The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-08-17

too, the length OF the prayers an"
the sermon, it is no wonder that 'ne
children. and perhaps some grown PEG,
pie. too, OF that time. so limiteo III
many respects, felt there was pien's
of nothing but gospel.
About the time of the revolution
VIM. Billings, the friend OF Samuei
Adams introduced wholly new meth-
cd OF singing by the use OF fugue mus,o,
where ono voice or part seems 10 pe
perpetually flying away from anotneI
The principal part having been taken
nm bv one voice, another part is soon
after nv another and so on. Tunes IKE
Majesty" Russia "Exhortation
belong 10 this class of music-il music
il can be called. Henry Ward Beecher
AT later date, speaking OF the impress
sion which this fugue music made upon
him during his childhood, said ~
seemed as if the whole church cho'f
were playing tag. o.a
HYMNS had found their way across the
Atlantic. DIR. Watts had proposed 10
exercise discrimination in selecting ior
metrical version only those psalms
adapted for worship and devotion, ana
although the over-reverent ruler oe-
nounced such as set themselves up as
wiser than God to choose ana IeJe~
certain parts of his word, DR.. watts
followed his own judgment, saying
..Why must | Join with David In his
legal or prophetic language to curse my
enemies when my Saviour has taught me
To love and bless them? Why may not
Christian omit all those passages OF
the Jewish psalmist that tend to fill the
mind with overwhelming sorrows,, de-
spairing thoughts or bitter personal re-,
continents. none of which are well
suited to the spirit of Christianity,
which is dispensation Of hope and JOY
and love.
DR.. Watts hymns must nave come as
godsend to the English CHURCH as well
as TO the Puritans. for since the reforma,
ton the antipathy to Romanism had
been so great there was the disposition
To discard even what was good In the
mother church. and to substitute Tor
the wonderfully deep utterances OF the
hyms of Ambrose, Gregory, Bernard
Bonaventura and host OF others, the
tedious indiscriminate psalm singing.
Saw what we may against DR.. watts
HYMNS. they were vast Improvement
on what had Immediately preceded,
and MANY of them, pruned and refined
10 meet the needs of more critical
generation, still hold an important
place among the hymns for the sanctu-
ary. That there was need of this prun-
ing is obvious 10 any one who looks
over any of the original copies. The
favorite hymn commencing
Let me but hear my saviour say
strength snail be equal 10 thy day,
has this ludcrous doggerell;
$50 sampson. when his hair was lost
Met the Philistine To his cost
shook his vain limbs with sad surprise
Made feeble fight and lost his eyes
Here is one called " \ Vision of the
Lamb -
| ..0ilorv his fieecy robe adorns.
Marked with the bloody death he bore
Seven are his eyes and seven his horns,
TO speak his wisdom and his power
OF the $50 hymns which Watts wrote
good taste and Christian feeling have
expurgated about One-half. This has
led to no little discussion among the
clergy aud hymnwriters as to how fan
one is at liberty to correct and modify
the sentiments of an author. but as DIT
Watts justified himself in purifying and
improving upon King David's psalms
be has certainly furnished precedence
to those who see the necessity Of ex
punging or modifying the grotesqut
parts of his own compositions.
DR.. Watts was thorough going Cal
vanist. and in his verses embodied the
full strength OF his creed, in language
that lacks neither clearness nor force
1t is noteworthy that while the Puri
tan Baxter in his antipathy to king:
and queens Is said to have used the ex
preston, parliament of heaven, instead
of kingdom, Watts, on the other hand
revels in royal expressions-God al
ruler omnpotent. Christ as prince Of
glory thrones. dOminions. powers have
a large share of the non-conformist'i
religions, if not in the political vocabu
larry. And these happier hymns Of
glory and exultation must have
been glad relief to the wor-
shippers in those prosaic, wOoder
meeting-houses, utterly void o.
ANYTHING like ornament or super
fluffy. To be lifted away in imagina
ton to courts of glory, and TO have
even for a moment glimpse of the "a
dance Just above must have been de
lightful contrast to the everyday lif,
about them. There is lyrical grand
eur. soaring TO heaven in some o.
Watts noblest hymns that would carry
even the crudest soul away on its wings
The flight. as we have seen, is no
always sustained, even through thu
same hymn, but, none the les
Watts is gloriousy good wheI
.he is good. Wesley complained
of the amatory character of Watts
Horae Lyricae. y or songs dedicated Il
divine love. He said they were fitte
to be addressed by lover TO his fellow
mortal than by sinner to the mos
high God. Watts had authority TO
tins in the Songs of Solomon, which
were a greater favOrite with the Churcl
IN his day than they are at present
Wesley corrected many Of these eroti
poems of Watts, and ii must be admitted
| that the change is better adapted to on
modern sentiments.
Watts Songs for Children wer,
StdIudIu Ntlctb III VIZ
early part of this century. Crude a
they now seem, they were treasur.
of entertainment in that period, whel
children had few or no books excep
the New England Primer" from
which they learned to read by spelling
out theological doctrines like the fol
lowing:
.In Adams fall
We sinned all
Watts had tender heart for chill
dren, and if his teachings seem sever
In the light of easier, not to say NOR
Indifferent, times, his sincerity of pur
pose is beyond question. He has toll
us how many hours, days, and week
he spent over his catechism for chill
dren, revising and examining ever.
word and expression, that nothing
might be inserted which would Civ
offense to pious persons, nor TO be LEI
out that it was necessary for childre
: to know, and we may believe that h
was no less careful in regard to hi
songs for them. There is an intens
realism about these songs. God is al
WAYS near: always watching out TO