropriate tunes attached.
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
109
Montgomery thought the new version was nearly
as inanimate as the Sternhold Psalter, though a little
more refined.
LUKE MILBOURNE.
1698.-The Psalms of David in English Metre.
Translated from the
Original, and suited to all the Tunes now sung in Churches.
By Luke Milbourne, a Presbyter of the Church of England.
Dedicated to His Highness the Duke of Gloucester. London,
printed for W. Rogers at the Sun, R, Clavell at the Peacock,
and B. Tooke at the Middle Temple Gate, Fleet Street.-
Brit. Mus. Lib.
•
I.
"A Thousand Blessings crown his Head,
Whose Heart all impious Counsel flies;
And hates those paths where Sinners tread,
Who God, and all that's good, despise."
XXIII.
"He like a Shepheard, gently leads
My soul thro' Truth's delightful Ways;
My foot sure by His Conduct treads,
And ne'er from Paths of Wisdom strays."
S
Milbourne calls himself an "ancient Presbyter of
the Church of England." He was one of the authors
satirized in Pope's "Dunciad." He was Rector of
St. Ethelburga's, Bishopsgate, and Lecturer of St.
Leonard's, Shoreditch. Died in 1720.
Pope said of his verses, "Dulness is sacred in a
sound divine;" and adds that "when Milbourne
wrote against Mr. Dryden's 'Virgil,' he did him
IIO
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
justice in printing at the same time his own in-
tolerable translations."
Milbourne's preface is of historical value from the
references to other versions. Mr. W. L. Taylor, who
has in his possession a copy formerly in the collection
of the late Dr. Bliss, says that it contains a manu-
script note: "In Milbourne's Preface he mentions
Burnaby and May's version-the first is published.”
May's version must have been seen by Milbourne in
manuscript only.
CHARLES DARBY.
1704.-The Book of Psalms in English Metre. The Newest Version
Fitted to the Common Tunes. By Charles Darby, Rector
of Kedington, in Suffolk. London, printed for Thomas
Parkhurst, at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheapside.--
Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"The man is blest, that walketh not
With those that wicked are;
Nor in the way of Sinners stands,
Nor sits in Scorners chair."
XXIII.
"The Lord Himself my Shepherd is,
No want I need to fear:
In pastures green He makes me rest,
Where pleasant waters are."
K
"I have aimed to keep as near as possible to the
Words of the Text, without marring the Poetry; and
when forced to depart from it, to keep as close as I
الأمر
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
III
could to the Sense, by expressing it in Words or
Phrases equivalent. And so I leave it to the Cen-
sures of the Judicious"! (Preface).
DANIEL BURGESS.
1714.—Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs. By the late Rev. Mr.
Daniel Burgess, Minister of the Gospel. London, printed for
John Clark, at the Bible and Crown in the Old Change,
near St. Paul's.—Mr. W. L. Taylor's Collection.
I.
"Blest is the Man, whom from God's Walk
No ill Men lead aside;
Who stands in no bad Way, nor sits
Where Men God's Way deride."
XXIII.
"The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
My gracious Shepherd is:
My Wants will always be supplied
By tender Care of His.
As Shepherds find their helpless Flocks
Places for Food and Rest;
My ever-blessed Shepherd finds
And leads me to the best."
Burgess was a popular preacher and author, minister
of the Church meeting at New Court, Lincoln's Inn
Fields. The Sacheverell mob gutted the meeting-
house in 1710, and made a bonfire of its pulpit and
other fittings. Swift ridiculed his oratory as "mixing
unction with incoherence and ribaldry." A fairer
I 12
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
行
​estimate of his sermons was that they were
"full of
epigram, terse, quaint, clear, and never meaningless
or dull."
"A truly spiritual Taste will keep well-disposed
minds so intent to the Weight and Seriousness of the
Matter, as not to leave them at leisure for little
impertinent Criticisms upon the Phrase and Dress;
or the Exactness of Measure and Rhyme in these
sacred Composures" (Preface by John Billingsley).
COTTON MATHER.
1718.-Psalterium Americanum. The Book of Psalms in a Trans-
lation Exactly conformed unto the Original; but all in Blank
Verse. Fitted unto the Tunes commonly used in our
Churches, which pure offering is accompanied with Illus-
trations, digging for Hidden Treasures in it. Whereto are
added some other portions of the said Scriptures, to enrich
the cantonial. Boston, in N.E.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
1
I.
"What the blessings of the man
Who is not walking in
The counsel of the men that are
Set for impiety?"
XXIII.
"My shepherd's the Eternal God;
I shall not be in want;
In pastures of a tender grass
He makes me to lie down."
"Our poetry," writes Mather, "has attempted many
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
113
versions of the Psalms, but they leave out a vast
heap of those rich things which the Holy Spirit of
God speaks in the original Hebrew; and that they
put in as large an heap of poor things, which are
entirely their own. All this merely for preserving
the Chink of the Rhyme. Some refining pieces of
poetry, which this refining age has been treated
withal, have been offered us in Blank Verse. And in
Blank Verse we now have the Glorious Book of
Psalms presented to us." This is one of the "rich
things"
“As the Hart makes a panting cry
For cooling streams of waters;
So my soul makes a panting cry
To Thee, O mighty God!"
Cotton Mather was born in 1663, died in 1728.
ISAAC WATTS, D.D.
1719. * The Psalms of David imitated in the Language of the New
Testament, and apply'd to the Christian State and Worship.
By Dr. I. Watts. London.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blest is the man who shuns the place
Where sinners love to meet;
Who fears to tread their wicked ways,
And hates the scoffers' seat."
* Dr. Watts's version was incomplete, lacking twenty of the Psalms.
It was not until 1800 that Dr. Timothy Dwight, President of Vale
College, added the omitted Psalms to an edition published at the
request of the General Association of Connecticut.
I
I 14
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
V
XXIII.
"My shepherd will supply my need,
Jehovah is His Name;
In pastures fresh He makes me feed,
Beside the living stream."
Isaac Watts, D.D., Edinburgh and Aberdeen, 1728,
was the Independent minister of Berry Street Church,
London. He was born in 1674, and died in 1748.
Several editions of Watts's Psalms were approved by
the Presbyterians in America, and were published in
Philadelphia, Charleston, Troy, and elsewhere.
"It is true that David has left us a richer variety
of Holy Songs than all that. went before him," says
Dr. Watts; "but rich as it is, 'tis still far short of the
glorious things that we Christians have to sing before
the Lord. I could never persuade myself that the
best way to raise a devout frame in plain Christians
was to bring a King or a Captain into the Churches,
and let him lead and dictate the worship in his own.
style of royalty or in the language of a field of battle.
Would I encourage a parish clerk to stand up in the
midst of a country church, and bid all the people
join with his words and say, 'I will praise Thee upon
a psaltery;' or, 'I will open my dark sayings upon
the harp'? I have chosen rather to imitate than to
translate, and thus to compose a Psalm-Book for
Christians after the manner of the Jewish Psalter."
"His ear was well tuned, and his diction was ele-
gant and copious, but his devotional poetry is, like
that of others, unsatisfactory. The paucity of its
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
115
topics enforces perpetual repetition, and the sanctity
of the matter rejects the ornaments of figurative
diction. It is sufficient for Watts to have done better
than others what no man has done well" (Dr. Johnson).
SIR RICHARD BLACKMORE.
1721.-A New Version of the Psalms of David. Fitted to the Tunes
used in Churches. By Sir Richard Blackmore, Kt., M.D.
London, printed for the Company of Stationers. Certificated
by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and seventeen
Bishops, who recommended the King to give his Royal Allow-
ance that the same be permitted to be used in all Churches,
Chapels, and Congregations as shall think fit to receive the
same. Agreed to by Order of Couneil, 27th October, 1720.
-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"O happy Man, who shuns all Day
Th' Ungodly's Walks with Care ;
Who stands not in the Sinners' Way,
Nor takes the Scorner's chair."
XXIII.
"God is my Shepherd, can I want?
He feeds me in the Meads;
Do's for my rest green Pastures grant,
And to still Waters leads."
Blackmore was physician to William III, born
1650, died 1729, author of several poems satirized by
contemporary wits, who excelled in the habit.
()
"The lovers of musical devotion have always
wished for a more happy metrical version than they
116
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
-1
have yet obtained of the Book of Psalms. This wish
the piety of Blackmore led him to gratify; and he
produced a new version of the Psalms of David, fitted
for the tunes used in churches; which, being recom-
mended by the archbishops and many bishops,
obtained a licence for its admission into public
worship; but no admission has yet been obtained,
nor has it any right to come where Tate and Brady
have got possession. Blackmore's name must be
added to those of many others who, by the same
attempt, have obtained only the praise of meaning
well" (Dr. Johnson).
"The two classical poems of Blackmore and Milton
('Creation' and 'Paradise Lost') are
Paradise Lost') are more to be
valued than all the poets, both of the Romans and
the Greeks put together" (Hon. E. Howard: 1695).
Dennis, the poet, speaking of "Creation," said that
it "equalled that of Lucretius in the beauty of its
versification, and infinitely surpassed it in the solidity
and strength of its reasoning."
L
CHARLES WESLEY.
1740.-A Poetical Version of nearly the whole of the Psalms of David.
By the Rev. Charles Wesley, M.A. Edited by Henry Fish,
M. A. London, John Mason, 1854. [Only a part of the
Psalms in the Wesley Psalm and Hymn Book, 1740, were
by Charles Wesley.]-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Bless'd is the man, and none but he,
Who walks not with ungodly men ;
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
117
Nor stands their evil deeds to see,
Nor sits the innocent to arraign ;
The persecutor's guilt to share,
Oppressive in the scorner's chair."
(C
XXIII.
'Jesus the good Shepherd is;
Jesus died His sheep to save ;
He is mine, and I am His;
All I want in Him I have.
Bear me to the sacred scene,
The silent streams and pastures green!
Where the crystal waters shine,
Springing up with life divine."
The stanza of the first Psalm is taken from the
hymn-book
1744.-A Collection of Psalms and Hymns published by John and
Charles Wesley. Sold at the Foundry, Upper Moorfields.
That of the twenty-third Psalm from Mr. Fish's
edition.
Charles Wesley, the hymn-writer of the Metho-
dists-born 1708, died 1792-published during his
lifetime as many hymns as would make ten ordi-
nary volumes. They were mainly founded upon the
Psalms, the four Gospels, and the Acts of the
Apostles.
༨
118
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
SAMUEL PIKE.
1751.-The Book of Psalms in Metre. Fitted to the Various Tunes in
Common Use: wherein Closeness to the Text, and Smooth-
ness of the Verse, are preferred to Rhyme. With a prefatory
account of the present Attempt, and some Thoughts on Social
Worship. London, printed by H. Kent, and sold by J.
Oswald, at the Rose and Crown in the Poultry, etc.-Brit.
Mus. Lib.
I
(C
I.
Blessed, O blessed is the man
Who wicked counsel shuns,
Nor stands not in the sinners way,
Nor takes the scorners seat."
XXIII.
"The Lord Himself my Shepherd is,
And I shall nothing want,
In pastures of the tender grass
He makes me to lie down."*
The copy of this version, published anonymously,
in the Lambeth Library has the name "H. Pyke"
written on the title-page. Holland names the author
"H. Pike." There is another edition in the British
Museum Library, printed for G. Leighton, Vineyard
Gardens, Clerkenwell, 1819.
"This version," says Dr. Cotton, "is in lyric
measure, without rhyme; 'closeness to the text,
and smoothness of the verse, are preferred to Rhyme.'
It was published by Mr. Samuel Pike, minister of
* One of four translations of Ps. xxiii. Mr. Pike, in many cases,
gives two or three versions of the same Psalm.
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
119
an Independent congregation in London. After-
wards he joined the Sandemanians, and became an
eminent preacher among them. The version is still
used in the worship of that religious sect.”
Mr. Pike remarks, in his preface, "Not a few have
long wished for a Version of the Psalms, etc., as close
as might be to the original, freed from the objections
of roughness of the lines, obsolete words, etc. ... Upon
the whole, it is apprehended that the following version
is as close to the Scotch, or New England, and much
smoother than either of them."
JOHN BARNARD.
1752.-A New Version of the Psalms of David, with several Hymns out
of the Old and New Testament. Fitted to the Tunes used in
the Churches. By John Barnard, Pastor of a Church at Marble-
head. Boston, N.E., printed by J. Draper, for T. Leverett,
in Cornhill.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Thrice blest the man, who ne'er thinks fit
To walk as wicked men advise ;
To stand in sinners way, nor sit
With those who God and man despise."
XXIII.
"The gracious Lord is still to me
A Shepherd kind and faithful Guide;
Whate'er my Wants demand shall be,
By his indulgent Care, supply'd."
Mr. Barnard's purpose was to improve the New
I 20
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
England version. All that an American biographer
has to say about him is to record his birth in 1681,
his death in 1770, and his being "distinguished for
his sagacity in temporal affairs."
THOMAS CRADOCK, D.D.
1754.-A Poetical Translation of the Psalms of David from Buchanan's
Latin into English Prose. By the Rev. Thomas Cradock,
Rector of St. Thomas's Parish, Baltimore, Maryland. By
permission of the Stationers' Company. London, printed for
Mrs. Ann Cradock, at Wells, in Somersetshire, and sold by
R. Ware, on Ludgate Hill.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
له
I.
"Blest is the man, whose honest soul disdains
To tread the paths, where impious counsel reigns;
That in the way of sinners hath not stood,
Nor fill'd the chair of the imperious proud."
XXIII.
"The bounteous Lord my pastures shall prepare,
My God shall feed me with a shepherd's care;
In a fair verdant plain, with flow'rs o'erspread,
Where Nature furnishes a velvet bed."
Cradock, who was a native of Staffordshire, died in
1760.
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
121
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WHEATLAND AND SILVESTER.
1754.-The Psalms of David translated into Heroic Verse, in as Liberal
a Manner as Rhyme and Metre will allow. With Arguments
to each Psalm, and Explanatory Notes. Dedicated to His
Royal Highness, George, Prince of Wales, etc., by Stephen
Wheatland and Tipping Silvester. London, printed for S.
Birt in Ave Mary Lane, and J. Buckland in Paternoster
Row.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
Blessings await that man, who never strays
Thro' wicked counsel from religion's ways;
From sinners' paths who keeps his cautious feet,
And sits not vaunting in the scorners' seat.”
XXIII.
