* THE PSALMS IN WORSHIP: A Series of Convention Papers bearing upon the Place of the Psalms in the Worship of the Church. Edited by John M’Naugher, D.D., LL.D., Professor of New Testament Literature and Criticism in the Allegheny Theological Seminary, Pittsburgh. The United Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1907.
THIS handsome and splendidly printed volume which has been sent us for review, consists of a series of papers read at two Conventions held in the autumn of 1905—the one at Pittsburgh and the other at Chicago. These papers were prepared under the direction of the General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church of America. This Church is the outcome of a union between the Associate Presbyterian Church of North America and the Associate Reformed Church in North America in the year 1858—eleven years after the coming into existence of its namesake in Scotland. When this union took place it was agreed that the Westminster Confession should be printed intact, while modifications of it at chapters xx. 4, xxiii. 3, xxxi. 2, should be printed in a parallel column alongside these sections of the original. In their Testimony, which is of equal authority with the Confession, there is the distinct statement that in giving adherence to the Confession, “We are not to be understood as giving our unqualified approbation of the principles respecting the power of the civil magistrate, as they are set forth in chapter xx., section 4; chapter xxiii., section 3; chapter xxxi., section 2, of the Westminster Confession. In the modification of chapter xxiii., section 4, there is a striking resemblance to the modification made on the same chapter by the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America in 1788. These statements are very carefully drawn up, but they leave us in no doubt that the United Presbyterian Church of America is a Voluntary Church. But though in this it is like its namesake at home, it has been a strenuous opponent to the use of instrumental music and hymns in the services of the sanctuary. An exceptionally able pamphlet—”The Counter-Blast to the Organ”—and one of the best we have read in connection with this controversy, came from a distinguished minister and teacher of this Church—the Rev. Professor Harper, of Xenia, Ohio, who has a paper in the present volume. In recent times, however, there has been a decidedly retrograde movement in the Church, and permission has been given to congregations to use instrumental music if they so desire it. The position of a Church permitting instrumental music and prohibiting hymns appears to us on this side of the Atlantic to be somewhat anomalous, but the anomaly, it is to be feared, will not long exist, for we regret to say that quite recently—since these lectures were delivered—there has been strong and determined agitation for the use of hymns in the public worship of God; and the unfortunate thing is that in these days the tide is flowing strongly in favour of the innovator. It may be also noticed that the United Presbyterian Church of America uses a revised version of the metrical Psalms. It reads much smoother in many places than the Scottish version, but in our view it loses much of the virility and rugged grandeur of the old version. It is from this version that the lecturers quote in the volume before us.
It is to the credit of our American friends that the activity of their nation, so conspicuous in commercial pursuits, is also manifesting itself in the distribution of literature and the dissemination of knowledge, which may help to stem the tide that is covering one after another of the old landmarks. The Reformed Presbyterian Church of America has reprinted Dr. George’s pamphlet entitled “Psalmody,” in a neat and convenient form, and are distributing it gratis. It is decidedly the ablest, clearest, and most interesting statement in small compass, in defence of the exclusive use of the Psalms in divine worship. Fortunately the literature in defence of the inspired Psalter in the worship of God is fairly voluminous, and contains discussions that reach a very high level. We need scarcely refer to Romaine’s famous “Essay on Psalmody,” all the more convincing as coming from a clergyman of the Church of England. In 1858, at a meeting of the ministers and elders of the Reformed and United Presbyterian Churches of Philadelphia, certain of their number were appointed to prepare, from existing treatises, a work in favour of the exclusive use of the Psalms as the matter of the Church’s praise. The result of their labours was the “True Psalmody,” a very useful and able production. It was reprinted in Ireland in 1861, with an interesting preface by the famous Dr. Cooke of Belfast, in which he gives expression to the following remarkable change of attitude in his own case:—”When I entered the ministry in 1807,” he says, “the Scottish selection of Paraphrases and Hymns had come into partial use, and influenced by the feeling in their favour, I was gradually led to adopt them. The principle of their use once adopted, the way to others was opened to an unlimited extent; for, if these paraphrases and hymns be good for public worship, it follows that others may be as good or better. Accordingly, at one time of my ministry, I dedicated both time and pains to selecting, from all accessible sources, an additional volume, with an essay, embodying a defence of its use in private or public worship. I need scarcely add that I believed my arguments, which were partly original and partly derivative, to be unanswerable. . . . Having been appointed to a short missionary tour, I left my home in good health, but was taken suddenly ill, and during a month was unable to return; and it was when wearisome nights were appointed to me, and tossings to and fro until the dawning of the day that, in frequent solitude, I was thrown almost entirely on the resources of memory. But with that faculty God had sufficiently endowed me; and the psalms committed in schoolboy days, and paraphrases and hymns of riper years, presented ready subjects of meditation. And it was then that, all unexpectedly, yet irresistibly, it was impressed upon me, by experience and feeling, that the most celebrated hymns of uninspired men were, like Job’s friends, miserable comforters when compared with the experience of Christ in the days of humiliation, of which the Book of Psalms is the true prophetic picture.” The “True Psalmody” was again reprinted in Scotland in 1888, with a recommendatory note from Drs. Begg, Kennedy, M’Lauchlan, Rev. Prof. Aitken, Rev. John Sturrock, Rev. James (afterwards Dr.) Kerr, and Rev. James (now Prof.) Dick. Some years ago a Conference was held at Belfast. A number of interesting papers were read. These, with the speeches made at the Conference, were published in a volume entitled “Psalm-Singers’ Conference.”
