The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1867-12-29

Psalm SINGING.
A lively discussion is agitating certain Ameri-
can churches as to the alleged improperly Of
singing anything else than psalms. The anti
hymn party contend that the hymns which we
had occasion to eulogise last week as express
sive Of almost every emotion Of the pious soul
are to be rejected as merely human compost
tons. They advocate the exclusive use in
public worship of the inspired psalms Of David.
The practice Of nearly all branches of the
Scottish Church and, If we are not mistaken,
of the English Church, in this respect, is cited
as an example for imitation in the United
States. Some Of our publishers might
object to such an innovation, inasmuch as it
would seriously interfere with one Of the largest
and most profitable branches OF their trade.
The sale Of hymn books is almost equal to that
of spelling books.
There are also other objections which might
be urged against the innovation. As the
psalms could not easily be sung in the origi-
nal Hebrew by our choirs and congregations
some English version Of them would have to
be adopted. The version the most likely to
obtain preference at present would, perhaps,
be that of DR.. Isaac Watts. But an inge NOUS
writer in recent periodical has exposed the fact
that "Watts' Psalms" and the "Psalms Of
David" are very properly distinguished from
each other by these different titles, because
they are, in some points, unlike, and, in others,
even contradictory. We cannot believe that
DR.. Watts intended to make his version of the
psalms in any wise deliberately dishonest
perversion of them. And yet it can clearly be
shown that his ignorance Of later modes of in
depreciation and his firm conviction that the
system OF divinity which he bad been TAUGHT to
believe was the truth, the whole truth and
nothing but the truth, led him unwittingly to
defect the real meaning of some of the Psalm-
lists expressions. In the Messianic psalms,
theologically so called, for instance DR.. Watts
does not hesitate to apply to the Messiah Ian
guage which cannot have referred to any other
person than to David himself The Doctor
evidently imagined that when David uses the
pronoun "I'' he means sometimes himself-
as when he says, "Mibe iniquities have taken
hold upon me, 80 that am not able to look
up"-and sometimes the Messiah And he
felt at liberty to discriminate between
David's strictly personal references and such
as he deemed prophetic. Nor is this all. He
almost ventured to attribute to the Messiah,
who prayed that his prosecutors might be for
given. the spirit or curses that have, like those
in the sixty-ninth Psalm, the ring and emphasis
Of old-tashioned Jewish middleton. King
David was not only sweet singer in Israel,
bu. master of the bitterest invective, and
when enraged against his enemies he could
pile on the agony in cursing them to an nm
equalled degree. II Il inconceivable that In
this, at any rate. be could have been the proto-
type of the Messiah. DR.. Watts himself. in his
hymns as well as his psalms, had to soften
somewhat the terrible fury Of certain Scrip
tural phrases, and some even Of his softened
paraphrases have had 10 be omitted alto
gether from American editions Of his "Psalms
and Hymns" as confounding in too shocking
and monstrous manner " the dialect, ideas,
expectations and purposes Of the Jewish nation
with those Of the system that Jesus taught"
Perhaps it would be better for the churches to
discuss rather the propriety OF eliminating
all these Objectionable features Of Watts
psalms than that OF singing them exclusively
in public worship Moreover. the question
might be considered whether 1t Is worse TO
sing hymns which, although uninspired, have
consoled and thrilled millions Of hearts, than
to sing the equally uninspircd paraphrases Of
Dayid's psalms. The versifcation Of hymns
and paraphrased psalms alike is Of human in
vention, and 40 are all instruments Of music,
ancient and modern. Those who object to
hymns, then, on the ground that they are of
human invention, would be led 10 She most
absurd conclusions If they carried out their
argument The psalms Of David are at oncc
80 faithful 10 the Divine law and so true to the
experiences Of the cody in all ages, and they
are SO full Of tho inspiration Of the highest
poetry, that they have survived the regal
power Of the hand that penned them and will
continue 10 rule an ever widening empire OF
hearts But the great song writer OF the He
brcws would be the last to complain that
goodly host Of other song writers have since
arisen who share with him the admiration OF
the religious world. We cannot sec why both
psalms and hymns should not b. sung In
the American churches.
Eaecss Of Radicaiism upe~ The souiher~