"Jehovah tends me with a Shepherd's care,
What pressing wants, what evil, can I fear?
At rest He in the verdant pasture lays,
Or guides me, where the quiet current strays."
The authors, in their preface, after noting that Sir
John Denham had said that he could have succeeded
better in heroic verse, express the opinion-it "may
vindicate the Use of it in this work, that it is in-
tended for the Pocket, or the Closet, and not to be
set to Church Music, or for the Publick worship."
122
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
FRANCIS HARE, D.D.
1755.-A New English Translation of the Psalms from the Original
Hebrew, reduced to Metre by the late Bishop Hare;
and a Preliminary Dissertation in which the Truth and Cer-
tainty of that learned Prelate's happy discovery is stated and
proved at large. By Thomas Edward, A. M., Fellow of Clare
College, Cambridge. Cambridge printed by J. Bentham,
Printer to the University, for B. Dod, in Ave-Mary-Lane,
London.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"How happy is the man who followeth not the Council of
the wicked,
Nor persisteth in the Way of Sinners,
Nor sitteth in the assembly of scoffers!"
XXIII.
"Jehovah is my Shepherd,
Therefore I shall want nothing;
·
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me to soft-flowing waters."
Bishop Hare was educated at Eton and King's Col-
lege, Cambridge, obtained successively the Deaneries.
of Worcester and St. Paul's, which latter office he
held with that of the Bishopric of Chichester until
his death in 1740. He published an edition of
"Terence," with notes.
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
123
THOMAS PRINCE.
1758.-The Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs of the Old and New
Testament, faithfully translated into English Metre. Being
the New England Psalm-Book Revised and Improved, by an
Endeavour after a yet nearer Approach to the Inspired
Original, as well as to the Rules of Poetry. By T. Prince.
Boston, N.E., printed by Thomas and John Fleet, at the
Heart and Crown in Cornhill.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"O Blessed Man who walks not in
The counsel of ill men,
Nor stands within the sinners way,
Nor scoffers seat sits in."
XXIII.
"The Lord Himself my Shepherd is,
Want therefore shall not I;
He in the folds of tender grass
Soft makes me down to lie."
Thomas Prince was born in New England, educated
at Harvard University, and was Pastor of South
Church, Boston. His version met with general
acceptance, successive editions being published. The
first edition of his new Psalm-book reached a sale 3
of thirty thousand copies.
124
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
GEORGE FENWICK
1759. The Psalter in its Original Form, or the Book of Psalms re-
duced to Lines, in an Easy and Familiar Style, and a Kind
of Blank Verse in Unequal Measures: answering for the most
part to the Original Lines, as supposed to contain each a
sentence, or some Entire part of one. With arguments, etc.
London, printed for T. Longman, in Paternoster Row.-Brit.
Mus. Lib.
I.
"I sing the Blessings which await the Man
Who ne'er in Counsel with the Wicked walks ;
Who does not in the way of Sinners stand;
Nor in the Company of Scorners sit.”
XXIII.
"My Shepherd is the Lord:
I cannot, therefore, want.
In fruitful fields He'll make me rest :
And lead me to refreshing Streams."
George Fenwick, B.D., was Rector of Hallaton,
Leicester. He writes, in his preface, "As to the
Attempt to reduce the sacred Hymns to Lines, in a
Kind of Blank Verse, it is on all hands confessed, I
think, that they were originally wrote in some such
Way, as an Help to Memory."
FAMES MERRICK.
1765.-The Psalms Translated or Paraphrased in English Verse. By
James Merrick, M.A., late Fellow of Trinity College,
Oxford. Reading, printed by J. Carnan & Co.-Brit.
Mus. Lib.
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
125
I.
"O how blest the Man, whose ear
Impious counsel shuns to hear,
Who nor loves to tread the way
Where the sons of Folly stray !"
XXIII.
"Lo! my Shepherd's hand divine!
Want shall never more be mine,
In a pasture fair and large
He shall feed His happy Charge."
Merrick-born 1720, died 1769-was the author of
"The Camelion," and "The Destruction of Troy,"
translated into English metre from the Greek of Try-
phiodoros. During his lifetime he tried to obtain
the royal sanction, and failed; but in 1797 his version
was formed into stanzas by W. D. Tattersall, and
introduced in 1804, under the sanction of the king,
into the parish church of Weymouth. Many other
Tattersall editions followed.
Bishop Lowth said that Merrick was one of the
best of men and most eminent of scholars. He took
orders; but his delicate health prevented him from
undertaking parochial work.
CHRISTOPHER SMART.
1765.—A Translation of the Psalms of David, attempted in the Spirit
of Christianity, and Adapted to the Divine Service. By
Christopher Smart, A.M., sometime Fellow of Pembroke
Hall, Cambridge, and Scholar of the University. London.
Printed by Dryden Leach for the author.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
126
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
T
I.
The man is blest of God thro' Christ
Who is not by the world intic't
Where broader ruin lies;
Nor has descended to a seat
Where scoffers at the gospel meet,
Their Saviour to despise."
XXIII.
"The Shepherd Christ from heav'n arriv'd
My flesh and spirit feeds;
I shall not therefore be depriv'd
Of all my nature needs.
As slop'd against the glist'ning beam
The velvet verdure swells,
He keeps, and leads me by the stream
Where consolation dwells."
"Kit Smart," as the eccentric poet was familiarly
called, when composing his religious poems frequently
wrote them upon his knees. His ruling passion was
to repeat them, even when suffering from his temporary
attacks of insanity. He was born in 1722, and died
in 1770.
"In this translation," he remarks, in introducing his
work to the notice of the reader, "all expressions that
seem contrary to Christ are omitted; and Evangelical
matter put in their room,—and, as it was written
with an especial view to the Divine Service, the
reader will find sundry allusions to the rites and
ceremonies of the Church of England, which are.
intended to render the work in general more useful
and acceptable to Congregations."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
127
REFORMED PROTESTANT DUTCH CHURCH ·
PSALTER.
1767.-The Psalms of David, with the Ten Commandments, Creed,
Lord's Prayer, etc., in Metre. For the use of the Reformed
Protestant Dutch Church of the City of New York. New
York, printed by James Parker, at the New Printing Office,
in Beaver Street.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"How blest is he, who ne'er consents to walk
By ill advice, nor dares to stand and talk
In sinners' way, their Vice and Cause maintaining;
Nor sits with Scorners, Things divine profaning!"
XXIII.
"The Lord Himself doth condescend
To be my Shepherd and my Friend :
I on His faithfulness rely;
His care shall all my want supply,
In pastures green He doth me lead,
And there in safety makes me feed,
Refreshing streams are ever nigh,
My thirsty soul to satisfy."
"The Consistory of the Reformed Protestant Dutch
Church of New York, having, by Reason of the
Declension of the Dutch Language, found it necessary
to have Divine Service performed in their Church in
English, Have adopted the following Version of
the Psalms of David, which is greatly indebted to
that of Dr. Brady and Mr. Tate; some of the Psalms.
being transcribed verbatim from their version, and
128
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
others altered, so as to fit them to the Music in the
Dutch Churches." In this Psalter the musical score
follows each line.
A version of the former Psalm-book, with a collec-
tion of hymns added, prepared, at the request of the
Reverend Synod of the Reformed Dutch Church in
North America, by Dr. John H. Livingston, Professor
of Theology and Præces of the Synod, appeared in
1789: "The Psalms of David, with Hymns and
Spiritual Songs. For the use of the Reformed
Dutch Church in North America. New York, printed
by Hodge, Allen, and Campbell, and sold at their
respective Book Stores."
FAMES MAXWELL.
1773. A New Version of the Whole Book of Psalms in Metre; to
which is added a Supplement of Divine Hymns and Scripture
Songs. By James Maxwell, S. D. P. Glasgow. Printed
by Wm. Smith for the Author.--Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Bless'd is the man who keeps his feet
With care from sinners ways:
Who with the ungodly shuns to meet,
Nor with the scorner stays."
XXIII.
"The Lord's my Shepherd, by whose aid
My wants are all supply'd ;
Of what should I be then afraid
Since He's my constant guide?"
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
I29
The author says, addressing the ministers of the
Church of Scotland, "Though I am satisfied this is
the purest National Church at this day in the world;
yet I think there is still one thing still wants admend-
ment amongst us; namely, our Psalmody." He
makes the "admendment" by substituting, for all allu-
sions to "brutal sacrifices," the sacrifice of Christ, for
references to "instrumental music," singing of grace
with the heart, and he softens the imprecatory phrases.
Maxwell was born in 1720, and died in 1800.
JOHN BARCLAY
1776. The Psalms Paraphrased according to the New Testament
Interpretation, and adapted to the common Church Tunes.
By John Barclay, A. M., Minister of the Berean Assembly, in
Edinburgh. Sold by A. Donaldson, at his shop in St. Paul's
Church Yard, and at Edinburgh by the Author.-Brit. Mus.
Lib.
CC
I.
“That man ! how great's his blessedness!
And Jesus is the Man,
Who comes with perfect righteousness,
The Holy peerless One!"
XXIII.
My God's my Shepherd, I'll not care
For any breath of moved air ;
The winds may blow, the storm may roar,
Jehovah will preserve his store."
Barclay-born 1734, died 1798-left the Church of
Scotland, and became pastor of an independent con-
K
130
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
gregation called "Bereans." His theological works
were published in three volumes.
ROBERT BOSWELL.
1786. The British Psalter. The Book of Psalms in Metre; from the
Original, compared with many Versions in different Lan-
Printed for the Editor, and sold by J.
Strand; and C. Elliot, Edinburgh.-
guages. 2nd Edit.
Matthews, No. 18,
Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"O Greatly Blessed is the Man
Who walketh not astray
In counsel of ungodly men,
Nor stands in sinners way."
XXIII.
"The Lord's my Shepherd, I'll not want;
He makes me down to lie
In pastures green,-He leadeth me
The quiet waters by."
The "British Psalter" first published in 1784, was
used by the "Glassites," of which denomination Bos-
well, a Writer to the Signet, was one of the teaching
elders. He was an excellent Hebrew scholar. He
was born in 1746, died in 1804.
The preface states that the version chiefly adhered
to, as much the most literal, was the one then used
by the Established Church of Scotland. The author
endeavoured to improve the metre while retaining the
literalness.
* Sandemanians in England, who sang out of Pike's version.
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
131
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THE TINGSTADIUS VERSION.
1794. —The Psalms of David. A New and Improved Version. London,
printed for M. Priestley (late Trapp), Paternoster Row, and
J. Matthews, in the Strand, near Charing Cross.-Brit. Mus.
Lib.
I.
Happy is he !
That doth not follow the counsel of the unrighteous;
Nor tread in the path of sinners;
Nor sit in the assembly of the ungodly."
XXIII.
"The Lord is my Shepherd
I can want for nothing.
In meadows abounding in grass He leadeth me to pasture.
Near cooling places of repose to water.”
This version was made from a translation of the
Psalms by John Adam Tingstadius, D.D., Professor
of Oriental Languages at the University of Upsal, by
command of Gustavus III. of Sweden.
"If, as in many instances no doubt they will, the
Psalms of David in their present garb appear to differ
essentially from what we have hitherto been taught to
consider as the real sentiments of the royal Psalmist,
it is assumed that the alleged difference will not only
have the advantage of sense and sound reason on its
side, but be likewise found to correspond more faith-
fully with the original text " (Preface).
132
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
ELHANAN WINCHESTER.
1797.-The Psalms of David versified from a New Translation, and
adapted to Christian Worship. Particularly intended for the
use of such Christians as believe in the universal and un-
bounded Love of God, manifested unto all His fallen creatures
by Christ Jesus. London, printed for the Author, and sold
by Teulon, No. 100, Houndsditch; Mr. Thrussel, Battle,
Sussex; and at the Restoration Chapel, Parliament Court,
Artillery Lane, Bishopsgate Without.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
4t
CC
I.
Prosperity attends my Lord,
In ev'ry work, in ev'ry word,
For He was in all good compleat;
He never unjust counsel took,
And His great Father's love forsook,
Or sat in the despiser's seat."
XXIII.
Jesus my Lord and Shepherd is,
Therefore I have no real want,
But am in growing pastures fed;
By faith I taste the flowing blood,
And drink of life's unceasing streams,
From my Redeemer's wounded side.”
The author was a celebrated universalist preacher,
previously minister of a chapel in Petticoat Lane,
1778-9. He translated the Psalms for "the more
especial use of such Christians whose eyes are by the
Divine Spirit enlightened to see the superabounding
love of the Father manifested by the gift of His Son,
for the redemption, salvation, and final glorification
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
133
of the whole of those unhappy beings whose sin has,
or may yet draw from the allegiance, duty, and
obedience due to their Creator."
JOSEPH COTTLE.
1801.-A New Version of the Psalms of David. By Joseph Cottle.
London.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"How bless'd the men who walk with Thee,
O Lord! and prize what Thou hast said;
Who both from sin and sinners flee,
And shun the paths th' ungodly tread!"
XXIII.
"Thou wilt, O God! for me provide ;
Thou art my shepherd and my guide;
Through pastures fair I take my way,
And by the peaceful waters stray."
Cottle was for many years a bookseller in Bristol,
and died at an advanced age in 1853. He is known
as the author of " Recollections of S. T. Coleridge."
"I do not profess to have given a literal version of
the Psalms. It was my object to catch the spirit
rather than adhere to the letter. The abrupt pause,
and sudden transition from one subject to another,
are undoubted excellences in the writings of David,
but which I thought could not be retained with
advantage in a metrical version. I have therefore
134
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
endeavoured to preserve a connected train of ideas,
and have given, as much as possible, to each Psalm,
the character of a whole."
THOMAS DENNIS.
1808. A New Version of the Psalms in Blank Verse; with a Latin
Version of the Eighth Psalm in Alcaic Verse. By the Rev.
Thomas Dennis, Curate of Haslemere, Surrey. London,
printed for J. White, Horace's Head, Fleet Street.-Brit.
Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blest is the man who in the scorner's chair
Hath never sat, nor with th'ungodly walk'd :
But his delight is in the law of God:
That law his constant study."
XXIII.
"God is my Shepherd; near refreshing streams,
In pastures verdant with eternal spring,
He feeds me, and in safety makes me dwell."
"The version of the Psalms here offered to the
public in Blank Verse, however defective and short of
correctness and elegance it may be in that kind of
composition, yet, perhaps, may not be unacceptable
to many readers. A different dress and variety of
diction may be pleasing to some persons, and be the
means of supplying them with new sentiments of
religious devotion" (Preface).
