Sedio' THE PSALMISTS OF BRITAIN. RECORDS, BIOGRAPHICAL AND LITEHARy, OP UPWARDS OF ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY AUTHORS, WHO HAVE KENDEKED THE WHOLE OR PA KTS OF THE BOOK OF PSALMS, INTO ENGLISH VERSE. WITH SPECIMENS OF THE DIFFERENT VERSIONS, AND A GENERAL INTRODUCTION. BY JOHN HOLLAND. ■ The Prophet David King of Israel, Compjldr the pleasant Psalmes of tlio Psalter, In liis own proper tongue, as I here tell : And Solomon, whieh was his son and heir. Did n-ake his Book into his tongue vulgar ; Why should not their sayings be to us shown In our language;' — I would the eausc were known.'' Sir David Lindsay. VOL. H. LONDON : R. GHOOMBUinCE, PATERNOSTEK-ROW ; RIDGE AND JACKSO.V, SHEFFIELD iMDCCCXLIII. G. RIDGE, PRINTER, SHEFFIELD. THE PSALMISTS OF BRITAIN RECORDS BIOGRAPHICAL AND LITERARY. PSALMISTS OF BRITAIN. GEORGE WITHER. It is no reproach to Religion — none to the Holy Scriptures, whatever it may be to the Professors of Christianity — that the offices of the one and the phraseology of the other, have too often been per- verted to serve party purposes.* The evil, at any rate, is not less ancient than it is deplorable : per- haps it must always be to a certain extent, inevi- table, so long as human nature remains what it is. Psalm singing itself, has frequently been abused in * This remark has no reference to those conflicts between Truth and Error, the arena of which is the field of legitimate controversy. It is worthy of obser- vation, that so soon and so vigorously did not only divines and men of learning, but even the " common people" turn the Scriptures in the vulgar tongue into weapons of polemical conflict— and no wonder, all things considered — that even Henry the Eighth appears, in his latter days, almost to have regretted the publi- cation of the Word of God in the vernacular language, and perhaps still more so, the practice of singing rhyming portions of it, to which his patronage of Sternhold had mainly contributed. Addressing his last Parliament, the King uses this extraordinary language : — " You lay too much stress on your own expositions and fantastical opinions. In such sublime matters you may easily mistake. This permission of reading the Bible, is only designed for private information, not to furnish you with reprimanding phraaes and expressions of reproach against Priests and Preachers. I am extremely sorry to find with how little reverence the Word of God is mentioned : how people squabble about the sense; how it is turned into wretched rhyme, sung and jingled in every alehouse and tavern." VOL. ir. B 2 4 WITHER. this respect. This was, indeed, a sort of double- edged weapon, the expression of raaiiv liearts in a single feeling giving sharpness to it on one side, as the openness of the demonstration made its effects the more keenly felt on the other. This method of exciting or testing the sentiments of the populace, which had been adopted at the Reformation,* became frequent at the period of the Commonwealth — it was not only used in Parliament, but even the soldiers themselves resorted to it on critical occasions. f These circumstances may in some degree account for the fact that, in an age the least congenial to the muses, and amidst the raging of civil and religious strife, even to the spilling of the blood of the {Sove- reign, we should find so many persons engaged in turning into metre the whole, or portions of the Psalms, to say nothing of other works in verse, in which a Scriptural phraseology, and tlie language of • Strype mentions that on IMarch 15, 1559, Mr. Veron, a Frenchman by birth, but a learned Protestant ami Parson of St. Martin's, Ludgate, jireached at St. Paul's Cross before the Mayor and Aldermen ; and after sermon done, " they all sung in common a Psalm in metre, as it seems now was frequently done." This is the earliest notice we have of out-door Psalmody : it was, however, in connection with worship. We are told afterwards by the same historian, that the reading of the Proclamation against the Queen of Scots in London, 1586, was accompanied " by rinsing of bells, making of bonfires, and si«(7i"(/ of Psalms, in every one of the streets and lanes of the Oily." f This appears to have been the case in that battle between the Parliamentary Army and the troops of Charles, in which the Royal cnuse received the first fatal blow; as we are told in the Memoirs of Sir Henry Slingsby, (p. 51.) that in July, 1664, the Parliamentarian forces " in Marston corn field, fell to singing Psalms." And in the Life of Captain John llodj^son, (p. 148,) it is mentioned that after the battle of Dunbar, the " Republican soldiers, with their General Lambert, halted near Hadditgton, and sung the 117th Psalm^" In Shadwell's Comedy of the " Volunteers," he describes the Roundheads as being used " to sing a Psidm," and then " fall on." Whatever may bo thought of the foregoing, and similar cases which might be adduceil, few persons will be found to find fault with the old custom of singing a Psalm at a wedding or at a funeral, or even as was formerly, and I believe still is the jirnctice to sing one under the great elm tree in front of the parsonage house at Basingstoke, Hants, after the per»nd)ulalion of the boundaries of the parish, in Rogation wti-k. WITHER. O ordinary invective, are made the warp and woof of the composition. In botli these respects, the indi- vidual wliose name stands at the head of this article, and whose life Avas extended through a singular series of religious and political changes, was remark- able in his day. It is generally the fate of party wiiters to be neglected after the transactions in which they have been involved, have passed away. This had nearly been the case with George Wither, who was an active partizan during the political and religious disputes in the time of James I. and Charles I. During this troublesome and eventful period, " he employed his poetical vein in severe pasquils on the court and clergy, and was occasionally a sufferer for the freedom of his pen. In the civil war that ensued, he exerted himself in the service of the Parliament,* and became a considerable sharer in the spoils. He was even one of those provincial tyrants, whom Oliver distributed over the kingdom, under the name of Major Generals ; and had the fleecing of the county of Surrey : but surviving the Restoration, he outlived both his power and his influence ; and giving vent to his chagrin in libels on the court, was long a prisoner in Newgate and the Tower. He died at length on the 2nd of May, 1667," aged 58. f These are the words of Dr. * Wither is probably tlie only Poet of whose hand the Speaker of tlie House of Commons ever gravely announced to the members that had " a good copy of verses to offer"— as was once said by Sir Thomas Widdrington who occupied the chair in Cromwell's Parliament, in reference, it is supposed, to the Boni ominis votum" of the Author. — Burto7i's Diary, i. 207. f Wither has himself mentioned that he had lived to see " eleven signal changes, in which not a few signal transactions providentially occurred ; to wit, umler the Government of Queen Elizabeth, King James, Charles the First, the King and Parliament together, the Parliament alone, the Army, Oliver Crom- well, Richard Cromwell, a Ccuncil of State, the Parliament again, and now King Charles the Second" ^ WITHER. Percy,* wlio adds that the name of our Author would have been " utterly forgotten," if it had not been preserved by Swift as a term of contempt — " Dryden and Wither," being coupled by him like the Bavius and ]Ma}vius of Virgil. Pomfret, too, one of the poorest of the least interesting class of Poets, ven- tures to anticipate a favourable audience with the public, because, as he says : — " Even Quarles and Wither have had their admirers," — as if the verses of either of these writers were not twenty times as good as his own. The works of Wither are as voluminous as they are miscellaneous, being above one hundred in number : no collected edition of them ever having been published : they comprise satires, pastorals, and religious or sentimental effusions : their degrees of merit being almost as various as the subjects handled. Eight poetical pieces, printed separately in 1638, and afterwards, collectively, under the title of " Juvenilia," are the productions on which our Author's reputation as a Poet, may most safely be allowed to rest. They are, however, by no means the only specimens of his verse, in which passages of considerable interest occur. So early as the year 1619, Wither published what he called " A Preparation to the Psalter," a Work full of curious learning and quaint ob- servation, and which has become scarce. The general contents of the volume are distributed into fourteen chaplers ; and the whole, although written ill the verbose style of the age is well worth a perusal. The Author, in the following j)assage disposes of " the frivolous opinions of those, who • Roliquei of Ancient English Poelry, iii. lOO. WITHER. deny that the Psalmes, or any part of Holy Scrip- ture, may be safely translated into verse." — " First, whereas they say that verse cannot retaine that gravity, which becometh the authority of Holy Scriptures, it is false : for how can that speech be denied to have in it gravity, wherein every word and syllable must be considered in quantity and number ? or who can be so ignorant, to think so, but such as are altogether strangers unto the Muses P For in every language, Vei'se hath more elegance than prose can have. And I am of opinion (not without warrant of good authority) that it was partly by reason of the extraordinary Majesty and pleasing- ness which is in numbers, that the Holy Ghost chose in them (rather than otherwise) to set down these mysteries, as the most fitting language to express sacred things. Again, they have supposed it im- possible for the translator so to keep himself to the original, (in a matter where every letter and syllable is of such moment,) but that either for the measure or the Ryme, he shall be sometime forced to let go much of the true meaning of the words : but this is also a mistake. For I am certain that if there be any one, who can in prose deliuer intirely the truest and most proper sense of these Poems, it may be as well expressed in Verse. Yea, I believe, and dare maintain, that they be much better and more naturally done into numbers than into prose.'' After some other observations in a similar strain, our Author concludes his defence of metre with the quotation of a royal reason which in his day had great weight, and not the less so that it was too delivered in rhyme : — " The Divell is not ignorant of the power that is in these divine Charmes ; that 8 WITHER. there lurks in Poesy an enclianting sweetness, tliat steals into the hearts of men before tliey be aware ; and that (the subject being divine) it can infuse by a kind of heavenly enthusiasm, sucli delight into the soule, and beget so ardent an aiTection unto the purity of God's word, as it will be impossible for the most powerful exorcisms to conjure out of them the love of such delicacies, but they will be unto them (as David saith) sn-eeler than hony or the hony combe. And tliis secret working which verse hath, is excellently expressed by our drad Soveraigne that now is, [James I.] in a Poem of his, long since penned : — For Verses' power is sike, it softly glides Through secret pores, and in the senses hides, And makes men have that gude in them imprinted, Which by the learned worke is represented. " By reason of tliis power," Wither continues, " our adversaries feare the operation of the divine word expressed in numbers ; and tliat hath made them so bitter against our Aersified Psalmes : yea, (as I liave heard say,) they term the singing of tliem in our vulgar tongues, the Witch oj' Heresy.'' In 1623, he put fortli a volume of "Hymns and Songs of the Cliurch," whicli was authorised by James I. Tliis was an age of monopolies ; and the royal mandate obtained by the ambitious Poet, not only conferred " full and free licence to imprint the said book," but it also enacted that no other English Psalm Book in metre should be uttered, or sold, unless these Hymns were coupled with it ! More- over, Wither was empowered by the same patent to seize any metrical collection of Psalmody which was found to be unaccompanied by his verses ! The WITHER. 9 extraordinary powers conceded in favour of this Hymn Book, by the licence alluded to, were the occasion of a long contention between the Poet and the Stationers' Company, who, having a special interest in the Psalms of Sternhold and Hopkins, discouraged the sale of Witlier's work, and resisted the arbitrary authority of the royal licence.* In 1632, there appeared a small volume, "Imprinted in the Neatherlands, by Cornelius Gerrits van Breughel," entitled " The Psalms of David, trans- lated into Lyric Verse, according to the scope of the Original ; and Illustrated with a short Argument and a brief Prayer, or Meditation, before and after every Psalm. By George Wither." This Version was dedicated " To the Maiestie of the most virtuous and high-born Princesse, Elizabeth, Princesse of Great Britain, Queen of Bohemia, Countesse of the Palatinate of the Ryhne, &c.," whose afflictions and trials the Poet somewhat elaborately compares, ac- cording to the taste of the age, with those of David and Christ. The intention of Wither to give a metrical rendering of the Psalms, was, it seems, known to and commended by James I., the father of his patroness, and who, says the Poet, " a little before his death was pleased to honour me with his gratious respect," and by whom, he adds, " I was commanded to perfect a translation of the Psalms, which he understood I had begun ; and by his encouragement, I finished the same about the tyme of his translation to a better kingdom." Why this Work was printed abroad does not appear ; and I • Vide Gray's Inquiry, p. 78. In vindication of his Hymns, Wither published his " Scholler's Purgatory," from which Work copious extracts were reprinted, alonj; with the Hymns and Songs of the Church, by Sir Egerton Bryilges, in 1816. 10 WITHER. believe there was no Eiiglisli Edition : at least, I have not been able to ascertain the existence of one, notwithstanding the assertion of Wood, tliat the "Psalms" Avere reprinted in London in the same year with the Continental impression. It is remark- able, that notwitlistanding his previous conflict with the booksellers, Wither again solicited, and King Charles the First granted, a licence for the sole publication of the Psalmody, very similar to that which had rendered the Hymns and their Author so obnoxious in the preceding reign. The old griev- ances were renewed, and it appears tliat at length the Company of Stationers so openly defied the injunction, that, as we learn from a letter addressed to Sir Thomas Puckering, Jan, 23, 1G33, the matter was brought before the Privy Council : — " Upon Friday last. Wither, the Englisli Poet, convented before the Board all or most of the Stationers of London. Tbe matter is this, — ]\Ir. AVither hath, to please himself, translated our singing Psalms into another verse, which he counts blotter than those the Church hath so long used, and therefore he hath been at the charge to procure a patent from his Majesty under the Proad Seal, that his translation shall be printed and bound to all Bibles that are sold. The Stationers refusing to bind them and sell them with the Bible, (the truth is, nobody would buy the Bible with such a clog at the end of it), — and because some of them stood upon their guard, and would not suller Mr. Wither and his officers to come into their shops and seize upon such liibles as wanted his additions, therefore he comjdained of tlu'Ui for a contrnipt of the (ireat Seal. After their lordships bad heard the business jtro and con at WITHER. 11 length, their lordships thought good to damn his patent in part ; that is, that the translation should not longer be sold with the Bible, but only by itself; and for my part, I think their lordships have done very well in ordering it in this manner." As a fair — or rather a favourable specimen of the Version of Wither, with its head note and appended prayer, may be given PSALM LVII. To the cheef musitian Altaschith. A Psalm of David, when he fledd from Saul in the Cave. It mystically expressed the lewes persecutinge Christ, even unto his Grave. We that are his members, and partake in his suffrings, may sing it to declare our iniuries, and to pray, and praise God, for deliverances, &c. Lord, grant (oh grant) me thy compassion ; For 1 in thee my trust have placed ; Display thy wings for my salvation, Until my greefs are over- passed. To thee I sue (oh God most high) To thee that canst all want supplie. 2. From their despights who seek to rend mee, Let help, oh Lord, from heaven be daigned, And let thy Truth and Love defend me ; For, I with Lions am detained : With men inflam'd, whose biting words, Are shafts, and spears, and naked swords. 3. Let over heav'n God's praise be reared, And through the world his glorie showed ; For they who netts for mee prepared, (They M'ho my soul to ground had bowed) Ev'n they, within those trapps are caught. Which for my fall their hands had wrought. Selah. 4. Oh God! my hart now ready maketh. My hart is for thy praise preparing ; My Tongue, my Harpe, my Lute awaketh. And, I my selfe, betimes vprearing. Will speake and sing, in praise of thee. Where greatest throngs of people be. 12 CRASHAW. 5. For, Lord, thy mercies forth are stretched, As farr as are the sphears extended ; Thy truth unto the clouds hath reached. And, thou tliyself art high ascended ; Let, still, thy Fame and Praise, oh God ! Through heav'n and earth be spread abrode. Oh Lord to whome Mercy belongeth, have mercy vpon vs ; & let the Wings of thy protection be gratiously spread over us, vntill the Stormes of this life be overpast : For, so great & manyfold are those dangers, & those miseries wherewith wee are alwaies enclosed, by sj)irituall and temporal foes, that they liave brought our bodies to tlie Grave, & our souls near vnto Hell. Oil ! let thy Truth & Love defend us from our Sion-like persecutors ; that our harts (being timely cheared), our Thoughts, Words &: Actions, may harmoniously agree in manifesting thy praises. And, seeing thy holy Spirit hath jjlainly declared the Vniversaiity of thy proffered Grace, let not us presume to sett Limits thereunto ; but publish thy glorie as vniversally as thou hast extended thy Mercies, through lesus Christ, our Lord, Amen. RICHARD CRASHAW. The political and religious troubles of the Seven- teenth Century, which drove some Clergymen to death, some to prison, many into exile, and more to unworthy compliances, induced Cra>^haw first to seek a refuge in a foreign country, and iinally to become a convert to the Papal Church, in the communion of which he died, as a canon of the Cliapel, at Loretto, in l(i5(). 'J'lie change in his religion has been by some attributed to worldly motives, though without any ground for such a cliarge. Hayley,* witli * Ilio(,'rn|>liiii Hril.innicn. C'RASHAW. 13 more poetic prolxibility — if with no better reason, refers it to his passionate admiration of "■ that fair canonized enthusiast, St. Teresa of Spain." Be this as it may, the strains in whicli he has addressed this female devotee are among the most fervent to be found within the compass even of his ardent aspirations. Cowley has a poem on his death. Perhaps the circumstance of the Poet's conversion to Romanism — whatever the grounds of it, might have something to do witli securing for his works the notice of Pope, who says — " Crashaw formed himself upon Petrarch, or rather Marino ; his thoughts, in the main, are pretty, but sometimes far-fetched, and too often strained and stiffened to make them appear the greater. The Paraphrase on the twenty-third Psalm is one of the best pieces of this Author," As the opinion of a critic, this sentence is not incorrect. But a Christian reader, looking rather to the matter than the style, will not hesitate to subscribe to the more generous praise wiiich has been accorded to Crashaw, as " a genuine and glowing Poet, who is equally at home in the playful and the terrible, and who throws an equal interest over the familiar and the sublime." How deeply he loved solitude, where his devotion might be kindled into enthusiasm, may be inferred from the fact, that he chose to pass a considerable portion of several years in St. Mary's Church, near Peterhouse, Cambridge, where, as we are told in the Preface to his Works, "he lodged under TertuUian's roof of Angels ; there he made his nest more gladly than David's swallow, near the house of God ; where, like a primitive saint, he offered more prayers in the niglit than others usually offer in the day. There he penned these poems, 14 CRASHAW. viz., * Steps to tlie Temple,' the title of oue-thiid part of the small volume containing his works : the two other parts are ' The Delights of the Muses,' and * Sacred Poems.' " The following lines contain decided traces of the general character of the poetry of Crashaw : — PSALM xxiir. Happy me ! O happy sheep ! Whom my God vouchsafes to keep, Even my God, even he it is That points me to these ways of bliss ; On whose pastures cheerful Spring All the year doth sit and sing. And rejoicing, smiles to see Their green backs wear his livery : Pleasure sings my soul to rest, Plenty wears me at her breast ; Whose sweet temper teaches me Nor wanton, nor in want to be. At my feet the blubbering mountain Weeping, melts into a fountain. Whose soft silver-sweating streams Make high noon forgot his beams. When my wayward breath is flying, He calls home my soul from dying, Strokes and tames my rabid grief. And does woo me into life. When my simple weakness strays. Tangled in forbidden ways. He, my shepherd, is my guide ; He's before me, on my side, And beliind mc ; he beguiles Craft in all her knotty wiles : He expounds the giddy M'onder ' Of my weary steps, and under Spreads a path as clear as day, Where no churlish rub says nay To my joy-conducted feet ; Whilst they gladly go to meet CRASHAW. 16 Grace and peace, to meet new lays Tun'd to my great Shepherd's praise. Come now, all ye terrors, rally Muster forth into the valley, Where triumphant darkness hovers With a sable wing, that covers Brooding horror. Come, thou death, Let the damps of thy dull breath Overshadow even the shade And make darkness' self afraid ; There my feet, even there, shall find Way for a resolved mind. Still, my Shepherd — still, my God, Thou art with me ; still thy rod And thy staff, whose influence Gives direction, gives defence. At the whisper of thy word Crown'd abundance spreads my board : While I feast, my foes do feed Their rank malice, not their need ; So that with the selfsame bread They are starved and I am fed. How my head in ointment swims ! How my cup o'erlooks her brims ! So even so, still may I move By the line of thy dear love : Still may thy sweet mercy spread A shady arm above my head. About my paths ; so shall I find The fair centre of my mind, Thy temple,and those lovely walls Bright ever with a beam that falls Fresh from the pure glance of thine eye, Lightning to eternity. There I'll dwell for ever ; there Will I find a purer air To feed my life with ; there I'll sup Balm and nectar in my cup ; And thence my ripe soul will I breathe Warm into the arms of Death. 1(5 FLETCHER. PHINEAS FLETCHER. Fletcher was a genuine Poet — somewhat less fervid tlian Crashaw, and at the same time less hyperbolical in the phraseology of his lyric compo- sitions : but always full, rich, and mellow in style — tlie gorgeous sunset of tlie Elizabethan era of genius, seeming, as it were, to linger in its faint parting streaks upon the '"' Purple Island" of our Autlior. This last named Work, a poem in twelve cantos, consists of an allegorical description of the body and soul of man — " a subject wliich," it has justly been observed, " no degi-ee of skill could render agreeable, as a whole to modern readers. It abounds, howerer, witli passages of powerful description and great beauty both of thouglit and style."* Fletclier, who was the son, the brother, and the cousin of Poets, was bom in 1584, and died in 1650. Tlie following " Metaphrase," as he calls it, of the forty-second Psalm, justly entitles him to a place in these pages : — PSALM XLII. Like as an hart with sweat and blood cmbued, Chas'd, and embossed, thirsts in the soil to be : So my poor soul, with eager foes pursued. Looks, longs, O Lord I — pines, pants, and faints for Thee: When, O my God ! when shall I come in place To see thy light, and view thy glorious face ? • Cattermole's Sacred Poetry of the 17th Century. FLETCHER. 17 I dine and sup with sighs, with groans and tears, While all my foes mine ears with taunting load — " Who now thy cries, who now thy prayer hears ? Where is (say they) where is thy boasted God ? " My molten heart, deep pluug'd in sad despairs, Runs forth to thee in streams of tears and prayers. With grief I think on those sweet now-past days. When to thy house my troops with joy I led : We sang, we danced, we chanted sacred lays — No men so haste to wine, no bride to bed. Why droop'st, my soul ? why faint'st thou in my breast ? Wait still with praise : his presence is thy rest. My famish'd soul, driven from thy sweetest word, (From Hermon hill, and Jordan's swelling brook,) To thee laments, sighs deep to thee, O Lord ! To thee sends back her hungry, longing look : Floods of thy wrath breed floods of grief and fears, And floods of grief breed floods of plaints and tears. His early light with morn these clouds shall clear, These dreary clouds, and storms of sad despair. Sure am I in the night his songs to hear. Sweet songs of joy, as well as he my prayer : I'll say " My God, why slight'st thou my distress, While all my foes my weary soul oppress ? " My cruel foes both thee and me upbraid ; They cut my heart, they vaunt that bitter word — * Where is thy trust ? Where is thy hope ? they said ; ' Where is thy God ? Where is thy boasted Lord ?' " Wliy droop'st my soul ? Why faint'st thou in my breast ? Wait still with praise : bis presence is thy rest. VOL. II. 18 BARTON. AVILLIAM BARTON, M.A. There wei-e three or four ver.sions of tlie whole Book of Psalms in verse, published during the interregnum* in England : one of these was by the individual named at the head of this notice, who, having been brought up at Cambridge, and standing high with the ruling powers, enjoyed for a time considerable reputation, not only as having super- seded, in Psalmody, the " obsoletely contemptuous" labours of ►Sternhold and Hopkins, but as the successful competitor of the Calvinistic Rouse, afterwards mentioned. Barton, who had taken his degree of INIaster of Arts at Cambridge, was " Minister of St. Martin's, Leicester." According to the testimony of his son, prefixed to the volumi- nous posthumous collection of his Hymns printed in 1088, he had " a natural propensity to Divine • Tlie celebrated Parliamentary General, Thomas Loul Fairfax, not only versified the Psalms, but otlier parts of Scripture: " but it is probable," says Granger, they were never tliou};ht worth publi'liinj;." The MS. of Fairfax's version of the Psalms was formerly in the Museum of the escellent Ralph Thore.-by, at Leeds, as he tells us in his " Ducatus Leodiensis," (p. 510.) How il KOt into his possession, or what became of it after his death, I have not been able to learn, tliou^:)) on the latter point I have made some en(|uiries. My kind fiiend, Mr. Hunter, who published the curious Diary of Tliorcsby, and to whom Yorkshire Toi'.oyraphy is under such special oblicalion, intimated to me that as many of the MSS. of the anti<|uary of Leeds passed into the hands of the lulo Mr. Wilson, Recorder ot that town, the Vcrfion of Fairfax mi>;bt have been among them, and by this means have come into the possessfon of Fountayno M'ilson, F<()., of Mellon, near Cot)i>brout;h. Two communications, with which 1 have been favoured by this (gentleman, assure me that the work is not in his lilirary. Il was most ))robably sold by auction with other of 'I'horesliy's books and papers, after the death of his son, who was a Clergyman at some village near London, and died about 17U3. I am not aware that any catalogue of the MSS. was printed : Mr. Hunter tells mo ho never could meet with ono. .-. »^.^^ ^;»,-^ ""y^^ BARTON. 19 Poesie, and being conversant in the Hebrew Tongue, took great delight in the study and frequent medi- tation of David's Psahns, which at last did incline him to set upon a new Translation thereof into English metre, which pious and laborious under- taking, he having happily effected, caused it to be published in the year of our Lord, 1644, which impression selling off quickly, he set forth a second edition in the year 1645, and it was again reprinted an. 1654, besides the piracies which were committed upon him." The Work upon which the high but fugitive claims of Barton were founded, first made its appearance under the title of " The Book of Psalms, in Metre, close and proper to the Hebrew, Smooth and Pleasant for the Metre, Plain and Easy to the tunes, by W. B." This edition was printed by order of Cromwell's Parliament : it took Avith the Puritans ; and in the following year, a new edition was published under the express license of the Protector. Although the version of Barton is, for the most part, beloAV mediocrity, on the score of poetical merit, it has some claims to be considered as tolerably faithful to the original, and was so highly thought of by those of the same party with the Author, that " forty of the eminentest scholars and preachers in the land gave its Author their attest and approbation, and after them full forty more, among whom were the worthy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, the learned Prolocutor of the Assembly, and divers eminent in law and Physic." With reference to the " piracies" above alluded to. Barton in the edition of his Psalm Book, pub- lished in 1682, says, " I have (in this my last VOL. II. c 2 20 BARTON. translation) corrected all the harsh passages, and added a gi'eat number of second metres. The Scots of late have put forth a Psalm Book, most-what composed out of mine and Mr. Rouse's ; hut it did not »rcally admired, ami (fenerally used the work himiiuU ; but ho spociully bi'(|ueatlu-(l hy will to each of his (our daughters a copy of " Mr. Har(un'!< lust and best translation of the Singing Psalms, rc<|uirin(( and re(|ue8tinK (hum to make daily use of the same for the instruction, edification, and comlorl of themselves, and of their families." BARTON. 21 distinct parts, wliicli together with the Prefatory Hymns, amount to the number of 778 Hymns, besides the Catechism, the Book of Canticles, and a catalogue of Virtuous Women enlarged, all in metre." This collection was printed under the superintendence of the Author's son, Edward Barton, " Minister of Welford, in Northampton- shire." It is a circumstance indicative of the little estimation in which this collection has been held, that of between seven and eight hundred " Hymns," the compositions of a man of some note in his day, hardly one of them has found its way into modern collections of sacred verse, either for the choir or the closet. Rouse and Barton appear to have been the Sternhold and Hopkins of the Commonwealth, so far at least as their connexion with tlie authorised Psalmody was concerned ; but how widely different the ultimate popularity of the Versions ! The Tudor Poets are not only still had in reverence, but their compositions are in many places sung to this day — the Crom- wellian Poetasters are generally neglected or forgotten. PSALM LVI. 1. Have mercy, Lord, on me. Whom man would make a prey ; Behold how he oppresseth me. Contending every day. 2. They that mine enemies be, Would dail}' me devour ; For multitudes against me fight, thou of highest power. 3. What time soever, Lord, 1 am of such afraid, Even then will I trust faithfully On thy assured aid. '■^2 BARTON. 4. In God I'll praise his word, In God my trust shall be ; And secure there, I will not fear What tlesh can do to me. 5. My words they utter wrong, And wrest them every day ; Their thoughts are still to Mork me ill. In whatsoe'er they say. 6. They altogether throng, They hide themselves likewise, They lie at catch, my steps they watch, My life for to surprise. 7. Shall they escape so well, In this tlieir wicked path ? Upon them frown, and, Lord, cast down, This people in thy wrath. 8. Thou dost my wanderings tell. Let down thy bottle. Lord, And put in there, each briny tear, Are they not on record ? 9- When I shall cry to thee, It puts to sudden flight My daunted foe ; and this I know, For God defends my right. 10. In God, enabling me, I will his word proclaim ; Yea, in the Lord, will I record His word's due praise and fame. 11. In God alone have I Reposed my trust for aid ; Let mortal man do wliat he can, I will not be afraid. 