American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1867-07-03
Hymn-BOolxss for Christian !.
People.

uninspired songs in praise of the Most
High, can hardly be aware of the source
whence many of their hymns are obtained.
Some startling facts on the subject are
published in the Independent. This
journal, as many of your readers know,
is devoted to the interests of the Congre>
gational church. 1t is an ably conducted
periodi cal. On the subject of slavery
and temperance, it has earned a name
high and honorable, by the fearless and
christian manner in which it has rebuked
these monster sins-these "sums of all
villanies." a' "" -h-
The article from which l wish to make
a few extracts for the purpose of bring
ing them under the notice of your dis
eliminating readers, appears to have been
written by the Rev. G.. W. Beecher.
The Rev Mr.. b. has been employed,
as would appear from the article, in.
gathering up hymns to make the Ply
mouth Collection of Hymns" The first
of these labors is now before the public.
1t also appears that the New York Ecan-
gelist has published some structures on
the plymouth Collection of Hymns"
and in the article the compiler vindicates
himself, showing that he has only fol-
lowed the example of those who preceded
him in the manufacture of Hymn. books
for the christian people, who prefer the
composition of men before the words Of
" the sweet singer of Israep-the words
given to him by the Holy Spirit.
Rev. Mr.. B. quotes the charge made
by the Evangelist in the following words !:
" 1t is next charged that in collecting
hymns, we have gone quite beyond the
ordinary excursions of Evangelical com
pliers of Hymn-books, and have freely
used " Catholic, Unitarian, Universalst,
Swedenborgian, and other collections.
No we have the vindication of the com
piler of the " Plymouth Collections of
Hymns: ...... ........
+" Our reply is denial that we have
gone where other Evangelical compilers
have not gone. There is scarcely col,
lection made within thirty years, that has
not been indebted 70 Catholic, Unitarian
and Universalist collections The Church
Psalmody, prepared by Lowell Mason
and DIR. Green, one of .he officers of the
American Board of Foreign Missions.
The Psatn,ist, the standard Baptist coll
lection edited by Baron Stow and S. +.
Smith, and adopted by the Board of the
Baptist publication Society and espec>
ally the Methodist Episcopal collection,
approved by Bishops Hedding, Waugh,
Morris, Hamlin, and James, published by
the Methodist Book Concern, and now
generally used by that denomination
The Lutheran collection, published by
the General Synod of the Evangelical
Luthern Church-all these, and many
others, are indebted largely to Catholic,
Unitarian, and Universalist."
Mr. Tibbles, we are told that, at one
time the benighted Greeks and Romans
worshiped thirty thousand gods. Aud
it occurred not forty years since, that the
son of Protestant minister became a
pervert to Romanism and after his father
had exhausted all his arguments to con-
vince him of his error, he said to his
father,-go home you and / do not
worship the same God. Poor, deluded
STRIPPING, thou didst utter the truth for
once.
Is it at all wonderful that doctrines so
diversified should find lodgment in
these sects. Errors have crept into the
church in all ages, very steathily. Thus
satan blinds the ministry to studiously
keep back or conceal the truth until the
public mind becomes disused to it, then
they draw the sluice of error and the
work is done.
The Erangelist further charges Beecher
that in the Plymouth collection there is
a large admixture of the hymns of Bry-
ant, Chaplin, Forness, Willis, Hemans,
Tom Moore, l.. f. L., (Letitia Landon,) }
Lonsfellow, Mrs. Sawyer, Whittier, Fes-
tus, Bailey, Burns, Miss Martineau, and
others.
The reliable Beecher replies, saying
What are the facts? We do not know
of a single evangelical collection of
hymns which has not introduced the
hymns Of some or many of those authors,
In the book OF the General Association
of Connecticut, hymns Of Bryant, Pier.
point, Sir Walter Scott, Bowering. He
mans, Martineau's collection, Pope, Tom
Moore, are all found. In the New School
Presbyterian Assembly's book Thomas
Moore holds an honorable place, as he
does in the book of the Old School Gen
eraI Assembly, and Nettletin's Village
Hymns. When the General Assembly
join in giving to the church Tom Moore's
Come ye disconsolate, where'er ye lan>
guish, we think the Eoangehst need not
take the pains to sacrifice its candor and
veracity in order to reproach the Ply
mouth collection for having Tom Moore's
Mick Piety.' In the Baptist collection
may be found Mrs. Follen, Bulinch,
hymns from Mrs. Martineau's collection,
Tom Moore, Mrs. Hemans, Pope aud
Willis. The Methodist collection con-
tains hymns of Moore, Bryant, Ware, G.
p. Morris, Pierpoint," &c.
Mr. Tibbles please say in your next