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
135
JOHN STOW.
1809.-A Version of the Psalms of David attempted to be closely
accommodated to the Text of Scripture; and adapted, by
variety of measure, to all the Music used in the Versions of
Sternhold and Hopkins and of Brady and Tate. By a Lay
Member of the Church of England. London.—Brit. Mus.
Lib.
I.
"Blest is the Man that walketh not
Where impious councel guides;
Nor in the way of sinners stands,
Nor sits where Scorn presides."
XXIII.
"The Lord of heav'n my Shepherd is,
I therefore shall not want;
*
And of salvation He the hope
Doth in my breast implant."
A third edition appeared in 1844, from which is
copied the following unique dedication-probably,
as Lowndes remarks, the only book ever dedicated
to Jehovah
* Mr. W. L. Taylor has a copy of the Scottish Psalms, with critical
and explanatory notes, by Neil Douglas, Glasgow, 1815, dedicated to
the Messiah. "To IMMANUEL, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords,
his unworthy, but much obliged servant in the Gospel, Humbly pre-
sents, as in duty and gratitude bound, this work, undertaken with a
single eye to his Glory, and for the defence and illustration of his
truth, now finished, through the kindness of his providence, in
believing hope of his Acceptance, divine patronage and blessing."
Douglas describes himself as a "Preacher of Restoration."
136
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
TO THEE,
O! JEHOVAH!
THE ETERNAL
GODHEAD!
FATHER, SON AND HOLY GHOST!
THE INDIVISIBLE
TRINITY IN UNITY!
CREATOR, REDEEMER, SANCTIFIER
OF MANKIND!
WITH A LOWLY HEART AND WITH A TREMBLING HAND
THIS WORK
IS OFFERED:
IN THE HUMBLE HOPE
THAT, THROUGH THE INTERCESSORY OFFICES OF
THE EVER BLESSED JESUS,
AND THE SANCTIFYING OPERATIONS OF
THE HOLY SPIRIT,
(WHICH PROMPTED WHAT, IF ANY THING,
OF EXCELLENCE IT POSSESSES,)
IT MAY BECOME ACCEPTABLE BEFORE
THEE,
AND BE PERMITTED TO CONDUCE TO THE FURTHERANCE OF
THY GLORY
UPON EARTH,
AND THE ADVANCEMENT OF
THY KINGDOM
IN THE HEARTS OF
THY PEOPLE!
This dedication is not lost sight of in the new
arrangement of the Psalms, in which the verses are
designated as sung by the Psalmist to the congre-
gation, by the congregation to each other, and by
each and all to Jehovah. This is Ps. xxiii. as ar-
ranged in the third edition :-
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
137
}
The Psalmist to the Congregation.
66
'1. THE LORD of Heav'n my SHEPHERD is,
I therefore shall not want;
For of His Care He doth the hope
Within my breast Implant.
"2. In pastures green He maketh me
Lie down and calmly feed:
Beside the waters still and cool
Me He doth also Lead.
،
3. He doth my Soul Restore, and will
A Convert of it Make:
Me in the Paths of Righteousness
HE Leads for His Name's sake.
To JEHOVAH.
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4. Yea, tho' I walk thro' Death's dark vale
I will no evil fear;
THY Rod and Staff, LORD, Aiding me,
Do Comfort to me Bear.
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5. For me a Table Thou Prepar❜st
Mine Enemies before;
With Oil my head Thou dost Anoint,
The Cup too runneth o'er.
To the Congregation.
“6. Goodness and Mercy surely shall
Thro' life Attend me still :
And in the House of GOD the LORD,
I will for ever dwell."
138
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
The British Museum copy is the one sent by the
author to the Earl of Morton, January 10, 1810, with
the request that he would, in his capacity of Lord
Chamberlain, submit it to the Queen. Mr. W. L.
Taylor has the copy sent by Stow to the Archbishop
of Canterbury, who promised to send it or another to
the Lambeth Library.
John Stow, of the Old South Sea House, and
Croom's Hill, Greenwich, was the author of another
curious work, "A Hermit's Narrative of Opinions,
Many and Mighty, at Home and Abroad, and of his
Solitary Meditations (spread over more than half a
century of a life now entered upon the eighty-fifth
year) on Divine Revelation and Christianity."
WILLIAM SAMUEL TOWERS.
1811. A Version of the Psalms. By the late William Samuel Towers,
Esq. Printed at the very particular request of several of the
Author's friends. London.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
Styr
I.
"How blest the man, who all his days
With caution shuns ungodly ways!
Who ne'er with sinners will remain,
Or scorners, who their Lord profane."
XXIII.
"Me, shall the Lord my Shepherd feed,
Then nothing can I lack or need;
To pastures green He leads the way,
Where constant streams of comfort stray."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
139
((
WILLIAM GOODE.
1811.-An Entire New Version of the Book of Psalms; in which an
attempt is made to accommodate them to the Worship
of the Christian Church; with Original Prefaces and Notes.
By the Rev. William Goode, M.A., Rector of St. Andrew
Wardrobe, and St. Ann, Blackfriars. 2 vols. London.-
Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
Happy the man who fears to stray
Where men ungodly meet;
Nor stand where sinners crowd the way;
Nor fills the scorner's seat."
XXIII.
"I hear my Shepherd's Voice,
And in His care confide:
IN THEE, JEHOVAH, I rejoice,
My wants are all supplied.
Where living pastures grow,
He bids me sweetly rest;
Where gentle streams of mercy flow,
My weary soul's refresht.” *
* Goode wrote four versions of Ps. xxiii.
J
In 1795 Goode was appointed to the living of
St. Ann's, Blackfriars, and he held lectureships in
other parishes of the City of London. His works,
in six volumes, were edited and published by his
son in 1822. He was born in 1762, died in 1816.
He proposed to make a version simple enough for
the people generally, and adapted to the Christian
dispensation.
140
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
ROBERT DONALD.
1815.-The Psalms of David on Christian Experience.
Woking, Surrey. Guildford Press.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"That happy man is truly blest
With the unholy have no rest,
Who hates the sinner's scoffing seat;
But with the godly longs to meet."
XXIII.
"The Shepherd chief of Israel is,
Jesus my Lord and King;
For well He knows each sheep of His
Them to the fold will bring.
He leads them safe to pastures green,
Beside the living brook :
Clear as the crystal to be seen,
Their names in his fair book."
By R. D.,
"The following is a feeble attempt (of a weak
instrument in the hand of the Lord) on the Psalms of
David. I, the author, first felt the power of a call
either in the Evangelical or the Gospel Magazine, I
do not recollect which, about five or six years ago;
it was a request to have a new publication of the
Psalms, on Christian Experience (if I mistake not) in
imitation of Cowper or Newton, when these words
came powerfully into my mind, 'Thou art the man!""
(Preface).
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
141
G. F. HOLFORD, M.P.
1820.-The Book of Psalms in Verse; with a short Explanatory Preface
to each Psalm, taken from the Works of Different Writers on
the Psalms, but chiefly from Bishop Horne's Commentary.
London, sold by Rivingtons and Hatchards. Printed by the
Philanthropical Society, St. George's Fields. (2nd Edit.
1822.)—Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blest he of men, who ne'er hath turn'd aside
To walk with sinners, and the truth deride;
But makes the law of God his chief delight,
There reads by day, and meditates by night."
XXIII.
'The Lord, my Shepherd, doth each want supply.
In pastures green He causeth me to lie;
My feet by cooling streams He deigns to guide,
And leads me where the peaceful waters glide.”
In the copy in the British Museum Library, the
name of the author is queried as "By G. F. Holford,
M.P.?"
The author believes that the language in which he
has expressed the Psalms is such that the common
people may very well understand; and that his version,
with its prefaces and notes, will prove very useful to
young people.
Mr. W. L. Taylor's copy has on its fly-leaf, “To
Louisa T. Clare, from R. S. Holford." It also contains.
a manuscript note by a former owner, "This is
Holford's version."
142
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
WILLIAM COLDWELL.
1821. The Book of Praises. The Psalms or Sacred Odes of the Royal
Psalmist David, and others the Prophets of Jehovah, in
Metre. By William Coldwell, London.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blessed, write that man, supremely, who amidst
The counsel walks not of the impious ones;
Nor in the paths of sinners stands; nor sits,
Delighted with the scornful."
XXIII.
((
My Shepherd is JEHOVAH! I shall know
No deficiency; in pastures verdant
I couch, by Him led beside placid waters."
Coldwell paraphrased the whole of the Psalms in
blank verse, but only published the first part. He
resided at Sheffield, was a geological surveyor and
architect, and a local preacher in the Methodist New
Connexion. The preface to his version intimates that
he had originally attempted a version in rhyme, but
did not succeed in satisfying himself. Afterwards he
tried blank verse. He also published several works on
different subjects.
BASIL WOODD.
1821. A New Metrical Version of the Psalms of David, with an
Appendix of Select Psalms and Hymns. By the Rev. Basil
Woodd, M.A., of Trinity College, Oxford. London.—Brit.
Mus. Lib.
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
143
I.
"Blest is the man whose heav'n-taught mind
Disdains the paths which scorners find,
The law of GOD, his chief delight,
He meditates by day and night.”
XXIII
"My Shepherd is the Lord,
I never more shall want;
All I require, my gracious GoD
Will mercifully grant.
In meadows fair and green,
With purest pasture blest ;
Where the still waters gently flow,
He leadeth me to rest."
Basil Woodd was an Evangelical clergyman, Rector
of Drayton Beauchamp, in Buckinghamshire. Died
in 1831, aged seventy-one. He says, in his intro-
ductory remarks, "It has been a principal object in
the following attempt to preserve, where it was
practicable, the expressions of the authorized trans-
lations, to accommodate the sentiments to the lan-
guage of the Christian Dispensation, and to direct the
mind, when the subject authorized, to the life, death.
resurrection, and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
JAMES MONTGOMERY.
1822.-Songs of Zion; being Imitations of the Psalms. By James
Montgomery. London, Longmans, etc.—Brit. Mus. Lib.
144
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
I.
((
"Thrice happy he, who shuns the way
That leads ungodly men astray ;
Who fears to stand where sinners meet,
Nor with the scorner takes his seat."
XXIII.
"The Lord is my Shepherd, no want shall I know;
I feed in green pastures, safe-folded I rest;
He leadeth my soul where the still waters flow,
Restores me when wandering, redeems when opprest."
'The author pretends not to have succeeded better
than any that have gone before him; but, having
followed in the track of none, he would venture to
hope, that, by avoiding the rugged literality of some,
and the diffusive paraphrases of others, he may, in a
few instances, have approached nearer than either of
them have generally done, to the ideal model of what
devotional poems, in a modern tongue, grounded
upon the subjects of ancient Psalms, yet suited for
Christian edification, ought to be."
James Montgomery was born in 1771, died in 1854.
Editor, printer, and author of " Greenland" and other
poems. Up to middle age not a "stated" member
of any religious community. In 1814, however, he
rejoined the Moravians, among whom he had received
his early education. The town of Sheffield gave the
poet a public funeral.
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
145
JAMES USHER.
1823.-A New Version of the Psalms; principally from the Text of
Bishop Horne. By James Usher.
By James Usher. Printed and Published by
the Author, Buckley Street, Whitechapel. Dedicated to the
Rev. Robert Hamilton, D.D., "the venerable preceptor
under whom I received the most part of my very moderate
education."-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Oh! how he's blest who'll not consent
In ways of guile to walk,
Nor will the seats of those frequent
Who blasphemously talk."
XXIII.
"God is my Shepherd, lack I've none;
He to green pastures leads me on ;
And will to streams of comfort guide,
Convert my soul, and grace provide."
19
"The public are here presented with the musings of
a man of leisure, who has long made the Psalmes his
daily study; although the present must be acknow-
ledged rather a hasty production, having been begun
on the 18th August last, and finished on the 15th
December" (Preface).
He claims to have restrained his fancy and kept
near the text.
L
146
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
BAPTIST NOEL TURNER.
1824.-Songs of Solyma; or a New Version of the Psalms of David,
the long ones being compressed in General into Two Parts,
or Portions of Psalmody; comprising their Prophetic Evi-
dences and Principal Beauties. By Baptist Noel Turner,
M.A., Rector of Denton, in Lincolnshire, and Wing, in
Rutland. London, Rivingtons.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blest is the man whose wary steps
All sinful paths decline;
Who most avoids those impious men
That scoff at things divine."
XXIII.
"The Lord my pasture shall prepare,
And feed me with a shepherd's care;
His presence shall my wants supply,
And guard me with a watchful eye.” *
A memoir and portrait of Baptist Noel Turner-
born 1739, died 1826-is in Nicholl's "Illustrated
History." In early life he was known to, and much
esteemed by, Dr. Johnson.
"The hope of adapting the Psalms to the purpose
of Congregational Singing, in a manner somewhat
preferable to that generally in use, may be regarded
as having given origin to the present little work."
The author also states in his preface that he "had
become an octogenarian before the commencement
of the present work."
P
* Addison's one of the four in Turner's Psalter not original, but
stated to be "from Addison, slightly altered."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
147
"These translations are highly respectable in point
of literary merit, particularly when it is considered
that they were the amusements of the evening of a
literary life, the author having attained his eightieth
year when he began the task” (Gentleman's Magazine).
RICHARD MANT, D.D.
1824. -The Book of Psalms, in an English Metrical Version, Founded
on the basis of the Authorised Bible Translation, and com-
pared with the Original Hebrew; with Notes Critical and
Illustrative. By the Right Rev. Richard Mant, D.D.,
M.R.I.A., Lord Bishop of Down and Connor. Oxford,
J. Parker. London, Rivingtons.—Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"How blest is he, who shuns the road,
By impious men perversely trod ;
Nor his to stand, where sinners meet;
Nor his the graceless scorner's seat!"
XXIII.
"My shepherd is the Lord Most High;
His care shall all my wants supply;
Lay me in pastures green to feed,
And to the tranquil steamlet lead.”
Dr. Mant was born in 1776, died in 1848; Rector
of St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate, 1816; Rector of East
Horsley, 1818; Bishop of Killaloe, 1820; Down and
Connor, 1823; and Dromore, 1842. He was a volu-
minous author. He published his great work, “The
History of the Church of Ireland,” in 1840.
148
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
"I beg that I may be distinctly understood as not
pretending to offer a Version of the Psalm new in
any other signification than in that of the form
wherein it is offered " (Preface).