12. Thy vows upon me lie; Lord, I must pay the same : ^ And I always, Mill render praise To thy most holy name. 13._For thou my soul hast freed, I'rom death so near at hand, And wilt not thou uphold me now. And make my feet to stand ? BOYD. 23 That I may still proceed To walk as in thy sight And spend my days unto thy praise, Witli them that live in light. ZACHARY BOYD. Outside, and near the bottom of the square tower, as seen from the area of the second quadrangle of the University of Glasgow, there is a rude repre- sentation of a human face in stone. " It is," says Dibdin,* " That of the once celebrated Zachary Boyd — one of the greatest benefactors to the Col- lege : a compound of fanaticism and kind feeling : now a Poet, and now a Writer of mystical prose ; of a proud bearing to-day, and in humble penitence to-morrow : this month of sad and melancholy tem- perament ; the next agile in foot, and gay in de- meanour." The foregoing brief sketch of one of the most extraordinary of the old Scotch Ministers, is, on the whole, characteristic enough, except that it includes no allusion to the learning, whicli, however inferior to that of his cousin, f was undoubtedly an important element in the mind of this singular man. The exact period of Boyd's birth is not known : but in 1623, he was ordained Minister of the Churcli of the Barony Parish of Glasgow, in which situation he continued, amidst all the vicissitudes of the times, * NoRTHEaN TouB, vol. ii. p. 703. f Rev. Robt. Boyd, Minister of Trochrigg, one of tlie most learned Scotchmen of his time . he is said not only to have written, but to have spoken Greeit with fluency. 24 BOYD. till his death. He was likewise Lord Rector of the University of Glasgow, iu the years 1634, 35, and 45. Tlie energy and activity of his mind might almost appear incredible, if the fact of his having found time to wiite so much, engaged as he was in the stilling events of the times, did not rest on the evidence of his raanuscnpts still in existence. Living as he did amidst the most signal revolutions in Church and State, and filling a situation too influential not to compromise his position with both parties in tlie awful strife, his character has generally been drawn in conformity with the prevailing prejudice of the biographer. He was of a daring, independent, truth-loving spirit ; and seems to liave had as little respect for the republican authority of the " Lord Protector," as his predecessor Knox had for the womanly feelings of his royal mistress : the latter openly rebuked the trembling but powerless Mary Queen of Scots — the former, so boldly inveighed against Cromwell to his face, in the Cathedral of Glasgow, that Thurloe, the Secretary, proposed to "pistol the Preacher" there and then! In 1630, Boyd gave 500 marks toward the University Library, adding, not only the foundation of a bursary, but a large collection of books, and sums of money, at difl'erent times, amounting to £20,000 Scots. Among the books are the donor's own works, mostly theological, and consisting of seventeen quarto manuscript volumes,* several of these are • A very curious and complete analysis of those manuscripts, together with a list of Boyd'g printed works, aro prefixed to his " Last Hatlle of the Soul in Death,'' which was reprinted in Glasj{owin lf.')l, under the editorship o( Gabriel Neil. In addition to an cnijravinj^ ef the lino manly likeness of the author, from theorivcinal picture in the University of Glasgow, and a highly interesting hioKraphical sketch, the volume alluded to contains ample excerpts from the ♦' Flowers of Zlon," and other poetical pieces. BOYD. 25 ill rhyme, and have been said to comprise a Metrical Version of the wliole Bible : this latter statement, however, is not strictly accurate ; for although the entire narrative of the " Four Evangels" is rendered in verse, somewhat in the style of the Acts of the Apostles, by Dr. Tye, in Edward the Sixth's time ; the other work, entitled " Zion's Flowers," does not contain, by any means, the entire of the Old Testa- ment, but rather, as Dr. Fleming, who has published specimens, says, " several of the most striking inci- dents of Holy Writ, cast into the Dramatic form." The metre, which is, for the most part, so far doggrel, that a design to ridicule the Bible has been most unjustly imputed to the Author, not unfrequently exhibits a striking degree of ease and mellifluence ; but on the whole, it resembles a good deal the poetry of old Joshua Sylvester, in his translation of Du Bartas. Boyd died in 1654, aged about Q6. In his lifetime appeared three editions of " The Psalmes of David, in Meeter," by his hand. The first and second editions I have not met with ; the tliird, from which the specimen below was extracted, is a very small book, " Printed at Glasgow, by George Ander- son, anno. 1646." It is said in the title to be "By Mr. Zachary Boyd, Preacher of God's Word," with verse 54 of Psaim 119 in English, and verse 2 of Psalm 34, in Hebrew, as mottoes. In his address <' To the Reader," the Author states, that besides a strict collation with tlie Hebrew, " this edition hath been made shorter than the former [by] the number of eleven hundred lines and more." He afterwards adds — " To the end that the judgment of my brethren may be known, I shall send copies to the most part of the presbyteries of the kingdom, wlioin 26 BOYD. I humbly intreat to let me know their miiide at the uext General Assembly by their Commissioners. It is incumbent to you, who are of the tribe of Levi, to meddle with such a work, that concerns the public worship of God in his sanctuary." When the General Assembly, in 1 64 7, appointed a Committee to prepare that Version of the Psalms which is still in use in the Church of Scotland, they recommended that the labours of Boyd should be taken advantage of : it will be inferred, however, from the specimen annexed, tliat there could be little to tempt selection in such hobbling metre and inverted plnaseology, as the following — though neither the best nor the worst which might have been adduced. It may be mentioned, that the book contains, besides the Psalms, fourteen paraphrases of " The Songs of the Old and New Testament." PSALM CXXXVIII. 1. Thou chearfully with my whole heart Shalt praised be by me, Yea ev'n before the gods I wil Sing praises unto thee. 2. Thy lioly Temple towards I With reverence worship wil : And by me thy most' glorious Name Shall hence be praised stil : For thy kindnesse that loving is, And for thy truth O Lord : For Thou high above all thy Name hast magnihd thy word. 3. When in the day of troubles I did cry, thou answoredst mo And also with strength in my soul, thou diddest strengthen me. 4. All kings of th' earth sliall praise the LdiiD when thy mouth's words thoy hoar: HALL. 27 5. Yea in the Lords ways they shall sing for greats his glory heer. 6. Though that the Lord be high, yet he to them that lowly are Hath a respect, but who are proud he knoweth them afar. 7. Though I in midst of trouble walk I from thee life shall have. Gainst my foe's wrath thoult stretch thy hand, thy right hand shall me save. 8. God will perfite what me concerns for ay thy mercy stands, O Loud ; do thou not now forsake the works of thine own hands. BISHOP HALL. Joseph Hall, D.D., the eminent and learned Bishop of Norwich, died in 1656. His genius was not less prolific than vigorous and acute, his pub- lished Works forming five folio volumes ; from his masculine cast of thought, and sententious style, the author has been called the " English Seneca." Among his Prose Works, his " Meditations" are best known ; while in rhyme, his Six Books of " Satires" shew him to have been no mean proficient in a walk of composition where we never look for any particular amenity, and of which the age when he lived especially, excused coarseness of language. Yet is Bishop Hall universally allowed to have been " a man of great wit and learning, and of as great meekness, modesty, and piety." His Psalms, ten in number, were versified and published as a sample 28 HALL. and earnest of wliat he was willing to have done further in that Work, had he been sufficiently encouraged by authority. There is a rough vigour in his verse, and an occasional use of harsh or out- of-the-way terms, which would not be much likely to recommend his strains to fastidious ears. " In- deed," says he, in the dedication of " Some few of David's Psalms, Metaphrased, for a Taste of the Rest," to his cousin. Archdeacon Barton — " Indeed, my Poetry was long since out of date, and yielded her place to graver studies : but whose vein would not revive, to look into those heavenly songs ? I were not worthy to be a Divine, if it should repent me to be a Poet with David, after I shall have aged in the pulpit. This Work is holy and strict, and abides not any youthful or heathenish liberty : but requires hands free from profaneness, looseness, and affection. It is a service to God and the Church, by so much more carefully to be regarded, as it is more common. For who is there, that Avill not challenge a part in this labour ? And that shall not find himself much more affected with holy measure rightly composed ? Wherefore, I have oft w^ondered, how it could be offensive to our adversaries, that these Divine ditties, which the Spirit of God wrote in verse, should be sung in verse ; and that a Hebrew Poem should be made English. For if this kind of composition had been unfit, God would never have made choice of numbers, wherein to express himself. Neither do I see how it can be offensive to our friends, that we should desire our English Metaphrase bettered. — I have been solicited by some reverend friejids k) undertake this task ; as that, which seemed well to accord with the former exercises of my HALL. 20 youth, and my present profession. The difficulties I found many ; the Work, long and great : yet not more painful than beneficial to God's Church : whereto as I dare not profess any sufficiency ; so I will not deny my readiness and utmost endeavour, if I shall be employed by authority." The worthy and learned Prelate, however, was not so employed : nor will many persons, it is probable, much regret at the present time, tliat, instead of a few nervous specimens, we have not an entire version from his hand. Hall appears, indeed, to have had some misgiving as to the want of smoothness in his metres ; for in a letter, accompanying the presentation of his performance to Hugh Cholmondely, he says, " There is none of all my labours so open to all censures ; none, whereof I would so willingly hear the verdict of the wise and the judicious. Perhaps some may think the verse harsh ; whose nice ear regards roundness, more than sense. I embrace sweetness, but affect it not. Others may blame tlie difficulty of the tunes, whose humour cannot be pleased, without a greater offence : for to say truth, I could never see good verse written in the wonted measures — I ever thought them most easy and least poetical."* PSALM VIL 1. On thee, O Lord my God, relies My onely trust : from bloudy spight Of all my raging enemies Oh ! let thy mercy me acquite. 2. Lest they, like greedy lyons, rend My soule, while none shall it defend. 3. O Lord, if I this thing have wrought, If in my hands be found such ill ; * Bishop Hall's Works, vol. vii. p. 158. 8vo. edition. 30 HALL. 4. If I with mischief ever sought To pay good turnes, or did not still Doe good unto my causeless foe, That thirsted for my overthrow; 5. Then, let my foe in eager chase, O'ertake my soule, and proudly tread My life below, and with disgrace In dust laye downe mine honour dead, 6. Rise up in rage, O Lord, eft soone Advance thine arme against my fo'ne. And Make for me, till thou fulfill 7. My promis'd right : so shall glad throngs Of people flock unto thy hill. For their sakes then revenge my wrongs, 8. And rouse thyself. Thy judgments be O'er all the world : Lord, judge thou me. As truth and honest innocence Thou find'st in me, Lord, judge thpu me : 9. Settle the just with sure defence : Let me the wicked's malice see 10. Brought to an end. For thy just eye Doth heart and inward reines descry. 11. My safety stands in God, who shields The sound in heart : whose doome, each day, 12. To just men and contemners yeelds 13. Their due. Except he change his way, His sword is whet, to blood intended ; His murdering bow is ready bended. 14. Weapons of death he hath addrest And arrowes keene to pierce my foe, 15. Who late bred mischiefe in his breast; But, when he doth on travell goo, IG. Brings forth a lye; deep pits doth delve, And fall into his pits himselve. 17. Back to his own head shall rebound His plotted mischiefe : and his wrongs 18. His crowne shall craze: But I shall sound Jehovah's praise with thankful songs, And with his glorious name expresse, And tell of all his righteousnesse. ROUSE. 31 FRANCIS ROUSE. Francis Rouse was born at Halton, in Cornwall, in 1579, and studied at Oxford. He was elected M.P. for Truro, shewed himself an active man for the Commonwealth, and became a Member of Cromwell's Council. He wrote a number of works of a political and theological character; and being highly Calvinistic in doctrine, and Presbyterian in his views of Church Government, he was held in considerable estimation by the then ruling powers.* Parliament being desirous of superseding the Psalms of Sternhold and Hopkins, then used and popular in the Church, either employed Rouse, or he set himself to make a new Version more conformable to the Calvinistic worship ; it is generally believed that this was published in 1641. In 1643, the Assembly of Divines then sitting at Westminsterf were desired to consider the subject of Psalmody : they accord- • The Rev. John Ward, of Stratford-on-Avon, who died about 1680, records in one of his Common Place Books, lately published, the following anecdote of Rouse : — " Mr. Dod told mee this storie: the business of tithes in the Protec- tor's time, being once hotly agitated in the Council, Mr. Rouse stood upp, and bespake them thus: 'Gentlemen,' says bee, 'I'll tell you a storie; being travelling in Germany, my boot in a place being torne, I staid to have it mended, and then came to me a very ingenious man and mended itt ; I staying the Lord's day in that place, saw one who came upp to preach who was very like the man that mended my boot ; 1 enquired and found it was hee. Itt grievd mee much. They told me they had tithes formerly ; but now being taken away, the minister was fain to take any employment on him to get a living.' 1 heard the storie turned the Protector, and he presently cried out, ' well, they shall never mend shoes while I live.' " f The following passage relative to the proceedings of the Assembly in the matter of Psalmody, occurs in that curious old work, Baillie's Letters and Journals, p. 120: — "One of the Committee matters is the Psalter. Ane old most honest member of the House of Commons, Mr. Rous, hes helped the Old 32 ROUSE. iiigly read over Mr. Rouse's Version, and after several amendments, sent it up to the House of Commons, Nov. 14, 1645, with tlie following recom- mendation : " Whereas the Honourable House of Commons, by an order bearing date Nov. 20, 1043, have recommended the Psalms published by Mr. Rouse to the consideration of the Assembly of Divines, the Assembly has caused them to be care- fully perused, and as they are now altered and amended do approve them, and humbly conceive they may be useful and profitable to the Church, if they be permitted to be publicly sung." The revised Version was accordingly reprinted in 1645, by authority of both Houses of Parliament, and recommended to general acceptance : it was, however, only very par- tially adopted in England, though its success in Scotland was, as might be expected, far different. In a pamphlet lately published advocating an im- provement of our National Psalmody, the Northern Version is thus noticed : " The Version now in use by the Kirk of Scotland undoubtedly comes nearer than any other to the original. The rendering is somewhat rough and uncouth in certain passages ; but as a whole it is most magnificent.* The General Psalter, in the most places faultie. His friends are very pressing In the Assera- blie that his book may be examined, and helped tiy the Author in what places it shall be found meet, and then be commended to the Parliament, that they tnay injoin the public use of it. One of their considerations is, the great private advantage which would by this book come to their friend: but manie do oppose the motion ; the most because the work is not so well done as they think it mif,'ht. Mr. Nye did speak much a}j;ainst a tie to anie Psaltpr, and something against the singing of paraphrases, as of preaching of homilies. We vnderhand will mightilie oppose it ; for the Psalter is a great part of our uniformitie, which we cannot let pass till our Church be well advysed with it. I wish I had Rowallen's Psalter here ; for I like it much better than anie yet I have seen." • The origin of this opinion will be found in the life of Dr. Johnson, where Boswellsays: — " After looking at various Metrical Versions of the Psalms, I am well satisfied that the Version used in Scotland is, upon the whole, the best ; and that it is in vain to think of having a belter. It has in general a simplicity and unction of sacred poesy j and in many parts its transfusion is admirable." ROUSE. 33 Assembly for some years annually appointed a Com- mittee to revise it, but their labours never came to any tiling : and we believe it was on the suggestion of Sir Walter Scott that no further attempt was made to alter it.* He considered it with all its acknow- ledged (occasional) harshness, so beautiful, that any alterations must eventually prove only so many blemishes ; and most undoubtedly Sir Walter Scott was right. Now though we speak thus highly of the Scotch Psalms, we freely admit that they are not suited for general use in England ; but this much we must add, that whoever may attempt a new rendering of the Songs of David into metre, or an adaptation of existing ones to the pressing necessities of the Church, ought to be fully imbued with the spirit of that prince of versions ^ This is, indeed, high praise, and not perhaps wholly un- merited ; but surely less capable of being defended in its widest meaning, than the sentence of Dr. Drake, a judge possessing much taste undoubtedly, who speaks of the performance of Rouse, the parent of " that prince of versions," as " so thoroughly wretched in its execution, that nothing short of the most compulsory measures could have brought it into use." Such indeed appears to have been the opinion even of those of his contemporaries who were unbiassed by Presbyterian preferences. Butler even places him below the poorest Poet of the Old Version : for he tells that " when Rouse stood forth upon his trial, Robin Wisdom was found the better Poet." The writer of an article in Frazer's 3Iaga- * The common Scotch Version, like that of Sternhold and Hopkins, now in use, ajjpcars to have been altered at different times without authority. Barton, as we have seen, alludes to it in the Preface to his Edition of " the Psalms in metro," I6S2. VOL. IT. D 34 ROUSE. cine, (May, 1839,) contends lliat the Kirk Psalm Book ought to be the basis of an Englisli one. *' It is," says he, called the Scotch Version ; but the fact is that it was executed by Francis Rouse, a person of notoriety in the days of Oliver Cromwell, and if we mistake not, a Member of the Long Parliament. It ought to be the basis of a national English Version. The suggestion of Sir Walter Scott, we may remark, however, ought not to be scrupulously adhered to in the Kirk. There are portions of the Scottish Version intolerable, which the merest tyro might infinitely polish." It is somewhat remarkable that although every one who has given any account of our Metrical Psalmody, mentions Rouse and his Version, not one of them speaks as having ever seen a copy, or states where one is to be found. And still more curious is it that Rouse's book has hitherto been so far from ever beinsf identified with its real author, that it is always either spoken of as anonymous,* or is attributed to the Printer. f The following is its title : — " The Psalms of David in English Meeter. (Psal. 47. v. 7. Words in Hebrew.) Sin(/ ye Praises with Under- * Cotton's List of Versions, &c., where there is a specimen, as of an unknown author. f Taltersall, who, speaking of the printer as a Poet, says his attempt is " very praiseworthy, but altofjether unlit for the intended purpose. Hut though he was unsuccessful in respect to his performance, I cannot help uniting most cordially with him in the dc»out prayer wherewith he concludes his Preface, — 'that the (>lory of God, by the more improved, chearful, and spiritual singing of Psalms, together with the edification of the sinyer, may be advanced, and likewise that those Psalms, which in this place of warfare and iiilgrimago-Jiave in them some mixture of complaints and tears, may, to him that spiritually useth them, bo forerunners of those heavenly songs and h.dlelujahs which shall be sung in that concert above, by the choir of Angels and glorified Saints, where sorrow and mourning shall cease, and where songs shall have nothing in them but matter of joy to him v-ho sings them, and of glory, honour, and praise to him to whom they are sung ; where by continual returns joy shall arise from praise, and praise from joy, to all eternily." ROUSE. 35 standing. London, printed by Miles Fleslier, for the Company of Stationers, 1646." Although I am not aware of the existence of any copy with the name of Rouse in the title page, a comparison of these Psalms with the received Scottish Version — altered as tlie latter have been, is sufficient to establish the identity of the original. But through the kindness of Mr. D. Laing, of the Signet Library, Edinburgh, I am enabled to inform 4he reader, that in the valuable collection just named, there is a cojDy of the work with the following Imprimatur facing the title : — " Die Veneris 4. Novemb. 1645. It is this " day ordered by the Commons assembled in Par- " liament. That this Book of Psalms set forth by " Mr. Rous, and perused by the Assembly of " Divines, be forthwith printed : And that it be " referred to Mr. Rous to take care for the printing " thereof: and that none do presume to print it, but " such as shall be authorised by him. H. Elsinge — " Cler. Pari. Dom. Com" Each Psalm is accom- panied with the Prose Version of King James, printed in the margin. PSALM XCIX. 1. Jehovah he doth reign as King, then let the people quake ; He sits between the Cherubims, let the earth therefore shake. 2. The Lord's in Sion great and high above all people is ; 3. Let them thy great and dreadful Name extol, for holy 'tis. 4. The King's strength also Judgment loves thou settest equity ; For judgment thou didst execute in Jacob righteously. VOL. IT. D 2 36 ROUSE. 5. The Lord our God exalt on liy, and reverently do ye Before his footstool worship him, the holy one is he. G. Moses and Aaron with his Priests, samuel with thcni that call Upon his Name ; these call'd on God, and he them answer'd all. 7. Within the pillar of the cloud he unto them did speak ; The testimonies they, and law he gave them, did not break. 8. Thou answerdst them, O Lord our God, thou wast their pardoning God ; Yet their inventions thou didst scourge, with a revenging rod. 9. Exalt the Lord our God, and at the holy hill of his, Him worship ye because the Lord our God most holy is. Rouse obtained the important situation of Provost of Eton College, his portrait being still preserved in the ]\Iaster's Lodge. He was by one of his con- temporaries styled tlie " old illiterate Jew of Eton ;" why he was called a Jew does not appear : as for his learning, it may have been inferior to that of the " ever memorable" Hales, who was expelled from his fellowship of Eton for not swearing to the Engagement in 1649, but lie certainly could not with propriety be said to be illiterate : old he might be, for his life was prolonged till 1058. He Avas buried in Eton College Clmrch : " Mr. Oxenden," says Wood, '" preaching liis " funeral sermon." The same authority adds : — " Soon after Avere hanged up oa er his grave a standard, pennon, ike, and other ensigns relating to Barons, coutainin"^ the arms of the several matches ROUSE. 37 of his family. All which continuing there till 1661, were then pulled down with scorn by the loyal Provost and fellows, and thrown aside as tokens and badges of baseness and rebellion. Those of his party did declare openly to the world that he * needed no monument besides his own printed Works and the memorials of his last will, to convey his name to posterity. And that the other Works of his life were Works of Charity, wherein he was most exemplary, as the poor in many parts would, after the loss of him, tell you.' "* The leading circumstances connected with the formation of the present authorised Scottish Ver- sion on the basis of the paraphrase of Rouse, have been mentioned in the Introduction, as well as the reluctance of the Kirk to yield to innova- tion in the matter of its Metrical Psalmody. When about 1779 the question of a new Metrical Version of the Psalms was talked about in Scotland, some letters on the subject passed between Sir W. Forbes and Dr. Beattie, the latter having composed two specimens in illustration, it would seem, of a vene- rable truism — for surely such must be the opinion, that, " if two Versions be in all other only equal, that which has the fewest words would be thought the better."f Tlie specimens do not exist to enable us to judge of their merit. In 1773, a New Version was offered by the Rev. James Maxwell, who, strangely enough, in such a Work has quashed the bearing of every phrase having reference to instrumental music ! But even this singular expedient seems not to have influenced the * Athenae, Oxon. t Forbes's Life of Beattie, ii. 33, Quarto Ed. 38 ROUSE. Kirk.* Tn 1811, again in 1814, and lastly, in 1820, attempts were made, not to supersede the Old Version, but to introduce, under the designation of " Additional Psalmody," metrical paraphrases of several of the Psalms, executed in a style conform- able to the taste and skill of the age. Several eminent Poets were asked to contribute ; some of them did so, and their Versions, along with those of persons more immediately concerned, were printed by order of the General Assembly, and sent to the different Presbyteries for their inspection. By the kindness of the Rev. Dr. Alexander Brunton, of Edinburgh, who took an active part in this business, I have before me, a copy of the proposed " Additional Psalmody ;" it comprises Versions of upwards of thirty Psalms, or portions of Psalms, besides a number of Hymns, or other Scriptures : several of the former, possess considerable merit as poetical compositions, and I was anxious to identify them with the names of their Authors respectively, but Dr. Brunton assures me tliat he does not know them. I suspect, however, he could have furnished me with the name of the versifier of at least one of the speci- mens, which I should have been gratified to have recorded in that connection, in these pages. The whole project slumbers at present, as it has done for nearly twenty years. • It should be mentioned, tliat however the old reformers of tlie Scottish Church miglit ahominate the organ " that auld kist fu o' whistles," and other instruments of music in their |)laces of worship, they paia ureal attention to singing. John Knox's Book of Psalms, called the " common tunes," is still extant, and is used in the Churches. It consists uf four parts ; a treble, tenor, counter-alt, and bass. The harmony of these tunes is allowed to be learned and full, and proves them to be the Work of very able masters in counterpoint. MILTON. 39 JOHN MILTON. Few persons of taste, it may be presumed, could read " Paradise Lost," or any other of the original poems of its immortal author for tlie first time, and then be told that there existed Versions of a score Psalms by the same hand, without having their expectations very greatly raised as to the merit of the latter — nor, on the other hand, would they, it is probable, on a perusal of these translations, fail to be impressed with their immense inferiority to almost every other production bearing the name of Milton. But although so decidedly inferior, in almost every respect to those works which have placed their author at the head of English Poets of the highest order of genius, and while also they are far from being com- parable with achievements in the same line, by men otherwise boasting no very elevated rank in our " British choir," the Versions of Milton have been somewhat unduly disparaged by their being compared with the leading productions of the same mind, rather than with those of other versifiers of the Psalms. But whatever may be the merit or the demerit of the compositions in question, the assertion that they afford an illustration of the measure of success to be looked for in others, is singularly gratuitous; and yet something very like this is ventured in Mason's "Essays on English Church Music," the Author of which was not only himselt an elegant Poet, but an improver of Psalms from the 40 MILTON. Old Version. His words are : — " A literal Version of the Psalms may boldly be asserted to be imprac- ticable ; for, if it were not, a Poet so great as Milton would not, even in his earliest youth, have proved himself so very little of a formidable rival, as he has done, to Thomas Sternhold." Milton not only lived in an age when Metrical Psalmody was much cultivated, but he was brought under its immediate influence, and evidently loved " the pealing organ," and "the full-voiced quire;" his father was skilled in music, having, it is said, composed some of the tunes in Ravenscroft's Psalms. Be this as it may, the earliest known efforts of the muse of " Paradise Lost," are Versions of two Psalms, the 114th and 136th, "done by the Author at fifteen years old," both of which contain, if not indications of the future Poet, at least no traces of juvenile imperfection.* In 1648, the year in which Charles I. was beheaded, Milton, then 40 years of age, resumed the experi- ment wliich had amused his boyhood ; the result is extant, under the title of " Nine of the Psalms done into metre, wherein, all but what is in a different character, are the very words of the text, translated from the original." These Psalms are the 80th to * Passages in " Paradise Lost" have been pointed out, as indicating that the author was familiar with Sylvester's translation of Du Bartas : and many lines of the 114th Psalm, Milton's first avowed poetical attempt, as well as the 13Gth, have been adducei! to shew that the writer, while yet a boy, must have been well ac(iuainled with the once popular work above named, even it did not suggest the style of versification which he adopted in his juvenile rhymes. In addition to the passages that have been selected by Dunster, as containing |)L'culiar epithets common to the venerable translator of Du Dartas, and the author of " Paradise Lost," a colour of probability has been given to the hypotliesis aliove mentioned, I y the fact that the first edition of the English Version of the " Divine Weeks" was printed by " Humfrey Lowno-, dwelling on Rrcad street-hill," at the very time when Milton was actually living with his father in IJread-street ; and it is not improbable that a love of books would make him a visitor at the shop of his neighbour, the printer, who appears also to have been a man of poetical taste. Dunster i Considerutiuns on Milton's Early Heading, IbOO. MILTON. 41 the 88tli, both inclusive ; and from the compara- tively small number of words in italic^, as indicative of poetical expletives, they prove how very near — how all but literal, even an English Metrical Version of the Psalms might have been made by Milton — how much nearer to perfection, the experiment of a " literal" rendering could be carried ; or what would be the value of complete success, were that attain- able, are different questions. In 1653, after he had lost his sight, and when he must have commenced " Paradise Lost," Milton once more returned to the Psalms. Wliether or not he contemplated a Ver- sion of the whole does not appear, though it might be supposed he did, from the fact of his beginning with the first Psalm, and rendering that, and the seven following in succession. So heartily, indeed, does he appear to have addressed himself to this " labour of love," that the eight Psalms are all dated within six days, i. e., between the 8th and the 14th of August. In these translations Milton has dropped the scheme of distinguishing between the original and superadded matter by means of italics : they are, however, for the most part, not only very close Versions, but they contain, as Warton has remarked, "some very poetical expressions." The following will illustrate the peculiarity above referred to, as characterising Milton's earlier Versions : — PSALM LXXXI. 1. To God our strength sing loud and clear, Sing loud to God ou?' Khig ; To Jacob's God, that all may hear. Loud acclamations ring. 2. Prepare a hymn, prepare a song, The timbrel hither bring ; The cheerful psaltery bring along, And harp with pleasant string. 42 MILTON. 3. Blow, as is wont, in the new moon, With trumpets' lofty sound, Tlie appointed time, the clay whereon Our solemn feast comes round. 4. This was a statute given of old For Israel to observe ; A law of Jacob's God, to hold, From ichence they might not swerve. 5. This he a testimony ordained In Joseph, not to change, When as he pass'd through Egypt land ; The tongue I heard was strange. 6. From burden, and from slavish toil, I set his shoulder free : His hands from pots, and miry soil, Deliver'd were by me. 7. When trouble did thee sore assail, On me then didst thou call ; And I to free thee did not fail. And led thee out of thrall. 8. I answer'd thee in thunder deep, With clouds encompass'd round ; I tried thee at the water steep Of ]\Ieriba renown'd. 9. Hear, O my people, hearken well ; I testify to thee, Thou ancient stock o/ Israel, If thou wilt list to me : 10. Throughout the land of thy abode No alien God shall be ; Nor shalt thou to a foreign god In honour bend thy knee. 1 1 . I am the Lord thy God which brought Thee out of Kgypt land ; Ask large enough, and I, besought, Will grant thy full demand. 