edition of A NEW VERSION of the Psalms of David in English Metre,' which, having been introduced into general use, in consequence of the order in council issued by King William III. Dec. 3. 1696, has at length superseded the Old Version, to many parts of which it is greatly inferior; though other portions of it are confessedly executed with great felicity.

Piety, common sense, and decorum, alike require 'that the words which we sing at Church should be interesting; and that those, which are to be sung by a whole congregation, should be interesting, not to a particular individual under particular circumstances, but to all who are present, and at the time they join in repeating them. For this end, they should convey some truth, which all habitually acknowledge; some doctrine, which all unfeignedly and reverentially believe; praise to God for instances of mercy and goodness, of which all are or may be partakers; confessions of sin which all have more or less committed; prayers for pardon and sanctification, of which we all stand in need; petitions to be delivered from dangers, temporal and spiritual, by which all have been more or less assailed, or to which they are constantly exposed. But matter of this kind, unmixed with passages of a different description, cannot often be found in the Psalter, though every portion of it, rightly understood and applied, may be profitable for doctrine, correction, and instruction in righteousness. Many parts

abound too much in historical allusion, to be sung in churches, and others' [as the imprecatory Psalms] 'contain expressions and sentiments, which derive their chief force and propriety from the circumstances which gave rise to them, or from the persons and characters by whom they were uttered *,' and in which the members of a Christian congregation cannot join with propriety. Hence, it becomes absolutely necessary, in order to render Parochial Psalmody an edifying and delightful part of the service of our Church, that a Selection be made of suitable portions, adapted, as far as is practicable, to the subjects of the First Lessons, Epistles, Gospels, or Collects, for the several Sundays and Festivals of the Church of England, throughout the year.

Such a Selection is now respectfully offered to the Clergy, and other Members of that Church, by the Editor of the present MANUAL OF PAROCHIAL PSALMODY; who was induced to undertake it, in consequence of the great difficulty, which has been long and generally felt, in selecting continuous portions of Psalms from the authorised versions, appropriate to the stated and occasional services of the Church. The following are the plan and principles upon which his compilation has been executed.

* Rev. R. Kennedy's Thoughts, &c. upon Psalmody, p. 44. In pp. 49-60. he has given numerous examples of passages of the Psalms, which are not suitable for a Christian Congregation, though frequently sung. To this gentleman's kindness the Compiler is indebted for the much-improved extract from the fortieth Psalm, which occurs in p. 30. infra.

I. As the design of this manual is, to render the singing of Psalms an interesting and edifying part of our Church Service, without having recourse to any other metrical translations than those which have received the sanction of the highest Legal and Ecclesiastical Authorities; those portions of the Old and New Versions have been principally selected, which celebrate the Praises and Perfections of God, the Works of Creation and of Providence, and the Blessings of Redemption. Where entire Psalms, or connected portions of them could not be adopted, it has frequently become necessary to disregard the order in which the verses stand in the original, and to select such passages of a Psalm as form an extract, containing a distinct and simple subject, and

conveying some acknowledgment of Christian faith or duty, some sentiment of penitence, of praise, or thanksgiving.' All those passages, which are exclusively applicable to Jewish Worship, have been omitted. Slight verbal alterations, to connect passages brought together from different parts of a long Psalm, have necessarily been made: and where a sentiment has been introduced into the version of Tate and Brady, which is at variance with other parts of Scripture, such exceptionable sentiment has been corrected. * To each Psalm is prefixed a short preface, pointing out its subject, and, if it be a prophetical Psalm, its spiritual application to the

* See Note [A], in p. xx. infra.

a

MESSIAH or CHRIST. These short prefaces are abridged, either from those of the late learned and pious Bishop Horne, in his Commentary on the Psalms, or from those of the Right Rev. Dr. Mant, Bishop of Down and Connor, in his recent metrical version of the Book of Psalms with notes †, or from the prefaces prefixed to the Psalms, in the earlier black letter editions of the Old Version, some of which are very judicious; although they have been very improperly omitted in the modern editions of that version.

II. But, highly valuable as the compositions of the sweet Psalmist of Israel' confessedly are, as supplying the most considerable as well as the most important matter for church-music, and answering purposes which no uninspired compositions can answer; yet it has been long and generally acknowledged, that to a Christian Congregation, something is yet wanting in this department of public worship, which (to borrow the elegant statement of the Rev. Dr. Maltby), in addition to the holy effusions of the Old Testament, may convey that clearer view of God's dispensations, those astonishing hopes, and consoling promises, which are supplied by the inspired penmen of the New. For, although, in sublime description of the attributes and perfections of

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†The Book of Psalms, in an English Metrical Version, founded on the basis of the authorised Bible translation, and compared with the original Hebrew, with notes. Oxford, 1824.

8vo.

Preface to a Collection of Psalms and Hymns, p. ix, x.

the Almighty, in earnestness of supplication, and in warmth of adoration, the royal Psalmist must ever stand unrivalled; yet his knowledge of divine things was necessarily incomplete, because the dayspring had not yet dawned from on high. (Luke i. 78.) Even under the influence of prophetic inspiration, David saw, but as through a glass, darkly, the saving truths of redemption and sanctification. These truths, therefore, taught as they were by our LORD and his Apostles, and illustrated by the great transactions of His life and death, - may surely form in a Christian Congregation as fit subjects for devotional melodies, as the events of Jewish History and the Precepts of the Mosaic Law suggested to the Holy Psalmist."

These interesting and important topics it has been the Compiler's aim to bring forward, in the selection of HYMNS which is annexed to the portions from the Psalms. Of the numerous collections of Psalms and Hymns, which are already extant, many are designed for the use of particular congregations, and altogether exclude the legal or authorised metrical versions of the Psalms; while the size and price of others necessarily place them beyond the acquisition of the poor and some contain pieces which are applicable only to the circumstances of the devout Christian in retirement, not to congregations. The Hymns contained in this publication comprise most of those, which, from their intrinsic merit, are to be found in every collection of note (including