((
Bishop Mant's hymns are not free from the
defects that usually mark works produced in haste,
in a life crowded with conflicting duties, and erring
in excess of literary production " (Miller).
The Dublin University Magazine, however, ex-
presses the opinion that Mant's version is both the
most instructive and the most poetical version of the
Psalms published up to that time.
MATTHEW SANKEY.
1825.—A New Version of the Psalms of David, dedicated to the Arch-
bishop of Cashel. By Matthew Sankey, Esq. Printed for
C. and J. Rivington.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"O happy is the man, that ne'er
In counsel with the ungodly walk'd;
Nor stood with sinners, nor that e'er
Hath sat where impious scorners talk'd."
XXIII.
"The Lord, my shepherd is indeed,
That doth my wants supply;
In pastures green He makes me feed,
And by still waters lie."
"I have generally," says Mr. Sankey, "followed the
metres of the New Version, having an eye to the
beautiful Church music."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
149
EDWARD ROWLAND.
1826.-The Psalms of David, attempted in Verse, regular, irregular,
in the way of paraphrase, etc. By Senex, a Clergyman.
Carlisle, printed by Charles Thurnham, Market Place.
Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blessed is he that hath not walk'd
As wicked men advise,
Nor wandered in the paths of vice,
Where pride and scorn arise."
XXIII.
"His tender flock the careful shepherd leads,
Unto cool waters and to verdant meads;
So doth the mighty shepherd of the soul,
My wants supply, my wanderings controul."
Rowland was a retired timber-merchant, who is
said to have taken holy orders after he left business.
He died in 1824, aged eighty-one.
Most of his Psalms are in elegaic stanzas.
JOHN MAULE, M.D.
1827. A New Version of the Psalms of David, by John Maule, M.D.
Marlborough, published by W. W. Lucy.—Mr. W. L. Taylor's
Collection.
I.
"Blest is the man who turns aside
From every evil path with care;
Whom wicked councils ne'er seduce,
Who, watchful, shuns the scorner's chair."
150
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
XXIII.
"My shepherd is the living Lord,
I nothing therefore need;
In pastures fair, near pleasant streams,
He setteth me to feed."
The only note in this volume contains the follow-
ing: "The author takes this opportunity of offering
his best thanks to his subscribers, and trusts that the
extra charge of one shilling per copy will not be
thought unreasonable."
(C
MARGARET PATULLO.
1828.-The Christian Psalter; a New Version of the Psalms of David,
calculated for all Denominations of Christians. By Margaret
Patullo, Perth. Edinburgh, printed for the Author.-Brit.
Mus. Lib.
I.
Happy the man who loves the Lord
With his whole heart and soul;
God numerous mercies will afford,
For He does all control."
XXIII.
“O Lord of Glory, us preserve,
And from all ill defend-
Thou art the Saviour whom we serve,
Who constant peace can send.
Beside quiet waters Thou wilt guide
Me, gently to repose,
And lead me to the cool shade
Where tender green grass grows."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
151
The only complete metrical Psalter composed by
a lady. Miss Patullo was a Scotchwoman of good
family in Perthshire. She held that the name of
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ought not to be
omitted in spiritual Psalms.
WILLIAM WRANGHAM.
1829.-A New Metrical Version of the Psalms; adapted to Devotional
Purposes. By W. Wrangham. London, Simpkin, Marshall,
and Co.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
“Blest is the man, whose perfect heart
From virtue never strays;
Who from the scorner keeps apart,
And shuns the sinner's ways."
XXIII.
"My watchful Shepherd is the Lord,
On whom for shelter I rely;
His love shall constant aid afford,
His bounty all my wants supply;
He bids me feed in pastures green,
Where peaceful streams adorn the scene."
The object of the writer-a tradesman of Louth, in
Lincolnshire, who died in 1832-was to produce a
metrical version of the Psalms in such language and
so arranged so as to render it suitable to general
parochial psalmody. The measures were intended to
be correspondent to those which are usually sung in
152
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
churches. The version was printed at Louth, in
Lincolnshire.
WALTER JOHN TROWER, D.D.
1831.-A New Metrical Psalter, first published in 1831, now revised
and republished by W. J. Trower, D.D., Bishop, Rector of
Ashington, and Sub-dean of Exeter. Oxford and London,
James Parker and Co. (Edit. 1875.)-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Bless'd who away from counsels good
Hath never turn'd his feet;
Nor in the way of sinners stood,
Nor shar'd the scorner's seat."
XXIII.
"My shepherd is the Lord,
Therefore no want I know;
He in green pastures doth me feed,
And by the hand doth gently lead
Where the still waters flow."
The author wished, not only to express faithfully
the sense of the sacred writers of the Book of Psalms,
but to express it as much as possible in the language
we are so familiar with in the Bible and Common
Prayer-book versions. He occasionally allowed him-
self considerable harshness of metre rather than give
up the words and the cadences to which long use had
attached him.
Dr. Trower was Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway.
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
153
Lib.
ALFRED BARTHOLOMEW.
1831.-Sacred Lyrics: being an Attempt to Render the Psalms of
David more applicable to Parochial Psalmody. By Alfred
Bartholomew, Architect. London, Rivingtons.-Brit. Mus.
I.
"That man is bless'd who dares despise
What sinful mortals falsely prize;
Who can divest, by reason calm,
Fair false advice of every charm ;
Who though persuasion tempts him, shuns
The pathway that to ruin runs."
XXIII.
"The Lord my Shepherd-favour'd care-
Through every hour I kindness share.
In pastures ever verdant fed,
Beside the streams of comfort led,—
God will at length my soul convert,
And all my steps from sin divert.”
EDWARD GARRARD MARSH.
1832.-The Book of Psalms translated into English Verse, and Illus-
trated with Practical and Explanatory Notes. By Edward
Garrard Marsh, M.A. London, Seeleys.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
F.
"How blest the man, who shuns the tents
Where impious councils meet,
Who ne'er the sinner's haunts frequents,
Nor fills the scorner's seat."
154
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
XXIII.
"I will Jehovah for my Shepherd hail ;
For, while He feeds me, I shall never fail.
In verdant pastures He will lay me down,
By springs of comfort lead me, as His own."
The annotations, or explanatory notes, fill more
than two hundred pages of the book.
Mr. Marsh was a clergyman, Minister of Hamp-
stead Chapel.
HENRY GAHAGAN.
1832.-A Rhyme Version of the "Liturgy" Psalms. By Henry
Gahagan, Esq., M. A., Barrister-at-Law. London, Riving-
tons.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
“That man is blessed, who will never tread
In paths by counsel of th' ungodly led ;
Who in his way the sinner will not meet,
Nor with the scornful deign to take his seat.”
XXIII.
"The Lord's my Shepherd-I His sheep
Can nothing lack, while in His keep;
In green pastures shall He feed me,
To refreshing waters lead me."
"This work has no pretensions to be taken as a
Metrical Translation of the Psalms, but is strictly, as
I have entitled it, a Rhyme Version of our 'Liturgy'
Psalms" (Preface).
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
155
JOSEPH P. BARTRUM.
1833. The Psalms Newly Paraphrased for the Service of the Sanc-
tuary. By Joseph P. Bartrum. Designed chiefly as a Supple-
ment to Sacred Lyrics in use. Boston, Russell, Odiorne, and
Co.-Philadelphia Library.*
I.
"Where shall happiness be found?
Heaven replies-O Welcome sound!-
Happy who from sin depart,
Turn from every treach'rous art!
Who, intent on truth divine,
Read by day the hallow'd line ;
Ponder still the page by night;
Linger o'er it with delight."
XXIII.
"The Lord is my Shepherd benign!
No want shall distress me, nor woe!
He leads me to pastures divine,
By rivers that peacefully flow!
Ah! tempted too often to stray,
He rescues from error and sin;
Restores me to virtue's bright way,
A crown everlasting to win."
The author says, "Acquainted with no metrical
version of the Psalms combining chasteness of inter-
pretation with an application to existing manners,
and sublimity of language with a fitness for devotional
music, I, venture to make an offering to the public,
in the hope of supplying a deficiency."
*For these extracts, and those of G. Burgess, McClure, and D. C.
McLaren, the author is indebted to Mr. B. Samuel, of the Ridgway
Branch of the Library Company of Philadelphia.
156
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
GEORGE MUSGRAVE.
1833.-The Book of the Psalms of David, in English Blank Verse;
being a New Poetical Arrangement of the Sweet Songs of
Israel: adapted to the use of general Readers, with a view
to the more perfect understanding, and consequent relish and
appreciation, of the subject-matter of those Divine Composi-
tions. By the Rev. George Musgrave, A.M., B. N. C., Oxon.
London, Rivingtons.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blessed is he whose mortal life's career
Its onward course maintaineth unapproach'd
Of sin's unhallow'd counsel, and whose feet
Untrodden leave the devious paths of guilt."
XXIII.
"In God HIMSELF my Shepherd I behold-
Henceforth to live unconscious of a want;
For, by His heavenly guidance led, I rest
In pastures verdant with the tend'rest grass."
M
The author, born in 1798, was formerly Curate of
Marylebone, and spent the latter part of his life in
literary and scientific pursuits.
(C
The version here given, though little more than a
synonymous and poetical repetition of the sense of
the text, may exhibit this single advantage at least-
that the portion of Scripture it involves, being ren-
dered in different terms from those to which the ear
of the many has been accustomed, will, in a variety
of instances, appear in a new light, and sharpen a
blunted attention" (Preface).
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
157
P. J. DUCAREL.
1833.-A Paraphrase of the Psalms, executed in Blank Verse; with
strict attention to the Notes and Commentaries of Bishops
Horsley, Horne, etc. By P. J. Ducarel, Esq. London,
Hamilton, Adams, and Co.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
'Blessed is he, who from his steadfast course
Ungodly counsels shall not lead astray;
Who, with the sinners lingers in his path,
Nor sits in mockery in the scorner's seat."
XXIII.
"God is my Shepherd, and beneath His care,
I can lack nothing; His Almighty hand
'Midst fairest meadows of luxuriant green,
Shall pasture me, and shall conduct my steps
Where the sweet springs of balmy comfort flow."
"The object of the following paraphrase is to give
more connection and continuity of meaning to each
composition, as presented in the language of our
Bible and Prayer-book" (Preface).
H. A. S. ATWOOD.
1834. A New Version of the Book of Psalms, adapted to the purpose.
of Congregational Psalmody. By the Rev. H. A. S. Atwood,
M.A., Curate of Kenilworth. Coventry, printed for the
Author.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
158
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
I.
"Blest is the man, who shuns the seat
Of scorners, and from paths of vice
With pious care restrains his feet,
Who from his God no snares entice."
XXIII.
"Where smile the pastures ever green,
Where cooling waters flow,
Where plenty crowns the fruitful scene,
My Shepherd bids me go."
"In preparing this Version," the author says,
leading object has been to comprise as much as
possible the spirit of the whole Psalm, within the
compass of the few Verses usually devoted to Con-
gregational singing, dividing the very long Psalms
into two, or more parts."
I.
<<
HENRY FRANCIS LYTE.
1834. The Spirit of the Psalms, or the Psalms of David adapted to
Christian Worship. By the Rev. H. F. Lyte, A.M.,
Minister of Lower Brixham. London, William Marsh.-
Brit. Mus. Lib.
"How blest are they who fear to walk
Where sinners tempt, and scorners talk,
Who in the Word of God delight,
And feed upon it day and night!"
a
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
159
XXIII.
"The Lord of all my Shepherd is;
What can I want, while I am His?
In greenest fields my soul He feeds,
My steps by stillest waters leads."
Lyte was born in 1793; died, at Nice, 1847; Per-
petual Curate of Brixham, 1823; author of the
popular hymn "Abide with Me" and other religious
poetry.
Lyte wrote that he had "endeavoured to give the
spirit of each Psalm in such a compass as the public
taste would tolerate, and to furnish, sometimes, when
the length of the original would admit of it, an
almost literal translation, sometimes a kind of
spiritual paraphrase, at others even a brief com-
mentary of the whole Psalm."
WILLIAM ALLEN, D.D.
1835.-Psalms and Hymns for Public Worship, containing all the
Psalms and Hymns of Dr. Watts which are deemed valuable.
Together with a New Version of all the Psalms and many
Original Hymns, besides a large Collection from other Writers.
By William Allen, D.D., President of Bowdoin College.
Boston, W. Pierce.—Mr. W. L. Taylor's Collection.
I.
"Blest is the man, whose feet ne'er stray,
Misguided by Advice unmeet;
Who stands not in the sinner's way,
Nor sits in daring scoffer's seat."
160
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS
XXIII.
"The Lord my Shepherd is, on high;
To every want He brings supply,
In pastures green He gives repose,
And leads, where living water flows."
Dr. Allen "deems a new Psalm and Hymn Book
necessary, in the present improved state of the public.
taste, for the purposes of Congregational worship.
He has endeavoured to meet the claims of the public
taste, and the wants of the Churches. In his version
of Psalms he uniformly studied the Psalm, and
endeavoured to catch its spirit, without any reference
to other versions. Nor does he recollect that, except
in one or two instances, he has borrowed a line from
any author; though, doubtless, his memory may have.
unconsciously furnished him with a few lines borrowed
from others. Never in a Psalm or Hymn has he been.
willing to sacrifice sense to sound; nor does he con-
ceive that the necessity of rhyme has impaired the
sentiment."
The following are additional versions :-
I.
"That man is blest alway,
Who shuns advice unmeet,
Who stands not in the sinner's way,
Nor sits in scorner's seat."
"Blest is he, whose prudent feet
Sinners' bypaths ne'er have known,
Blest, who in the scorner's seat
Ne'er with blasphemy sits down."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
161
XXIII.
"C
'My Shepherd is the Lord, my God,
No want I e'er shall know ;
Guided by Him, my feet have trod
Where greenest pastures grow."
"God's my Shepherd, and His eye,
Sleepless, watches o'er my soul;
While His rod and crook are nigh,
I am safe, though wild beasts prowl."
"Christ, my Shepherd, is my guide,
All my wants shall be supplied;
He doth make me to repose
Where the green, sweet pasture grows."
"My Shepherd! my soul He will feed;
In folds of green grass I repose,
In pastures most sweet do I feed,
I'm led by the stream that soft flows."