12. And yet my people would not hear, Nor iiearken to my voice ; And Israel, ichom 1 loved so dear, Misliked me for his choice. 1 .{. Tiien did I leave them to their will, And to their wandering mind ; MURE. 43 Their own conceits they followed still, Tiieir own devices blind. 14. O, that my people would be wise. To serve me all their days ! And O, that Israel would advise To walk my righteous ways ! 15. Then would I soon bring down their foes, That now so proudly rise ; And turn my hand against all those, That are their enemies. IG. Who hate the Lord should then be fain To bow to him and bend ; But they, his people, should remain ; Their time should have no end : 17. And he would feed them from the shock With flour of finest wheat. And satisfy them from the rock With honey for their meat. SIR WILLIAM MURE. Sir William was bom about 1594, at Rowallan, in Ayrshire,* a Scottish County, identified with the nativity of more than one man of genius in modern times — he was the eldest son of tlie family, his father bearing the same bai)tismal name. His mother was the sister of Alexander Montgomerie, the quaint and fanciful Author of the once popular allegorical poem of " The Cherry and the Slae," and other pieces afore noticed. Young Mure paid early court to the Muses, for he wrote a version of the story of Dido * Kilmarnock Journal, Sept. 3, 1840. To an interesting article on Sir W. Mure in this newspaper, and to the obliging personal communications for which I am indebted to its author, Mr. R. Crawford, of Kilmarnock, the reader owes the information contained in the present notice of the fine old Scottish Poet. 44 3IURE. and iEncas before his twentietli year ; aiul some verses by liini in pure English, are dated as early as IGll, when he could only be about seventeen. The earliest published specimen of Sir William's com- position is an address to the King at Hamilton, on his progress through the country in 1G17, which is printed in a collection, entitled "Tlie Muse's Wel- come." Several productions of his youth arc also extant, chiefly on amatory subjects, written in Eng- lish, in the manner of the contemporary Poets of the South, and partaking of their strength of language and delicacy of sentiment. While still young, he seems to have betaken himself, like some of his contemporaries, to more serious subjects for his Muse. In 1628, he translated Boyd of Trochrig's fine latin poem, " Hecatombe Chiistiana," into English Sapphic measure ; and in the subsequent year, published his " True Crucifixe for True Catholiques," with the purpose of exposing the sin and folly of worshipping that great object of Romish idolatry. The greater part of his Avritings, however, are still in manuscript, a circumstance which, from the specimens published, it is impossible not to regret — especially so far as regards a selection of the best parts. When the religious troubles first broke out in Scotland, Sir William, altliougli he had shewn a leaning to royalty, by the publication of complimen- tary odes, attached himself to tlie 2)opular cause, and took the conmiand of a company in the Ayrshire regiment, in the first troops raised against the King. In his poetry, however, he seems chiefly intolerant of priestly domination ; his political principles ap- pearing to be of a safe kind, except, indeed, that he MURE, 45 would intrust to the civil magistrate to have " God's foes degraded — rooted from the laud." In 1643, the Poet was a member of the Parliament or Con- vention, which ratified the Solemn League and Covenant with England; and next year, he marched with the troops, which, in terms of that treaty, were sent to aid the Parliamentary cause. On July 2, 1644, he Avas wounded in the battle of Long Marston Moor, and a month afterwards, he assisted at the storming of Newcastle, where he commanded his regiment, in consequence of his superior officer being disabled. It is not known whether this Avas the Poet's last campaign : nor does any further impor- tant notice of him occur, till 1658, when, as we have seen, the General Assembly instructed the Committee appointed to revise Rouse's Psalms, to avail them- selves of the "travels" of Rowallan. It does not appear that Sir William's Version of the Psalms was ever published ; nor have I been able to ascertain where the MS. is kept : it is probably, however, in the custody of the Marquis of Hastings. About a dozen years ago, there was found in Rowallan Castle, a large chest, filled, apparently, with Sir W. Mure's manuscripts, poems, notes of sermons, &c. So little was the Land Steward, aware of the value of the papers, or so little store did he set by them, that some volumes were carried off: and I believe the Loudon family were not aware of the discovery, nntil they were asked to j^atronize the publication of a volume, containing the genealogy of the progenitors of the Countess, when all further unauthorised in- vestigation was put an end to, by the removal of the chest to Loudon Castle. Of the merit of Sir William Mure's Version of the Psalms, as a whole, we are without the means 46 MURE. of judging : Principal Baillic, has incidenlly men- tioned in his Letters, tliat the Assembly " rather preferred" tlie paraphrase of the Laird of Rowallan to that of Zachray Boyd : but one or two of the sonnets of the former, had I room to give them, would depose more favourably for his genius, than the comparison adverted to. " Sir William, like his tuneful contemporary, Drummond, of Hawthornden, seems to have been early disposed and prepared to enjoy and improve the advantages of the solitude and quiet of a country life ; and few situations could be more adapted to this taste than the deep seclusion of Rowallan Castle on his paternal estate ; a spot, which, from the beauty of its well-wooded dell, and the charming meanderings of the brook Carmel, that ripples past its base, seemed purposely formed to foster and expand the powers of an imagination dedicated by the charmed votary, even in his spring- time of life, to religious musings, and the contempla- tions of a fervent piety. The poetry of Sir William, exhibits, in a strong light, the eifect which the union of the Crowns of England and Scotland by James I. produced upon the literature of the latter country, by holding up to imitation, the effusions of the Poets of the Elizabethan era, and inducing the Scottish Poets to attempt compositions in a pure English style. Sir William's sonnets, while they do not exliibit the touching melancholy, the graceful ten- derness, and the sentimental affection for solitude of those of Drummond of Hawthorndeij, betray an ecpially amiable and affectionate temperament, and a nearly equal delicacy of conception and execution. AVhile it nuist be admitted that they evince, like the compositions of many of the minor Poets of the age, numerous instances of cold and forced conceits, and MURE. 47 the over refineraeiits of the Italian school, they are wholly free from the insipidity, the mean associa- tions, and the coarseness, which betray the low tone of mind characterising the enlightened classes in society at that period."* About fifteen years ago, the Rev. William Muir published " The Historic and Descent of the House of Rowallane," originally compiled by the Poetical Knight, who therein sets down of himself that he " was pious and learned, and had ane excellent vaine of poyesie ; he delyted much in building, and planting, builded the new wark in the north syde of the close, and the battlement of the back wall, and reformed the whole exceedingly." Sir William died in 1657. The noble trees that yet surround Rowallan Castle, as well as the building itself, bear evidence to the correctness of the foregoing testimony, exhibiting indeed proofs of a taste and refinement beyond the spirit of the times, from the well carved crest of arms over the front entrance, to the '• louping-on- stane" at the outer portal. The family of Mure was one of the most ancient in Ayrshire, and through Elizabeth Mure, the first wife of Robert II. had mingled its blood with the royal line. It terminated in the mother of the late Marchioness of Hastings. j- Through the kindness of Mr. Crawford, I was made acquainted with the " Historic" above-mentioned, Avliich not only contains a good deal of information about the Mures and neighbouring families, but • Kilmarnock Journal. t It mif^ht also be imagined that the genius of the family of Mure had sur- vived the last lineal representative, since at the very moment of writing this note, I see announced a volume of Poems by the late Lady Flora Hastings, whose death, subsequent to cruel treatment, by certain parties at Court, produced so general a sensation throughout the country. 48 3IURE. some letters by tlie poetical Sir William, and wliat was still more gratifying — specimens of his Metrical Version of the Psalms. They are thus introduced : " So far as the Editor can learn, Sir William's Version was never printed : the following extracts are taken from his own MS. In a short Preface, he says : — * It is not to be presumed that the Version, in the first draught, attained the intendid perfection. Let tlie reader observe, and comport with this essaye, till ('the Lord furnishing greater measure of light, and better convenience of tyme), they be amendit. July 12, 1639.' " " To all the sinceare seekers of the Lord, and in him speretual furniture, from the rich fountanes of his holy word." " Let not seem strange tliat (here) no studied phrase, Charme thy conceat, and itching eare amaze ; Simplicitie of words, still grave, bold, plaine, Tiie spirit (doubtless) did not chuise in vain. Pure streams from puirest fountanes to present, In david's language david's mind to vent. My purpose is. Though for the task, but able As we a living face see on a Table In charcoales' drauglits ; or, as a body true, The eye takes up, wh-cn but its shade we view, ^et for the chairge (in strength how ere uneaven,) As God hath furnischt, I againe have given ; AVherc, so thou lyft", and pow'r, from him perceave, Both for thy good and mine, my end I have. For if I can, while I with david sing. To david's harp, my hart in consort bring, And profitte thee, so good the glorie gett, To my weak ayme, no end beside is set." The specimens of Mure's Version given by his reverend namesake, are Psalms L'), 23, and 122. Tlic ftrst bears no resemblance to tlie paraphrase in the common Scottish V^ersion ; the second not much MURE. 49 more; but in the other, as given below, tliere are resemblances too striking to satisfy us in referring them to the casual coincidence of expression in two independent versifiers of the same original. PSALM CXXII. I joy'd, wlien to the hous of God Wee'l go, to me they said : Jerusalem, within thy gates Om- feet thy courts shall tread. Thou built art, O Jerusalem, As comlie citties be, Whose pairts corapactlie all contrived, Togither do aggree. Thither the Tribes, Jehovah's Tribes, To prayse his name repair, To Israel's glory they go up, The testimonie there. For thrones for judgment there, the thrones Of David's house are sett ; Pray for her peace : Jerusalem, Much good thy lovers gett. Tranquilite, and welfare have They ; Peace be in thy fort ; Prosperitie thy Palices May fill above report. O peace be on thee, for thy mates And brethren's sake, I'll say ; And for the house of God our Lord, Thy good I'll wish alway. VOL. If. 50 KING. HENRY KING, D.D. Henry King, son of tliat Bishop of London, wliom James I. used to style " the King of Preacliers," was born in 1591. His " Poems, Elegies, Parodoxes, and Sonnets," have secured for him the title of an elegant Poet, a claim that would hardly have been allowed on tlie credit of the Work in connection with which his name appears in these pages. Dr. King, whose attainments as a scholar were uot less conspicuous than his accomplishments as a Poet, was raised to the See of Chicliester, which dignity he held at the time of the death of Charles I. : and he died in 1609. In 1651, the Bishop published " The Psalms of David, from the New Translation of the Bible turned into metre." This was the first edition of the work, and was anonymous — unless the author could be said to have discovered himself in a sort of monogram at the end of the Preface, which appears to be formed of the letters H. K. B.C., the initials of his name and his See : the troubles of the times probably suggesting the suppression of the name at full. Anthony Wood thus records the origin of Dr. King's Version :--" This worthy Bishop being at Divine Service on Sunday in a certain Church, (at Langley, I tliink, in 13ncks,) and hearing there a Psalm sung, whose wretched expression quite marred the penman's matter, and his devotion, he did at liis return home that evening, try whether from the Version of our l^ible, he could KING. 51 not easily and with plainness, suiting the lowest understanding, deliver it from that garb, which indeed made it ridiculous. From one to another he passed on until the whole book was run through : which done, he could not resist the advice and importunity of better judgments than his own to put it to press."* The Bishop in his Preface says, " The general dis- taste taken at some unhandsome expressions in the 01(1 [Version,] which both disfigured the meaning of the Holy Ghost, and reproached our English Tongue, (that did not afford a decent clothing to preserve them from the scorn of those who apprehended any occasion to quarrel with us,) invited me to try whether they might not in the plainest dress of language be freed from those disparagements of the text, which gave offence." Success in hitting upon " the plainest dress of language," is the only merit which can be accorded to this labour of the learned Prelate ; for otherwise accomplished as his original Works shew him to have been, it would not be easy to name a Version of the Psalms, Avhicli presents, on the whole, less to redeem it from the character of baldness and tameness than this of Bishop King's. It is, indeed, remarkable that by no accident, to which restrained poetical effort might be liable, does the prose text, ever catch an embellishment from the style of versification. And this monotony of medi- ocrity is rendered more palpable and wearisome, by something like uniformity of metre ; the whole, with one or two exceptions, being rendered in couplets, either octosyllabic, or eights and sixes as in the subjoined Psalm, which stanza, although arranged by the author in the form of a common quatrain, is * Alhenoe. Oxon. VOL. II. E 2 52 KING. calculated unpleasantly to balk the ear — of a modem reader, at least— iu the expectation of alteniate rhymes : — PSALM XXVI. Judge me, (O God) for in tliy path my foot insisted hath : My trust hath on the Lord relied, tlierefore I shall not slide. Examine nic, (O Lord) and try My reins and heart descry- : Thy mercy still is in my sight, thy truth hath kept me right. I have not with vain persons sat, or those that use deceit : 111 congregations I detest, nor am the sinner's guest. In Innocence, I'le wash my hand, so at Thine Altar stand ; That I may publish in my Song what thanks to thee belong. Lord, devoutly I affbct the house Thou dost elect : 1 love the honour of that place thy presence deigns to grace. Shut not my soul, nor judge my life with men of blood and sti-ife : Whose arm itself in mischief lifts, whose hand is fill'd with gifts. In mine integrity I go, save me, and mercy show : So will I praise Thee, when my feet within thy Temple meet. GOODRIDGE. 53 RICHARD GOODRIDGE. " Very shortly after the publication of Bishop King's Psalms," says Dr. Drake, " Richard Goodridge presented the public with a pai'aphrase of the Avhole Psalter, to which he appended an additional Version of more than a hundred Psalms. Tlicre is occasionally much simplicity and neatness of expression in the efforts of this translator, of which a specimen may be seen in the third Psalm of the selection. It would appear, indeed, that his translation had attained no slight popularity, for a third edition of it passed the press in 1685." Of Goodridge, I know nothing more than that he seems to have had some connection with the musical profession, his Version of the Psalms having been published with original accompaniments for the voice and instrument, which was probably the cause of its multiplied editions. PSALM III. 1. How, O my God, do they encrease, Who seek to rob me of my peace ! 2. They say, my soul's forsook by thee, And that thou hast no help for me. 3. But thou my shield art, thou my praise. Thou my dejected head dost raise ; 4. Wiien troubled, unto thee I cry, Thou hear'st, and help descends from iiigli. 5. In peace I'll lay me down and sleep, And rise : who hurts whom thou dost keep r' G. Tlius guarded, thougli ten thousand were About me set, I would not fear ; 54 LEIGH. 7. Rise, Lord ! and shield me from tiieir power, And break the jaws that would devour. Oh ! bless the people, who alone Canst bless us with salvation. SAMUEL LEIGH. Ill tlie Bodleian and Lanibelli Librarios, there are copies of " Samuclis Pnmilid' : or an Essay towards a Metrical Version of the whole Book of Psahnes. Composed when attended with the disadvantagious circumstances of youtli, and .sickness. By Samuel Leigh. 1 Tim. iv. 12. Let no man despise thy youth. Frueris qu'idem etiani dum cmcndas, etiam dum Componis. Sen. Epis. 4. ad Luc. t,)? rTo}x-^y.yfj.'.rri,r,c hI\^ xFVEiTFfov aXX-. Loudon. Prilltcd by 'I'll. Melbourn for tlie Authour, & are to be sold at tlie Golden Lyon in St. Paul's-Church-yard, 1001." Small 8" pp. 1.35. The work is dedicated first "To My most gratious Soveraign the King's most Ex- cellent Majesty," in a copy of verses — Then, there i.s '* The Epistle dedicatory to my most worthy & much honoured father in law, Charles Potts, Esq., Son to S' John Potts, Knight k Barronet," whieh is in prose : — so is an address " To the Christian Reader" — Then follow testimonies in favour of the AVork, by " Thomas Manton, D.D," " Gabriel Sanger," and " John Turing" of 'King-street, Covent Garden. This latter is addressed thus :— " The.se to the right Wor.shipfull \ tridy Vertuous Lady, the lady Anne Potts," and would lead one to suppose, as indeed bis tilh' page intimates, that the author was very young — perhaps 1.') years old, that LEIGH. 55 being" tlic age affixed to the portrait accoiupaiiyiiig the book. There is besides, a copy of verses " To the Ingenious young gentleman, tlie Authour of tliis paraphrase," by G. H. M.A." All these ceremonious preliminaries introduce us to a series of specimens of sacred rhyme so poor in every way, as certainly to lie at the mercy of any apology which can be drawn from juvenile authorship. Leigh was probably of a Presbyterian family, judging from the fact that Dr. Man ton and Gabriel Sanger, two well known individuals of that party, both pronounced liigh eulogiums upon the Work, and recorded their great expectations of the author — though it does not appear that the latter were realized ; for the " young gentleman," whose pecuniary pros- pects had perhaps as much influence as his poetry in exciting the compliments which Avere paid to him, not only appears to have left the University without a degree, but went, and to the end of his life con- tinued to reside on his patrimony without farther distinguisliing himself by literary efforts. PSALM LXXXVII. 1. God's city is upon the holy hills, 2. Sion he loves, more than where Jacob dwells, 3. Glorious things are spoke of thee, abroad, O city of the Living Lord, our God. 4. On Ra'ab Tie look, and bear in mind the same, And Babilon shall learn to know my Name. Lo, Philistine, Tire, E-thi-ope likewise, A folk long since were born, and there did rise. 5. 'Twas said of Sion, divers men of fame, Have there sprung up, and God doth stay the same. G. When God the people counts, it shall appear, That tins man at the first did spriug up there. 7. The trumpeters, and singers there shall be, And all my springs arc composed by thee. 50 SMYTH. MILES SxMYTH. Miles Smytli was Secretary to Dr. Shekloii, Archbislioi^ of Caiiterbury. In 1068, he published the " Psalms of King David, paraphrased and turned into English verse, according to the common metre, as they are usually sung in Parish Ciuu-ches." This title is repeated within an engraved border, containing portraits of David, Moses, Asaph, Heman, and iEthan, with the words — " Da mihi Cor Davidis." The author tells us that, considering the Divine matter and the sublime poetry of the Psalms, he " could not but blush to think, how that metre, in which our parochial Churches usually sing them, hath disguised so eminent a part of Holy Writ — this gave him occasion to make essay, whether (without taking the advantages of an un- confined fancy) it might not be easy enough (even in that narrow and low kind of verse) to make them speak their own genuine sense, in proper and smooth English, and to dress them, though not gayly, yet agreeably and becoming their dignity." It must be acknowledged that, on the whole, the Poet has realized this laudable design : there are, it is true, occasional words and passages which scarcely sound either " proper" or " smooth" to modern ears, though the terms in question are pure " English." The whole Version exhibits a firm and ready hand, with not a few touclies of taste and delicacy, scarcely to have been expected from so compaialively obscure S5IYTH. 57 a btU'd. At what time Smyth tUed I am not in- ibrmed. Playford, the bookseller, who, in 1671, published a collection of tunes for singing the Psalms in four parts, and which was very popular in its day, mentions our author as " that worthy gentleman Mr. Miles Smith, yet living" — adding that his translation of the Psalms, and that of Dr. King, " for elegance of style, smoothness of lan- guage, and suitableness to the musical tunes far excell the former ;" i. e., the Old Version. This praise at least is merited — indeed, in the Psalm quoted below, there are indications of some approach towards elegance. Playford gives a piece of advice relative to the public use of Smyth's Version, at which some persons will smile. After expressing a wish that his Psalms might be allowed and used in Churches, he adds, " and this may be easily done ; it being the custom at tliis time for the clerk to read every line to the people before it is sung — who may, without any disturbance, inform the Congregation that, according to a more refined translation, they are to sing such a Psalm," &c. PSALM CIX. 1. Hold not thy peace, ray God, my praise, In tliis so fear'd an hour ; For wicked and deceitful mouths Gape, ready to devour. 2. My fame, with lying tongues they wound, With words of hate surround. By me no way provok'd, they would My guiltless soul confound. 3. They, for the love I bear to them, Mine adversaries are ; But I to thee, in these ex remcs. Give up myself in prayer. 58 SiMYTH. 4. Tlio benefits I lieap'd on them, With ill they recompense ; And, like ungrateful vipers, make My merit my offence. 5. Set over him a wicked man, And still at his right hand, To tempt him first, and plague him then, May subtle Satan stand. 6. With his arraignment, let his doom And punishment begin ; May his despairing prayers prevail, But to augment his sin. 7. Few be his days, and those cut ott' By an untimely end : May his supplanter, to his place, Over his back ascend. 8. His children all of Father lose, But entail'd misery : And may the Wife of his delight A helpless Widow be. 9. His wandering issue, may they beg For wretched livelihood ; And in unpeopled desarts seek Their miserable food. 10. May Usurers' extorting hands All his possessions spoil ; And the remorseless stranger reap The harvest of his toil. 11. May there be none about him left. That mercy woidd extend ; None, that a hope of favour dares To his lost Orphans lend. 12. May his accurs'd posterity. Both root and branch decay ; His rotten name, in the next age, Pass like a mist away. SMYTH. 69 13. Ne'er may his father's wickedness Be by the Lord forgot ; His mother's follies let the tears Of no repentance blot. 14. Let them continually be placed In God's revenging eye, That their remembrance from the earth, May be extirp'd and die. 15. Mercy he never thought to shew, But cruelly pursued The poor, that he might slay the heart With care and griefs subdued. 6. Cursing was that he loved, so let His portion cursing be ; In blessing he delighted not ; Ne'er may he blessing see. 17. With imprecations as a robe He did himself invest ; Like water they his bowels swell, Like oyl his bones infest. 18. Be they, as is the daily cloak, Wherein himself he winds ; And as the constant girdle, that His looser garment binds. 19. Let this be the deserv'd reward Of my false enemies ; Whose tongues my persecuted soul Wound with envenom'd lies. 20. But thou, my God, to pity prone, Deal graciously with me : For thy great Name, as thou art good, In mercy set me free. 2 1 . Poor I and broken hearted, like Declining shades am past ; Like the light locust, made the sport Of every wanton blast. 60 ROBERTS. 22. My knees scarce bear their weiglit, whilst I Thy face by fasting seek : And meagre leanness hath consum'd The beauty of my cheek. 23. I am become a scorn'd reproach To my insulting foes ; They stare, they shake their heads, and laugh At my unpitied woes. 24. Help me, my God ! in mercy save, And make them understand, That my deliverance is the work Of thine all powerful hand. 25. Though curs'd by them, yet bless thou me ; When they lift up their voice Against me, strike them with disgrace : But let my heart rejoice. 26. Mine adversaries cloathe with shame, And o'er tlieir guilty head. Let their own foul confusion be, Like a black mantle spread. 27. My mouth the glories of the Lord Shall in loud antliems raise ; I will, amongst the multitude. Sing his immortal praise. 28. For at the right hand of the poor He stands, and shall controle The malice of th' unjust, that would Condemn his righteous soul. FRANCIS ROBERTS, D.D. Dr. Roberts Avas Minister first of St. Augustine's, London, iind afterwards Rector of Wrington, in Somersetsliire : the first edition of his '* Clavis ROBERTS. 61 Bibliorum— the Key of the Bible, unlocking the Richest Treasury of the Holy Scriptures," was published some time before 1649, as appears by a Dedication to the Earle of Essex, who in that year presented our author to the living above named. My copy, which is a small folio, is the fourth edition, and bears date 1674: it contains, inclusive also of elaborate analytical summaries of every Book in the Old and New Testaments, " The Book of Hymnes or Praises— viz., the Book of Psalms, translated immediately out of the Hebrew, and analytically expounded : together with a General Preface to the whole." This Preface, which is one of the most prolix and elaborate performances of the kind, contains much excellent matter, but is somewhat dry and formal : and the same may be said of the bulky apparatus of annotation with which every Psalm is accompanied, under the following plan which is, in fact, that of the " Clavis," as applied to the whole Bible :— Sect. I. The Summary Contents. Sect. II. The Version out of Hebrew. Sect. III. The Order, Kind, Penman, and Occasion of the Psalm. Sect. IV. The Scope. Sect. V. The Analysis, or Principal Parts. Dr. Roberts, who was certainly a learned man, and a sound divine, but, as will be seen from the Psalm afterwards copied, almost as little of a Poet as could consist with giving to his translation the homeliest form of English verse, claims especially the paramount merit of fidelity. " Here," says he, " you see the pure Text, unmixed with needlesse Paraphrastical Additions. As to style— the meter of this Version is so ordered, I. That Barbarisms, obsolete and antiquated ex- pressions, and light frothy poetical flashes are 62 ROBERTS. studiously tlierein declined. 2. That the verse runs, for the most part, with much smoothness, the accustomed poetical quantities of our English words being heedfully observed ; and the verse expressing a perfect sense, or conveniently leading unto that part of the sense which is comprised iu the verse or line following. 3. That the verse is adorned with fit, (and, for the most part, Avith double) Rythmical Terminations. Notwithstanding, the smoothness of the verse is to be preferred before the Rythme : and the closeness of the Version to the Hebrew fountain, is to be regarded among the spiritually wise, before them both." Whether it be admitted or denied that the experience of two centuries has done any thing towards quickening our perceptions of the beauty and propriety of poetical diction, it will easily be conceived that the contemporaries of the worthy metrist now under notice, might perceive certain graces in his Version in harmony with his notions, and their own tastes. As for " Poetical flashes," Dr. Roberts need hardly have warned his readers not to ex- pect them in lines constructed by the operose method expounded in the following passage, and which is noticed because the same principle was adopted by others ; especially by Ainsworth, as pre- viously mentioned. Certain terms, whicli the trans- lator has introduced, are, we are told, " Implicitly comprised under the force and emphasis of the Hebrew word, and linked thereto with 'a Mallaph (-). As Psal. i. 4. But as-the-small-chaff-dust : yi^!3 as the dust, properly signifies, as-the-small- dust of-chair. So Ps. 3. 1. My-distressing-cncmies, ••^l^C my troublers : properly my-straiting-foes, or ROBERTS. 63 (listrcssers. So Psal. 18. 1. rie-love-tliee-dear : IDni.y I-will-love-thec ; properly signifies, I-will- love-thee-dearly : or l-will-love-thee-witli-inmost- bowels. This consequently is frequently observed." Roberts was assistant to the Commissioners appointed by Cromwell's Parliament, for the ejection of "Scandalous" Ministers and Schoolmasters. He died in 1675. PSALM XXII. 1. My God, my God, Why leav'st thou me ? Why from mine Health art farre-away, From words of my roaring to thee ? 2. My God, I cry to e a Psalm Book ; and all were exhorted to learn reading, that the whole Congregation might join in Psalmody. " But ior tlie jjresent, wlien many could not read, it was convenient that the Minister, or some • " Tlii» renowned Parliament, wliile proft ssin^j to execrnfc llip pprsccutinc spirit of Iho prelates, whose properly tliey lind seized in their Ordinance for puliioK the Directory in execution, not only prohiMtid the u»e of the Hook of I'ommon Prayer in all places of puLlic worship; but also subjected those who should use it in their families or in secret, to the penally of five piunds for the first offence, ten pounds lor the second, and lor the third one jcai's iirprison- jaent." — Jachsun't Lift nf Goodicin, WHITE. 07 otlicr fit person, slioukl read tlio Psalm, line by line, before the singing tliereof." Whether the precentors in the Congregational Chapels of the Pro\inces were, or were not, superior to the Parish Clerks in the Metropolis as to their vocal accomplishments, does not appear; but the latter seem to have been defective enough. Playford, in the Preface to his Psalmody published in 1071, tells us that ''the best, and almost all the dioice Tunes are lost, and out of use in our Churches : nor must we expect it otherways, when in and about this great city [London] in above one hundred parishes, there are but iew Parish Clerics to be found that have either ear or understanding to set one of these tunes musically as it ought : it having been a custom during the late wars, and since, to chuse men into such places, more for their Poierly than Skill and Ability; whereby this part of God's Service hath been so ridiculously performed in most places, that it is now brouglit into scorn and derision by many people : God in his good time move the hearts of those whom it concerns hereafter, to chuse such men as may perform this duty to his gloiy and the honour of our religion." JOHN WHITE, A.M. Mr. White was a Preacher of note in his day, and a person of influence among the Puritans : lie was one of the Clerical Assessors of (he famous Assembly of Divines, which was held at Westminster, in 1 043 VOL. II. F 2 68 WHITE. The work, on account of wliich his name is introduced into these notices, was puhlished in London, 1655, 12rao., under the following title : — "David's Psalms in metre Agreeable to the Hebrew, to be sung in usual Tvnes. To the benefit of the Churches of Christ. Bj the Reverend Mr. John White, JMinister of God's Word, in Dorchester." PSALM LII. 1. O Mighty man in wickednesse, why dost thou boast with pride? Be sure the goodnesse of the Lord, for ever shall abide. 2. Thy tongue speaks mischief, which thine heart deviseth wickedly, And like unto a razor sharp, it works deceitfully. 3. In evil more then any good, thine heart doth take delight. And lying, rather then to speak, and utter what is right. 4. O thou deceitful tongue, thou lov'st words that devour and waste. 5. But God shall justly cut thee down for evermore at last. Thee shall he take away, and pluck out of thy dwelling place, Yea, from the land of life shall he pluck up thy root and race. 6. The righteous man shall this behold, And tremble in that day, And have him in derision, and thus of him shall say : — 7. Behold, the man that made not God his strength, but trusted in His store of riches, and himself did strengthen in his sin. WOODFORD. 8. But like to a green olive tree within God's house am I, For in his mercy great shall be my trust continually. 