Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-08-01
BOOK OF PSALMS
GREAT HYMNAL,
SAYS MINISTER
Doctor DoremuS SCudder De-
IiyerS Interesting Lecture
at Mid-Week Services

Those who attended the mid-week
meeting at Central Union church this
] week found the evenings program
something cut of the ordinary and a
most interesting departure. The ad'
dress CT the evening, The Greatest
| Hymn Book Of the Ages-The Book OF
Psalms" was most fittingly introduced
by a song service in which the metri-
cal versions Of the psalms and hymns
rendering the snirit Of certain Psalms
were selected for the music.
pr DCremus Srudder said in part:
The Book of Psalms is an interest
ing example Of the fact that there is
nothing new under the sun. Just as
We find in the ruins Of Pompeii many
articles which remind us Of things we
have at home. and discover back in
Babylon the remains OF sewerage
system and baths like cur own. so in
the Psalms we find a strong modern
feeling in this collection comnIled un-
der the same principles which gov
ern the hymnnIcgist of TODAY. The
Oldest manuscript we have dates from
the yea- 1909. and the latest Psalm
was written some $50 wears before
Christ. so that we have this collection
of Hebrew songs composed some 1900
years before they were written out in
the revised form which serves as the
foundation for cur present version.
'The word Psalm means song, 4
lyric poem to be sung on joyful &C.
casions. IT came to be applied to
HYMNS sung in the church service
when the forms of worship of the
Jewish church became more highly
developed, and was also applied t.
prayers. One of the interesting
things about this book is that we do
not know its authorship. 1t came
from the hearts of unknown men and
women. There was tradition that
David was the author, assisted by ten
angels, and the early church held
that most Of the Psalms were written
by David; but at the time of the
great reformers it was found impos-
sible to hold this view. Calvin used
to say that the collection of songs
was made by Ezra, and he was pretty
close to it, since most of the psalms
were gathered in the days of exile
when in their trouble the hearts of,
the people turned TO God as never
before.
The Psalms are the result of a Sc
ries of hymn books produced just
as cur hymn books are today. Each
compiler selected the best from the
preceding books, and added the choic-
est contemporary songs. The first
book came into being during the great
religious activity when Cyrus, the
Persian, became king. Finding that
the Jews worshiped single God, he
was so impressed that he allowed
those who wished to do so to return
to their own country and restore their
places of worship. This attitude stir.
ed the Hebrew people wonderfully
and the result which is left to US is
comprised in the collection called
''Michtam," meaning Golden Songs"
Then there Is the collection ITO Da-
vid," "A OF these, dating from the pc.
Rod after the exile. Another great
period in Jewish life, when Alexander
the Great captured the empire of Per-
STA, is marked by the collection call
ed "Korah," of remarkable literary
value. So the interesting story goes,
through the Asaph collection. poems
to heroes, Songs of Degrees" songs |
written to be sung to various tunes,
with the directions to the musicians
given, and numerous other divisions. |
"The glimpse given of the condi-
tons under which these psalms were
and the way in which they
we're used brought out many hitherto
unknown interesting circumstances
and made more real and vivid the
warm hopes and fears, joys and sor-
'ows of those far-away unknown sing,
ers."