And now comes the publication of the volume under review, which, while reserving judgment on certain points, we feel in duty bound to describe as decidedly the ablest and most scholarly discussion of the subject we have yet seen. The whole get-up of the volume is attractive—paper, printing, and binding all lend their effect to the general appearance of the book. The work, which consists of 572 pages, has a carefully-arranged index of subjects and texts at the end. The papers which go to the make-up of the book, as has already been noticed, were read at two Conventions. Hence there are two papers by different writers on each subject discussed. This method, while it lends itself to diversity and breadth of treatment, has its drawback in an unavoidable repetition in some of the papers.
The first subject discussed is the Idea of Worship. Rev. Dr. W. H. Macmillan and Rev. John M. Ross are the writers. The papers are short—written in a graceful, literary style. In Mr. Ross’s paper there are points that arrest the attention. His discussion of what constitutes praise is worthy of note. “That which terminates on ourselves or others may be a means of grace, but only that which terminates on God is praise. The praise service is not meant chiefly for instruction, though it instructs; is not meant chiefly to stir up spiritual emotions, though it does so; is not meant merely to make the services more attractive, though it does so; is not meant to terminate on ourselves, but on the great God. It is to magnify Him.” It is here that we see one of the great defects in uninspired hymns, says the writer, quoting from another, “In fact, in the great mass of modern hymnology there is little or nothing of the element of praise. There are tender appeals to human emotions and affections. There are songs which stir the sensibilities more quickly than the majestic and incomparable songs of the Word of God. But how little a grain of praise they offer to Him whom they profess to worship. The tendency of all uninspired hymnology is subjective—man-ward rather than God-ward.”
The second subject discussed is the Scriptural Law of Worship. The papers are by the Rev. Dr. Vincent, Allegheny, and Rev. Dr. M’Clure, Xenia, Ohio. Dr. Vincent at the outset lays down the good, and we believe the Scriptural position, that “No man or potentate, however exalted, nor any number of men as a church council can arrogate to themselves the right to dictate or prescribe the manner by which God is to be worshipped. God Himself must decide in what way He will be approached. He alone can lay down the ordinances and methods by which He may be acceptably worshipped. God’s sovereign right covers the whole ground and does not leave any margin on which the intrusion of human inventions can get a footing.” He then proceeds to show that the Reformed Churches, especially those influenced by the Puritans, take the high ground that whatsoever is not commanded is excluded from divine worship. This is the view presented in the Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms of the Westminster Assembly. It is scarcely necessary to emphasise the importance of this position. It is the key to the whole situation in this controversy concerning purity of worship. Dr. Vincent shows conclusively that it is Scriptural, and behind such a bulwark the defenders of purity of worship may well take refuge with confidence. He concludes his able argument with the words: “The Book of Psalms not only has the seal of inspiration, but it has also the clear and unmistakable appointment of God. Hence it is the book of praise for the Church of God in every age and in every land. As it has songs which relate, not only to the past and present of the Church, but to the Church in the millennial age, and since the spirit of inspiration is withdrawn from the Church, the Book of Psalms is designed to continue as the manual of praise in the Church until the end of time.” In discussing the same subject Dr. M’Clure lays down three propositions—I. Whatsoever is not commanded in the Scriptures is forbidden. II. The Bible Psalter alone is commanded to be used in the praise service in the worship of God. III. Therefore all matter of praise besides the Bible Psalter is by the Scriptural law of worship forbidden to be used in the praise service in the worship of God. In establishing his first proposition he quotes the following sentence from Dr. Girardeau’s excellent treatise, Music in the Church:—”Discretionary powers exercised by the Church in the assumption that whatsoever is not forbidden is permitted was the chief fountain from which flowed the gradually increasing tide of corruptions which swept the Latin Church into apostacy from the gospel of God’s grace.” Dr. Girardeau has discussed this subject with consummate ability, and he sums up his discussion of this important principle with the words—”It is the acropolis of the Church’s liberties, the palladium of her purity. That gone, nothing will be left to hope but to strain its gaze towards the dawn of the millennial day.” Dr. M’Clure like Dr. Vincent appeals to Scripture in support of his first proposition and then proceeds to establish his second, after which he reaches the conclusion that in the worship of God, all matter of praise besides the Bible Psalter is forbidden by the Scriptural law of worship. As we have now gone as far as our space will allow us we refrain meantime from discussing the other papers, but hope to return to the subject in a future issue.
D. B.