9. And I, because thou this hast done, to praise thee will not cease, And still will wait upon thy name, for this thy saints doth please. SAMUEL WOODFORD, D.D. Woodford was born in London, in 1636 : thongli of his parentage I have met witli no particulars. He became a commoner of Wadham College, Ox- ford, where he seems to have been fond of music, for Anthony a Wood names him among sixteen of his friends, who used to play and sing together in his younger days. It does not appear what profession he followed early in life, or whether any, nor why he was first led to think of versifying the Psalms, except that he " did it to please some particular friends." After mentioning in a Preface what he considered to be requisite in a successful paraphrase, and his own " zeal for Poesie," as exemplified in tlie undertaking, he adds : — " But I know not how, on a suddain, all my heat was laid, and the greatness of the labour, together with my own insufficiency, deterred me at that time, from proceeding any further. Hereupon for about three years the design slept with me, till reading over with a little more than ordinary attention, tlie cxiv. Psalm of Mr. Cowley's, I was again warmed, and in imitation of 70 WOODFORD. him I was resolved once more to try how well or ill I could WTite after so excellent a copy." Perhaps the only advantage of aspiring after such a model, was the variety which our author has disj^layed in the construction of his stanzas ; for the heaviest verbosity becomes less tedious, when the strain is diversified. In 1007 was published in 4to. '' A Paraphrase, in English Verse, upon the Books of the Psalms, by Sam. Woodforde, S.R.S." The Manu- script is in the British Museum, (Had. MS. No. 1768 :) it is the Author's Autograph, and contains, besides the Psalms — 1. A letter from Dr. Woodford to his kinsman Mr. Beale, dated 16 Dec\ 1667, making him a present of the Book. 2. The Author's Dedication of the Work to George Morley, Bishop of Winchester. 3. The Preface. 4. Another letter to Mr. Beale. 5. Tlie Author's acknowledo:- ment to God (in three Stanzas) who first put this design into his heart, and gave him abilities to finish it. At the end of the Psalms is this note : — " This copy of the Psalms was transcribed at Albrook, about Sep. 1665. Mr. Stillingllcet carried it to the Bishop of Winton, and thence to Oxon, whence it was again returned to me about the end of December, the same yeare. By this copy at Albrook, about January, 1665-6, I transcribed another for the press, in Avhich I altered some things, as will appear by the Printed Books." The author confesses his desire that liis work might be kindly received, that " so," he adds, " I might be encouraged to prosecute anoflier design (in tliis way) which at present lies before me — tlie History of the first great week of the World, wherein new discoveries of that and nature, make the subject more large and comprehensive for \erse WOODFORD. 71 than ever it has been -, and in tlie performance of whicli I promise myself great assistance by the unwearied and most successful labours of the Royal Society." This work, whatever its drift, and whether written or not, was never publislied. Woodford appears, in the issue, to have been willing to leave the cele- bration of the " First Week of tlie World" to Du Bartas, Sir Richard Blackmore, and others, while he addressed himself to a subject, as much more attractive as it was less philosophical — " The Song of Solomon."* This highly allegorical portion of Holy Scripture, abounding, as it does, in metaphors and imagery of so purely an oriental cast, that sober English tlieologians liave found no little difficulty in explaining its meaning satisfactorily, was not only the frequent theme of Poets, but of Preachers, in the Seventeenth Century. So fiir as the former confined themselves merely to versifying the Can- ticles in whole or in part, their labours may be said to have been less offensive to good taste and sound judgment, than those of the latter : but when rhyming effusions in this style of fervid and luscious phrase- ology, such as the pious Dr. Watts regrets himself to have composed while young, found their .way into religious Congregations, their tendency to produce spiritual emasculation, may well have been deplored. It may be added, that however little surprising it will appear that, in an age when such paraphrases were on many accounts popular, several Poets should have tried their hands at so easv a task as turnino- " o * This work is entitled " A Paraphrase upon the Canticles, and some Select Hymns of the Old and New Testament, with other occasional Compositions in English verse," 1679. Like the Psalms i( is preceded by commendatory verses from his friend Flatman, and others. 72 WOODFORD. the " Song of Songs" into rhyme, it is a curious fact, that not only is there no one of these Versions at present generally read — or scarcely known, but, on the whole, they may be said to be even less redolent of the exquisite perfection of the common prose translation in our Bible, than on the average are our Metrical Versions of the Psalms. Having obtained the patronage of the Bishop of Winchester above named, Woodford entered into Holy Orders, took the degree of B.D., became Rector of Hartley Malduith, Hants, and Prebendary of Winchester, after which he republished in 1678, a revised Edition, in 8vo. of his " Paraphrase upon the Psalms," with a grateful Dedication to his diocesan. This Version, as already intimated, possesses but little poetical merit, although it is often mentioned, and Flatman has a " Pindarique Ode" in its praise : nor does it appear ever to have aided " the service of the Altar :" it is a diffusive explication of the text ; the author having adopted the method, as he cites the authority, ofBisliop Godeau in the French translation. Wood- ford died in 1700. The reality of liis affection for the Book of Psalms, was shewn not only by his own metrical labours thereon, but by transcribing " for Sir Philip Sidney's sake, and to preserve such a remaine of him," that copy of the translation of the Psalms by this honoured individual, and his illus- trious sister, the Countess of Pembroke, which is now in the Bodleian Library. Woodford's Version of the Psalms, is not of very rare occurrcTncc in old Libraries. WOODFORD. 73 PSALM CXLVII. 1. You, who th' Almighty God adore, To His great Name sing praise ! His Pow'er you cannot honour more, Nor more advance your laies ! This is the Service, which to Him you owe, And this of all he best accepts below. 2. Jerusalem, the Great, the Fair, 'Tis God who made Her so ; Her People, though they scatt'ered are, He like Her stones do's know : And both will gather, both in'His hand will take, His City One, th'Other His Temple make. 3. The troubled heart, with care deprest, He up on high do's raise ; Refreshes weary Souls with rest, And sinners shews His Wayes : And like a Friend, who all their mis'eries feels, Binds up the broken, and the wounded heals. 4. Those rich Enamels of the skie. The Stars, which shine above, Have sev'eral Names He knows them by. And at His Will they move : To Him they look, and looking, only thence Have all their lustre, Forms, and Influence. 5. Great is our God, of great Renown, Whose Wisdome's infinite ; To th' Earth he casts the Wicked down, And raises the upright : Sing Praises to His Name, with thanks rejoyce. And make the Consort perfect with your Voice ! 6. The Heav'ens with clouds He covers o're. And all their beauty hides : Yet thence the Earth has its best store, Rain which He there provides : Whence Plenty comes, but less from what is sown. Than from the Fruitful seasons He pours down. 74 WOODFORD. 7. Mountains, those Pillars of the Air, On which Heav'ens Fabrique lies. Whose verdant Chapiters are fair, And in mixt Orders rise, With Frutages He crowns, and with soft showers, Their sullies cleansing, decks their heads with flowers. 8. To Him all Creatures look, and live. All at His Table eat ; He to bruit-beasts their food do's give. And to young Ravens meat : An horse to Him, and all his strength, is vain, And in his sight as poor a thing is Man. 9. In neither can He Pleasure take. But do's i'th' Just delight ; And they who Him their refuge make, Shall flourish in His sight ; Then to Thy God, Jerusalem, sing praise, Sion, exalt Him, who Thee first did raise ! 10. 'Tis He who do's Thy Walls defend, And all Th}'^ Gates make strong ; Who do's Thy Colonies extend. And keeps Thee ever young : Who with a num'erous Oft-spring do's Thee bless, And gives Thy Land the Happy fruits of Peace. 1 1 . And this, because it is His Will, Whose Pleasure all obey ; Both Heav'cn and Earth His Word fulfill. And at it haste away : On the cold Rocks He His Frost-mantle throws, And cloathcs the naked Hills with woolly snoMs. 12. When on the streams He layes His Chain, And Captive Floods do's bind, What Pow'r can set them free again. Till He send out His Wind ? And when on them He causes it to blow, The molted glass in streams begins to flow. BEALE. 75 13. These Works of His by all arc seen, But Jacob has His Word ; No Land beside so blest has been, Or favour'd by the Lord : For He to Isra'el has His Judgments shown. When His Just Wrath th' whole World beside has known. MARY BEALE. Ut pictum, poesis erit, says Horace in the well- known sentiment which assumes an affinity between the sister arts of poetry and painting. And if the skill of Mrs. Beale, in her successful devotion to the pencil and the lyre, be insufficient to give to the classical maxim the authority of a general rule, it cannot be said to be improperly applied in her particular case. Luke Milbourne, in a passage which will be given under his name, speaks with much respect of this accomplished lady, of whom an interesting account will be found in Walpole's " Anecdotes of Painting," which work contains like- wise medallion portraits of herself and her son Charles. She appears to have enjoyed considerable reputation in her day as a portrait painter^ her husband having been a dealer in the pigments used by artists. Walpole says nothing of her addiction to literature : but her house seems to have been the resort, and herself the friend of men of letters : Bishop Burnet, presented her with his works ; and Flatman, himself a Painter as well as a Poet, whose genius, for ought that appears to the contrary, affords no disparagement to the Horatian maxim quoted above — his poetry being as indifferent as his pictures, sat to her for his likeness. Woodford has 76 BEALE. complimented lier in some lines addressed " To Belisa," upon " her owne Picture done by herself, like Pallas, but without any arms, except head- piece and corslet." In the Preface to his Psalms, the same Poet acknowledges his obligations to " the absolute gentlewoman, whose leave, " he adds," I very hardly obtained to honour this volume of mine with two or three Versions, long since done by her, the truly Vertuous Mistress Mary Beale, amongst whose least accomplishments it is, that she has made Painting and Poesie, which in the fancies of others had only before a kind of likeness, in her own to be really the same. The reader, I hope, will pardon this public acknowledgment which I make to so deserving a person, when I shall tell him that while as a friend and one of the family, I had the conve- nience of a private and most deliglitful retirement in the company of her worthy husband and herself, I both began and perfected this Paraphrase." Wood- ford gives her Versions of Psalms — 13, 52, 70, 130. Her charms of person and conversation — for she seems to have been a handsome as well as an intelli- gent and modest woman — will probably be thought to have had some effect in biassing the admirers of her poetical efforts — but let the reader judge. PSALM LXX. 1. Almighty God, whose Pow'er is infinite, Who with a Word did'st all things make ; So great, that when Thou speak'st, the Mountains quake, Let my deliv'erancc also shew Thy might, ' And by its certain speed make that appear more bright ! 2. The Proud, when he is from hie greatness thrown, And do's with shame, antl horror iind Nothing of all his glory left behind, Who when Thou, Lord, in wrath dost on him frown, Ilis very Soul is with the heavy weight press'd doAvn. BEALE. 77 3. Make his the Portion of my Enemies, (Who in their cursed rage contrive To slay my Soul, when Thou would'st have it live) That they may see by this their sad surprise, It was not only me, but Thee they did despise ! 4. Let those, who wish my hurt, and would rejoyce, As senseless of my misery, Be like to conquer'd troops, whicli scatter'd fly, And with confusion tremble at the noise. That's rais'd by their own fear, and mighty En'emies voice ! 5. For a reward let such be driven away ; And quite astonish'd, may they find No hopes of comfort to relieve their mind, Who at my griefs in sport triumphing say, " This is as we would have it be, Aha ! Aha !'' 6. But on Thy People make Thy Face to shine ! Let them from fears be always free, (Except it be fears of offending Thee) The sacred Flame their heart thall so refine. That now their joy shall only be that they are Thine ! 7. Such as to Thy Salvation burn in love, Let them perpetual praises sing ! And with rejoycing this their Ofl?"ering bring, With such Expressions let them forward move, " Our God be magnify'd on Earth, and Heav'en above! 8. But I am poor, and needy, much distress'd ; Wherefore, O Lord, make hast to me ! For all the Springs of Mercy are on Thee ; And can I want, while I upon Thee rest. Whose Word alone commands deliv'erance to th' Opprest. 9. Thou, in whom all my confidence do's lie. My help and hope in my distress. Let not my Mis'ery make Thy Pow'er be less ! On Thee I wait, to Thee, O God, I flie. Make hast, and be Thou on the Wings as well as I ! 78 PATRICK. JOHN PATRICK, D.D. Dr. Patrick, wlio was a popular Preaclier to the Charter House, London, first published " a century of Select Psalms in Verse," in 1G79 ; and in 1715 an edition of the whole Psalter : both were often reprinted, the copy of the latter work before me being the seventh edition, 1724. It contains no Preface, but the singing notes of about twenty tunes, and " An Explication of some words of less common use, for the benefit of the Common People :" notwith- standing this, the Version is exceedingly plain ; and it would be difficult to select either from tlie list of words alluded to, or from the woik generally, a single term which would not, at least in our day, be supposed to lie level with " the meanest capacity." Baxter, in the introduction to his precious little volume, entitled '• Poetical Fragments," thus speaks of Dr. Patrick and his labours : — " Sure there is somewhat of heaven in holy poetry ! It charmeth souls into loving harmony and concord. We ha^ e two brothers in this city, [London,] of whom one hath written a book called ' A Friendly Debate,' to make those seem odious or contemptible, who were against his way. It had too much success : and so far destroyed love and concord, as will not easily be recovered in this age. His brother [Mr. Patrick, of the Charter House] hath Avith pious skill and seriousness turned into a new metre many of David's Psalms : and the advantage for holy allections and PATRICK. 79 harmony liatli so far reconciled tlie Nonconformists, that diverse of tliem use liis Psalms in their Congre- gations." PSALM LXIV. 1. Lord, hear me, and from wicked foes, Be thou my life's defence : 2. Protect me from fheir secret plots, And open violence. 3. Whose malice whets their tongues, to wound Deeper than sharpest swords : Who 'stead of poison'd arrows, use Cruel and slanderous words. 4. A secret mischief they intend Against the innocent; Which fear of God will not restrain, Nor yet man's care prevent. 5. Confirm'd in malice, and combin'd In secret leagues they hide Such undiscerned snares they think By none can be descried. 6. Nothing that diligence can work, Or wicked skill find out. They unattempted leave, to bring Their villainies about. 7. But all in vain : for that just God Whose vengeance they provoke, Shall ruin all their plots, and wound Them by a sudden stroke. 8. Their wicked counsels and false tongues Shall on themselves return : And left by all, o'er their lost hopes They shall unpitied mourn. 9. All that behold this work possess'd With awful fear, shall own. It was an hand divine, not chance Threw these proud sinners down. 10. The just will trust in God the more, And loudly tell their joys ; Who makes them triumpli gloriously O'er wicked craft and lies. 80 CHAMBERLAINE. JAMES CHAMBERLAINE. In 1680, James Chamberlayne, Gent., pnntecl "A Sacred Poem on the Birtli, Miracles, Death, Sepulture, Resun-ection, and Ascention of the Most Holy Jesus. Also Eighteen of David's Psalms,* Paraphrased ; the Lamentations of Jeremiah ; and Poems on Several Occasions." London, 12mo. There is a copy of this work in the Cambridge University Library. In the Preface, the author says his only object in composing was *' to make a few things for private devotion, and that I might not trifle away too much of the time which God hath given me, having no calling to follow, nor public concern to divert me :" but by persuasion of an intimate friend, he was induced to publish. Tliis is all that I can learn concerning him. The following is, on the whole, a pleasing exemplification of his skill as a versifier : — PSALM XLI. Blest is the man who takes a tender care, Of those who on the Bed of Sickness lye, He need not in his Visitation fear, But to find favour, and that speedily ; In all his troubles God will interpose. For his relief, and bless him from his Foes. 2. When that Diseases on his Body seize, And on the Bed of Sorow he is cast, • Namely, 22, 23, 25, 31, 40, 41, 49, 51, 55, 73, 78, 90, 91, 1 11. 124, 125, 132, 140. CHAMBERLATNE. 81 Where otliers tumble, and can find no ease, Racked with tortures of their actions past ; Then will the Lord for mercies he hath shown, Soften his Bed, and strengthen him when down. 3. I humbly therefore at the Throne of Grace, Beg that the guilt of all my Sins may be For ever pardon'd ; hide not. Lord, thy face, But heal my Soul, as thou hast promis'd nje ; Though I deserve thy Wrath, yet love express, And every thought and crooked act redress. 4. My Foes a thousand ways my mine plot. Concerning me they speak maliciously ; When will he dye, say they, and be forgot. Let his name perish to Eternity ; Before my Face none more obliging are ; Behind my back their hatred they declare. 5. Thus underhand they secretly combine, To make me odious in the Eyes of all. Invention's rack'd to compass this design, And Slanders are contriv'd to work my fall ; Defam'd, they think my Name shall never rise, Under the load of all their Calumnies. 6. My own familiar Friend, who always eat At my own board, and in my Bosom lay. Whom with the great'st endearments I did treat, My most retired Counsels did betray ; But, Lord, restore me to my Throne, and Right That their perfidious acts I may requite. 7. By this I guess thou hast a love for me, Because I find thy watchful Providence, Hath disappointed them of Victory And hitherto preserv'd mine Innocence ; For which both I, and all, with one accord Will sing Eternal Hymns to Isr'els Lord. VOL. II. G 82 NORRIS. JOHN NORRIS. Mr. Norris succeeded the " Divine Herbert" as Rector of Bemerton — a spot consecrated as the birth place of some of the sweetest effusions of the Cliristian muse. Our autlior, altliough deeply dipped in metaphysics, was a solid Divine, a man of extensive reading,* and possessed the genius of a Poet : but his model was Cowley ; hence his style is quaint, inflated, and verbose — the latter quality being elevated into something like importance by the printing of certain words in Italics, according to a fashion which at that time prevailed. The Psalm given below, is one of four, included in " A col- lection of Miscellanies" in prose and verse — third Edition," published in 1699 — altliough respectably versified, it is by no means equal to some specimens of what the author calls " Odes after the Pindarick way ; which is the highest and most magnificent kind of writing."^ Norris appears to have been the original author, in the following lines, of a well • Dr. Norris was a party in the editorship of one of the most popular and curious periodicals of his day — the " Athenian Mercury," originated and pub- lished by a character no loss singular and well known — John Dunton, who printed 600 books, not a few of which were written by himself. Norris, accord- ing to the projecting bibliopolist, " was wonderfully useful in supplying hints ; for, being universally read, and his memory very strong, there was nothing could be asked, [by the correspondents of the " Mercury,"] but he could very easily say something to the purpose upon it." Dunton gives a prolix eulogy on Norris, in his rhyming work, called " Characters of Eminent Nonconformists." f " There is a near relation between poetry and enthusiasm : it is remarkable that poetiy made Milton an enthusiast ; and enthusiasm made Norris a Poet." — Bishop M'arbuTton. NORRfS. 83 known sentiment first repeated by Blair, and after- wards by Campbell : — " How fading are the joyes we dote upon, Like apparitions seen and gone : But those which soonest take their flight, Are the most exquisite and strong. Like Angel's visits, short and bright ; Mortality's too weak to bear them long." He has also another passage, which Blair has very palpably imitated, in allusion to the mysterious state of being beyond the grave : — " Some courteous ghost, tell this great secrecy, What 'tis you are, and we must be," &c. Mr. Norris died in 1711. PSALM CXIV. Paraphrased. When, conquer'd by the Plagues of Moses' Rod, Th' Egyptian Tyrant gave Command That Israel should depart his Land, Israel the chosen Family of God. Among them dwelt the Holy One, Juda his Sanctuary, and Israel was his Throne. The Sea beheld this Scene, and did admire. Each wave stood silently to see The Power of the Divinity ; They saw, and fled the dreadful Guide of Fire. And Jordan too divided stood. The Priests the Sacred Ark bore through the yielding Flood. Mount Sinai, with great Horrour struck and Dread, Forgot her weight, and in a Trance Like a light Ram, did skip and dance ; She fear'd, and fain would hide her Palsy Head. The Hills their Mother Mountain saw. The little Hills, and like young Sheep they stood in awe. VOL. II. G 2 84 NORRIS. What made thee to retreat, thou mighty Sea ? Tell me, for never any Shore Knew such a wondrous Tide before, And thou great Jordan ; say, what ailed thee ? wSay, Sacred Mount, M'hat meant thy Trance, And you small under-hills, why did you skip and dance? You need not think it Shame to own your Fear ; What you dismaid, the same would make The universal Fabrick shake ; The Cause was great, for Jacobus God was there. That God who did tlie Rock subdue, And made it melt in Tears, though harder far than you. There is a lyric Version of the foreo^oiii2: Psahii introduced by Cowley into his " Davideis ;"* it is of comparatively small merit, but, as the com- position of one of our most celebrated lyric authors — occurring as it does too, in a Poem, of which the Psalmist himself is the subject, — being', moreover, referred to by Woodford, as affording the parent hint of his own Version, — ^and lastly, as a specimen by the " Sweet Master of our English Pindariques," of a style whicli has found so many imitators, T cannot witlistand the inducement here to transcribe Cowley's Version as a companion to that of Norris. • It may be mentioned here, as not, I believe, very generally known, even to persons pretty largely conversant with English poetry, that Tiiomas EUvood, the Quaker, besides other compositions in rhyme, j)ul)lishe(l a work entilleil " Davideis," in five books. Some one may wish to know what are the merits of a Sacred Poem on such a subject, by an author who, not only shared the distinction of " The later Sydney, Marvel, Harrington, Young Vane, and others who call'd Milton Friend," hut to whose suggestion to the immortal Poet, we owe his " Paradi>e Regained. " Elwood himself says: — " I am more modest than to expect admission amongst the best Poets ; and yet think it a little l)elow me, to be ranked wiih the very worst.'' The copy before me is the " fifth edition," a fact which might seem to justify the author's claim to " be allowed to walk in the middle way," were it net that this repetition of impressions is obviously attributable to the laudable par- tiality of the Society of Friends for the amialle poetical productions of a man, who has otherwise so zealously laboured in their cause. NORRIS. 85 When Israel was from bondage led, Led by tli' Almighty's hand, From out a foreign land, The great sea beheld, and fled, As some pursued, when that past fear they find, Stop some on higher ground to look behind ; So, whilst through wondrous ways The sacred army went, The waves afar stood up to gaze. And their own rocks did represent. Solid as waters are above the firmament. Old Jordan's waters to their spring Start back with sudden fright ; The spring amaz'd at sight. Asks what news from sea they bring. The mountains shook ; and to the mountain side The little hills leap'd round, themselves to hide ; As young affrighted lambs. When they aught dreadful spy. Run trembling to their helpless dams : The mighty sea and river by Were glad, for their excuse to see the hills too fly. Wht ail'd the mighty sea to flee ? Or why did Jordan's tide Back to his fountain glide ? Jordan's tide what ailed thee ? Why leap'd the hills ? why did the mountains shake ^ What ail'd them, their fixed natures to forsake ? Fly where thou wilt, O sea ! And Jordan's current cease ! Jordan, there is no need of thee ; For at God's word, where'er he please. The rocks shall weep new waters forth instead of these.* Spectator, (o wh.ch .t was sent by the author with a letter, dated August 19. 86 COLERAINE. LORD COLERAINE. Fifteen of the Psalms, from the one hundred and twentieth, to the one hundred and thirty-fifth, in- clusive, ai*e called " Psalms of Degrees ;" and in the ancient Church, they often constituted, in common with the " Penitential Psalms," a vehicle of special devotion. In the " Coventry Mysteries," a work already alluded to, there is a curious rhyming abstract of this portion of the Psalter introduced into one of these pious interludes. The subject of tlie play is " Mary in the Temple," and among the interlocutors is a Bishop, who thus addresses the Virgin : " Come, gode Mary, conic, babe, I the callc ; Till pas pratyly to this plas pretende, Thou scalt be the dowtere of God eternalle, If the fifteen grees thou may ascende ; It is meracle if thou do ; now God the dyffende ! ffroiii Babylony to hcvynly Jherusalem this is the way ; Every man that tliynk his lyf to amende, The fyftene psahnys in memory of this mayde say, Maria ! Maria! et sic deinceps usque ad Jinem quindecem psalmorum. The first degrt- gostly applyed, It is holy dcsyrc with God to be, In trobyl to God I have crycd, And in sped tliat Lord hath herdc me. Ad Dorninum cum tribularer clamavi, et exaudivit me. The sccuiidc is, &c. So on, from Psalm 120 to 135 inclusive : the first two lines of tlie English stanza, stating the subject generally ; tlie other two l)eing in each case a trans- COLERAINE. 87 lation of the first verse of the Psalm, the Latin being subjoined, as in the foregoing example.* Henry Hare, the second Lord Coleraine, Avas an Irish Baron, who published a somewhat odd work, entitled " The Ascents of the Soul, on David's' Mount towards God's House. Being Paraphrases on the Fifteen Psalms of Degrees, written in Italian by the Illustrious Gio. Francesca Loredano,t a noble Venetian, 165G, Rendered into English, Anno Dom. 1065." Such is the title-page of the copy in the British Museum, a thin folio, which was printed in London, 1681. The volume includes, by the same hand, " Z« Scala Santa: or a Scale of Devotions, Musical and Gradual, Being Descants on the Fifteen Psalms of Degrees, in Metre; with Contemplations and Collects upon them in Prose, 1670." There are dedications to "the most illus' • Vide, Coventry Mysteries, pp. 82, 85, t Several of the Italian Poets have been more or less familiar with the harp of David For example, in 1664, appeared «' Salmi di David Messi in Rime Volgar. Ital.ane da G. Diodati." Even the accomplished but licentious Aretino hmiself IS said to have written a paraphrase on the Penitential Psalms.- l^^Je of TUmn, p. 40. Hawkins mentions (Hist. Mus. iv. 364; that a person, of whom nothmg more than the initials of his name, R. H. is known, published some time after 1608, a translation of an Italian paraphrase of the Seven Peni^ tent.al Psalms, written l.y Francesco Bembo, with the music of Giovanni Croce. Maestro d. Cappella of the Church of St. Mark, at Venice. I have not elsel where met with any notice of the individual above referred to. But the most celebrated Version of the Psalms in Italian was one which appeared in 17-^4 at Venice, with this title :-" Estro poetico-armonieo Parafrasi sopra li primi venticinque Salmi. Poesia di Girolamo Ascanio Giustiniani, Musica di Bene- det^to Marcello, Patrizi Veneti." This work consisted of eight volumes in folio. and has been considered the "grandest and most splendid of any musical pub- hcat.on at this day extant." The verse is without rhyme, and of various metres. There is no reason to believe that a single stanza of this Version, nor even the mus.c by which U was accompanied, was ever heard in any one of the Churches of Italy though in private assemblies, it delighted persons of all ranks from the cardinal to the choirister. It is remarkable that the late Mr. Garth, of Durham adapted to the music of Marcello suitable words from our prose translation of the Psalms, with a view to their being performed as anthems in Cathedrals This was also in eight volumes folio. For a fuller account of Marcello and his works, vide Hawkins Hist. Music, iv. 230. S8 COLERAINE. trioiis and severest Stella," and to the " most honoured Lucinda," besides Latin and English verses addressed to the Right Honourable and Learned Author, and emblematic frontispieces, Avhich have been characterised as being " as unin- telligible as the contents of the books ;" these were designed by Lord Coleraine, who has added his cypher, with a Baron's coronet. He died at Tot- tenham, (of which place he compiled the History), in 1708. The following is Lord Coleraine's Para- phrase of the first of the ^' Psalms of Degrees."* PSALM CXX. In my distress and fear I cry'd unto the Lord ; Who soon did help, as hear, When I this wish did word, From Lips, made foul by guile and wrongs, And from false Tongues, Lord save my soul. What Peace ? what Profit shall The treacherous Tongue bring thee ? Poor Soul ? 'twill scorch and gall Thyself, as well as me. 'Twill doubly harm, Like Darts made hot By Fire ; and shot From some strong Arm. Why then ? O why so long Do I protract my woes ? By wand'ring still among War's Friends, anil Peace's Foes : • The bearing of the various por(ions of this sacred gradual is thus pointed out by a series of " Obaervations" prefixed in Bishop Parker's Version, to the 120lh Psalm: — These fiflene psalmes next following Be songs denamd of steps or stayers, For that the quiero on thera dyd sinjf, The people's vowes to blisse by prayers, For lucky speedo in thcyre afTayres, As nede and tymo as case dyd bryng : In wedlock, warre, or house bo^onne. For peace, for ayde, for freedom wonne." COLERAINE. 80 I'm in a Tent Of Arabs left, Who are on Theft And Murder bent. At me their Bows are bent, Their Malice doth encrease ; They say no good I meant When I did seek their Peace : When I speak fair I them all-arm. And straight the swarm Their Stings prepare. Tliese verses are followed by another, and similar set entitled COROLLARIUM 'A/xo»C«;ov. Which may be used, or omitted. f Repetition ) f Sence It being another j of the V of the ^ Musick ( Recollection ) ( Psalm, But though the Slanderer's sting, Like Lightning, pierc'd and burn'd : Vcr. 3. 4. The Stones whicii he did sling. Heaven in his Face return'd ; Live coals from Hell And Javelings slung By his bad Tongue, On his Head fell. Therefore no more will I Be of such Bruits afraid ; Vcr. 2. 7. No more I'll sigh, or cry Though I'm in Deserts stay'd : Ver. 5. c. In all my Ways I'll bless Thee, Lord, Vcr. 1. 