"The Lord is my Shepherd, I never shall need,
In greenness of pasture He maketh me feed;
He leadeth my soul by the still waters' side,
Where streams of salvation most gently do glide."
E. FARR.
1836.-A New Version of the Psalms of David, in all the Various
Metres suited to Psalmody, divided into Subjects, designated
according to Bishop Horne, etc. By E. Farr. London,
published by H. Fellowes, Ludgate Hill.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
M
162
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
I.
"How happy is the man whose feet
Turn from the counsels of the base;
Who standeth not where sinners meet,
Nor with the scorners takes his place!"
XXIII.
"The Lord is my Shepherd divine,
No want shall I e'er undergo;
Thro' Him I in quiet recline,
Where pastures abundantly grow."
"I have divided those Psalms which comprise more
than one subject. . . . I have also endeavoured to
make each portion perfect in itself, without trans-
posing the sense of the original, adapting, to the best
of my judgment, the metre to the subject, and using
all the various metres" (Preface).
"A very successful recasting into metre of the
substance of the Authorized Version," writes Mr.
Holland, who somewhat depreciatingly calls the author
"an individual of the name of Farr."
CATHERINE FOSTER AND ELIZABETH
COLLING.
1838. A New Metrical Version of the Psalms of David. By C. F.
and E. C. London, Simpkin, Marshall, and Co.-Brit.
Mus. Lib.
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
163
I.
"Blest is the man that hath not trod,
The sinners' downward way;
Nor sought, forgetful of his God,
Their friendship's fatal sway,
Who shuns the councils where they meet,
And sits not in the scorner's seat."
XXIII.
"The Lord my Shepherd still hath been,
No want shall then be mine;
He bids me feed in pastures green,
In the cool meads recline."
M
"A New Rhyme Version is still a desideratum in
the language," wrote the authors. "Those who have
adhered to the literal have allowed the poetical to
escape, and those who have studied the poetical have
wandered too far from the literal. An attempt
has here been made to unite as much as it was
possible the two. . . . Primarily intended for the
Closet, but most of them will admit of being adapted
to the Church."
JOHN KEBLE.
1839. The Psalter, or Psalms of David, in English Verse. Adapted for
the most part to Tunes in common use. By a Member of the
University of Oxford. Oxford, John Henry Parker; London,
Rivingtons. Brit. Mus. Lib.
164
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
I.
"How blest the man who never trod
Where sinners haunting wait,
Stood in the way with foes of God,
In scorners' council sate !"
XXIII.
(6
My Shepherd is the Lord; I know
No care or craving need;
He lays me where the green herbs grow
Along the quiet mead.”
He was born in 1792, died in 1866; Fellow of Oriel
College, Oxford, and Vicar of Hursley, near Win-
chester. Keble was the author of "The Christian
Year," which attained so large a sale that the church
at Hursley was partly rebuilt out of the profit of it.
"It is not without very great misgiving and re-
luctance that this version of the Psalms is published;
such misgiving as would yield to no sanction short of
what it has been honoured with. It was undertaken,
in the first instance, with a serious apprehension that
the thing attempted is, strictly speaking, impossible,
it being obvious, from the structure of the Hebrew
Psalms, that they were intended, not for singing, but
for chanting. . . . The object which has been chiefly
kept in view in preparing the present version has
been to express the effect of each Hebrew clause by
a single line instead of half a stanza, at the risk, too
often, of a harshness and constraint, both in sound
and expression."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
165
GEORGE BURGESS, D.D.
1840.-The Book of Psalms translated into English Verse. By George
Burgess, A.M., Rector of Christchurch, Hartford, Conn.
New York, F. J. Huntington and Co.-Philadelphia Library.
I.
"How bless'd the man, who will not stray
Where godless counsels tempt his feet;
Who stands not in the sinner's way;
Who sits not in the scorner's seat!"
XXIII.
"The Lord is my Shepherd; I ne'er shall have need :
He gives me my couch in the green, quiet mead;
He leads me beside the still waters; and brings
His wand'rer to pathways where righteousness springs."
Dr. Burgess became Bishop of Maine, American
Protestant Episcopal Church, in 1847. Born in 1809,
he died at sea in 1866, when returning home from
the West Indies.
In his preface he writes, "In the present version
the author has endeavoured to follow the same
principles which would govern him in the translation.
of any ancient poems into English verse; to be so
literal as to give the very sentiment, and, if possible,
the spirit of the original, and yet so free as not to
inflict pain on the reader of taste. If he has failed,
he may say with Mr. Goode, 'it will be his solace
that he has failed amongst names the most respect-
able in the annals of piety and literature.' He will
*
166
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
but have made an unsuccessful attempt in a region
where the very attempt was more delightful than
success in other fields."
JOHN EDEN
1841.-The Book of Psalms in Blank Verse, with Practical Reflections,
by the Rev. John Eden, B.D., late Vicar of St. Nicholas'
and St. Leonard's, Bristol. Hamilton Adams and Co.-Sion
College Library.
I.
"Blest is the man whose feet have never walk'd
In the ungodly's counsel, never trod
In the transgressor's path; who ne'er hath sat
Where sit the scornfull."
XXIII.
"God is my Shepherd; therefore shall my soul
Lack nothing. He shall give me to repose
In verdant pastures; He shall lead me forth
Beside refreshing streams."
He was forty-one years Vicar of St. Nicholas'-from
1799 to his death in 1840-having previously been.
a Minor Canon of Bristol Cathedral.
The editor's preface states, "With respect to the
performance itself, it is distinguished from nearly all
the numerous versions which have preceded it, by the
peculiarity of its execution in continuous heroic verse,
without the division of stanzas or the accompaniment
of rhyme."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
167
FRANCIS SKURRAY.
1843.-A Metrical Version of the Book of Psalms, composed for Private
Meditation or Public Worship. By Francis Skurray, B.D.,
Rector of Winterbourne, Steepleton, Dorset. London,
William Pickering.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blest is the man, who all his days,
From evil paths hath kept his feet,
And never stood in sinners' ways,
Nor ever sat where scorners meet."
XXIII.
"The Shepherd shall my footsteps lead
From barren rock to fruitful mead;
Under His guidance I will go
Where rills of consolation flow."
Mr. Skurray, encouraged by a favourable review, in
the Church of England Quarterly, of some specimens
of his metrical Psalms, published the whole version,
that "perchance some few of them might not be
deemed unworthy of incorporation with other com-
positions, if ever the contemplated selection should be
made in order to constitute a system of National
Psalmody."
Forty-five of Mr. Skurray's Psalms first appeared
in a volume of poetry, entitled "The Shepherd's
Garland," published by him in 1832.
168
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
E. FEILDE.
1844. The Psalms of David Metrically Paraphrased for the Inmates of
the Cottage. By a Cambridge Master of Arts. Dedicated to
the Inhabitants of Rock and Rennington, by their sincere
Friend and Pastor. London, Whittaker and Co.-Brit. Mus.
Lib.
I.
"Blest is he who shuns the way
Ungodly men would have him take;
Where sinners meet will never stay,
Nor friendship with a scoffer make.”
XXIII.
"As is the shepherd to the sheep,
So is the Lord to me;
From serious harm He will me keep,
And all my wants foresee."
Dr. Cotton attributes this version to the Rev. E.
Feilde. Mr. W. L. Taylor's copy has on the fly-leaf
"To Mrs. Coleridge, with Mrs. Feilde's affectionate
love."
THOMAS SPALDING.
1845.-A Metrical Version of the Hebrew Psalter; with Explanatory
Notes. Ward and Co. London.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blest is the man who doth not stray
In paths wherein the ungodly meet;
Nor standeth in the sinner's way,
Nor sitteth on the scorner's seat."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
169
XXIII.
"The Lord, my Shepherd, will supply
My every want, I know;
He makes me in green pastures lie
Where quiet waters flow."
“The sacred text has been adhered to as closely as
possible, from a conviction that, as no paraphrase of
the Psalms is necessary for the Christian's private.
devotion, so neither can it be necessary for any other
act of worship. . . . Should the study of the following
pages afford pleasure and instruction to any, enabling
them better to understand and more fully to appreciate
this portion of sacred Scripture, the author will feel
abundantly recompensed " (Preface).
Mr. Thomas Spalding, born in 1805, died in 1887,
was a member of a well-known firm of wholesale
stationers in Drury Lane. He is remembered for
his unostentatious liberality among the Congrega-
tionalists.
JOSEPH IRONS.
1847.-Judah. The Book of Psalms paraphrased in Spiritual Songs for
Public Worship. Composed by Joseph Irons. London, sold
at the Author's House, Camberwell.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blest is the man (and who is he)
That is from sin and sinners free?
'Tis Christ, the God-man, Christ the Lord!
O, be His holy name ador'd,
He did the scorner's seat abhor,
Yea, He delighted in God's law."
170
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
(C
XXIII.
"I shall not in want be pining,
For my heavenly Shepherd feeds;
In His pastures I'm reclining,
By still waters Jesus leads."
Mr. Irons was a Calvinistic Minister of Grove
Chapel, Camberwell. Dating from his house, called
Shepherd's Tent," he says that all attempts at
metrical Psalms "appeared to him to be unsatis-
factory. I have therefore ventured to cast my mite.
into the vast store of Psalmody already existing;
though I have previously written 611 original hymns.
for the use of the people of my charge." He trusts
"that Socinians, Arians, and Arminians will find no
music here for their falsehoods."
BENJAMIN THO. HALCOTT COLE.
1847. The Psalms of David: a New Metrical Version. By the Rev.
Benjamin T. H. Cole, Rector of Warbleton, Sussex, and
sometime Fellow of Magdalen College, Cambridge. London,
Seeleys.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"How blest the man, who never strays
Where impious counsels guide;
Who never stands in sinners' ways,
Nor sits by scoffers' side!"
XXIII.
"My Shepherd is the Lord Most High;
And He will all my wants supply,
Make me in pastures green repose,
Lead near a stream that gently flows.”
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
171
All except forty-five of the Psalms are in simple.
measures. The deviations from the Bible versions
are printed in italics, and the authority for the devi-
ation is given at the bottom of the page.
W. H. B.
1848. An Entirely New Metrical Version of the Psalms, written for
the Music in Common Use. By W. H. B. London, John
Rodwell, New Bond Street.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blessed is he who shunneth paths
Ungodly sinners haunt ;
Who flieth when the lips of pride
With senseless scoffing vaunt."
XXIII.
"The Lord Himself my Shepherd is,
My soul shall never need ;
He shall with heavenly nutriment
The rising impulse feed."
"He has sought throughout to develop Christian
doctrines as much as fidelity to the original would
allow, and they will be found in strict accordance
with those maintained by the Church of England
(Preface).
"}
SAMUEL MCCLURE.
1850.-The Psalms of David, and Song of Solomon, in Metre. By
Samuel McClure. Lewistown, Pennsylvania.—Philadelphia
Library.
172
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
I.
"Blest is the man who will not sit
With men that sinners are,
Who hates the den where atheists meet,
And shuns the scoffer's chair."
XXIII.
"The Lord Himself my Shepherd is,
I shall be well supplied;
His tender care and sovereign grace
Will be my guard and guide.
He leads me where salvation flows,
To banquet on His love,
Where sweet celestial pasture grows,
And living waters move."
"But I must particularly acknowledge my in-
debtedness to God alone, in enabling me to accom-
plish the following work, which I denominate my
profession of faith in Christ. I believe that an
avowal of my religious sentiments to the world is
an indispensable duty (not on me alone, but upon
all professing Christians who name the Name of
Christ with reverence, and who place their hope and
confidence in Him alone as their Surety), and to
make a written profession of our faith in Him accord-
ing to the abilities God has given us, seems also to
be a duty, giving to a sovereign God all the glory."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
173
CC
MORRIS WILLIAMS.
1850.-Y Psallwyr neu Lyfr y Psalmau wedi ei gyfieithu a'r gyfan-
soddi o'r newydd ar fesur cerdd. Gan Morris Williams,
M.A., Periglor Amlwch, Mon. Llundain, H. Hughes, St.
Martin's-le-Grand.-Sion College Library.
I.
Gwyn fyd y gwr ni rodia 'n ol
Drwg gyngor annuwiolion ffol;
Ni saif yn ffordd rhai drwg eu bryd,
Nid eisté 'mhlith gwatwarwŷr byd."
XXIII.
(C
Fy Nuw yw Bugail f'enaid gwan,
Byth ni ddaw eisiau ar fy rhan ;
Gorwedd a gaf mewn porfa fras
Ger dyfroedd tawel peraidd flas."
"The Rev. Morris Williams (Nicander) was born
in 1810. When about seventeen years of age he
came to notice through a poetical curiosity, a me-
trical ode made up entirely of Biblical proper names.
He afterwards became a distinguished bard and adju-
dicator at the Eisteddfodau. He published a volume
of sacred verse entitled 'The Church's Year' (Y
Flwyddyn Eglwysig), in the interests of the High
Church revival. His 'Psalter' has taken only a
secondary place among Welsh versions. It is fluent
and smooth, but lacks strength and fervour" (Rev.
H. Elvet Lewis).
174
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
FREDERIC FYSH.
1850.-A Lyrical Version of the Psalms. By the Rev. Frederic Fysh,
M.A. London, Seeleys.—Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"O happy the man who walks not
In the counsel of the wicked;
Nor stands in the way of sinners;
Nor sits on the seat of scorners!"
XXIII.
"Jehovah is my Shepherd:
I want for nothing.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures,
He tends me beside still waters."
Mr. Fysh was the author of "Anastasis Examined."
He says, in his preface, "A lyrical measure without
rhyme is obviously the only measure which can
secure a literal and metrical version. The absence
of rhyme and the indefinite length of each line do
away with the necessity of omission on the one hand,
and addition on the other. All Procrustean violence
is avoided, and each hemistich is left, so to speak,
to choose its own metre. This measure is adopted
in the present translation."
M. MONTAGU.
1851.-The Psalms in a New Version. Fitted to the Tunes used in
Churches with Notes on Examination of the Difficult Pas-
By M. Montagu. London, Hatchard.-Brit. Mus.
:
sages.
Lib.
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
175
I.
"How blest is he, that doth not in
The ungodly's counsel walk,
Nor stand with those that follow sin,
Nor sit where scoffers talk!"
(C
XXIII.
"The Lord my Shepherd is and Guide,
He teaches me my track;
With Him I need me nought provide,
With Him I nought shall lack.
He in green pastures makes me feed,
Where herb abundant grows ;
He by clear waters does me lead,
Where comfort ever flows."
