Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1949-09-22

look them up in
some edition which
prints the Bible in 81
modern formal,
he will discover
that his favorite
pass ages are =
pro b ably all DR.. Foreman
poetry.
POetry'S Power
vxIHY the appeal Of poetry? For
w one thing, it is vivid. It is in
colors, not severe black and white.
1t lives and breathes, at times it
shouts, and it always sings.
1t is true to say ''The prOvi-
DENTAL oversight of the Creator
is continuous and unremitting;"
but it is more effective to say,
''The Lord Is my shepherd" 1t
would be true to say, '"The evil
dences Of creative and bene-
ficent purpose can be seen
throughout all the orders Of ma
ture;" but how much more
vivid is the I48th Psalm, call
ing on hail and fire, sun and
moon and stars Of light, to
praise the Lord!
Another secret of poetry's power
is that it is the language of emo
ton. Professors and theologians
may be saying the same things as
the poet, and maybe even saying
them more completely and accu-
rately; but what they say is less
easy to remember.
So these emotional Psalms will
always appeal, even to the profess
sor when off duty, because they
make us feel religion and not mere
ly think it.
Pictures Of God
co 1T is no wonder the Psalms
~ have been loved and sung all
over the world. We are perhaps the
only religion that has made so
much use of another religions
hymn book. Different though our
faiths may be, Jews and Christians
can sing from the Psalter with one
voice and heart.
-. For centuries It was the
hymnal Of the Christian shurch.
Indeed, up to recent years
some large denominations
/; would allow in public worship
the singing of no other songs
than the Psalms.
! Many Of our best hymns and pop
ular gospel songs, as we have al
ready seen. are based on Psalms.
Rock Of Ages, cleft for me-" "A
Shelter in the Time Of Storm"
Hiding in Thee" they all go
back to the Psalmjst's picture of
God as a Rock Cps. 42:O. The
Psalmist was not thinking of
little rock in a cornfield. He was
thinking Of some tall crag in the
fierce hot landscape Of his coun-
try.
A rock there Is a landmark, II Is
a shelter against the blazing sun,
people could live under ITS over
hanging height.
So God Is the landmark Of
life, he gives direction to our
ways; he Is the shelter on life's
weary journey, he Is our safe
dwelling.
So with the many other pictures
of God in the Psalms-he is light,
he is shade, he is the guard on
duty at night watching over the
sleeping city Cps. i2D; he is
shepherd, he is water for the thirst
ing soul FPS. 42)
A Model Hymnal
TT IS true that few Christians to-
! day can use in worship all Of
the Psalms, without omissions or
changes. 1t is also true that prac-
tically all Christian churches find
that the Psalms. by themselves,
are inadequate to express all there
is in Christian experience, faith and
ideals.
The Christian hymn, entirely in
dependent Of the Psalms, has long
since come into its own. And yet
the Psalms remain the model hym-
nal. For in them beauty and truth
are blended.
This should be the ideal Of all
Christian hymn and song books.
Some Of our modern hymns"
as well as some older ones,
are bad because they are no
better than jingles, --doggerel,
not poetry, and often sung to
tunes better suited to a juke
box; and some are bad because
they convey either nonsense or
downright falsehOOd.
But the great hymns, and the
best hymnals. are those which like
the Psalms of old, combine pro-
found truths about God and man,
duty and destiny, with stately, stir
ring and singable music, agl2W with
the beauty and power Of words.
Copyright by the international coun:
gu Of Religious Education on pehat o.
20 Protestant denominations. Released
py WNU Features.