2. Who dost afford, Such cause of Praise. Thougli I'm in Deserts stay'd. No more I'll sigh or cry : Or be of Bruits afraid. No longer now will I. Such cause of Praise Thou dost afford ; We'll Bless Thee, Lord In all our Ways. Gloria Patri, &c. Glory he to our King, Who shall he, was, and is ; Loud Hallelujahs Sing To God, the God of Peace : The Lord of Hosts, The Three in One The Father, Son, And Holy Ghost. Amen. 90 FORD. SIMON FORD, D.D. Dr. Ford, who was Rector of old Swiiiford, in Worcestershire, printed his "New Version of the Psalms of David" in 1688. In the Preface, he says, " The design aimed at hj me in this Version, was not to vaunt my skill in poetry, nor was it to entertain the devout inclinations of the more in- genious sort of Christians, with strains of elevated invention and expression, suited to their genius : that which I designed was merely to render these pieces of holy writ, which are thought fit to be made parts of God's public worship, in such a tolerable manner, as they might be for the use of all Chris- tians : gratifying the more ingenious and learned parts of all Congregations, with that smoothness and cleanness of style, which might make them not to nauseate it; and the more ordinary sort of those holy societies with that easiness and clearness of expression, which might not shoot over their heads, whilst I endeavoured to affect their hearts in so religious a service." The best that can be said of the Version of the worthy Doctor is that his labour has realized the mediocre intention alluded to ; for if it could be said that he had avoided " all such flatness and dulness of invention and expression,'' as on the one hand, might make his " translation" a subject of disgust to " those of more learned palates in the use tliercof" — on the other liand, he has undoubtedly avoided " those hcicjhts of fancy or FORD. 91 language, which might render it unintelligible to ordinary capacities." But mean expressions and colloquial phrases were formerly more tolerable in such a work, than they would — or ought to be now. Jt may be remarked, that while there is so little to praise in the poetry of Ford's Version, the Preface which he had prefixed to it is interesting, not only as containing information relative to the early prac- tice of Christians in devotional singing, but especially as defending the congregational use of the entire Psalter in their songs of praise. After mentioning that he had taken the whole Book of Psalms into his Version, contrary to the advice of some persons, who would have had him confine himself " to some few Psalms, and parcels of Psalms, the matter of which is of common concern to all Christians," he proceeds to discuss the objection, concluding as follows : — " And our Church, in particular, makes the Psalms indiscriminately, a part of its daily Liturgy ; dividing them into such parcels, as they may be said or sung interlocutorily, (as they are in Cathedral and Col- legiate Churches, as well as other Congregations of eminent note), throughout, once in each month. And I know no warrant given to any one, who officiates or partakes of those devotions daily, to pick and choose, to use and omit, or skip over any Psalm or Psalms, upon any of the accounts before men- tioned. Nor can I imagine, what good reason can be given, why they may not be sung in metre, as indiscriminately as the Church command them to be in prose.'' Dr. Ford was born in Devonshire, 1619, and died in 1699. He was a voluminous writer on religious subjects. 92 COTTON. PSALM CXXVI. 1. When Zion's captive state The Lord did turn again : No idle dream which men relate, To us could seem more vain. 2. But when it did appear To be a real thing : Our mouths with laughter filled were, And loud our tongues did sing. The Lord great things hath done For them, ev'n heathens said ; 3. Yea, he hath wrought for us, we own, Great things our hearts to glad. 4. Full, may we, Lord, return Like streams in southern Fields. 5. The seed, which whiles men sow, they mourn, Glad harvest often yields. Who weeping goeth out. To sow his seed in tears : Shall joyfully bring home (no doubt,) His sheaves with filled ears. CHARLES COTTON. Charles Cotton, who owes tlic iutroduction of his name into tliese pages, to the fiict of his liaving versified tlie Psahn given below, is nnich more generally known as the friend of honest Izaak AValton, and himself a writer on angling, than as a Poet. He Mas, however, not only the anthor of a burlesque poem, entitled " A Voyage to Ireland," and another, " Virgil Travestie," and one, on " The COTTON. 93 Wonders of the Peak," of Derbyshire, amidst whicli lie resided — but likewise of a variety of smaller pieces in verse. His compositions are more remark- able for their fluency and humour than for their delicacy : and he appears to have liked good liquor as well as ribald jokes — for in the poem first above- mentioned, he tells us that he had only reached Chester, ere between " riding and drinking hard," he was so " fevered" on the Sunday, that, although he had intended to go to Church, he thouglit " a little phlebotomy" would do him good. " But after my bleeding, I soon understood It had cool'd my devotion as well as my blood : For I had no more mind to look on my Psalter, Than (saving your presence) I had to a halter." Mr. Chalmers, in whose collection a great number of Cotton's poems are included, says, " his fate as a poet has been singular. The Virgil Travestie and his other burlesque performances have been perpetu- ated by at least fifteen editions, while his poems published in 1689, (two years after his death,) in which he displays true taste and elegance, have never been reprinted until now. The present, indeed, is but a selection, as many of his smaller pieces abound in those indelicacies which were the reproach of the reign of Charles II. In what remain, we find a strange mixture of broad humour and drollery, with delicacy and tenderness of sentiment, and even with devotional poetry of a superior cast." PSALM viir. 1 . O Lord, our governor, whose potent sway All powers in Heav'n and Earth obey, Througliout the spacious Earth's extended frame How great is thy adored name ! 94 COTTON. Thy glories thou hast seated, Lord, on high, Above the empirean sky. 2. Out of the mouths of infants, newly come From the dark closet of the womb, Thou hast ordained powerful truth to rise, To bafHe all thine enemies ; That thou the furious rage might'st caJm again,* Of bloody and revengeful men. 3. When on thy glorious Heavens I reflect, Thy work, almiglity architect, The changing Moon and Stars that thou hast made T' illuminate night's sable shade : 4. Oh ! what is man, think I, that Heaven's King Should mind so poor a wretched thing ; Or man's frail offspring, that Almighty God Should stoop to visit his abode ? 5. For thou createdst him but one degree Below the heavenly hierarchy Of bless'd and happy angels, and didst crown Frail dust with glory and renown. G. Over the works of thy almighty hand Thou giv'st him absolute command. And all the rest that thou hast made Under his feet hast subject laid ; 7. All sheep, and oxen, and the wilder breed Of beasts that on their fellows feed ; 8. The air's inhabitants, and scaly brood. That live, and wanton in the Hood, And whatsoe'er does either sM-im or creep Through the investigable deep ; 9. Throughout the spacious earth's extended frame, How great is thy adored name If • Coleridge, who had an exquisite suscoplihility of tlio inuiic of poetr>-, once ■aid, in reference to a couplet of JJyron's, that "then" and "again" made no rhyme to hit ear ; " why,'" «aid he, " should not the old form agrn bo lawful in terse?'— Tat/e Talk, i. 54. f In one instance the whole Pnalm hat been made the foundation of a rery comprehensiTo work, namely, " The Divine Cosmographor : or a brief Surrey of the whole world, delineated in a Tractate on the Eighth Psalm. By William ilodion." Cambridge, 1640. BAXTER. 95 REV. RICHARD BAXTER. In tlie unhappy times with which tlie name and the hihours of this eminent Nonconformist Divine are identified, disputes ran higli between religious parties, not only as to the claims and merits of com- peting Versions of tlie Psalms, but on the propriety of Christians indulging in a taste for poetry at all. Baxter, himself a Poet, and the apologist of sacred verse, was also addicted to Psalm singing, and that under circumstances which makes the exercise appear more strange, than even it did in the practice of dame Bridget Bendish, the grand daughter of Crom- well, who, we are told, would frequently come to visit her friends, at nine or ten o'clock at night, or later. " About one in the morning she used to put herself on the top of her mare, and set off, singing a Psalm or one of Watts's hymns in a very loud but not a very harmonious key." After having in one place expressed his wonder at certain " learned discreet men, that know not what a tune is, nor can dilTerence one from another ;" Baxter adds : — " For myself, I confess that harmony and melody are the pleasure and elevation of my soul. I have made a Psalm of praise in the holy assembly the chief delightful exercise of my religion and of my life, and have helped to bear down all the objections which I have heard against Church music, and against the 149th and 150th Psalms. It was not the least comfort that I had in 90 BAXTER. tlie converse of my late dear wife, tliut our first in the morning, and last in bed at niglit, was a Psalm of praise, till the hearing of others interrupted it." What a beautiful illustration does this afford of the godly simplicity and spiritual tastes of really devoted Christians, in an age which we usually regard as specially characterised by religious acerbity. Some persons may, indeed, smile at these exercises of the good man and his Avife ; but to such, his own remark may be applicable : — " Let those that savour not melody, leave others to their different appetites, and be content to be so far strangers to their delights."* It is interesting to find that Baxter, who could, as we have seen, so tenderly recognise the (jenius loci, in the spot where Sandys sang ; who so generously appreciated the labours of Patrick and others ; and whose allusion to his own " songs in the niglit," is so touching, should himself, amidst such a life of preaching, controversy, persecution, imprisonment, and ill health, have found time not only to compose a poetical work of considerable length and merit, but also to versify the Psalms. Of Baxter's volume of " Poetical Fragments," a work, which is " scarcely known to one in a hundred of the admirers of its author's popular treatises on sacred subjects," Mr. • This taste for Psalm sin^ioK was common with reiiKiously disposeil jiooplo in the So»entocnth Contury, l)efiire thi> publication of tlie Hymns of Watt* and Wesley, and the intluenco of Methodism had altered the tone of devotional melody. Heylin, one of the most learned and Toluminoua polemical writers of his day. presented to the lady, who afterwards became his wife, a very richly gilded Kible, in which ho had a beautiful copy of venes, one of which is a* tollowt : — " Much reading may thy spirits wtook, Itufresh them thereforo with a sonj{; And, that thy musick praise may merit, Sin^ Datid's Psalms with David's spirit ; That at thy voice doth pierce men's ears, So shall thy prayer and vows the spheres." BAXTER. 97 Moiitgomeiy lias thus spoken : — " Tlie longest piece, entitled, ' Love breatlun*^ thanks and praise,' con- tains his spiritual auto-biography, from the earliest impressions made upon his conscience by Divine truth, to the breaking out of the civil war between Charles I. and the Parliament. In this, and indeed in all the other minor pieces, he speaks the language of a minute self-observer, and tells the experience of his OAvn heart in strains which never lack fervency, nor indeed eloquence, however unapt in the art of turning tuneful periods in rhyme the author may occasionally be found." But while the work which Montgomery has thus generously appreciated, is so little known, Baxter's Version of the Psalms must be regarded as a still greater rarity. He left, however, at his deatli, prepared for the press, a complete " Paraphrase of the Psalms of David, with other Hymns," which were published in 1692, by his friend Matthew Sylvester. In a somewhat elaborate Preface, in which, anticipating, among others, this question — " But are not the Psalms sufficiently by translation and metre, already fitted to the Churches' use ?"■ — he answers : — " I am not so vain as to expect that my Version shouhl be of public Church- use : others have done well in several respects ; I delight to read them, and love and honour all their authors. * * * * I have no hope of reaching the seraphic strain of Mr. George Sandys, (especially on Job.) But he hath not fitted his metres to the usual tunes, so that to tlie vulgar they arc almost useless. Bishop King's arc very good, but the unusual Avay of making the rhymes of the next verse meet, maketh it by disuse unpleasant to the most. Mr. White's, the Scotts', and Mr. Rous's his VOL. ir. H 98 BAXTER. secoiul, arc an excellent translation of the Hebrew Text : but tlie car dcsirctli greater melody than their strict Versions will allow. Mr. William Barton liath done excellently, of whom I have made much nse : but his ijreat labour for ry themes hath made it (though more excellent to some, yet) less grave, and less taking to many others. Mr. Woodford's, and Sandys', and Patrick's and Davison's, and some others that have taken a larger paraphrastical liberty than I have done, are much more pleasant and useful to many. But when I perused all these and others for my own daily devotion and delight, I found none of them tliat wholly answered my expectations. I could not rest in the unpleasant harshness of the strictest Versions ; seeing Psalms lose their ends that lose tlieir affecting pleasure. I durst not venture on the paraphrastical great liberty of others ; I durst make Hymns of my own, or explain the apocryphal ; but I feared adding to God's Word, and making my own to pass for God's. Yet I scnipled not giving the sense of the Hebrew Text more fully than our strict translation hath done, by the addition of adjectives and adverbs ; because oft-times a Hebrew word doth signifie more than one Greek, Latin, or English word can open, without such an explicatory adjective or adverb." Mr. Orme, in his life of Baxter, justly remarks — " His Psalms are far from contemptible ; for although few of them are without rugged and prosaic lines, they frequently contain very good stanzas. He had evidently bestowed considerable pains in his Version. 'I'here is a peculiarity in llie structure of tlie verse, whicli often discovers mechanical ingenuity, thougli it contributes frequently to destroy llic poetry. By BAXTER. 99 putting certain words in a different character within hrackets, he contrives to make the verse long or short, as these words are used or omitted." The identical volume which had been seen by Mr. Orme, is througli tlie kindness of its owner, the Rev. J. Russel, an Independent Minister, now before me. The estimate of its contents, as just recorded, is too accurate to require any particular modification. Baxter's Psalms certainly possess less of poetical interest by far than his " Fragments." In a note, giving some instructions for singing the Psalms, he takes credit for being the inventor of the ingenious device by which tlie same composition may be sung in a long or common metre tune : " The reason Avhy I so ordered them is, because Nature, weary of the same, is recreated with variety of tunes. Though this was never done by any other that I know of, and though it sometimes make tlie verse more rough, I hope the benefit will compensate all this." Operose as this contrivance may be thought, it is used by its author quite as satisfactorily for diversifying the measure of the same Hymn, as are repetitions of a Psalm in diff'erent metres by Barton, Patrick, and others. Baxter died in 1691. PSALM LIII. 1. The lives of fools do tell us that Their hearts no God do [truly] own ; Corrupt are they ; odious their works, [Of them] that do good there is none. 2. Upon the wicked sons of men, From heav'n God lookt [on earth] abroad, To see if any understood And seriously sought [after] God. 3. But they all filthy are become, They all [from God] are backward gone : VOL. II. H 2 100 VAUGHAN. None of them lives in doing good, Of all these [wickeb] men not one. 4. Have all these men of wicked works No [wit or] knowledge left at all ? Who eat my people up as bread, On God they never [truly] call. 5. By guilt and God's affrighting hand, Who fears they were [greatly] dismaid ; And fled in terror, wlicn no cause Was seen [for them] to be afraid. For God their bones that once besieged, Hath [justly] scattered all abroad ; To shame thou hast put them because Despised they were [and are] of God. 6. Let Israel's help from Sion come When God brings back the [captives] sad, His saved people shall rejoyce. And [his true] Israel be glad. HENRY VAUGHAN. The principal work of this wortliy Welchiuaii, who practised physic, and died in 1695, is entitled "Silex Scintillans, or Sacred Poems," a title not wholly inappropriate to the generally hard and sparkling character of his productions. While, however, his clustered conceits, like the coloured stones in a Mosaic picture, often produce an effect, in wliich we rather admire the skill tlian the taste of the artist, there are occasional touches in Avhich we recognise the poetry as well as the piety of the author. Campbell, who has described \'aughan as " one of the harshest even of the inferior of the school of conceit," has not disdained to beautify his VAUGHAN. 101 " Rainbow," witli a very striking scintillation from, that of liis predecessor.* Montgomery, speaking of Vaugban, says :— " Amidst much harsliness and obscurity, there are gleams of rare excellence in his poems:" I think I have reason for believing that my honoured friend would allow the subjoined Psalm to come within the latter description : — PSALM CXXI. Up to those bright and gladsome hills, Whence flows my weal and mirth, I look, and sigh for Him who fills, Unseen, both heaven and earth. He is alone my help and hope, That I will not be moved ; His watchful eye is ever ope. And guardeth his beloved. The glorious God is my sole stay. He is my sun and shade, The cold by night, the heat by day. Neither shall me invade. He keeps me from the spite of foes, Doth all their plots controul. And is a shield (not reckoning those) Unto my very soul. Whether abroad amidst the crowd. Or else within my door, He is my pillar and my cloud, Now and for evermore. * The Rainbow. How bright wcrt tliou when Shem's admiring eye Thy burnish'd flaming arch did first descry ; When Zerali, Nahor, Haram, Abram, Lot, The youthful world's gray fathers, in one knot, Did with attentive looks watch every hour, For thy new light and trembled at each shower Vaughan. The Rainbow. When o'er the green undeluged earth Heaven's covenant thou didst shine, How came the worW's gray fathers forth, [To watch the sacred sign. Camibell. 102 NEW VERSION. We have now arrived at the period of the pub- lication of a Metrical Version of tlie Psalms, which was more immediately elTectual in its supplantation of that of Stenihold and Hopkins in our Churches, and more lasting in its division of the popular preference, witli the Old Version, than any that had preceded it. This was " A New Version of the Psalms of David, Fitted to the Tunes used in Churches. By N. Brady, D.D., Chaplain in Ordinary, and N. Tate, Esq., Poet Laureate to her Majesty," Queen Anne. The first edition of this work in its complete form* appeared in 1698, accompanied by the royal autho- rity, allowing its use " in all [such] Churches, Chapels, and Congregations, as should think fit to receive the same." Two years afterwards. Dr. Henry Compton, then Bishop of London, finding, as he says, " the work done with so much judgment and ingenuity," earnestly recommended it to the Clergy of his Diocese ; a circumstance which tended gi'eatly to facilitate its adoption in the Metropo- litan Churches. Basil Kennet, whose name, as a versifier of the Psalms, is elsewhere mentioned, likewise praises the authors of the New Version, as having " fully answered their good design," &c. On the other hand, Bishop Beveridge speaks no less strongly in disparagement of the work. " It is," says the pious Prelate, " a New Version indeed ; a great part of it running in a style that is nholly new, according to the new modes of writing, invented and practised only in this age ! There are many such new phrases, and romantic expressions, in this Version, which are taken up by our present Poets, • Tlie auiliorg liail prinleil " An Kasay" of twenty of the Psalir.s the year before. NEW VERSION. 103 and being now in fashion, may serve well enough in other places ; but can by no means suit with a divine poem, much less with one inspired by God himself." The defence of the " New Version" seems to have devolved upon Tate, who, in an "Essay for pro- moting Psalmody," published in 1710, complains that " by prejudiced judgments the least air of poetry in Psalm-metre, shall be censured as a crime. What is lively shall be called light and airy ; and barbarity and botching have the venerable appellation of grave and solid ! After all, to shew that I speak not for self-interest, let the principal persons of our Church and State, who were pleased to approve and allow the use of tliat Version wherein I was con- cerned, be satisfied that a more serviceable per- formance is produced, and I shall think myself happy in having helped to make way for such a Version : let our Churches be accommodated to satisfaction, and my ambition is answered. And I am at this time more than ordinarily solicitous for a favourable reception of such a Version on the pro- bability of our having such a one, the relict and last effort of no less a man than our famous Sir John Denliam, which, if it comes up to the character of the author, it is likely that Psalmody may clap her wings, and have no occasion to look out any farther." A modern reader of plain sense will probably fail to recognise in the " New Version" of the Psalms, what might be considered one hundred and fifty years ago, as new phrases, and romantic, or light and airy expressions : while persons better acquainted with our national poetry, will hardly deny that it exhibits in fact a fair specimen of the common-place style of English verse, in the least romantic era of our literature. 104 NEW VERSION. By a very long deed,* dated December 3, 1696, Tate and Brady entered into partnership with the Stationers' Company for printing the New Version of the Psalms, the copyright being " divided into three great allotments of eighty shares each," and the articles of agreement giving the option of purchase to one of the three parties. The property has long been wholly in the liands of the Stationers' Company. Some of tlie later editions of tlie New Version were very incorrectly printed — in that of 1737, there were above two hundred errors of the press. In 1753, Dr. Herring, Archbishop of Canterbury, took some measures with Richardson, the King's Printer, for the issue of tlie book witli a more accurate text. Towards tliis object, it appears that Mr. Duncombe rendered some assistance, for in one of his letters to tliis gentleman, (Nov. 15, 1753,) his Grace says : — " The new edition of Tate and Brady is not come out that I know of. The emendations suggested Avere much approved of, but my authority to alter them made a matter of some doubt ; so the middle way was taken, of correcting the errors, not the imperfections. "f • An abstract of this document will be found in Gents. Mag. vol. xcii. Pt. ii. I>. 414. t Letters from Herrinp to Duncomb , pp. 133, 135, 151; BRADY. 105 NICHOLAS BRADY, D.D. Dr. Brady was born at Bandon, in Ireland, in 1659 : he was a lineal descendant of the first Protestant Bishop of Meath. On leaving West- minster School, where he was first placed, and where he discovered " a surprising early genius" for poetry, he became a student of Christ Church, Oxford : he took, however, all his degrees in the University of Dublin. He was a zealous promoter of, and a sufierer in the revolution of 1688. He appears, indeed, to have been active as a politician, as well as popular as a preacher ; and held at his death, which happened in 1726, three or four benefices, one of them being the vicarage of Strat- ford-on-Avon. In 1692 Brady wrote the Ode which was publicly performed on St. Cecilias Day, Nov. 22 : the practice of thus annually celebrating the Patroness of Music, by a union of the most popular poetic talent of tl^e day, with the skill of the most eminent composers, having existed at least from 1683 to 1708. It was the good fortune of our Poet, to have had his Ode " admirably set to Musick by Mr. Henry Purcell, and performed twice with universal applause, and particularly the second stanza, which was sung witli incredible graces by Mr. Purcell himself." Previous to the performance of the Ode, which generally took place at Stationers' Hall, a sermon was preached by some eminent divine at St. Bride's Church, the object of the discourse being the defence 106 BRADY. of Sacred Music : iu 1697 Dr. Brady was the l)reacher, and printed his sermon at the request of the Stewards, under the title of " Church Musick Vindicated." The cliaracter given of him in the Biograpliia Britannica, is tliat of heing " a person of a most obliging, sweet, affable temper, a polite Gentleman, an excellent Preacher, and a good Poet." He executed, or as Dr. Johnson says, " attempted" a translation of " The ^neid of Virgil" in rivalry of Dryden : but the Version of the Psalms which appeared under the joint names of Dr. Brady and Mr. Tate, contains the only pieces of his which are generally known : and it need scarcely be added, that they fall far short of sustaining the author's claim to be considered " a good Poet" in our day, though the appellation does not appear to have been objected to in his own. It would have been an interesting circumstance, could we have associated the execution of Brady's Psalms, with his Warwickshire Vicarage — so near the birth-place of Shakspeare : but they were in fact translated in a pleasant retreat at Richmond, in Surrey. Which of the Psalms were composed by him is uncertain : Cibber attributes to him the 104th : the slender ground on which I quote the following Version under his name, is the simple fact that others have done so. PSALM LXIX. 1. Save me, O God, from waves that rowl, And press to overwhelm my Soul. 2. With painful steps in mire I tread, And Deluges o'erHow my Head. 3. With restless Cries my Spirits faint My Voice is hoarse with long Complaint, My Sight decays with tedious Pain, Whilst for my God, I wait in vain. BRADY. 107 4. My hairs, tlio' numerous, are but few, Compared with Foes that me pursue, With groundless Hate, grown now of might, To execute their lawless Spite. They force me guiltless to resign, As Rapine what by right was mine. 5. Thou Lord, my Innocence dost see; Nor are my Sins concealed from Thee. G. Lord God of Hosts take timely care. Lest for my sake thy Saints despair ; 7. Since I have sufFer'd for thy Name Reproach, and hid my Face in shame, 8. A Stranger to my Country grown, Nor to my nearest Kindred known. A Foreigner exposed to scorn. By Brethren of my Mother born. 9- For, Zeal to thy loved House and Name, Consumes mc like devouring flame, Concern'd at their Affronts to Thee, More than at Slanders cast on me. 10. My very Tears and Abstinence, They construe in a spiteful sense ; 11. When cloath'd with Sackcloth for their sake, They me their common Proverb make. 12. Their Judges at my W^rongs do jest. Those Wrongs they ought to have redrest. How should I then expect to be From libels of lewd Drunkards free ? 13. But Lord, to Thee I will repair For help, with humble, timely Prayer, Relieve me from thy Mercies' store, Display thy Truth's preserving Power. 14. From threat'ning Dangers me relieve, And from the Mire my Feet retrieve ; From spiteful Foes in safety keep, And snatch me from the raging Deep. 15. Controul the Deluge ere it spread. And roul its Waves above my Head ; Nor deep Destruction's open Pit, To close her Jaws on me permit. 108 BRADY. 16. Lord, hear tlie humble Prayer I make, For thy transcending goodness sake ; Relieve thy supplicant once more, From thj- abounding Mercy's store. 17. Nor from thy Servant hide thy Face ; Make haste, for desperate is my Case : 18. Thy timely succour interpose. And shield me from remorseless Foes. 19. Thou knowst what Infamy and Scorn, I from my Enemies have borne ; Nor can their close dissembled Spite, Or darkest Plots escape thy Sight. 20. Reproach and Grief have broke my Heart, I look'd for some to take my part. To pity or relieve my Pain ; But look'd (alas!) for both in vain. 21. With hunger pined, for Food I call. Instead of Food they give me Gall, And when with thirst my Spirits sink, Tiiey give me Vinegar to drink. 22. Their Table therefore to tlieir Health, Shall prove a Snare, a Trap their Wealth ; 23. Perpetual Darkness seize their Eyes, And sudden Blasts their Hopes surprise. 24. On them thou shalt thy Fury pour, Till thy fierce Wrath their Race devour ; 25. And make their House a dismal Cell, Where none will e'er vouchsafe to dwell, 26. For new afflictions they procured, For him who had thy stripes endured ; And made the Wounds thy Scourge had torn. To bleed afresh with sharper Scorn. 27. Sin shall to Sin their Steps betray, Till they to Truth have lost the Way. , 28. From Life thou shalt exclude their Soul. Nor with the Just their Names einoll. 2D. But me, howe'er distres't and poor, Thy strong Salvation shall restore : .30. Thy Power with Songs I'll tiion proclaim. And celebrate with lluuik,> thv Name. I TATE. 109 31. Our God shall this more highly prize, Than Herds or Flocks in sacrifice : 32. Which humble Saints with joy shall see, And hope for like redress with nie. 33. For God regards the Poor's Complaint, Sets Prisoners free from close Restraint, 34. Let Heaven, Earth, Sea their Voices raise. And all the World resound his Praise. 35. For God will Sion's Walls erect. Fair Judah's Cities will protect ; Till all her scatter'd Sons repair To undisturb'd possession there. 36. This blessing they shall at their Death, To their Religious Heirs bequeath : And they to endless Ages more. Of such as his blest Name adore. NAHUM TATE. Tate, as well as his poetical colleague, Bradv, mentioned in the previous notice, was a native of Ireland, having been born, in 1G52, at Dublin, in the University of which place he received his educa- tion.* He was the son of Faithful Teate, D.D.,t who was ejected from Winchester, and himself no despicable Poet, as his " Ter Tria"— or the Trinity • On the centenary celebration of the founding of Dublin College, in 1693. Tate then Poet Laureate, complimented his ^/«a Mzto- in an ode, the object of which IS to praise the memory of the foundress Queen Elizabeth ; But Chiefly to recommend to Fame Maria, and great William's name, Whose Isle to him her freedom owes ; And surely no Hibernian Muse, Can her restorer's praise refuse, While Hoyne and Shannon flows, t " Junii, 1688, Nahum Teat, Pensionarius, Alius Faithful Teat, Presbvter natus annos sexdeeim, natus Dublinii, educatus sub Magisfro Savage, Belfast ' Tutor, Geo. Walker." Regr. Universitat. Dublin. ^ «ei(ast._ 110 TATE. evinces. Malone supposes that oiir author was probahly called Tate by the less polished of his couutrvnieii, according to the Irish pronunciation, and when he came to England he adopted this mode of spelling his name. He does not appear to have followed any particular profession ; but on coming to this country, he became well known in London as a dramatic writer, sometimes in con- junction with Dryden. He was encouraged by, even if his earliest poetical eil'usious did not appear in Duuton's " Athenian Mercury," for in a com- plimentary poem to the Editors he says : — " The warmth your beams produced you must excuse, Your commendations first inspired my muse : Your friendly praise supports lier feeble wing, You both invite and teach her how to sing : And while by art your charming numbers move, Her woodnotes wild instruct her to improve." Tate succeeded Shadwell, as Poet Laureate : and seems to have shared, with few claims to exception on the score of genius or prudence, the fortunes — or rather, the misfortunes of too many other wits of his age ; for he died in the Mint, where he had some time lived as a refuge from his creditors, in 171.5. He left behind him numerous poems, now generally forgotten, as his name would doubtless also have been, but for tlie Version of the Psalms to which it is prefixed,* and the satirical notices of Pope and Young. Tute was exposed to a good deal • Slill our author doM not ap])car to bo fairly obnoxious to more than half the ilemerit recently attributed to him in a popular work: — " Nahum Tate, the author of the worst alteration* of Shakvpeare, tl:e worst \'er»ion of the l'»almi of David, anil the wor^t continuation of a f;reat poem — the second part of * AbMlom and Achitophol' cutant." — Pictorial J/itt. England, Hi. 879. TATE. HI of popular ill will on account of liis political poem* against the course and conduct of the Five Kentish Petitioners, whose remonstrance to Parliament created so much excitement towards the end of the reign of King William I IT. Under Avhat circumstances the friendship and co-operation of the authors of the " New Version" originated does not appear; sympathy of country- men, or the apparent advantage of adorning the newly strung Harp of David with the official laurel, might probahly be the inducement to this poetical partnership on the part of Dr. Brady, who, although inferior to Tale as a Poet, would doubtless revise the \vhole work, with reference to its biblical accuracy. However, the coalition of the individuals in this work might suggest a joke to their contemporaries,-]' there was surely no more to blame in it, than in the poetical coadjutorship of Beaumont and Fletcher, whose dramas are considered none the worse for the fact of their having had two authors. As Tate and Brady were both Poets, they may not have interfered with each other's Versions. • " The Kentish Worthies." An anonymous writer of the period saj-s : — " And to complete the show, [the liberation of the petitioners from prison] that it might look somewhat majestic, the ballad maker of Whitehall was ordered to compose some lines to the laud and praise of the five Kentish Worthies; which he did with like success as when he and the parson (Dr. Brady) rebelled a^inst King David, and broke his lute and murdered his Psalms." — If'ilson's Memoirs of De Foe, vol. i. 406. f Enoch Watts, writing to his brother the Doctor, soon after the publication of his Hymns, (1700), says : — " Dr. Patrick most certainly has the report of a very learned man, and, they say, understands the Hebrew extremely well, which, indeed, capacitates him for a translator, but he is thereby never the more enabled to versify. Tate and Brady still keep near the same pace. I know not what sober beast they ride, (one that will be content to carry double), but I am «ure it is no Pegasus : there is in them a mighty deficiency of that life and soul, which is necessary to raise our fancies and kindle and fire our passions, and something or other they have to alledgo against the rot of adventurers ; but I have been persuaded a great while since, that were David to speak English, ho would choose to make use of your stylo." — Milncr's Life of ff'atts, p. 17S. 112 TATE. It is not, liowever, possible to discriminate the authors of their respective contributions to a performance, which lias not only survived the works bearing their separate names, but which must, after due deduction from the overwrought praise and the unmeasured obloquy which it has encountered, be allowed to be, on the whole, not discreditable to the skill and the age of the versifiers, however confessedly imperfect as such a Version of the Psalms for Congregational use, as should exclude all competition. I will venture to add, that while it would be easy to point out those who have spoken disparagingly of the Version of Tate and Brady, but have not excelled it, it would be difficult to point out a specimen of Metrical Psalmody, better entitled to commendation than the New Version of the 139th. To what extent the subjoined may be entitled to similar praise, the candid reader must judge. PSALM CXLII. 