Montagu was a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, and
a sonnet-writer.
"This version is merely the Psalms put into verse for
singing, and 'Fitted to the Tunes used in Churches;'
just what was designed by the Old Version" (Preface).
A LAYMAN.
1853.-The Book of Psalms Translated into English Verse, from the
Original Hebrew, compared with the Ancient Versions. By
a Layman. London, Rivingtons.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
Happy the man, that walketh not
Where the ungodly meet;
Nor in the path of sinners stands;
Nor sits in scoffers' seat."
176
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
"
XXIII.
"The Lord, my Shepherd, doth me feed
I shall not therefore suffer need.
In meadows green He makes me lie,
Tends me refreshing waters by."
Slightly altered versions were published in 1858
and 1868. The author lays down the rule that a
metrical version ought to be literal rather than para-
phrastic.
"The former edition of this work, which was pub-
lished a few years ago, contained a translation, made
as close as the laws of verse would allow, to the
received Masoretic text. Further investigation has
led the author to believe, that this text does not
perfectly represent the original autograph of the
Sacred Writings, but that the points and accents,
although entitled to much respect, are destitute of
Divine authority, and that the various readings from
the collated manuscripts, and especially the Ancient.
Versions, must be consulted and compared with the
Hebrew, in order to arrive at both the pure fount
and right sense of the Old Testament Scriptures.
On this principle," the author says, "he has revised
the translation."
Altered verse of the first Psalm-
“Blessed the man, who doth not stray
Where godless counsels guide;
Who standeth not in sinners' way,
Nor scorners sits beside."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
177
ABNER JONES.
1854.-The Psalms of David rendered into English Verse of Various
Measures, Divided according to their Musical Cadences, and
Comprised in their own Limits; in which their responsive
lines are kept unbroken, the devout and exalted sentiments,
with which they everywhere abound, expressed in their own
familiar and appropriate language, and the graphic imagery,
by which they are rendered vivid, preserved entire. By
Abner Jones, Professor of Music. New York, Mason
Brothers, 23, Park Row.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"How blest is he in heart and hand,
Who does not walk with impious feet,
Nor in the way of sinners stand,
Nor with the scoffer take his seat!"
XXIII.
"The Lord makes grants for all my wants,
And He, my Shepherd, feeds me ;
He gives repose, where pasture grows,
And by still waters leads me."
The author claims to have kept closer to the
original in the compass of his verses, and makes the
following comparisons:-
“The Book of Psalms, according to Dr. Kennicot's
Hebrew Bible, contains 5280 lines; according to
Grabe's Septuagint, 5278 lines; and according to
Nourse's English paragraph Bible, about 5340 lines;
omitting 23 for Hallelujahs.
"One version of each Psalm in this work makes
N
178
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
5338 lines; one version of each by Rouse (Scottish
Ch.) makes 8340 lines; one of each by Tate and
Brady (Epis. Ch.) makes 8632 lines. Dr. Watts com-
posed upon those parts of the Psalms he selected to
versify about 9500 lines, exceeding by 272 the com-
pass of the present volume, which embraces 286
versions.
"The 119th Psalm contains 352 lines, which are
divided by the Hebrew alphabet into 22 equal parts
of 16 lines each. In the present work, each part of
16 lines is rendered into 4 stanzas containing 16 lines,
as found in the original. Rouse rendered each part of
16 lines into 6 stanzas containing 24 lines, increasing
their original number by one-half; Tate and Brady
rendered each part of 16 lines into 8 stanzas, contain-
ing 32 lines, doubling their original number; Dr.
Watts says, 'I have collected and disposed of the
most useful verses under 18 different heads, and have
formed a divine song on each one of them. But the
verses are much transposed to attain some degree of
connection.' This shows that he did not pretend to
versify the whole; yet he composed upon it 412 lines,
exceeding by 60 its original number."
EDWARD CHURTON.
1854.-The Book of Psalms in English Verse and in Measures suited
for Sacred Music. By Edward Churton, M. A., Archdeacon
of Cleveland. London, John Henry Parker.-Brit. Mus.
Lib.
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
179
I.
"Blest is the man who ne'er hath stray'd
Where godless counsels guide,
Nor stood in sinners' path, nor sat
With scornful sons of pride."
،،
XXIII.
My Shepherd is the gracious Lord,
Amidst His flock I feed;
While I am His, and He is mine,
I cannot suffer need."
He was born in 1800, died in 1874. This version
was called "The Cleveland Psalter," and contains a
very valuable Preface.
"Following the ancient models, it [the translation]
aims to be a Metaphrase rather than a Paraphrase of
the Psalms, observing the caution of the ingenious.
Robert Boyle, 'Paraphrases, though handsome, do as
much wrong the Holy Scriptures, as a mixture of
silver, though no ignoble metal, does wrong an ingot
of gold.' The variation of phrase and order has been
made with no other view, than to express the meaning
of the sacred text in the language of the English
people, and in the rhythm and flow of English
poetry" (Preface).
GEORGE TYLER TOWNSEND.
1856.-Solatia Senectutis, or the Book of Psalms, shewing the Probable
Origin, the leading Idea, and the Inference suggested by
each Psalm, versified in various metres. By the author of
"Flowers from the Garden of the Church." Andrews,
Durham.—Mr. W. L. Taylor's Collection.
180
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
I.
}
"In the midst of the Garden too stood the Tree
Of Life, to prove both to thee and to me
That the Psalms appear, the midmost page
Of the book that declares to youth and to age
God's blessing on him whom nor hope nor fear,
Nor the worldling's frown, nor the sceptic's sneer,
Nor example moves, nor false reasonings draw
From his dearest hope, God's Holy Law!
Nor diverts his reflecting mind by day,
Nor even by night, from the sacred lay.
He, like that Tree itself of Life,
Above the world's cares, storms, and strife,
On earth unwithering, forth shall bring
The fruits he would offer to God, his King;
And, when this prosperous life shall cease,
Possess in its season, Perfect Peace."
XXIII.
"The Lord is my Shepherd; hope, comfort, and peace
Shall His well-chosen pastures for ever attend;
Where from earth's barren sands He bids dangers to
cease,
And, converting my soul, is my Saviour and friend.”
The author says that his version is not to be con-
sidered a new translation, but merely the versification
of ideas after the usual iambic fetters have been
broken. "The several emotions of joy, grief, praise,
prayer, affliction, and gratitude prevailing in the
various poems here collected by Ezra, quoted in the
New Testament by Christ and His apostles, and con-
sequently adopted in its services by the Church of
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
181
God, were never intended to be embodied in one
general Iambic measure, whether they be adapted to
singing or not. The author can only wish for the
reader the participation of the same happiness in the
perusal, as he has himself experienced in the composi-
tion, and enjoyment of the holy labours of the Jewish
Editor of the Book of Psalms."
Mr. Taylor's copy is entitled on the back, "Towns-
end's Psalms, 1856,” and on the title-page is written,
'Rev. George Tyler Townsend, M.A."
46
ANONYMOUS.
1857.—A New Metrical Translation of the Book of Psalms. Accentu-
ated for Chanting. An Attempt to Preserve as far as possible
the leading characteristics of the Original, in the language of
the English Bible. London, Samuel Bagster and Sons.—Mr.
W. L. Taylor's Collection.
I.
"What endless blessings are for him prepared,
Who never hath in evil counsels shared ;
Who enters not the haunts where sinners meet,
Nor sits, presumptuous, in the scorner's seat;
But in Jehovah's statutes takes delight,
And meditates therein both day and night!"
XXIII.
"The Lord Jehovah is my guide,
And will for all my wants provide,
In pastures green His own He feeds,
And by the tranquil waters leads."
182
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
•
Preface: "The present task was entered upon with
the conviction that a metrical version of the Book of
Psalms could have no claim to fidelity in which the
strenuous effort was not made to imitate the senten-
tious and the figurative style of the original. . . . To
this, therefore, the writer has generally adhered, but
he has adopted no such rigid rule with regard to
words and phrases, for such minuteness would have
entirely defeated his purpose."
EDGAR ALFRED BOWRING.
Literally rendered into
English Verse, according to the Prayer-book Version. By
Edgar Alfred Bowring. London, J. W. Parker.-Brit.
Mus. Lib.
1858. The Most Holy Book of Psalms.
I.
"Blest is the man that in the way of sin ne'er set his feet,
Nor in the ungodly's counsel walk'd, nor filled the
scorner's seat."
XXIII.
"I shall lack nothing, for the Lord my Shepherd is indeed;
Beside the streams of comfort He my footsteps safe shall
lead,
And feed me in green pastures, while He shall convert my
soul,
In paths of righteousness my feet for His Name's sake
control."
Mr. Bowring chooses to employ the "fourteen-
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
183
>>
syllable verse as the most capable of accommo-
dating itself to the changing circumstances and
emotions of the Psalms. He says in his preface,
"The main object I have aimed at throughout has
been to alter, in the least degree that is consistent
with good English and good metre, the actual word-
ing of those noble prose versions which have been
bequeathed to us by our ancestors."
Mr. Edgar Bowring, C.B., was born in 1826; M.P.
for Exeter, 1868. In addition to his version of the
Psalms, he translated two small volumes of German
hymns, selected by the Queen, and privately printed
for her Majesty's use.
AN OCTOGENARIAN.
1859.-Hebrew Lyrics.
By an Octogenarian. London, Saunders,
Otley, and Co.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"How blest the man, or old or young,
Or simple or discreet,
Ne'er stood the reckless crew among,
Nor sat in scorners' seat !"
•
XXIII.
O Thou! my Shepherd, and my Guide!
I would be of Thy fold;
I would be ever at Thy side.
184
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
Thou led'st through freshest pasture, where
Sweet drops the rock distil,
Where fragrance fills the vernal air,
And liquid crystal pure and fair,
The smooth meandering rill."
It is difficult to find a motive in the wordy preface.
This is a specimen of the style, remarkable for its
triangularity-
"If this integral, essential, and invaluable portion
of the sacred volume has been accepted, admired, and
adopted by the Jew, the Gentile, and the Mussulman,
how much more highly is it not, and ought it not to
be estimated, distinguished, and studied by the
professor of Christianity! It not only predicted its
advent, heralded its approach, and prepared its
inauguration, but accompanies its progress, promotes
its advancement, and shares its triumphs.”
THOMAS TURNER.
1859.- A Metrical Version of the Book of Psalms (Rhythmical). By
Thomas Turner, Esq., Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.
London, Rivingtons.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blessed is he who hath not walk'd
With godless men in paths profane ;
Who hath not stood in sinners' ways,
Nor on the scoffers' seat sat down.
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.-
185
XXIII.
"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
On the soft tender grass He shall lay me down,
There, where the fresh herbage my pasture provides,
And lead me beside the still waters of peace."
Notwithstanding the beauty of rhyme in itself, it
appeared to the author that a rhyming version was
not so suitable to the character of the sacred com-
positions as one which is merely rhythmical.
C. B. CAYLEY.
1860.—The Psalms in Metre. By C. B. Cayley, B.A., Translator of
Dante's "Divine Comedy;" author of "Psyche's Inter-
ludes." London, Longmans.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"He's blessed who no counsel hath pursued,
Of wicked men, nor stood
Upon the paths of sinners, nor hath e'er
Sat in the scoffer's chair."
XXIII.
"Jehovah is my Shepherd; there shall be
Naught wanting unto me.
He'll in green meadows couch me, and beside
Refreshing waters guide."
The author aims "at that truth and propriety in
poetic form and diction which we commonly demand
in translations of modern classic authors, for the free
186
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
pursuit of which qualities it declines the ceremonious.
exactness of prose-renderings, and also the moderniz-
ing paraphrastic or conglomerate licence of those
made to sing in church or chapel.”
W. C. YONGE.
1862. A Version of the Whole Book of Psalms, in Various Metres,
with Pieces and Hymns suggested by New Testament
quotations; also an Appendix of various Translations, etc.
By the Rev. W. C. Yonge, Henley-on-Thames. London,
Jackson, Walford, and Hodder.-Mr. IV. L. Taylor's
Collection.
I.
"Blest is the man who shuns to walk
Where the ungodly counsel hold;
Nor with the wicked stands to talk,
Till, in the seat of scorners bold-"
XXIII.
"The Lord my Shepherd is,
How can I ever want?
My care of sustenance may cease,—
For Him alone I pant."
Mr. Yonge kept the following points in view:
"Oneness in idea; sympathy in feeling; association
in circumstances; and change and compensation in
dispensation" (!). The version was made in 1856,
and the author hoped that a few might be helped to
enter more into the sense and spirit of the Psalms
through the attempt he had made.
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
187
ARTHUR MALET.
1863.—A Metrical Version of the Psalms. By Arthur Malet. London,
Rivingtons.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blessed he, who ne'er the sinner's path with heedless
footsteps treads;
Nor godless counsel shares, nor on the scorner's seat
abides."
XXIII.
"Beside the pure still waters, in pastures fresh and green,
As a Shepherd leads his sheep, so the Lord my guide hath
been."
ROBERT YOUNG.
1863.-Proposed Emendations of the Metrical Version of the Psalms
used in Scotland. By the Rev. Robert Young, M.A., formerly
Classical Teacher, Glasgow, latterly for some time Minister
of the Free Church, Chapelton. Edinburgh, Thomas Laurie.
—Mr. W. L. Taylor's Collection.
I.
"Oh for the blessedness of him
Who walketh not astray
In counsel of ungodly men,
Nor stands in sinners' way;
Who sits not in the scorner's chair,
But places his delight
On God's pure law, and meditates
On His law day and night.”
188
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
XXIII.
"The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want;
He makes me down to lie
In pastures green; he leadeth me
The noiseless waters by."
Preface: "The Book of Psalms is one of great im-
portance, and as our metrical version of it is in weekly,
nay, daily use by many millions in the Christian world,
it is evidently proper that it should be made as free
from faults of every kind as possible. Whether these
objects have been successfully accomplished in the
following proposed emendations, it belongs to others
to determine. If the writer has even succeeded in
pointing out what is wrong in our version, it is the
first step towards a remedy, for though the proposed
emendations should be deemed a failure, if the faults
referred to be admitted to exist, it may lead others.
who are better qualified for the task to the successful
accomplishment of it."
WILLIAM MILLIGAN.
1863. A Revised Edition of the Psalms and Paraphrases, to which are
added one hundred and fifty short Hymns, selected with care
from nearly twenty former selections. By William Milligan,
J.P. Edinburgh, John MacLaren. Mr. W. L. Taylor's
Collection.