1. To God with mournful Voice in deep distress I pray'd ; 2. Made h'un the Umpire of my Cause, my Wrongs before him laid. 3. Thou didst my steps direct when my griev'd Soul despair'd, For where I thought to walk secure, they had their Traps prepar'd. 4. I look'd, but found no Friend to own me in Distress ; All Refuge fail'd, no Man vouchsaf'd ^ his Pity, or Redress. 5. To CJod at last I pray'd, thou, Lord, my Refuge art ; My Portion in the Land of Life, till Life it self depart. DENHAM. 113 Reduc'd to greatest Straits to Tliee I make my Moan, O ! save me from oppressing Foes, for me too pow'rful grown. That I may praise thy Name, my Soul from Prison bring ; Wliilst of thy kind Regard to me assembled Saints shall sing. SIR JOHN DENHAM. Sir John Denham was born at Dublin, in 1615 — both his parents having been English. His college life was irregular ; and among other irregularities, lie was addicted to the vice of gaming : he, however, not only reformed, and was engaged in various important services for Charles the Second, whose exile and fortunes he shared, but, as Dr. Johnson says, " he appears, whenever any serious question comes before him, to have been a man of i)iety : he consecrated liis poetical powers to religion, and made a Metrical Version of the Psalms of David. In this attempt he has failed ; but in sacred poetry who has succeeded ?" If the Doctor means simply that Denham has " failed" to impart to his Version of the Songs of Zion, the sort and degree of interest, which belongs to his exquisitely beautiful and original poem of " Cooper's Hill," the assertion cannot be denied : otherwise, some portions of his translation, at least, have been highly and deservedly j^raised. As to the closing question of the above quotation, Montgomery's " Christian Poet," to say nothing of VOL. ir. I 114 DENHAM. otlier works, is a triumphant reply. Deiiham's Ver- sion is comparatively rare ; there is a copy iu the Library of Christ Church, Oxford : the title is — " A Version of the Psalms of David ; Fitted to the Tunes used in Churches. By the Honourable Sir John Denham, Knight of the Bath. Loudon, Printed for J. Bowyer," &c., 1714. In order to give every advantage to this Version, it was accompanied with music composed by Andrew Roner, the friend of Handel. Tattershall, in the Preface to his Edition of Merrick, speaks with enthusiasm of the Version of Sir John Denham ; giving it as his opinion " that none of his predeces- sors or contemporaiics have ever come near him, and that few of his successors have equalled, scarcely one surpassed him." He adds, " what height of devo- tion, what elegance of diction, do we meet with from the beginning to the conclusion of this author's work, wherein there is nothing too difficult for meaner capacities, nothing foreign to, or incoherent with the Scriptural sense of the Psalmist !" The following specimen is not only creditable, but will probably be allowed to exhibit a certain compactness of structure which justifies the author's chai*acter for " strength." Denham died in 1608, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, by the side of Cowley, whose death he had recently lamented in an excellent poem. PSALM CXLV. 1. O Lord, my God, my Songs to Thee Shall, like Thyself, immortal be! 2. For ever I'll Thy Praise express, And every Day thy Name will bless. DENHAM. 115 3. Great is the Lord, his Praise no Bounds Confine, no Line his greatness sounds : 4. That Generation which succeeds, Shall learn from this thy mighty Deeds. 5. The Honour of thy Majesty 6. ril sing, how wonderful ! how high ! 7. The measures of thy Grace, who know ? 8. Thy Mercy's swift, thy Anger slow. 9. O'er all, God's Guardian Mercy stands, His Bounty falls from equal Hands : 10. His wondrous Power his Works proclaim, For which the Saints shall bless his Name. Part II. 11. God's Majesty, his Power, the State 12. Of his Dominion, Saints relate; So large, so lasting, so renown'd, 13. As neither Place nor Time shall bound. 14. Thy Hand supports the drooping Head, Has raised the Low, the Hungry fed ; 15. The whole Creation, Men and Beasts, 16- Attending Thee, thy Bounty feasts. 17. Justice and Truth thy Ways secure; And, like Thyself, thy Works are pure, 18. To them that pray the Lord is near, To all who pray and are sincere, 19. Their Suits he grants, their Wants supplies, And saves them when he hears their Crys. 20. All this the righteous Man enjoys. But the ungodly God destroys. 21. My Lips his Praises shall proclaim, And all who live shall bless His Name. VOL. II. I 2 116 MILBOURNE. LUKE MILBOURNE. '^ Mr. Luke Milburn, that zealous Presbyter of the Churcli of England," as Calamj calls him, was the son of a Clergyman of the same name, who was ejected from the living of Wroxhall, in Warwick- shire, by the Act of Uniformity. The subject of this notice became Rector of St. Ethelburga's, and Lecturer of St. Leonard's, Shoreditch, London. His name as a Poet and a critic has survived his reputation as a preacher ; for he not only ventured upon the bold experiment of publishing a new Version of the Psalms, while that of Tate and Brady was fresh in circulation, but he openly challenged the reputation of Dryden, as a translator of the Prhice of Latin Poets, giving to the public, in his " Notes on Dryden," &c., his own translation of two of the Pastorals, and of the Georgics of Virgil : on which account he has been immortalized by Pope as " the fairest of critics." The contempt which Dryden professed for the performance of one who preferred Ogilby's Virgil to his, has been confirmed bv the public : and at this day, Milbourne, whose moral character, however, appears to have been irreproachable — would probably be forgotten, Avere it not for the recorded sneers of the two greatest Poets of his age. The following is the title of the work upon which his claim to be mentioned in these pages is founded : — '' Psalms of David, in English Metre ; Translated from the Original, and suited to MILBOURNE. 117 all the Tunes now Sung in Churches : with the addition of several new. Bj Luke Milbourne, a Presbyter of the Church of England." 12mo. 1698. This Version never attracted any attention : indeed it contains little to excite either praise or blame. The following extract from the Preface of Milbourne's work is not without interest : — " The Standart of our English Language having been so much altered of late ; and Poetry especially, having reached its utmost height by that noble genius appearing in the writings of Sir John Denham, Mr. Waller, and Mr. Cowley, and some later authors, the roughness and uncorrectness of the ancient Version has appeared the more evident and notorious. The observation of which made Mr. Sandys, Mr. May, Mr. Burnaby, Bishop King, Mr. Barton, Sir John Denham, himself, Mr. Smith, Mr. Goodridge, Dr. Patrick, Dr. Woodford, and Dr. Ford, and now very lately, Mr. Brady and Mr. Tate, make their several translations with different success. Mr. Burnaby's book, and Mr. May's essay, I have seen : Mr. Sandys' and the Rev. Dr. Woodford's are above our ordinary Musick — the last especially, whose author seems to breathe with David's spirit, and to aspire to raptures almost equal with that Divine Psalmist ; and whose steps are as nobly followed by that Masculine Poet as well as Painter, the incom- parable M7S. Beal. Mr. Barton's Version is generally apposite enough to the text, but exalted little above the old. Sir John Denham's I have not seen, but find the admirable Dr. Woodford (a suffi- cient judge) giving them a noble and doubtless a deserved character. That of the Right Reverend Bishop of Chichester, [Dr. King] labours under the 118 MILBOURNE. unhappy clioice of his rliyme, (as others have observ'd,) so far as to render tliat otherwise excel- lent book, ungrateful to the ear. Mr. Smith is very gay, and perhaps too affected, if the Rev. Dr. Patrick may be a judge, whose own is pious indeed, and generally plain — but an almost unpoetical trans- lation of the most exalted poetry. For Mr. Brady's and Mr. Tate's, since they are now publishing a new and corrected edition of their translation, I shall pass no judgment on that work, whose eiTours and ex- cellencies I must be content to be ignorant of till it is published. Among those which I have hitherto seen, which are fitted to common tunes, the best and most elaborate and the most musical is that of Dr. Ford, that Reverend person having a tnily Poetical genius, attended with great and solid learning, and exemplary Piety — excellent qualifi- cations for a compleat paraphrast. Nor ought Mr. Goodridge for his zeal and piety in promoting more correct Church Musick to be passed without a just commendation." Alilbourne died in 1720. Old John Dunton, the bookseller, gives him the following character : — " Most other perfections are so far from matching his, they deserve not to be mentioned. His ' Translations' are fine and true : his preaching sublime and rational ; and he is a first-rate Poet." PSALM XLV. 1. WarmM hy a Beam of Sacred Light, 111 sing a lofty Song ; The strains my busie thoughts indite, - To our bless'd King belong. And though the Pen-Man's humble hand riies swiftly o'er his scroul, More swiftly anying stanzas ! O prayse the Lord, ye servantes all, Prayse y" his holly name ; Bless hym from East to West, henceforth, For ever do the same. The Lord is great above all Kings, Then Heven his glorie hier. Who's like to hym ? dwelling so highe Yett humbles his desier. To see y*" things y* ar in Heaven, And on the Earth be lowe ; Taking the pore and simple out Of dust and myre, we know. That he may seat hym for to sitt W' princes of the land, Even w* the princes of his people, His lawes to understand. He makes a barren woman bear, And keep her house with joye ; To cheer her Hart he children gives. To gard hir from annoye. All this and more our God doth send To us, y* gift of peace ; For w"'^ to prayse his holy name. My Hart shall never seasse. DR. BASIL KENNET. Soon after the appearance of the " New Version," and at a time when the reputation of that w^ork directed the attention of the public to the subject of KENNET. 127 Metrical Psalmody, there was put forth " An Essay towards a Paraphrase on the Psalms in English Verse. To which is added a Paraphrase on the third chapter of the Revelations. By Basil Kennet, Fellow of C. C. C. Oxon." London, 1706. Dr. Drake, although he gives no specimen, appears to have seen Rennet's work, an 8vo. of 105 pages, which he thus characterises : — " This writer, an elegant scholar, and a man of considerahle talent, after approving in general the plan, and in part, the execution of Tate and Brady's Version, observes, that they have * shewn themselves equal to a nobler attempt;' a remark which, together with his own example, induces us to suppose that he considered a paraphrase as alone capable of doing justice to the compositions of the Psalmist; and, indeed, it is but due to add, that several parts of what he intended as an exemplar of his opinions, are beautifully executed." The following specimen, although convenient for my purpose, is not selected as one of those* which would best justify the epithet at the close of the foregoing quotation : — PSALM LXXXV. " On thy forsaken land thy favours shine, Great King ! and rescue Jacob's captive line : Thy goodness veils our guilt ; thy balms dispence Health to our wounds, and banish our offence : Recall'd are all thy terrors ; in thy face Pity succeeding breathes immortal grace. Turn us, our God ! confirm thy saving name : Turn us, and cease the reliques of thy flame. For ages shall thy wrath its edge disclose, And scourge us with hereditary woes ? • The Psalms Paraphrased are the following:— 19, 22, 23, 27, 29, 32, 33, 34, 37, 42, 46, 51, 84, 85, 90, 102, 103, 113, 121, 122, 125, 126, 127, 129, 130, 133, 143,147. \ 128 MASON. Or shall thy blessful comforts not revive Thy Tribes, and pleasure to their soul derive, To joy in thy defence, and in thy praise to strive ? Let mercy, wide triumphant, charm our eyes. And bright salvation on our darkness rise. -^ii" To thy propitious voice my vows attend, . Courting the peaceful message to descend : For peace it brings to all whom folly's chain Once has releas'd, not to be bound again. Grace waits on holy fear, and in our state Glory conspicuous takes i(s radiant seat. In bless'd embraces Truth and Mercy join, And Piety and Peace greet with a kiss divine. Fair truth shall spring abundant from our soil ; Mercy, Heav'n-born, from heav'n well-pleas'd shall smile While peace indulgent, show'ring from the sky, Prospers the large increase of piety. Where Truth and Piety the path prepare, Angels encamp, Jehovah's tents are there. And all the train of heav'n compose the glorious rear ,! JOHN MASON, A.M. TJie following Psalm is by an individual whose compositions were often sung in Dissenting Con- gregations, before the publication of Watts's Hymns — though the Doctor's brother, Enoch, speaks of them disparagingly.* John Mason was Rector of Water Stratford, in Buckinghamshire, and died in 1694. He was a man of genius, as well as of piety : but the entertainment of some of the Millenarian notions which were prevalent in his time, exposed • " Mason now reduces Uiis kind of writing, (Psalmody), to a sort of yawning; indifference, and honest Barton chimes us asleep." — Milner's Life of IFatts, p. 177. MASON. 129 him to the charge of enthusiasm, — A term of reproacli, which appears to have meant nothing more in this good man's case, than that he was more .^puitually minded, and earnest in the service of his Saviour, tlian those who tluis spoke of him. He left behind him a little collection of devotional aphorisms, whicli were published by liis grandson, the author of the celebrated Treatise on Self- knowledge, under the title of " Select Remains of the Rev. John Mason, A.M." This little book was printed at the recommendation of Dr. Watts, and long continued, deservedly, to obtain a wide circu- lation. It is constituted principally of short but sententious and weighty reflections on the most momentous topics in reference to the Christian life ; and it is defaced with fewer conceits than most works of the same age, devoted to a similar purpose.* The Psalm given below is from the twelfth edition of a work, to which various Hymn writers have been indebted—" Spiritual Songs ; or Songs of Praise, with Penitential Cries to Almighty God, upon several occasions ; together with the Song of Songs, which is Solomon's, first turn'd, then paraphrased in Eng- lish Verse : — with an addition of a Sacred Poem on Dives and Lazarus."f In the following verses there is a degree of harmony, terseness, and propriety of expression, of whicli iew, if any, of the Versions of the same Psalm exhibit equal evidence. * Memoirs of Dr. John Mason Good, whose parents perpetuated in his baptismal names their respect (or and relation to the author of " Self Know- ledge." t Some of the '« Penitential Cries" in this volume, are said to be by the Rev. Thomas Shepherd, a friend of Mason's See Montgomery's " Christian Poet" 2nd Edit. p. 338. ' VOL. If. K 130 MASON. PSALM LXXXVI. 1. Hear, hear me, Lord, for I am Poor, And seek Salvation at thy Door ; Bow down thy gentle Ear to me, Who am oppress'd with Misery. 2. Save me, my God, for I am thine. Thy Touch hath made my Heart Divine ; Save me, my God, to whom I flee, Who have none other Gods but thee. 3. Let Mercy come from God on High, The Object of my daily Cry ; I daily knock, I daily wait, For Mercy's Alms, at Mercy's Gate. 4. God of all Comfort, Give a Dole Of Comfort to thy Servant's Soul : For this my Soul doth bend her Knee, And stretch her craving Hands to thee. 5. Thou, Lord, art Good, and thou dost stand With sealed Pardons in thy Hand ; Oh how the Dews of Mercy fall. And answer at thy People's Call ! 6. It ne'er was writ, here lieth One, Dy'd at the Foot of Mercy's Throne ; Lord, hearken to my luimble Cries, And let them sound above the Skies. Part H. 1 . I have a God, to whom I may Resort with Freedom any Day ; I'll seek him when I am in Pain, Fm sure to hear from him again. 2. And when my Soul shall understand. The Comfort of his Curing Hand, Then shall I sing, O happy Kod, That brought me nearer to my God. 3. What are those Gods whom Folly feigns. Those Creatures of distemper 'd Brains ? MASON. 131 What are those Dunghill Gods before The Mighty God whom I adore ? 4. O King of Nations, Lord of All, Before thee shall all Nations fall ; And every Language shall confess Thy glorious Everlastingness. 5. For thou art Great beyond Compare, Thy Works amazing Wonders are ; To God alone all Glory be. There is none other God but He. 6. Lord, guide me in thy secret Way, With such a Guide I shall not stray ; Bring me into an Heavenly Frame, Unite my Heart to fear thy Name. 7. My Lord, my God, my Heart shall Praise And glorifie thee all my Days ; Thy Mercy to me doth excell, I am a Brand snatch'd out of Hell. Part IIL 1. The Sons of Pride against me rise, Fierce Atheists are mine Enemies ; They fear not (xod, they love not me, My Comfort is their Misery. 2. They mark me for their common Foe, And jointly Plot my overthrow ; But thou, my Lord, dost take my Part, Thou, Lord, a God of Bowels art. 3. Thou art most swift to Acts of Grace, But unto Wrath of slowest Pace ; Thy Mercy and thy Truth abound, This is Faith's everlasting Ground. 4. Whilst God is Merciful and True, I am both Safe and Happy too ; I cannot fall, who lean upon The Pillars of the highest Throne. 5. O leave me not, who follow Thee, Let Mercy look on Misery ; VOL. II. K 2 132 COBB. Save, Lord ; for tliee I do adore, As did my Mother heretofore. 6. Save, Lord, one Born within thy House, A Child of Prayers, and Tears, and Vows ; Mine Eyes expect some happy Sign, To tell my Soul that thou art mine. 7. Me with Salvation's Walls enclose, To the Confusion of my Foes, That they with blushing may confess, We cannot Curse whom God doth bless ; 8. We cannot catch, whom God will have; We cannot hurt, whom God will save ; We cannot touch his smallest Limb ; We Curse our Selves, in Cursing him. SAMUEL COBB, M.A. This individual published a volume of " Poems on Several Occasions," with Imitations from Horace, Ovid, &c. Tlie work, although containing nothing that would attract a general reader at this time, may liave possessed some interest with the author's friends, in liis lifetime, and probably with tlie public, as the copy before me is the " third Edition, 1710." The only Preface is a long " Discourse on Criticism, and the Liberty of Writing ; in a letter to Ricliard Carter, Esq., late of the INIiddle Temple, now living in Barbadoes." In it tlie author quotes the following Epigram, which affords as clear an indication of the general character of the bulk of his poetry, as six- lines can do : — COBB. 133 " Born to surprise the world, and teach the Great The Slippery danger of exalted state, Victorious Marlbro to Ramilly flies ; Arni'd with new Lightning from bright Anna's Eyes. Wonders like These, no former Age has seen ; Subjects are Heroes, where a Saint's the Queen." Queen Anne appears, indeed, to liave been the idol of Cobb's muse, for he composed in her honour an Ode of more tlian three hundred lines, the " Female Reign." " This poem," says Dr, Watts, in a note on the title-page of the copy he gave to Dr. Gibbons, not many years before his death with his emenda- tions, " in my opinion, is the truest and best Pindaric I ever read, yet I thought some parts of it were capable of improvement ; I have, therefore, taken some pains, and much libeity with it, to form it entirely to my taste." It is printed, with the altej-a- tions, in Dr. Gibbons's Memoirs of Watts. Cobb's volume contains paraphrases of the 103rd, 1 30th, and 148th Psalms, in the irregular metre of the age. I have transcribed the first of these, which was written by the author in January, 1704, as " A Thanksgiving after a Deliverance from Sickness and Trouble." PSALM CIIL Glory, my Soul, and blessing give To God alone, by whom you live ; To God, whose Mercy did impart New Health and Vigour to my heart. Nor cease my sprightly blood, to shew His love, who tauglit you how to flow : Who raised me from Disease and Sin, From Ills ivithout, and Ills within. Just had tliey plung'd me to the Grave, But These he Cur'd, and Those Forgave. 134 COBB. His Melting Pity, Tender Grace, Like a bright Diadem's embrace, Blazed round my Head, and Lightened in my Face. Thou, Lord, art infinitely Good, Thou, like an Eagle's, hast renew'd My 3'outh ; and like an Eagle, I Will mount, and tell thy Praises through the Sky. n. Tell how nor Death, nor Hell's more dreadful Stings, Can shake a Soul o'ershadow'd with his Saving Wings. Tell how Egyptian Lords in vain, With Iron Hands presume to rein ; When for their Tyranny and Wrong, Billows on crowding Billows throng. And whelm the Haughty Host in th' Erythrean Main. This Moses saw, when on the farther Strand He waved aloft the mighty Wand, And th' Amaz'd Sea, his Ancient Strength regain'd. O wonders of insuperable Height ! Above the Stretch of Reason ! shewn To Jacob's moody race alone : Unfathomable Depths of Mercy Infinite ! So Strong the Rivers of his Goodness flow ! So Swift his Love ! His Wrath so Slow ! Which, if it chance to Swell, and Rise To meet our Crimes, which dare the Skies ; His Pity then begins to chide His Rage, and Calm the Rapid Tide. His Crushing Thunder, which might justly Slay Is only shaken at Unmindjul Clay. And, to lay down so oft the Lifted Rod, Speaks the Kind Father, and Forbearing God. in. As this Round Globe's inferiour Face, Compared with yon' Ethcrial Space, Is but a point to tliose Above : So Infinite is Heavenly Love To a Religious Race. Thy mercy. Lord, from Sin has set us free, As farthest East is from the Western Sea, So distant are our Crimes from us and Thee. COBB. 135 Though we, through Weakness, every Hour Like Idle, Heedless Children, fall, Thou like a Father, sparest all Who love thy Goodness, and who fear thy Power ; Thou knowest whence we came ; How brittle Dust composed our Frame : Like Vessels in the Potter's Hand, Too Prone to break ! too Weak to stand ! IV. Can Nature's Dress appear more Gay Than in her Darling flowery May ? Yet must those short-live'd Honours of the Field To the rude North their Beauty yield, Or to the cruel Scythe become a Prey. Such are our Days, an empty shade : Death stalks behind us, to deride Our noisie Vanity and Pride, Which smil'd like lillies, and like them decay'd. Nothing is sure and permanent below, Corruption reigns within us as we grow. Thou only, Glorious Father, ere the World begun, Wert, and shall be for ever, when all worlds are done : When Time's no more : Then shall thy Blessed Saints Be rank'd among the Bright Inhabitants. They with their Children's Children then shall see A long Succession of Posterity ; Who practised what the Prophets taught, Sincere in Word, and Pure in Thought. They with Repenting Sinners, shall thy mercies taste, And Joys, which never can be told, and never can be past. V. High supereminent in Heaven, the Throne Of God is fix'd : He Reigns Alone. All Things above us, and below, obey His Just, his Good, his Universal Sway : While the proud Lords of this round Mole-hill here. Like Emmets, in his Sight appear, Mere Royal Worms, and Gilded Clay. 130 COBB. Praise him, ye holy Angels, which excel In Strength, or Michael, or Ithuriel, Or Gabriel ; Blest Names I who fly At his Command, from every Corner of the Sky : Whose high examples teach us to fulfil His Word, and execute his Will. His Name let every Creature bless, All tilings in Air, Earth, Sea, their Gratitude express. And Thou, my Soul, thy Pious Offering bring To God, the Wise, the Gracious King, Who Life to Thee, and Being gave, Wlio now has snatchM Thee from the Grave, And taught Thee whom to Praise, and how to Sing. I have given the foregoing specimen of Cobb's treatment of the Psahns, not certainly for its poetical merit, mucli less because it would not have been easy to have selected a better Version of the beautiful original from almost any other quarter, but mainly because it somewhat strikingly displays that pompous " Pindarick Style," as it was termed, in which so many writers of religious verse indulged about the beginning of the last century. A literary friend/ whom I cannot name, having had in his hand my MS. transcript of the Psalm, left upon it the following pencilled note, which I venture, yneo periculo, to embody in this page:— "I wonder if any human being ever did read this rhodomontade of verbiage a second time, — or if ten during the last hundred years have read it over once. It is lamentable that a better Version or Paraphrase (no matter whether) of this most beautiful, affecting, and earnestly devo- tional Psalm could not be found amonff vour hundred and fifty competitors. The bow of Ulysses was easier to draw than the harp of David to be struck by any but the Master's own hand." ^ BURGESS. 137 DANIEL BURGESS. Noble, tlie continnator of Granger, after parti- cularising four portraits of this eccentric preacher, mentions Robert Burgess, a common player, who died in 1559, adding, " He perhaps was a comedian ; but his namesake, Daniel, seems to have been full as much of the player : only he acted comedy, not in a theatre, but in a meeting-house, which Sache- verel's mob illuminated at the expense of pulpit and pews." This flippant notice reflects more disgrace on the biographer than on the object of his scorn. He was the son of a Clergyman, at Collinburn- Ducis, Wilts, where he was born, in 1645. In due course he went to the University, where his studies were pursued with attention and success. With reference to his after life, it deserves to be mentioned, as a singular circumstance, that Henry St. John, afterwards the celebrated Viscount Boling- broke, was for a time under the tuition of Burgess, the mother of this nobleman, whose sceptical notions were afterwards too openly and influentially avowed, having been a devoted hearer of the quaint old Puritan.* It certainly affords a striking illustration of that large chapter of contrarieties which belono-s to the history of human conduct, to find the same individual, whose daily task book while a boy was Dr. Manton's one hundred and ninety Sermons on the 1 1 9th Psalm, before he was twenty-one years of • Cookt's Life of IJolingtiroke, i. 6. 138 BURGESS. age, proud of being compared with the witty and licentious Rocliester ! In a curious and rare Tract, containing " The Life, Death, and Character" of Burgess, now before me, it is said he was born in 1647. The compiler of this old catchpenny account, and who was evidently no admirer of the pulpit mimic, after describing the mariiage, by which he lost his fellowship at Oxford, states that " being recommended to the Earl of Cork, he was admitted to be his domestic Chaplain, and going over with his Lordship into Ireland, was soon presented with a living of three hundred pounds per annum. He had an excellent talent in preaching, by which, and his winning behaviour, he gained the hearts and good will of all his parishioners, and particularly of his patron." His secession from the Church, and his manners as a dissenting preacher, are thus described : — " Festus said to Paul, too much learning has made you mad. Whether that was the case of Daniel Burgess, or what other cause he had to turn apostate, I shall not take upon me to determine. But certain it is, that some wild extra- vagant notions seizing him one night, he seemed to be light-headed, he raved of several strange things, and was possessed with enthusiasm." He was, in consequence of this change in his views, dismissed from his benefice, and lost the favour of the Earl of Cork; whereupon " he repaired back to London, and was kindly received by the Dissenting Ministers, and quickly got a congregation, who subscribed to his preaching. Tims Ave perceive that a good tree may bring forth corrupt fruit. (?) Daniel, from an Orthodox preacher, became a canting hypocritical Holdcrforth : instead of that decent behaviour and BURGESS. 139 due decorum that ouglit to be shewn in a pulpit, he used grimaces and antic gestures ; would hum and haw, and draw Jack Calvin through his nose, squeeze his handkercher, and often take out his silver snuff- box ; and stopping in the middle of a sentence, put as much tobacco in his mouth as he could well contain in his hands." A number of stories are even yet afloat, embodying his pulpit flourishes ;* and some which affect his character more nearly. Burgess seems in his day to have filled that position in the metropolis, which was occupied in our time by the notorious Huntington, with tliis difference, that the former descended from a position of " Universal learning" to those pulpit buffooneries, to which the latter arose from the humble station of a " coal heaver." Burgess died in 1713.f In the year following, was published " Psalms, and Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, By the late Rev. Mr. Daniel Burgess, Minister of the Gospel." Prefixed to this work is an engraved portrait of the author, which is said to be " very like him." The Metrical contents are mostly of a homely kind ; but they embody, occasionally with energy, the doctrinal sentiments of the preacher for whose congregation they were in * The circumstances connected with the mysterious memorandum of the " thoroughp.iced doctrine" of Burgess, which was found in the pocket book of Dr. Yalden, and which had nearly convicted the latter of treason, will be recollected by every one who has read Dr. Johnson's Lives of the Poets. — Life of Dr. Yalden. f To the interest of Mr. Daniel Burgess, who had been Secretary to the Prince of Wales (1723), and was probably a son of the old Non-conformist Preacher mentioned in the text, Dr. Calamy attributes that " considerable taste of his royal bounty and kind regard" to the Dissenters, which George the First manifested by the payment of .€1,000 a-year, out of the Treasury, " for the assisting either Ministers or their widows that wanted help, or to be applied to any such uses as the distributors thought to be most for their interest." This Regium Donum has, with occasional intermissions, ever since continued to be paid out of a Parliamentary grant — Vide Life of Calamy, vol. ii. p. 466-8. 110 MATHER. the first place specicilly composed. In the " Pre- latory Epistle" by John Billingsley, tlie Psalms and Hymns are spoken of as "^ having met with great acceptance, and been of singular use in that con- gregation to which this good man ministered in holy things." PSALM CXXXI. O Got), that dost abhor the proud, Their haughty looks, and scornful eyes ; My heart thy grace hath lowly made, And looks that are no otherwise. Conscience, ambition does forbid, Nor dare I exercise my hands In anything above my sphere, And that too high above me stands. Humble, contented, and resign'd, In all conditions I do rest. And so behave me like a babe, That's weaned from his mother's breast. And O let all the Saints of God, Leave trusting in this earth's vain shows, And with a meek and lowly heart, Their trust always in God repose. COTTON MATHER, D.D. Bishop Beveridge, in his defence of the Version of Sternhold and Hopkins, says, " Another cavil, which some make against this old Translation, is, that the rhyme is not always good. They cannot deny tliat, for the most part, it is better than could be well expected from the age it was made in, and MATHER. 141 as good as can be desired now. But they say it is sometimes faulty. And so it is in most books of Englisli poetry, of the same bulk, that I have seen. But what then ? The Psalms were collected into metre, that they might be better sung to God. And while devout people are singing forth the praises of God, do they mind the rhyme ? or whether the words sound alike at the end of every other verse or line ? This is not their business at that time. Need they ever concern themselves about it ? If it was not the mode of our English poetry, and some help to the memory, it would be no matter whether there was any rhyming at all in the Psalms, so long as the metre, or number of syllables in each verse, is proportioned to the tune set to it." Mr. H. J; Todd, after quoting the worthy Bishop's lame de- fence of lame rhyme, says in a note — " Beveridge did not live to see a publication of this kind : but such there certainly have been ; the first, perhaps, bearing the title of * Psalterium Americanum : the Book of Psalms, in a Translation exactly con- formed unto the Original ; But all in Blank Verse ; Fitted unto the Tunes commonly used in our Churches. Which Pure Offering is accom- panied with illustrations, digging for hidden treasure in it.'" Boston: N.E. 1718. It is probable the reverend gentleman had not seen the work alluded to, a copy of which, through the kindness of a friend, is now before me : and assuredly, it is one of the most curious books of the class to which it belonofs. Its venerable author. Dr. Mather, was born at Boston, in New England, in 1063, and died in 1728. His works are exceedingly numerous : the most valuable, perhaps, is " An Ecclesiastical His- 142 MATHER. toiy of New England, from its first planting in 1620 to 1624," in folio ; the most curious, however, is one entitled " The Wonders of the Invisible World," in which, as well as in some pamphlets besides, he defends the reality of Witchcraft, of which he was persuaded his own country exhibited some notable examples. At what time this rare Psallerium was exe- cuted does not appear from anything in the book itself, beyond the piinter's date in the title-page: and it is probable no more than one edition was ever published. It is, however, in many respects a learned, pious, and useful, as well as a singular perfonnance. Prefixed to the Translation there is an elaborate " Introduction" of about forty pages, setting forth, with more unction than elegance, the preciousness of the Psalms, as well according to the testimony of ancient, as the experience of modern Christians. In defence of the peculiarity of his Version, the author remarks, that " our Poetry has attempted many Versions of the Psalms, in such Numbers and Measures, as might render them capable of being Sung, in those gi-ave Tunes, which have been prepared and received for our Christian Psalmody. But of all the more than twice Seven Versions which I have seen, it must be aflirmed, that they leave out a vast heap of those rich things, Avhich the Holy Spirit of God speaks in the Original Hebrew ; and that they put in as largo a heap of poor things, which are entirely their own. All tliis has been merely for the sake of preserving the Clink of the Rhime ; which, after all, is of small consequence to a Generous Poem ; and of none at all unto the melody of Siuying ; but of how little MATHER. 143 then, in singing unto the Lord! Some famous pieces of Poetry, which tliis refining age has been treated withal, have been offered us in Blank Verse. And in Blank Verse we now have the glorious Book of Psalms presented unto us ; and so fitted unto the Tunes commonly used in the assem- blies of our Zion, that the Christian Singer has his devotions now supplied, with all that the Holy Spirit of God has dictated, in this illustrious and celestial bestowment upon his Church in the World; and there is nothing besides the pure dictates of that Holy Spirit imposed on him." These testimonies of in- diff'erence to rhyme, in lyric compositions, by the English Prelate and the American Independent, are curious, however little modern taste may have con- firmed them. It is added— "Most certainly, our Translation of the Psalms, without the fetters of Rhime upon it, can be justly esteemed no prejudice to the character of Poetry in the performance. For indeed, however it is now appropriated, to Rythme itself a Similis Desinentia,, or a likeness of Sound in the last syllables of the verse, is not essential. Old Bede will give you such a definition of Rythme, and bring other authorities besides Austin's, for it, that Scaliger thereupon holds all Verses wherein regard is had unto the number of syllables, to have a claim unto it." He might have remarked also, that the greater part of our old Metrical Versions, (and some modern ones too) especially when the measure is " eights and sixes," is without rhyme in two lines of every verse— a result, doubtless, in tlie first instance, of a novel mode of printing the old fourteen-syllable line. The uncompromising American Translator, how- ever, has not only disregarded the modern prac- 144 MATHER. tice of breaking tlie line, wlietlier rliynied or not ; but he has " run on" (to use a printer's phrase) the wliole matter : so that while each Psalm looks exactly like prose, and may be read as such, it is, in fact, modulated that it may be sung as lyric verse. For the latter purpose, tlie syllabic quantities — which it must be confessed the reader would not always recognise,* are also marked by parallels. Baxter's expedient of lengthening the common measure of the verse, to suit a different tune, by tlie addition of a word or two in a different character is adopted : — " Most certainly the thing that is|| Good, witli [most lu'lJtl] Benignity, II This all the days that I do live|| shall [still aittj] ever follow me ;|| Yea, I shall dwell, and Sabbatize,|| even to [lilication of it to any considcrabh' extent, belongs PIKE. 193 to Dr. Cottou Matlier. ludeed, till the publication of Soutliey's Tluilaba, that " wild and wondrous song," familiarised the public with a novel experi- ment, the exquisite " Ode to Evening," by Collins, was the only unrhymod lyric generally known. The worthy laureate himself, in the Preface to the collected edition of his Poems, thus delivers his opinion on the subject : " Every one who has an ear for metre and a heart for poetry, must have felt how perfectly the metre of Collins's ' Ode to Evening' is in accordance with the imagery and the feeling. None of the experiments that were made of other unrhymed stanzas proved successful. They were either in strongly marked and well known measures, which unavoidably led the reader to expect rhyme, and consequently baulked him when he looked for it; or they were in stanzas as cumbrous as they were ill-constructed. Dr. Sayers went upon a different principle, and succeeded admirably. I read his ' Dramatic Sketches of Northern Mytho- logy' when they were first published, and convinced myself, when I had acquired some skill in versifica- tion, that the kind of verse in which his choruses were composed, was not less applicable to narration than to lyrical poetry." It does not appear that Dr. Southey ever saw the curious Version of the Psalms by Cotton Mather, nor the more recent and exem- plary attempt in a similar line, to a notice of which, the foregoing remarks are introductory. I was aware of the existence of the work alluded to, in the Archiepiscopal Library at Lambeth ; and to the ready courtesy of the Rev. S. R. Maitland, the curator of that noble collection, I am indebted for what follows. The title of this work (of which there VOL. II. O 194 PIKE. are two copies in the Lambetli Library) is, '* The Book of Psahns in Metre, fitted to the various tunes in connnon use : wherein closeness of the text, and smootlniess of the verse are preferred to rhyme. Witli a prefatory account of the present attempt, and some thoughts on Singing in Social Worship. ii. Chron. xxix. 30, Hezeldah the King, and the Princes, commanded the Levites to sing praises to the Lord with the words of David and Asaph the Seer. By Permission of the Company of Stationers. London, Printed hy H. Kent, 1751." It will be seen tluit the work was published anonymously : but in one of the copies in question is written on the fly leaf, and apparently in Archbishop Seeker's hand, " The Translator, Mr. Pike :" in the title-page of the other, which once belonged to Bisliop Percy, is inserted " By Mr. Pike." It may be added that llie Psalms generally are in long, common, or sliort metre, except the 104th, which is adapted to its own tune. There are also three or four pages of Scrip- ture passages versified. It will be seen from tlie following specimen, that the Version is not devoid of merit : but the occurrence of something like a rhyme in the fourth verse, strongly reminds us of its absence in the others.* PSALM XLVI. To the Chief Musician for the Sons of A'orah, a Soffff upon Alamoth. 1. 2. Gofl is our refuge, and our streiigtli, In streights a present help : Tliorefore, iiUliongli the \ Mr. Wadtlel, wai puliliklnd at MiJinliurgli, in I77'J. TOLLET. 199 in the Bodleian copy, is " a new and improved Version of the Psalms," in lyric metres, by an anonymous hand ; but founded, as we are told, iu the Preface, on the Psalter contained in that Version of the Scriptures into the Swedish language, which at the command of Gustavus III. was made by Dr. Tingstadius, of the University of Upsal. Cradock's translation is entirely in heroic couplets, of which the following Psalm is no unfavourable specimen, PSALM CXXXIV. 1. Ye priests by night, that in his temple wait, The praises of your gracious (lod repeat ; 2. To Him your hands in adoration raise, And mingle humble worship with your praise. 3. So He, yon starry heavens, this earth, who made, And shields his favoured Zion with his aid, With eye benign your holy transports view. And all the blessings of his love bestow. ELIZABETH TOLLET. Mrs. Toilet, who was characterised by Hughes,* the Poet, as " a lady of genius, learning, and fortune," was born iu 1094, and died in 1754. In the year after her death appeared under her name a small volume of " Poems on Several Occasions," comprising Susannah, a Sacred Drama ; an Epistle from Anne Bolcyn to Henry VIII., and besides other pieces, the following Psalm : — • Hughes's Letters, i. p. 231. 200 TOLLET. PSALM XCVI. To (Jod from whom immortal blessings spring, Let all the earth with sounds seraphic ring ; With heavenly Zeal and Ardour praise his Name, Throughout the World his saving Grace proclaim. To all the heathen Nations wide around, The Power and Greatness of our God resound : Through all the World with joyful Songs declare His wondrous Works how excellent they are. Enthron'd he sits above the starry Skies, No Numbers can to his Perfections rise : Oh ! Great Adored I How can we have Regard To other Gods, when unto thee compared ? Dumb senseless Stocks the Heathens call upon ; Creation's Lord, we'll fall before thy throne, Exalt and praise thee still in Wonder lost. Since thou alone Omnipotence canst boast. O ! Israel's Sons, within his Temple bend, Whose bounteous Hand doth every blessing send ; There chant his praise, and in harmonious Songs Ascribe the Glory which to God belongs. Give Honour due unto his holy Name, And let our Practice testify the same ; In beauteous Holiness the Lord adore, On swiftest Wings let your Petitions soar. The Lord is God let all tiie Heathen know, The Earth unmoved his mighty Power tloth shew ; He'll judge Mankind by his eternal Word, Guilt self-condemn'd shall meet its just reward. Let Heaven, let Earth, the Air, and raging Seas, Proclaim our God within their just Degrees; Oin- Woods and smiling Meads with Verdure-erownVi, And all Creation echo to the Sound. For he in Equity will judge the ^^'orId, Then from their Seats the Imj)ious shall be luuTd ; His Justice tlicii aloft will hohl the Scale, And Trulh Iriumiihant ever shall prevail. TOLLET. .. 201 In the Archbishop's Library, at Lambeth, there is a volume marked Q. 3. 27. containing " A Select Collection of the Psalms of David, as Imitated or Paraphrased by the most eminent Englisli Poets, viz., Mr. Addison, Mr. Blacklock, Mr. Barton, Mr. Daniel, Sir John Denham, Dr. Gibbs, King James I., Mrs. Leapor, Milton, Mrs. Masters, Mrs. Rowe, Sir Pliil. Sidney, Dr. Trap]), Mrs. Toilet, Dr. Wood- ford, and Several others. Together with some Originals never before printed. To which is added an appendix of Several Divine Hymns and Poems not to be found in any otlier collection. London. Printed for the Editor. 1756." The work is anonymous, but on the back of the half-title. Bishop Percy has written, " This Collection was made by Henry Dell, sometime a bookseller in Holborn, who added some new translations of his own." Of Dell, I know nothing more than is here stated ; but he deserves to be mentioned as having been the first person, since the time of Sternhold and Hopkins, who ventured to publish a variorum Version of the Psalms, comprising the names and labours of so many authors. I have not thought it necessary to give a specimen of his own contributions to his book : nor of those of Mary Leapor, w ho w^as born in 1 722, and died in 1 746, within which period, two or three volumes of poetry from her pen, were published. Her versification is smooth and pleasing ; but ex- hibits, on the whole, rather the reflex images of what she had read in books, than original thoughts of her own. She was the daughter of the gardener of Judge Blencour, of Marston St. Lawrence, in Nottinghamshire. The only remaining name in the foregoing list, under which I give no specimen, is 202 MASTERS. that of Dr. Trapp — the same, I suppose, who tlied in 1747, beneficed in two or three London parishes. lie was a voluminous writer in prose and verse, Latin and English ; his works beings chiefly on theological topics. Jt may here be added that a " Book of Psalms," compiled from the labours of more than twenty individuals, and giving in the case of several Psalms, five or six Versions, was printed at Salisbury for Benjamin Williams, in 1781, and contains a larger mass of valuable poetry of this class than is j)erhaps to be found in any similar volume : several of the Psalms, however, are not printed quite entire, while others have undergone verbal alterations unsanctioned by the authors. MRS. MASTERS. Mary Masters published, by subscription, two volumes of " Familiar Letters and Poems," the first in 1733; the second in 1758. Her circum- stances appear to have been originally humble ; for the Preface to her first volume informs us, that she liad " never read a Treatise of rhetorick, or an art of poetry, nor was ever taught her English Grammar ; that her education rose no higher than the spellin«»- book, or the writing master; that her genius was always discountenanced by her parents ; alul that till lier merit got the better of lier fortune, she was shut out from all commerce with the more knowin«r and polite part of the world." She resided with Edward Cave, and appears to have been deservedly respected MASTERS. 203 by the literati of the day, particularly by Dr. Johnson, whom she occasionally visited, and who, according to Boswell, not only revised her volumes, but was believed to have " illuminated them here and there, Avith a ray of his own genius." She was characterised, in a contemporary periodical, as being " chaste, moral, and religious, as well as an agree- able and ingenious writer. We mention this cir- cumstance," adds the writer, " as certain daughters of the Muses have been less eminent for their virtue than their wit ; but Mrs. Masters's character, as a woman, is such as must have had a considerable share in inducing her numerous friends to subscribe to the Poetess*'' She is supposed to have died about 1759.-J- Her volumes contain Versions of several Psalms in the style of the subjoined speci- men. Except for many flat rhymes, these lines would be good, and quite in character with the original, which is peculiar in its kind as a lesson of moral prudence, under the sanction of devout and holy principle. PSALM XXXVII. 1. Fret not thyself when wicked men prevail, And bold iniquity bears down the scale ; They and their glory quickly shall decay, Swept by the hand of Providence away, As verdant grass cut from its vital root, That with'ring dies beneath the heedless foot. 2. In piety resolv'd, on God depend ; His hand shall feed thee, and his arm defend ; Delight in Him who hath the power to bless. And what thy soul desires, thou slialt possess ; In all thy ways on Providence recline, So shall he vindicate each just design. • Monthly Review, tuil. xiii. p. 158. t Croker's Boswtll, vol. i, p. 225. 204 MASTERS. 3. Thy virtue in full prospect shall be shewn, Clear as the moon, bright as tlie mid-day sun : In humble silence ever patient be, Wait the event of His divine decree ; Though guilty policy her schemes fulfil, Fret not thyself, nor imitate the ill. 4. Sudden the sons of vice sliall bo destroy 'd, And desolate the place they once enjoy *d ; Hut he that's humble, merciful, and just, And in .his God reposes all his trust, Shall see his days protracted, void of cares, And pass with pleasure his remaining years. 5. The humble pittance by the good cnjoy'd, With labour gain'd, with probity employ 'd, Is better far, and more to be desired. Than wealthy stores by wicked men acquired ; Whose arms shall fail, whose strength shall weakness prove, But the just man no power on earth shall move. C). When heavy judgments sweep o'er guilty lands. Secure in conscious innocence he stands ; Should fountains fail, and earth deny her grain, Should pinching want, and meagre famine reign, Ilis soul confiding in Jehovah's care, Nor dire alarms, nor pining want shall fear. 7. What splendid virtues grace the pious mind ! Here mercy is with cheering bounty join'd, Here open-handed Charity is seen. And soft compassion, with a gentle mien ; Such form the man, who now heaven's favour shares, And leaves at last, a blessing to his heirs. 8. A good man's steps are all with caution trod, At once the charge and favourite of Ciod : And if he slips (as sure the best may err) , He's still supported by Almighty care; To heaven he looks, expecting to obtain Sufficient grace, and never looks in vain. i). Observe what's right, let sin be e'er al)hon'(l, Immortal life shall br the great regard ; GIBBS. 205 For truth and virtue are by Iicaven approved, And the just man sliall be by heaven beloved ; Protected by his good, he knows no fear. For ever safe beneath his Guardian's care. 10. Tliat friend of Saints will lengthen out their days, When sudden death cuts off tin; wicked race ; The man whose life is regular and pure, Shall make his name to latest times endure ; Nor, througli unnumber'd ages, shall decline The patrimonial honours of his line. 11. To the just man prosperity is given, And his Kedcemer is the Lord of heaven : What wisdom dictates he with pleasure tells, While his glad tongue on sweet Instruction dwells ; Within his heart his Maker's law presides, And firm he treads whom true Religion guides. 1 2. Behold the man, whose life's unblemished round Is with fair truth and bright perfection crown'd, W^ith what composure he resigns his breath, Serenely smiling in the arms of Death ! His God is his support, his joy, his rest. And to eternity he shall be blest. JAMES GIBBS, D.D. Under the name of Dr. Gibbs we have a thin quarto vohime, entitled " The First Fifteen Psalms of David, translated into Lyric Verse ; proposed as an Essay, supplying the Perspicuity, and Coherence according to the Modern Art of Poetry ; not known to have been attempted before in any language." This brochure, which was printed in 1761, is intro- duced by a Preface, " containing some observations 206 GIBBS. on the great and general defect ive7iess* of former Versions in Greek, Latin, and English :" it is dedicated to her " Royal Highness the Piincess," whose hand, the author reminds her, he " had lately the honour to kiss upon a very mournful occasion" — the death of William Duke of Gloucester. But notwithstanding this somewhat confident prelude, and the fact tliat the author was " encouraged hy several Right Reverend Bishops and others," no more of his Version was ever puhlished : nor does it appear from the specimen to have possessed any claims either to merit or novelty. PSALM XI. On God securely I rely, Why then this vain Advice, tl)at I, Like tini'rous Birds, my Foes should slum I fear not, though they all come on, Though all the threat'ning force of War Against the guiltless they prepare ; For if the Power, in which they trust, Should fail, how helpless are the Just ! But still the God of Equity Resides in Heav'n, and there his Eye Does all the thoughts of men explore, And strictly views their actions o'er ; The Just with Favour he surveys, He sees, and hates th' Oppressor's Ways, And on their impious Heads will pour Of snares and flames a dismal shower ; And tliis thf'ir V)itter cup must be To drink to all Eternity : But still the God of Righteousness, , Tiie Just will with his Favour bless. • It id remarkahle liow many Tsalin ver«ilii'rs, ulio have avowed Ihnt they undertook the task of fupplying the di-tii-iencios and roinedyinfj llio faults of tlioso before them, have merely added each his own moilieum of faults and defect* lo the heap, in few case* obviating those of their predecessors. ROBSON. 207 JOHN ROBSON. An attempt very much in the style of Wlieatland and {Sylvester, and in which their authority for certain renderings is repeatedly cited, appeared in the same year with their Version. After the utmost difficulty encountered to obtain a sight of the book, a copy is now before me : it is entitled " The First Book of the Psalms of David, Translated into English Verse of Heroic Measure, with Arguments and Notes. By John Robson, M.A., Rector of Blatchington, in Sussex. "foiXrvfiov ^iuxov «; ttevte /3t^\ia 01 sSfOiiOi w;e sivon x.cn ocvto aWnv TsvTaTEU^^ov. iliPIPHANIUS. London, 1761." The Version, which extends to Psalm xli. contains nothing to recommend it in a poetical point of view : the author has apparently had in sight the style of Pope without any where over- taking it : and it will scarcely be denied that had that Poet himself cast the Psalms into his own exquisite versification, the monotony of an unvarying mass of ten-syllable couplets would effectually have lulled all interest in the performance. Speaking of tlie only peculiarity in his work, Mr. Robson says : — " The appellation itself of Power Supreme, or Supreme, used, in the following verses, instead of Jehovah or Lord, it is humbly presumed, will not be considered a material objection against them." It is certainly no recommendation : nor can it be admitted either that " it carries with it a peculiar force and propriety" — that it appears " not improperly 208 ROBSON. adapted to a period in Avliich the Deity no longer bears tlie denomination of a local Being" — and least of all that " in our language at least, it is more agreeable and pleasing to the ear." PSALM XXXIV. At all times I will bloss the Power Supreme, His praise shall be my tongue's perpetual theme, In Power Supreme my soul shall glorying boast, And that shall glad who seem in misery lost ; Ye loud with me the Power Supreme proclaim. Our songs together swell his echoing name, I fervent pray'd the Power Supreme to hear. And he propitious freed from every fear. They look'd to him and felt the chearing ray, Their cheeks no more the reddening shame display, " There cried the man with fears opprcss'd below, " And Power Supreme retriev'd from every woe." The angel bright of Power Supreme shall spread The tent around who bear the reverent dread, O taste and see how good the Power Supreme, Who trusts in him shall shun the dire extreme. With awe, ye just, the Power Supreme adore, No pining dearth his votaries true deplore, The lions lack amid the spacious plain, Young lions bear the famine's ravening pain. From Power Supreme who seek tlie grateful food, No want sliall know of every smiling good. O come, ye young, O lend the listening ear. My faithful strain shall teach the sacred fear, Who thou that would'st tlie life protracted know ? Who see the days exempt from every woe ? " From evil talk the slandering tongue refrain, *' Thou keep thy lips from fraud's inveigling strain, " With caiitious step from sullying crimes recede, " Thine hand benign perform th(> bounteous deed, " The pleasing peace be thy unvarying aim, " And the' strife rise yet thou pursue the same," God o'er the just suspends the guardian eye. His ear is turn'd to virtue's trembling cry, . MERRICK. 209 .. He tow'rd the wicked bends the frownful face, '-\A3ft ' He from the land will blot the lingering race ; ■ ;; The righteous cry and Power Supreme attends, >: From every woe he fair deliverance sends, . He near is found to chear the faltering heart. He favoring saves who bear the suffering part, Tho' numerous ills the man innocuous know, The Power Supreme dispels the various woe. He keeps his bones from each impetuous aim. Not one is broke amid the wondrous frame ; Pernicious fate shall slay the treacherous train, Who wrong the just shall not secure remain ; His servants' souls shall Power Supreme restore. And none be lost who sacred aid implore. JAMES MERRICK, M.A. Mr. Merrick was a fellow of Trinity College, Oxford, and as a translator of the Psalms, he brought to the task, in perhaps a greater degree than they had been combined in any previous versifier, the accomplishments of the Scliolar, the Poet, and the Christian. His translation of Tryphiodorus is allowed to afford " a striking proof of his classical learning and taste :" while his " Annotations, critical and grammatical, on the Gospel of Saint John," and his " Annotations on the Psalms," attest his attain- ments in Biblical literature, to which, indeed, both Bishop Lowth,* and Dr. Hunt, the Hebrew Professor • Lowth, in a note to his Prelections on Hebrew poetry, mentions Merrick as " a man of great learning, who had lately finished a Version ol the Psalms in English ; an admirable work, distinguished by many splendid marks of learn- ing, art, and genius." On the other hand. Archbishop Seeker published some strictures upon Merrick's Version, which were deemed sufficiently severe to call forth a series on the subject from llie pen of Dr. Sharpe, the learned Master of tho Temple, 1769. VOL. ir. p 210 MERRICK. at Oxford, liavc borne honourable testimony. Of his talents for poetry, tlic work by which he is now best known, is an inipcrisliable memorial : it was first printed at Reading, in 1 765 ; under the title of " Tlie Psalms translated, or paraphrased, in Englisli Verse." Tlic claim, liowever, to easy, harmonious versification which lias rarely, if ever, been denied to this elegant " paraphrase," has not prevented its admirers generally from acknowledging that neither the spirit of the original Hebrew, the \ igour of our English Prose Versions, nor even the metrical force of more than one of the author's predecessors in the same delightful exercise, had been at all equalled by him. But whatever might be the merit of Merrick's compositions in a poetical point of view, they were not, as he himself admits, " calculated for the uses of public worship." To obviate this inconvenience, and give them a fair chance in Churches, the late Rev. W. D. Tattersall, A.M., Vicar of Wotton- Under-Edge, published an edition, in Avliich the whole of the Psalms were " divided into stanzas for Parochial use." Merrick's Version, thus ingeniously recast, made its appearance in 1797, in a thick quarto volume — doubtlessly the handsomest form in which any ]\letrical Version of the Psalms had theretofore been printed — with an elaborate introduction by the amiable Editor, and a dedication to the King — George the Third. The work, in this exj)ensive form, appears chiefly to have been designed for presents — or at least, to give the experiment the best chance of success with an influential class of purchasers, who should not be prejudiced against the claims of the Version by the mean appearance of the book. It was afterwards more than once 3IERRICK. 211 republished in a cheap form, witli tlie prose transhi- tion from the Prayer Book, in a parallel column, and a collect prefixed to each Psalm from the works of Archbishop Parker. Mr. Tattersall has divided the Psalms, as left by Merrick, into stanzas of from four to twelve lines, by wliich means, he observes, "the purpose of variety is fully answered." In doing this, it was, of course, very frequently neces- sary to alter the original phraseology of the Poet — a delicate task, as the Editor seems to have been well aware : he has, however, so discreetly yielded to this necessity in most instances, that if the Version can really be said to have sniTered at all, as a mere poetical composition — which will hardly be affirmed — the injury has been abundantly compen- sated by the admirable adaptation to the use of the Sacred Choir, or rather of the Christian Congrega- tion of strains, which probably were but little read by pious families in the devotions of the social circle, or by the poetical student in the retirement of his closet. To what extent, or whether at all, the Psalms of Merrick and Tattersall are at present used in Churches, I am not aware. The Version, however, is always resorted to by compilers of selections for singing ; while the Preface contains several judicious observations, which are well worthy of attention : and it is due to the memory of the reverend author to add that the whole is characterised by a kindliness of expression, in reference to the authors of different Versions, which is the more remarkable as well as praiseworthy, when it is considered that his object was to recommend one of those Versions as pre-eminently meritorious. It VOL. II. P 2 212 MERRICK. may be fiirtlier mentioned, that Merrick died in 1760; liis zealous editor and admirer in 1829.* PSALM XVII. 1. To Tlice, the Judge enthroned on higli, Shall injured innocence apply : O let my prayer by Thee be heard, From undissenibling lips preferred. 2. O let my doom from Thee proceed, And gracious mark the upright deed. .3. When night's dark shades were round me pour'd, Th}' thoughts my spirit have explored ; Say, to thy all-discorning eyes, If aught of guilt within me rise — If ofTer'd violence and wrong Have urged to sin my thoughtless tongue. 4. Taught by thy word, my steadfast mind Has each nefarious path declined ; 5. O still my guardian, still my guide. Forbid my wavering feet to slide ! 6. To Thee, (for Tliou the prayer canst hear,) To Thee my suppliant voice I rear ; O treat mc not with cold disdain, Nor let my vows return in vain ! 7. O Thou, whose hand th' oppressor quells. And each invading power repels Fronv him whose hopes on Thee repose, To me thy wond'rous grace disclose. 8. What care the pupil of the eye Demands, that care to me apply ; " And keep, O keep me, King of Kings ! Beneath thy own Almighty wings."| 0. Hich in my spoils, with murd'rous hate, A pampord crowd around me wait, 10. Whose heart, with impious fury stung, To mad presumption prompts my tongue. • Tho colleodon of Eilitions of Metrical Versions of the rsalms fornicrly lielt)nj;inK to Mr. Tattorsall, liaro found nn appropriato roposilorj in llic Lilir.iry of the Catlicilral of Cliichester. t Bishop Ken. SMART. 213 1 1. With watchful look they mark my way, 12. As lurks, expectant of their prey, The lion or his tawny brood. To rapine born, and nursed in blood : 13. Rise, Lord ! and let me, by thine aid Preserved, their threat'ning jaws evade : With sword unsheath'd, and lifted hand Preventive, crush the lawless band, 14. Whose days, with life's full blessings fraught, To earth's low scene confine their thought ; Whose eyes a numerous race behold. To heir tlieir heaps of treasured gold. Far other bliss my soul shall own, A bliss to guilty minds unknown ; O when, awaken'd by thy care, Thy face I view, thy image bear. How shall my breast with transport glow ! What full delight my heart o'erflow ! CHRISTOPHER SMART, A.M. Poor Smart ! His unhappy life seems to have been a compound of fits of genius, gleams of piety, conflicts with intemperance, and finally, mental aberration. And yet, as Southey remarks, he must not be classed with such as Boyce and Savage, who were redeemed by no virtue, for Smart was friendly, and liberal, and afl'ectionatc. His piety was fervent, and when composing his religious poems, he was frequently so impressed as to write upon his knees ; in his fits of insanity it became his ruling passion : he would say his prayers in the streets, and insist that people should pray with him. Dr. Johnson, who knew Jiim well, said, " I'd as lief pray with Kit 214 SMART. Smart, as any one else." He composed a " Song to David," wlicn in confinement, and being denied tlie use of pen, ink, and paper, indented tlie lines upon the wainscot with tlie end of a key. Amidst many brilliant passages which outshine the wildfire of genius, it would be impossible to find in the English language a specimen of more condensed poetic diction, than is displayed by the last stanza of the composition alluded to, and which, as Montgomery says, " alone might give immortality to any name : it is a most perfect specimen of the sublime" : — " Tell them, I Am," Jehovah said To Moses, wliilc earth heard in dread : And, smitten to the heart, At once, above, beneath, around. All Nature, without voice or sound, Replied, " O Lord, Tuou Aiix." The principal works of Smart — who died in 1770 — are his Poems " On the Divine Attributes," a volume of "Miscellanies," and "A translation of the Psalms of David, attempted in the spirit of Christianity, and Adapted to the Divine Service." Prefixed to this last, a thin quarto, is a large list of Subscribers, comprising the names of most of the persons of note in literature at that day, as well as individuals in all grades of society, from the Arch- bishop of York, to Ned Shuter, the Comedian. In this work, the author tells us, " all expressions, that seem contrary to Christ, are omitted, and evan- gelical matter put in their room ; — and as it was written with a special view to the Divine Service, the reader will find many allusions to the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England, which are intended to render the work in general more useful SMART. 