I.
A
"Blessed is the man who walketh not
With men of counsel base,
Who taketh not the scorners' seat,
Nor can enjoy their ways."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
189
XXIII.
"The Lord's my Shepherd, I'll not want ;
He makes me safely to repose
Amid unfading pastures green,
And where the peaceful river flows."
Mr. Milligan writes, "There can be no doubt that
the English language has undergone a very con-
siderable change since the present version was com-
posed, more than two hundred years ago, and the
wonder is that they have not been revised long ere
now; but they will no doubt be successfully revised,
notwithstanding the inconvenience it may occasion for
a time. . . . Should this humble effort to bring in a
revised version of the Psalms not succeed, still it may
be the means of showing the defects of the present
version, and stirring up parties more competent, or
even the Churches themselves, to undertake so desirable
and necessary a revision of our national psalmody."
THE AMERICAN METRICAL PSALTER.
1864. The American Metrical Psalter. To the Bishops of the Pro-
testant Episcopal Church of the United States, this Attempt
to preserve Metrical Psalmody in the Church, and to secure
an entire Metrical Psalter, is inscribed with filial reverence
and fraternal affection. New York, F. J. Huntington,
Broome Street.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blest is the man who will not stray
Where godless dreams allure his feet ;
Who stands not in the sinners' way,
And sits not in the scorners' seat."
190
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
XXIII.
"The living Lord my Shepherd is,
I shall be well supplied;
Since He is mine, and I am His,
What can I want beside?
He feeds me in the pastures green,
Where I may safely lie;
He leads me to sweet shades serene,
The quiet waters by.”
"The only valid defence of such a measure as the
disuse of the Psalms in metre is, if it be true, that no
satisfactory version is found in the English language.
It is the design of the present volume to test this
argument." The author, or the authors, extract or
alter as they please, eighteen different versions, and
further argue,
"It matters little to the Church that it
knows not, with very few exceptions, from what pen
proceeded any one of its prayers or collects; and the
name of a versifier of a Psalm is of still less moment.”
VISCOUNT MASSEREENE.
1865.-A Metrical Psalter. Compiled from the MSS. of the late
Viscount Massereene and Ferrard. By the Hon. L. P.
Dublin, McGlashan.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blessed is the man that walketh not
As wicked men would guide his feet,
Nor standeth in the sinners' lot,
Nor sitteth in the scorners' seat."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
191
XXIII.
"The Lord my Shepherd; I shall want no more.
In pastures green He makes me lie,
And quiet waters leads me by ;
My soul He doth restore.”
((
John Foster, 10th Viscount Massereene and Ferrard,
was born in 1812, died in 1863.
Masoretic notes appended by the editor: "“The
number of verses in the book is two thousand five
hundred and twenty-seven. Masoretic sections are
nineteen. The middle verse is the thirty-sixth verse
of the seventy-eighth Psalm.
'It remains for me to add this precatory clause,
'May the inspired writings of the sweet singer of
Israel, and the pious strain thereupon by my dear
brother—who thus, being dead, yet speaketh-be to
me, as to you O reader, a fresh means of grace!'
DALMAN HAPSTONE, M.A.
1867. The Ancient Psalms in Appropriate Metres: a strictly Literal
Translation from the Hebrew; with Explanatory Notes. By
Dalman Hapstone, M.A. Edinburgh, Oliphant.-Brit. Mus.
Lib.
I.
Happy the man who hath not walked
By counsel of the bad,
} }}
Nor in the way of sinners stood,
Nor seat with scorners had."
192
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
XXIII.
"Jehovah is my Shepherd:
Not suffer want do I;
In meads He makes me lie,
Of tender grass; to waters
Of rest He leads me nigh."
"The key of the Psalms," says Mr. Hapstone, " must
be furnished by a knowledge of the circumstances in
which they were penned. And it is only the belief
that in not a few cases I have been successful in
finding the key, which emboldens me to offer a solu-
tion of difficulties, which undeniably have refused to
yield their secret to men immeasurably my superiors
in scholarship."
JAMES KEITH.
1868.-The Book of Psalms rendered into Common Metre Verse, from
the Authorized English Version. With a repetition of Psalms
I. to L. in miscellaneous Metres. London, Nisbet and Co.-
Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blessed is the man who doth not by
the counsel walk astray
Of godless men, nor standeth in
the sinners' erring way;
Nor sitteth in the scorner's seat."
XXIII.
"The Lord my shepherd is; and I
no want shall ever know.
He makes me in green pastures lie;
leads where still waters flow."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
193
"It is painfully apparent that the Psalms have of
late been forced to give way to the use of the hymns
of uninspired men. In the opinion of many the change
can be accounted for by the want of a good metrical
version." The author, sharing this opinion, attempts
to supply the want.
Mr. Keith was a bookseller at Dingwall, N.B.
THOMAS SLATER.
1870.-A Metaphrasis: A Metrical Version of the Book of Psalms,
made by Apollinarius, a Bishop of Laodicea, in Syria, circiter
A.D. 362. Translated by Thomas Slater, author of "Com-
pendium of Ancient History," and "John's Visit to the Isle
of Patmos." London, Simpkin, Marshall, and Co.-Brit.
Mus. Lib.
(C
I.
Happy is he who hath not proceeded in the counsel of
ungodly men;
Nor daring to walk with an emboldened step in the foulest
paths of sin,
Nor to sit down in the obnoxious ranks of the assailants
of piety."
XXIII.
"Since Jehovah, who ever liveth, hath cared for me, all my
wants have been fully supplied.
He hath settled me in a green and verdant region,
And my soul feeds by the tranquil streams of happiness."
O
194
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
JOHN BURTON.
1871.-The Book of Psalms in English Verse. A New Testament
Paraphrase. By John Burton, author of "Hymns for Little
Children, "“One Hundred Original Hymns for the Young,"
etc. London, John Snow. (1877 edit.)—Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blest is the man who turns away
From counsel that would lead astray;
Avoids the place where sinners meet,
And never takes the scoffers' seat."
XXIII.
"The Lord is my good Shepherd,
Who doth for me provide ;
By His unwearied kindness
My wants are all supplied."
(C
In the present attempt to produce a metrical
paraphrase I have not generally confined myself to
the literal sense; but, assured that more generally
there was a spiritual sense underlying that which
was literal and apparent, I have sought to discover
that deeper meaning. I have endeavoured to catch
the spirit of the Psalmist, and to give expression to
his divine sentiments in New Testament language."
John Burton-born 1803, died 1876—was a timber-
merchant, of Old Street, St. Luke's, London. His
son says that he composed his version of the Psalms
by rising at four o'clock in the winter, and without
fire, and by the light of a tallow candle, completed
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
195
the work without interfering with his business hours.
He was considered so good a critic that clergymen
and others sent their poetical works to him for correc-
tion. His little leisure time was spent in visiting the
sick and dying; in which labour of love he caught
the small-pox, and died of the malady at the age of
seventy-three.
WILLIAM REES.
1875.-Twr Dafydd sef Salmau Dafydd wedi eu cyfaddasu ar Gân:
ynghyd a Nodiadau Ymarferol ac Eglurhaol ar bob Salm.
Gan y Parchedig William Rees, Liverpool. Dinbych, cyhoe-
ddwyd gan Thomas Gee.-Rev. H. Elvet Lewis.
((
I.
Gwyn fyd y gwr ni rodia 'n ol
Y drwg annuwiol gynghor;
Yn ffordd troseddwyr ef nid ä
Nac i eisteddfa'r gwatwor."
XXIII.
"Yr Arglwydd Jehofah yw Mugail,
Ni phrofaf nac eisieu na gwall :
Fe'm tywys ger llaw dyfroedd tawel
Mewn gwelltog borfäoedd di-ball ;
Fe ddychwel fy enaid crwydredig,
Fe'm ceidw, fe'm cynnal â' i law,
Fe'm harwain 'rhyd llwybrau cyfiawnder-
Ni bydd arnaf bryder na braw.”
Dr. William Rees (Hiraethog) was born early in the
century at the foot of Hiraethog Hill, near Denbigh,
and died at Chester, 1883.
196
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
A large variety of metres is introduced in the
version-two Psalms, the forty-fifth and sixty-eighth,
being effectively adapted to the melody of the "March
of the Men of Harlech." The Welsh Authorized
Version of each Psalm and the poetical rendering are
printed in two columns side by side; and a few ex-
planatory and devotional notes are added after each
(Rev. H. Elvet Lewis).
BENJAMIN HALL KENNEDY, D.D.
1876. The Psalter, or Psalms of David in English Verse. By Benjamin
Hall Kennedy, D.D., Canon of Ely. Cambridge, Deighton,
Bell, and Co.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
'How blest the man who fears to stray
Where godless people meet,
Nor stands with sinners in the way,
Nor fills the scorners' seat!"
XXIII.
، ،
My Shepherd is the Lord: no care
Or craving want I know;
In pastures green He feeds me, where
The soothing waters flow."
Dr. Kennedy was born in 1804; Head-Master of
Shrewsbury School, 1836; Prebendary of Lichfield,
1841; Canon of Ely, 1867. Author of "The Birds" of
Aristophanes, translated into English verse, 1874;
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
197
and an “Appendix of Hymns" attached to a volume
of occasional sermons.
The author humbly offers his version as a contribu-
tion to the general psalmody of the Christian Church.
MARQUIS OF LORNE.
1877.-The Book of Psalms, Literally rendered in Verse. By the
Marquis of Lorne. London, Macmillan.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"That man is bless'd who walketh not
By godless counsels bound;
Nor stands in sinners' ways, and ne'er
Hath seat with scorners found."
XXIII.
"My Shepherd is the Lord, and I
Shall never want or fear;
To streams of comfort He me leads,
By quiet waters clear."
The marquis was born in 1845, married H.R.H.
Princess Louise, 1871; Governor-General of Canada,
1878. Author of " Guido and Lita: a Tale of the
Riviera," a poem, 1875.
The reason for publishing was to give to Rous's
translation true rhyme. "The use of the actual
words of the Bible is alone satisfactory to ears ac-
customed to Rous's Psalms, and I have sought, in the
case of the Psalms translated into common metre,
ܪ
198
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
to adhere as closely to the language of the original,
while making each alternate line rhyme" (Preface).
DONALD CAMPBELL MCLAREN, D.D.
1878.-The Book of Psalms, Versified and Annotated. By the Rev.
Donald Campbell McLaren, D.D. Geneva, New York.—
Philadelphia Library.
"What blessings manifold must bless
The man who never hath
In counsel walked of wicked men,
Or stood in sinner's path,
Or in the seat of scoffers sat!
I.
Lib.
XXIII.
(6
'The Lord's my Shepherd, I'll not want.
He'll make me down to lie
In pastures green; He will me lead
The quiet waters by."
،،
WILLIAM DIGBY SEYMOUR.
"Book of Praises," commonly
called the Psalms of David. A New Metrical Translation.
By William Digby Seymour, Q.C., LL.D., Recorder of
Newcastle-upon-Tyne. London, Longmans.-Brit. Mus.
1882.-The Hebrew Psalter, or the
""
I.
Happy he who walks not whither
Godless counsels tempt his feet,
Stands not in the haunts of sinners,
Sits not in the scorner's seat!"
*
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
199
XXIII.
"Lord! my Shepherd! Thou providest
All that can my wants supply ;
To the greenest pastures guidest,
Where I may in shelter lie!"
Mr. Digby Seymour-born 1822-Recorder of
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1854; M.P. for Sunderland,
1852, and for Southampton, 1859.
"I have said enough to make good the proposition
that a translation of the Hebrew Psalter combining
the two qualities of FIDELITY and HARMONY is still
an admitted want, and that the task I have proposed
to myself cannot be open to the objection of being
unnecessary or superfluous" (Preface).
'BEN-TEHILLIM.”
1883.-The Book of Psalms in English Blank Verse; using the Verbal
and Lineal Arrangements of the Original. By Ben-Tehillim.
Edinburgh, Andrew Elliot.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
O happy is the man
Who hath not walked in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor in the way of sinners hath been standing,
Nor in the seat of scorners hath been sitting!"
XXIII.
"Jehovah is my Shepherd; I'll not want.
In pastures green He'll cause me to lie down ;
Beside still waters He will nurture me,
My soul He will restore."
200
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
In a letter received from the author, who wishes to
retain his anonymity, he says, "I look upon the
recent attempts of denominations to take to prose-
chanting as a silly craze of fashion. What would be
thought of chanting prose versions of Horace's Odes,
or any other Greek or Roman odes? In common
life, when we want a song or hymn, we do not suffer
a lump of prose to be maltreated for us; so I think
my attempt is in a sane direction, whatever may be
thought of its success."
In his preface "Ben-Tehillim" says, "To chant a
prose version is an absurdity; music, being rhyth-
mical, needs a rhythmical subject; as is, moreover,
evidenced by the Hebrew Psalms having an arrange-
ment of accents differing from that which is applied
to the prose books of the Old Testament. Again,
rhyme, while it is unlike the original, imposes on a
faithful translator difficulties which are insurmount-
able; additions and omissions have to be made for
the mere purposes of rhyme. Blank verse is therefore
clearly the most suitable."
DAVID MCLAREN.
1883.-The Book of Psalms in Metre, according to the Version ap-
proved by the Church of Scotland. Revised by David
McLaren, Minister of Humbie. Edin., David Douglas.—
Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"That man hath perfect blessedness
Who walketh not astray
In counsel of ungodly men,
htt
Nor stands in sinners' way,
Nor sitteth in the scorners' chair."
THE METRICAL VERSIONS.
201
((
XXIII.
"The Lord's my Shepherd; I'll not want.
He makes me down to lie
In pastures green : He leadeth me
The quiet waters by."
An attempt is here made to remove from a noble
version some of its greatest blemishes, without inter-
fering with its majesty or straining too much after
mere elegance, and so to make it more worthy of its
great original, and of its place in English literature"
(Preface).
The beginning of the two Psalms quoted are the
same as in the Scotch version.
DIGBY S. IVRANGHAM.
1885.—Lyra Regis. The Book of Psalms, and other Lyrical Poetry of
the Old Testament, rendered literally into English Metres.
By Digby S. Wrangham, M.A., St. John's College, Oxford.
Leeds, Fletcher and Co.-Brit. Mus. Lib.
I.
"Blest is the man that walks not in
The counsel of ungodly men,
Nor stands in ways where sinners meet,
Nor sits upon the scorner's seat."
XXIII.
"Jehovah is my Shepherd;
No want then can I know.
In pastures green He'll feed me,
And gently forth will lead me
Where restful waters flow."
202
THE STORY OF THE PSALTERS.
1
"If the work can be done successfully, it remains
to be done," says Mr. Wrangham, quoting Archdeacon
Churton. The author tries his hand, produces one of
the best, if not a better Psalter than any of his pre-
decessors; and yet a perfect metrical version "re-
mains to be done."
+
INDEX.
The Italics mark the Metrical Versionists.
Addison, 33
Ainsworth, Henry, 28, 57, 70, 86
"A Layman," 60, 175
Alexander, William, 30, 74
Allen, Dr. William, 55, 59, 159
American Metrical Psalter, 60, 189
Anderson, George, heires of, 89
Andrews, Mr., 179
“An Octogenarian,” 60, 183
Anonymous, 60, 181
Atwood, H. 4. S., 59, 157
Augustine, Saint, 7
Aylmer, Brabazon, 103
Bagster, S., and Sons, 181
Baldwyn, William, 17
Barclay, John, 50, 59, 129
Barnard, John, 58, 119
Bartholomew, Alfred, 59, 153
Barton, William, 35, 37, 58, 61,
87,88
Bartrum, J. P., 59, 155
Baxter, Richard, 42, 58, 79, 105
Bay Fsalm-Book, 4, 58, 82
Beaufoy, Jean, 5
"Ben Tehillim," 60, 199
Bentham, J., 122
Billingsley, John, 47, 112
Birt, S., 121
Blackmore, Sir Richard, 47, 58, 61,
115
Bliss, Dr., 110
Boswell, Robert, 54, 59, 130
Bowles, Stephen, 87
Bowring, E. A., 60, 182
Bowyer, J., 96
Boyd, Zachary, 30, 32, 37, 58, 89
Boyle, Robert, 179
Bradbury, Mr., 49
Brady, Dr. Nicholas, 43, 107, 108
Brathwaite, Richard, 34, 58, S1, S2
Bridgman, W., 107
Bryson, Robert, 24
Buchanan, George, 8, 30, 41, 57, 66
Buckland, J., 121
Burgess, Bishop, 60, 165
Burgess, Daniel, 47, 58, 1II
Burgess, Dr., 39
Burnaby, Richard, 34, 58, 81, 82
IIO
Burton, John, 60, 194
Calderwood, David, 31
Calvin, 6, 19
Carlyle, 85
Carnan, J., and Co., 124
Cayley, C. B., 60, 185
Chalmers, 86
204
INDEX.
Charles I., 30, 31, 33
Charles II., 21
Charteris, Robert, 25
Chaucer, 7
Cheyne, T. K., 57
Chiswell, Richard, 91
Churchill, John, 104
Churton, Archdeacon, 60, 178, 202
Clare, Louisa T., 141
Clark, John, III
Claudius, I
Clavell, R., 109
Coldwell, William, 59, 142
Cole, B. T. H., 60, 170
Coleridge, Mrs., 168
Coleridge, S. T., 133
Colling, E., 59, 162
Constable, Francis, 81
Corser, Thomas, 82
Cottle, Joseph, 50, 59, 133
Cotton, Dr., 10, 118
Coverdale, Bishop, 12, 13
Cowley, Mr., 96
Cradock, Dr. Thomas, 58, 120
Cradock, Mrs., 120
Craig, John, 22, 23
Cranmer, Archbishop, 14
Cromwell, Oliver, 76, 85, 88
Crosley, Jo., IOI
Crowley, Robert, 6, 9, 14, 57, 61,
62
Darby, Charles, 58, 110
Davies, Walter, 69
Day, John, 4, 21, 32
Daye, John, 18, 65
Daye, Stephen, 83
Deighton, Bell, and Co., 196
Denham, Sir John, 33, 41, 58, 96,
121
Dennis, 116
Dennis, Thomas, 59, 134
Diana of Poictiers, 5
Disraeli, Isaac, 5
Dod, B., 122
Dod, Henry, 8, 28, 58, 61, 71
Donald, Robert, 50, 59, 140
Donaldson, A., 129
Douglas, David, 200
Douglas, Neil, 135
Downaine, John, 92
Draper, J., 119
Dryden, 33, 46
Ducarel, P. J., 50, 59, 157
Dudley, Earl of Leicester, 68
Dunster, President, 91
Dwight, Dr., 113
Eden, John, 60, 166
Edward, Thomas, 122
Edward VI., 6, 16, 17
Eliot, John, 83
Elizabeth, Queen, 6, 9, 18, 65
Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, 76
Elliott, Andrew, 199
Elliott, C., 130
Elsinge, H., 84
Este, 4, 21
Eusebius, I
Falkland, Lord, 79
Farr, E., 59, 161
Feilde, E., 50, 60, 168
Fellowes, H., 161
Fenwick, George, 59, 124
Fish, Henry, 116
Fleet, T. and J., 123
Flesher, Miles, 84
Fletcher and Co., 201
Ford, Dr., 42, 58, 103
Foster, C., 59, 162
Foulger, Peter, 40
INDEX.
205
Foxe, 13
Franc, Guillaume, 20
Francis I., 6
Franklin, Benjamin, 40
Fuller, Thomas, 18
Fysh, Frederic, 60, 174
Gahagan, Henry, 59, 154
Garthwait, T., 98
Gee, Thomas, 195
Gelibrand, S., 87
George, Prince of Wales, 121
Gloucester, Duke of, 109
Godeau, A., 6
Goode, William, 59, 139
Goodridge, Richard, 42, 58, 101
Gower, Stanley, 94
Grabe, 177
Grey, Thomas, 99
Griffin, Ed., 92
Griffin, S., 93
Gustavus III., 131
Hamilton, Adams, and Co., 157, 166
Hamilton, Dr. Robert, 145
Hapstone, Dalman, 60, 191
Hare, Dr. Francis, 57, 58, 122
Harper, Thomas, 75
Hart, Andro, 23
Hatchards, 141, 174
Hawtrey, Dr., 46
Hazlewood, 82
Henry II.,
7
Henry VIII., 6, 13
Hodge, Allen, and Campbell, 128
Holford, G. F., 59, 141
Holland, John, vi., 82, 162
Hopkins, John, 17, 18, 66
Hopkins, John, 8
Horne, Bishop, 141
Howard, Hon. E., 116
Hughes, H., 173
Hunnis, William, 24
Huntington, J. F., and Co., 165, 189
Huss, John, 4
Irons, Joseph, 50, 51, 60, 169
Jackson, Walford, and Hodder, 186
Jacob, poet, 74
James I., 6, 29, 32, 58, 61, 67, 74
Jannon, Jean, 5
Jerome of Prague, 4
Johnson, Dr., 8, 9, 97, 115, 116,
146
Jones, Abner, 55, 60, 177
Keble, John, 59, 163
Keble, Samuel, 95
Keith, James, 60, 192
Kennedy, Dr. B. H., 60, 196
Kennicot, Dr., 177
Kent, H., 118
Kethe, William, 18, 19, 23, 66
King, Bishop, 40, 58, 92
Kirton, T., 87
Knightly, Mr., 37
Laurie, Thomas, 187
Lawes, Henry, 78
Leach, Dryden, 125
Leighton, G., 118
Lekprevick, Robert, 22
Lenox, James, 83
Leverett, T., 119
Lewis, H. Elvet, 29, 70, 73, 173,
195
Lichfield, J., 101
Livingston, John H., 128
Longman, T., 124
Longmans, 143, 185, 198
Lorne, Marquis of, 9, 60, 197
206
INDEX.
Lowndes, 57, 135
Lowth, Bishop, 125
Lucy, W. W., 149
Luther, Martin, 4
Lyon, Richard, 91
Lyte, H. F., 50, 59, 158
Mackenzie, 67
Maclaren, John, 188
Macmillan, 197
Malet, Arthur, 60, 187
Mant, Dr. Richard, 59, 147
Marot and Beza, 4
Marot, Clement, 4, 6, 9
Marsh, E. G., 59, 153
Marsh, William, 158
Mary, Queen, 17, 22
Mason, Bros., 177
Mason, John, 116
Massereene, Viscount, 60, 190
Mather, Cotton, 40, 58, 112
Mather, Richard, 83
Matthews, J., 130, 131
Maule, John, 59, 149
Maxwell, James, 50, 51, 59, 128
McClure, Samuel, 60, 171
McGlashan, Mr., 190
McLaren, David, 60, 200
McLaren, Dr. D. C., 60, 198
Meredith, L., 104
Merrick, James, 54, 59, 124
Milbourne, Luke, 47, 58, 81, 109
Miller, Josiah, 106, 148
Milligan, William, 60, 188
Milton, John, 8, 44, 116
Milton, John, the elder, 22
Montagu, M., 60, 174
Montgomerie, Alexander, 6, 25
Montgomery, James, 48, 59, 109,
143
Morton, Earl of, 138
Moseley, Humphrey, 92
Musgrave, George, 50, 59, 156
Myddelton, William, 27, 57, 69
Myddelton, Sir Hugh, 27
Neligan, James, 57
Neville, Philip, 84
New England Psalm-Book, 58, 91
Nisbet and Co., 192
Norton, Thomas, 18, 20, 23, 66
Nourse, 177
Oliphant, Mr., 191
Oliphant, Mrs., 38
Oswald, J., 118
Overbury, Sir Thomas, 20
Palmerston, Lord, 46
Parker, Archbishop, 1, 15, 57, 61,
63
Parker, James, 127, 152, 182
Parker, John H., 163, 178
Parker, Peter, 99
Parkhurst, Thomas, 105, 110
Patrick, Dr., 42, 58, 104
Patullo, Margarc', 50, 51, 59, 150
Pembroke, Countess of, 67, 68
Philo, I
Pickering, William, 167
Pierce, W., 159
Pike, G. H., 49
Pike, Samuel, 54, 58, 118
Pont, Robert, 22, 23
Pope, 47, 48, 109
Portes, Phillippe des, 6
Priestley, M., 131
Prince of Orange, 68
Prince, Thomas, 54, 58, 123
Prior, 97
Protestant Dutch Psalter, 59, 127
INDEX.
207
Prys, Edmund, 29, 58, 72
Pullain, John, 18, 20, 23, 66
Pullen, Octavian, 95
Raper, Sir R. G., 101
Ravenscroft, Thomas, 4, 21, 32
Rees, William, 60, 195
Rich, Jeremiah, 21
Rivingtons, 141, 146, 147, 148, 154,
156, 163, 175, 184, 187
Roberts, Dr., 40, 58, 99
Rodwell, John, 171
Rogers, W., 109
Rothwell, J., 93
Rotterdam Version, 58, So
Rous, Francis, 3, 9, 35, 41, 44, 58,
61, 84-86, 178
Rous, Sir Anthony, 85
Rowland Edward, 59, 149
Ruskin, 6, 26, 68
Russell, Odiorne, and Co., 155
Salisbury, Thomas, 69
Sandys, George, 33, 41, 58, 61, 78,
79
Sankey, Matthew, 50, 59, 148
Saunders, Otley and Co., 183
Schilders, Richard, 23
Scotch Psalter, 58, 90
Scott, George, 57
Seeleys, 153, 170, 174
Seymour, W. D., 60, 198
Shadwell, 108
Sheldon, Dr., 98
Shelton, Thomas, 21
Shepherd, Mr., 83
Sidney, Sir Philip, 6, 26, 57, 67
Simpkin, Marshall, and Co., 151,
162, 193
Skurray, Francis, 60, 167
Slater, Thomas, 60, 193
Smart, Christopher, 49, 50, 53, 59,
125
Smith, William, 128
Smyth, Miles, 42, 58, 98
Snow, John, 194
Spalding, Thomas, 60, 168
Stafford, Simon, 69
Stafford, Thomas, 70
Sternhold and Hopkins Version, 65
Sternhold, Thomas, 6, 16, 17, 57,
61, 65
Stirling, Earl of, 74
Stow, John, 59, 135
Strype, 17
Surrey, Earl of, 6-
Swift, III
Tallis, Thomas, 22
Tate and Brady, 3, 4, 43, 44, 58,
61, 107, 178
Tate, Nahum, 43, 107, 108
Tattersall, W. D., 54, 125
Taylor, W. L., 82, 88, 107, 110,
135, 138, 141
Teulon, Mr., 132
Thrussel, Mr., 132
Thurnham, Charles, 149
Tingstadius, J. A., 131
Tingstadius Version, 57, 59, 131
Tooke, B., 109
Towers, W. S., 59, 138
Townsend, G. T., 60, 179
Trapp, 131
Trower, Bishop, 59, 152
Turner, B. N., 50, 59, 146
Turner, Thomas, 60, 184
Turner, William, 74
Tusser, Thomas, 7
Tutill, Henry, So
Tye, Dr. Christopher, 8
Tyler, Evan, 90
208
INDEX.
Underhill, T., 87
Usher, James, 59, 145
Van Breughel, Gerrits, 76
Wallace, Adam, 13
Waller, 97
Ward and Co., 168
Ware, R., 120
Warton, 4, 65
Warwick, Earl of, 19
Watts, Dr., 48, 58, 113, 178
Wedderburn, 12
Weld, Thomas, 83
Wesley, Charles, 58, 116
Wesley, John, 52
Whaley, Peter, 84
II. II. B., 50, 51, 60, 171
Wheatland and Silvester, 50, 58,
121
White, John, 40, 58, 93
White, R., 95
White, John, 84, 134
Whittaker and Co., 168
Whittingham, William, 17, 18, 19,
23,66
Wierlag, T., 105
Wilberforce, Bishop, 46
William III., 107, 115
Williams, Morris, 60, 173
Winchester, Elhanan, 50, 51, 59, 132
Wisdom, Robert, 18, 20
Wishart, George, 12
Wither, George, 28, 32, 33, 41, 58,
61, 76
Wollaston, Sir John, 87
Wood, Anthony, 20, 41, 96
Woodd, Basil, 50, 59, 142
Woodford, Dr., 41, 58, 95
Woodford, Heighes, 97
IVrangham, Digby, 9, 60, 201
Wrangham, William, 50, 59, 151
Wyatt, Mr., 79
Wyatt, Sir Thomas, 6
Yonge, IV. C., 60, 186
Young, James, 84
Young, Robert, 60, 187
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