216 and acceptable to Congregations." Of the merit and propriety of the " omissions and commissions" here referred to, diflferent opinions will doubtless be entertained: the versification is generally clever; the double rhymes especially are managed with great dexterity : the diction is sometimes elegant, but not seldom greatly attenuated — perhaps the following specimen will be allowed to exhibit, in some degree, most of these characteristics : — PSALM XL. I tarried in the House of Prayer, To patient hope resign 'd ; And God in his paternal care, To hear my voice inclin'd. He saved me likewise from the shock Of terror and dismay, And set my feet upon a rock. To regulate ray way. Such mercies in my mouth inspire A song of new delight, A lesson for the Hebrew lyre, And grateful to recite. This blessed change beyond their thought. The multitude shall see ; And put their trust in God that wrought This miracle in me. Blest is the man, in God assured Who has not turn'd his side To hira that has the tale procured, Or him that hears in pride. O Lord my God, thy works are plann'd. How marvellous and great. Thy careful love, and bounteous hand, What praises shall relate ? 216 SMART. If I should set about the task, Their numbers to recount ; It would such shining talents ask, As my mean powers surmount. Fat lambs and firstlings of the year. Are better fed than slain ; For thou prefer'st a duteous ear To what thy laws contain. No more the flocks and herds shall die For sinners to atone — Then lo ! I come — I come — said I To give myself alone. God, 'tis written in thy book, That I should do thy will ; 1 from my heart have all forsook. That scripture to fulfil. Thy righteousness I have declared, Before th' assembled tribes ; Lord, thou know'st I have not spared, In that thy word prescribes. 1 have not been reserved to balk Thy holy word and ways ; But all the tenour of my talk. Was how their light might blaze. I have not hid thy loving grace, And thine established truth, But shewn them to the genuine race Of Boaz and of Ruth ; God of mine ancestors and arms, Do not that truth withhold ; Preserve me in that love which charms - Reluctance to thy fold. Woes multitudinous surround, My grief my spirit wears ; My sins my conscious heart confound, Outnumbering ev'n my hairs. GAMBOLD. • 217 / O Lord, in thy good pity"please Thy servant to restore ; And with thy speedy succour ease The hardships I deplore. Give them, O Lord, the sense of shame, Who seek my soul's distress, And those witli sharp remorse reclaim. That wish me no success. Let self-conviction be their lot, Join'd with the contrite sigh, Who thus their poisoned bolts have shot,- " O fie, upon thee, fie !" Let them rejoice whose final scope Is placed in Christ their King ; And all the sons of love and hope Their hallelujah sing. As for my share of all this earth, It is but mean and poor ; And yet the Lord esteems me worth A substance to endure. Thou art my help, my Saviour thou, Of all my goods the sura ; O tarry not, but even now, O come, Lord Jesus, come. JOHN GAMBOLD. I am indebted to the kindness of Mrs. Mont- gomery, of Ockbrooke, near Derby, the grand- daughter of the truly pious man named at the head of this notice, for the subjoined and other specimens of Psalms in the handwriting of her venerable ancestor, Mr. Gambold, who at one time was a 218 GAMBOLD. Clergyman at Stauntou Harcourt, subsequently joined the United Brethren, and became a Bishop of their Church, in whicli character he died uni- versally respected in 1771. He was a man of parts and learning, of primitive simplicity of manners, and not without merit as a Poet, as his Tracfedv of " Ignatius,'' and various Hymns in the Moravian Brethren's Collection* testify : — PSALM LXXXIX. 1. From age to age I will record Tiie Truth and Mercy of the Lord : His Faithfulness as firmly stands, As Heaven established by his Hands. 2. A Covenant He with David made, And to his Chosen, swearing, said : Thy oHspring shall be blest, thy Throne Shall stand for ever, like my own. 3. David ray Servant first I chose, His Head my sacred Oil o'erflows ; Firmly supported by my Hand, His strength shall conquer and connnand. 4. His enemy shall ne'er prevail. The Sons of Wickedness shall fail : Mercy and Faithfulness liis ways Shall point, my Name bis Horn shall raise. 5. Mfi for his Father He shall own, His saving Rock ; for He's my Son, • In tlio Lambeth Library, tboro is " A Collection of Psalms and Hymns, London, jirinteil in tlio ytar 1738," Somobody lias written on llie lly leaf: " This seems to be o Moravian Collection." And in the Catalogue, llie book it atcribed to Gambold . but it contains only nineteen I'salms. IIARTE. 219 The First-born of my heavenly Race : Above all Empires is His Place. 6. With Him my Covenant shall stand fast, My Mercy shall for ever last : His Seed for ever shall endure, His Throne as Heaven itself secure. 7. But if his Sons forsake my Law, And their Obedience shall withdraw ; If from my Ways and Kules they stray, And my Commandments disobey ; 8. Their Sins I'll visit with a Rod, Their Backs shall feel the stripes of God Yet shall they not to Ruin fall, My Word I never will recal. 9. My Cov'nant I will never break. Nor whatsoe'er my Lips did speak : By my own Holiness have I Once sworn, nor will to David lie. WALTER HARTE. Mr. Chalmers, who has comprised tlie Life and Works of Harte in his voluminous collection of " British Poets," observes that neither the learning nor the personal worth of the Poet have ever been called in question. This negative praise is no small compliment to one, who besides being connected with the heartless Lord Chesterfield, as the tutor of his son, had to earn a precarious livelihood by the ^20 HARTE. profession of literature. He was also esteemed by Pope, whose style of versification he adopted in some instances, and, as he professes, that of Dryden in others. Harte died in 1774; and, as there is reason to hope, in the faith of a Christian : his celebrated patron, speaking of an illness of the Poet, ten years earlier, uses the following Chest erfieldian language : — " Poor Harte is grown extremely devout, which I am very glad of, because that is always a comfort to the afflicted." The same authority after- wards remai'ks : — " He is going to publish his Divine Poems, as he calls them. I am soiTy for it, as he had not time to correct them." His works are very miscellaneous — historical, classical, satirical, and religious : the latter include Paraphrases of Psalms 104 and 107, both in blank verse — I transcribe PSALM CVII. Mortals, rejoice I with raptures introduce Your grateful songs, and tell what mercies God Deigns to bestow on man : but chiefly you The progeny of David, whom the Lord Selected from each region of the globe Beneath the arctic or antarctic pole : Or where the purple Sun with orient beams Strikes parallel on Earth, or prone descends T' illumine worlds beyond th' Hesperian main. With weary feet, and mournful eyes they pass'd Erroneous through the dreary waste of plains. Immeasurable : the broad expanse of Heaven Their canopy, the ground, of damp malign, ' Their bed nocturnal. Thus in wild despair Anxious they sought some hospitable town, In shame and bitterness of soul once more They recognised the Lord, and trembling cried ** Have mercy on us !" he, the source of mercy, HARTE. 221 Kindly revisited his favourite race, Consol'd their woes, and led the weary train Through barren wilds to the long promised land, Then placed 'em there in peaceful habitations. CUORUS. " O that the sons of men, in grateful songs. Would praise th' unbounded goodness of the Lord, Declare his miracles, and laud his power !" He cheers the sad, and bids the famished soul Luxuriant feast till nature craves no more. He often saves th' imprison'd wretch that lies Tortur'd in iron chains, no more to see The cheerful light, or breathe the purer air. (The due reward imperious mortals find. When swell'd with earthly grandeur, they despise The Power supreme), thus Jesse's sacred seed Elated with the num'rous gifts of heaven, Slighted the giver : then the wrathful Lord With-held his hand. They, impotent to save Their forfeit lives, in piercing accents cry'd, " Help Lord, we die !" he soon with aspect mild Commiserates their anguish, and reliev'd Those limbs, which sedentary numbness erst Had crampt, when they in doleful shades of death Sate inconsolable — " O then that men Would praise th' unbounded goodness of the Lord, Declare his miracles, and laud his power! " ^lan, thoughtless of his end, in anguish reaps The fruits of folly, and voluptuous life. Sated with luxury his stomach loathes Most palatable meats : with heavy pain His eyes roll slowly ; if he drops to rest, He starts delirious, and still seems to see Horrible fiends, that tear him from mankind. His flushing cheeks now glow like flames of fire : Now chill'd, he trembles with extremes of cold That shoot, like darts of ice, through every vein. Ev'n then, when art was conquered, prayers and vows, Lenient of anger, soon appeas'd the Lord, W^hose saving providence restored his health. And snatch'd th' expiring from the jaws of death. 222 HARTE. But mostly they who voyage o'er the deeps Observe the works of God. Sudden, from high Down pours a rushing storm, more dreadful made By darkness, save wliat light the flashing waves Disclose. The vessel rides sublime in air High on the surging billows, or again Precipitous through yawning chasm descends. Heart-thrilling plaints, and hands up-rcar'd to heaven, Speak well their anguish, and desire to live. Shock'd by each bursting wave that whirls 'em round, They stagger in amaze like reeling men Intoxicated with the fumes of wine. Yet when they cry to God, his saving power Hushes the winds, and bids the main subside. Instead of storms, the whispering zephyrs fan The silent deep, and wave their pendant sails. Then every heart exults : joyous repose Dismisses each terrific thought, when once (At Heaven's command) the weary vessel makes Her long-expected haven — " O that men Would praise th' unbounded goodness of tlie Lord, Declare his miracles, and laud his power I" To him once more address your songs of praise In every temple sacred to his name, Or where the reverend senators convened In council sit. He turns the limpid streams, And flowery meadows to a dreary waste. Where corn has grown, and fragrant roses fill'd The skies with odoriferous sweets, he bids The baleful aconite uplift its head (The curse of impious nations) : and again In lonely deserts at his high behests Soft-purling rills in sportive mazes glide, Meander'd through the valleys : there he bids The hungry souls encrease and multiph'. His bounteous hand the while pours goodness down Ineffable, and guards their numerous herds. Though thousands fall, his mercy still renews The never-ending race. — When tyrants, proud Of arrogated greatness, without law Unpeople realms, and breathe but to destroy ; STEELE. 223 Then God liis high prerogative asserts ; Resumes his power, and blasts their guilty heads ; Then raises from the dust the humble soul, Who meekly bore indignities and woe. ANNE STEELE. Tliere arc few names of more certain occurrence in modern collections of Psalms and Hymns, than that of Mrs. Steele — but still fewer, there is reason to believe, of whom less has been known, even by the majority of those persons who have adopted her compositions. She was born in the year 1716, at the village of Broughton, near Stockbridge, Hants ; at which place, her father, Mr. William Steele, was the Minister of a community of Baptists, who appear to have existed there so long as one hundred and fifty years ago. At an early age, Anne Steele manifested a pious disposition, and before she was nineteen, had become a member of the Church of which her father was pastor. To a fervour of devotion which increased with her years, she added a taste for sacred literature, which led her to compose a considerable number of pieces in prose and verse — amongst the latter, those Versions of sundry Psalms,* and Hymns founded chiefly on passages of Scripture, by means of Avhich her memory has been preserved. These fruits of Christian patience and religious meditation, were given to the public in • Chiefly the following :— 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 13, 16, 19, 23, 24, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 39, 42, 46, 47, 51, 65, 77, 84, 88, 90, 93, 97, 102, 103, 104, 105, 116, 130, 133, 137, 138, 139, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150. 224 STEELE. 17 — , ill two volumes, under the title of " Poems on Subjects Chiefly Devotional, by Theodosia.'' Portions of these spiritual lyiics soon found their way into collections, Avhile the diffidence of the authoress, veiled under an assumed name, left her comparatively unknown beyond tlie circle of her personal friends. Always of a delicate constitution, it appears that her habits were very recluse ; and for many years pre- ceding her death, she was confined to her cliamber by bodily affliction, during which period her mind was engaged in the production of Essays, principally of a religious nature, in prose and verse. She died in her native village, on the 11th November, 1778, in the sixty-second year of her age, and was interred in the family vault at Broughton Church-yard. The following lines, which appear on her tomb, were written by Miss Mary Steele, the niece of the deceased : — * Silent the lyre and dumb the tuneful tongue, That sung on earth her great Redeemer's praise ; But now in heaven she joins the Angelic Song, In more harmonious, more exalted lays. In 1 780, a new edition of the Poems, comprising a third and posthumous volume of " Miscellanies," was published by the celebrated Dr. Caleb Evans, the profits of which were to be given to the " Bristol Education Society," by which was meant the " Baptist College," in that city, of which he was at that time President. To this volume, the Editor has prefixed a character of Miss — or, as she Avas more commonly called, 3Irs. Steele, whicli I gladly • Afterwanls Mrs. Dunscombo ; and said by one wJio knew ber, to bave " possosted no small share oi Theodosiat poetic genius and Christian ex- cellence." STEELE. 225 copy in the note below,* the more so, as the Rev. Hugh Russel, who has resided for more than thirty years among the descendants of the family of Theodosia, and to whom I have been indebted for some of the foregoing particulars, assures me that, all he can learn concerning this excellent lady, has only been in coiToboration of what her friend, Dr. Evans has said, with a scrupulous adherence to truth. PSALM CXLIV. Blest be the Lord, my strength, my shield, Amid the dangers of the field, 'Tis he instructs me for the fight. And arms me with resistless might. • The original edition of Theodosia's works— imperfect, however, I lielieve, is in the Library of the Baptist College, Bristol ; and I am indebted to the principal of that Seminary, the Rev. T. S. Crisp, for the subjoined extract of the Introduction to the third volume :— " Mrs. Anne Steele discovered in early life her love of the Muses, and often entertained her friends with the truly poetical and pious productions of her pen. But it was not without extreme reluctance she was prevailed on to submit any of them to the public eye. It was her infelicity, as it has been of many of her kindred spirits, to have a capacious soaring mind inclosed in a very weak and languid body. Her health was never firm, but the death of her honoured father, to whom she was united by the strongest ties of affectionate duty and gratitude, gave such a shock to her feeble frame, that she never entirely recovered it, though she survived him some years. The duties of friendship and religion occupied her time, and the pleasures of both constituted her delight. Her heart was apt ' to feel' too often to a degree too painful for her own felicity, but always with the most tender and generous sympathies for her friends ; yet united with this exquisite sensibility, she possessed a native cheerfulness of disposition, which not even the uncommon and agonizing pains she endured in the latter part of her life could deprive her of. In every short interval of abated suffering, she would, in a variety of ways, as well as by her enlivening conversation, give pleasure to all around her. Her life was a lile of unaffected humility, warm benevolence, sincere friendship, and genuine devotion. A life which it is not easy truly to describe, or faithfully to imitate. Having been confined to her chamber some years before her death, she had long waited with Christian dignity for the awful hour of her departure. She often spoke not merely with tranquillity but joy of her decease. When the interesting hour came, she welcomed its arrival, and though her feeble body was excruciated with pain, her mind was perfectly serene. She uttered not a mur- muring word, but was all resignation, peace, and holy joy. She took the most affectionate leave of her weeping friends around her, and at length the happy moment of her dismission arriving, she closed her eyes, and with these ani- mating words on her dying lips, ' I know that my Redeemer liveth," genlly fell VOL. II. Q 226 STEELE. His constant love, his saving power, Is my defence, my sacred tower ; Rebellion hears his potent word, And my glad people own their Lord. Lord, what is man, that he should share Thy kind regard, thy constant care ? Can all the weak, the wretched race, Deserve such condescending grace? Man's short existence, frail at best, Is empty vanity confess 'd ; His life, a shadow, fleets away, And leaves no traces of its stay. Descend from heaven, Almighty Lord, And earth shall tremble at thy word ; The smoking hills with conscious fear. Shall own their awful Maker near. While thy keen-pointed lightnings fly. Like flaming arrows through the sky. My foes dispers'd shall rise no more. Nor dare the terrors of thy power. O let thy potent arm controul These threatning waves that round me roll, These sons of vanity that rise. With fraudful hands, and impious lies. Then shall thy name new songs inspire, And wake to joy the sounding lyre. And every tuneful string shall raise In various notes, my grateful praise. 'Tis power divine, 'tis God alone, Whom Kings preserv'd in dangers, own ; Who saves, in war's tumultuous strife. From raging swords his servant's life. O Lord, thy saving power oppose To these invading, threat'ning foes ; asleep in Je8u«." Since the foregoing extract was transcribed for tlie press, 1 haTc boon favoured with the use of the uniform edition of Miss Steele's Poems, printed in 1780, by a friend. MAXWELL. 227 These strangers to thy sacred laws, Whose boast is vain, and false their cause. Then shall our sons beneath thy care. Grow up like plants erect and fair ; Our daughters shall like pillars rise, Where royal buildings charm the eyes. Then plenty shall our stores encrease. Plenty, the lovely child of Peace ; The flock its fleecy wealth shall yield, And pour its thousands o'er the field. The well-fed ox shall then afford His cheerful labours to his Lord ; No more shall cruel plunder reign, Nor want nor misery complain. O happy people ! favour'd state ! Whom such peculiar blessings wait ; Happy ! who on the Lord depend, Their God, their guardian, and their friend. JAMES MAXWELL. Tlie uhrelaxing rigidity of adherence to the authorised Psahnody, displayed by tlie Church of Scotland, appears to have prevented in a great degree the execution of those experimental Versions, as they may be called, which have been so often not only published in this country, but " allowed to be sung" in our Churches. It would seem, how- ever, as if the success of Tate and Brady in England had stimulated a corresponding effort to supersede the old metres in the worship of our Presbyterian neighbours, the Scotch. In 1773. was published at Glasgow " A New Version of the whole of the Book VOL. ir. Q 2 228 MAXWELL. of Psalms in Metre ; by James Maxwell, S.D.P." These letters were meant to signify *' Student of Divine Poetry ;" and are illustrative of the tendency to singularity evinced by our author, who was born in 1720, in Renfrewshire, and before he was out of his teens, he started for England with a " hardware pack." After various adventures, he finally returned to his native country, and sought by the joint voca- tions of Schoolmaster and Poet to obtain a livelihood : but in 1783, a famine in Scotland rendered his situation so destitute, that had it not been for the Laird of Castlehead, who was a namesake, the Poet might have been starved, as he had to apply himself to breaking stones on the highway. Most of our author's works* appeared after this period, he usually designating himself in their title-pages as " Poet in Paisley," in which town he died in the Spring of 1800. Piety, Poetry, and Poverty, appear to have been his companions to the close of his life : and when on his death bed, almost forgotten and forsaken by the world, he wrote in a Bible this inscription : — " As I am so apparently near the end of this life, and am reduced to poverty that I have nothing to reward those who have been so kind and favourable to me in this last period of life, that I partly ought to consider them and reward them after my death, viz., Andrew Stewart, my present inmate, I assign this Bible and the Psalm Book of my New Version of the whole Book of Psalms into Metre, and whatever articles may be added hereunto. Written and signed by my own hand, James Maxwell. Feb. 6, 1800." * It will hardly be denied that " for the quantity, if not for the quality of his writings, James Maxwell is entitled to notice," when it is stated that the titles of between thirty and forty separate productions of the Paisley Poet are preserved. An interesting account of Maxwell — the only one, I believe, ever compiled, appeared in the Paisley Magazine, 1828, and was written by VV. Motherwell, the Poet. I am indebted to Mr. Leechman, of Glasgow, for the sight of this long since defunct, and now rare periodical. MAXWELL. 229 Maxwell's poetry was for the most part of an exceedingly humble character, chiefly indeed in his smaller pieces on local or current topics especially downright doggrel, — and yet, amazingly enough, he sometimes expresses a high degree of contempt for poetasters! His Psalms are, perhaps, the most creditable specimens of his skill in rhyming. Pre- fixed to these is "An humble Address to all the Ministers of the Church of Scotland, relative to the undertaking," in which the author, after assuring these " reverend gentlemen" that he is satisfied theirs " is the purest National Church at this day in the world," yet that their Psalmody nevertheless wants amendment, thus propounds the leading peculiarities of his own Version : — " I have purposely changed two things which frequently occur in the book of Psalms, viz., brutal sacrifice, and instrumental music : both of which, I think, were peculiar to the Jews ; and instead thereof have substituted in place of brutal sacrifices the sacrifice of Christ, once off'ered for all : and, instead of instrumental music, I have put singing with grace in the heart, &c." It might be thought that the latter peculiarity, whatever may be thought of it besides, would occasion some per- plexity to the Poet, especially in such cases as the 150th Psalm; but the following verses will shew how adroitly he reduces to practice the principles of this anti-musical theory : — " As did with instruments the Jews, His praises high proclaim ; Let us our hearts and voices use To magnify his name. As they with timbrels in the dance, And instruments well strung, 230 3IAXWELL. Praised God, let us his praise advance, With well-tuned heart and tongue. Like cymbals let our cheerful tongues His praises sound on high : And let our sweet harmonious songs Transcend the lofty sky." Wlietlicr it was that our Scottisli neighbours, amidst all their antipathy to instrumental accompani- ments in Congregational Singing, were not willing to acknowledge our author's principle of thus evan- gelising the Psalms — i. e. of allowing the substitution of his commentary for the sacred text, or from some other case, this Version never appears to have obtained any footing. Maxwell has, nevertheless, performed his task in a manner highly creditable to his skill as a versifier : if he has few claims to elegance, he still seldomer offends by anything like those displays of affectation, which so often betray a want of taste in modern Versions. PSALM L. \. Hark! hark! Jehovah sends His awful summons forth : Ev'n to the world's remotest ends, From east, west, south, and north. 2. From Zion's holy hill, Whose beauty all excels, Our God hath shone ; thence he his will. And glorious power reveals. 3. Behold our God shall come, And silence keep no more : A fire before him shall consume, And all his foes devour. 4. With a tempestuous flame It shall around him blaze : 'Twill fill his enemies with shame. Dread, horror, and amaze. MAXWELL. He to the heavens shall call, And bid the earth draw near, That he may judge his people all, And make his truth appear. 5. But gather all my saints, The Judge commands, with care ; I'm come to answer their complaints, And banish all their fear. All who by faith have made A covenant with God, Through that great sacrifice once paid Of the Redeemer's blood. 6. The heavens his righteousness Shall openly declare; For God is Judge, who will redress All partial dealings there. Part II. 7. But, O my people hear. And give attentive heed : And thou, O Israel, hear and fear, For I'll against thee plead. 8. For lack of sacrifice I will not thee reprove : Nor that burnt offerings seldom rise In fumes to me above. 9. No bullock will I take, Nor he-goat from thy fold : 10. For all are mine, I did them make, That hills or vallies hold. 11. All flying fowls I know. And wild beasts of the field, They all to me their being owe, That land or waters yield. 12. If hungry then I were. Need I complain to thee. Since heaven and earth, and all that's there, Wholly belongs to me ? 231 232 MAXWELL. 1 3. That I bulls' flesh would eat, Couldst thou presume to think ? Or that I need my thirst to abate, The blood of goats to drink ? 14. A horrid blasphemy ! — Give thanks and praise to God ; And pay tliy vows to the Most High, Nor more provoke his rod. 15. Then call by faith on me When troublous times appear ; I'll answer and deliver thee, And thou my name shalt fear. Part III. 16. But to the wicked race God says, what right have you To name my covenant of grace. Or call m^' statutes true ? 17. Ye hypocrites, who hate Instruction in your mind, How dare you practice such deceit. And cast my words behind ? 18. When thou a Thief didst see. Thou gavest him thy consent ; And with adulterers didst agree. With heart on mischief bent. 19. Thou givest thy mouth to guile ; To wickedness thy tongue, 20. Nor sparest with slanderers to revile, And do thy brother wrong. 21. Those things mine eyes have seen. Although I silence kept. Till thou thought'st I had like thee been; Or that my justice slept. But I will thee reprove. And to thy sad surprize, The secret sins which thou didst love, I'll set before thine eyes. TOPLADY. 233 22. Consider this with fear, Ye that forget the Lord, Lest I your souls in pieces tear, When none can help afford. 23. But whoso offers praise, He honour gives to me: And he that walks in righteous ways, Shall my salvation see. AUGUSTUS TOPLADY. The Rev. Augustus Montagu Toplady, B.A., well known as a voluminous and fiery controver- sialist during the latter half of the last century, was Vicar of Broad Hemhury, Devon. Beneficed Churchman as he was, and personally disinclined to irregular preaching, he was as attachedly the friend of Whitefield and other of the preachers of Lady Huntingdon's connexion, as Fletcher and Grimshaw, likewise Clergymen, were the fast friends of Wesley. Toplady's polemical tracts are mostly in favour of liyper-Calvinistic doctrines ; they were, in many instances, first published in opposition to the opinions maintained by the Wesleys and their coadjutors ; and are certainly written in a most trenchant style. Their author had paid some court to the Muses at an early age — a collection of his " Poems on Sacred Subjects," written between fifteen and sixteen years of age, having been pub- lished. Among these, as well as included in the " Poetical compositions written in mature years," are Paraphrases of several Psalms, which if they do 234 COLMAN. not, as indeed could not be expected — equal many of the well known Hymns of the same author in depth of evangelical feeling and concentrated energy of diction, are rarely devoid of some traces of the force and fervour of the spint of him whose breath- ings they express. Toplady died in 1778. PSALM CXXXIV. 1. Ye friends and followers of God, With robes made white in Jesus' blood, Approach the throne of grace : His temple's hallow'd court draw nigli, By day and night renew the cry, And sound the trump of praise. 2. With ardour lift your hearts and hands ; In yonder heaven Immanuel stands To offer up your prayers : From Sion he your souls shall bless ; Builder of heaven and earth he is, And dwells above the stars. GEORGE COLMAN. In 1787, this popular dramatic author published three volumes, under the title of " Prose on several occasions, accompanied with some pieces in verse." Among the latter, is an imitation of the thirty-ninth Psalm, in blank verse, dated mdcclxxvi. It dis- plays no particular merit as a composition ; but, as the casual meditation of a witty play-writer — of a man who calls Cowper his " worthy and ingenious friend" — and, moreover, as a smooth Version of that solemn monition of mortality, which the Church of COLMAN. 235 England has so appropriately introduced into her Service for the Burial of the Dead, Colman's lines can hardly be read with indifference. PSALM XXXIX. I will take heed, I said, I will take heed, Nor trespass with my tongue ; will keep my mouth As with a bridle, while the sinner's near. — Silent I mused, and even from good rcfrain'd ; But, full of pangs, my heart was hot within me, The lab'ring fire burst forth, and loosed my tongue. Lord, let me know the measure of my days. Make me to know how weak, how frail I am ! My days are as a span, mine age as nothing. And man is altogether Vanity. Man walketh in an empty shade ; in vain Disquieting his soul, he heaps up riches, Knowing not who shall gather them. And now Where rests my Hope, O Lord ? It rests in Thee. Forgive me mine offences ! Make me not A scorn unto the foolish ! I was dumb, And open'd not my mouth, for 'twas Thy doing. Oh take thy stroke away ! Thy hand destroys me. When with rebukes thou chasten'st man for sin, Thou makest his beauty to consume away ; Distemper preys upon him, as a moth Fretting a garment. Oh, what then is Man ? Every Man living is but Vanity ! Hear, hear my prayer, O Lord ! Oh, hear my Cry ! Pity my Tears ! for I am in Thy sight But as a stranger, and a sojourner, As all my fathers were. Oh, spare me then. Though but a little, to regain my strength. Ere I be taken hence, and seen no more ! All things considered, this Psalm by Colman may be pronounced good — perhaps, only less exact than the prose Version in the Bible. Were it not that to gain much by any poetic form, it must be adapted to be sung, and then the lyric metres become indis- 236 MICKLE. peusable — it might be all that could reasonably be desired, though hardly to be hoped for, to have a Metrical translation as little below the vernacular prose one as this is — how far the best that can be produced in our language may be below the original, it would require a Jew of King David's day witli a perfect knowledge of the English of Queen Victoria's, to judge. WILLIAM JULIUS MICKLE. This elegant Poet was born in Scotland, 1734; he wrote " Sir Martyn," a poem in imitation of Spenser, and another piece entitled " Almeida Hill." The work, however, by which he is now best known in English Literature, and which bears the stamp of true genius, is a translation of the " Lusiad" of Camoens, from the Portuguese. Mickle died in 1788. The following spirited Ode occurs among his other pieces, as a translation of PSALM LXVIII. Arise, O God, assume thy miglit ! Shall proud oppressors still unaw'd devour, Still trample on the poor man's right, And lewdly scorn thy power ? When roaring from the western deep The black -wing'd tempests rush, When o'er the hills with headlong sweep The inundations gush ; As then the whirling chaff is driven, So swept away shall be, •All who despise the laws of heaven. Nor honour pay to thee. MICKLE. 237 But, O ye just, with rapture raise Your cheerful voices in his praise ; With sacred awe, and holy mirth Resound the God of heaven and earth, The God whose mercy knows no end. The poor man's and the widow's Friend, The helpless orphan's Sire ; Who, round the meek, afflicted, just. Though crush'd and humbled in the dust, Is still a wall of fire. When thou, O God, didst march before Thy people to the promised shore, Then shook old earth : the sky Shot lightnings from on high ; The rapid Jordan bared his bed. The Ocean saw his God, and fled ; The lofty cliffs of Sinai nod And tremble at the presence of their thundering God. The Lord Jehovah gave the word, And loud the tribes resound. And mighty kings and mighty hosts Lay scatter'd o'er the ground : Dispers'd as snow in Salmon's plain. So fell, so lay the mighty slain. And with their purple spoils are crown'd The tender virgin train. Thousands of angels at thy gate, And great archangels stand. And twenty thousand chariots wait. Great Lord, thy dread command ! Through all thy great, thy vast domains. With godlike honours clad. Captivity in captive chains Triumphing thou hast led. That thou might'st dwell with men below. And be their God and King. From Bashan, and the land of woe, Shalt thou thy people bring : From Bashan, and the desert shore, To blooming fields and cities fair. While sacred songsters march before. 238 BROWNE. And Jacob's princes faint no more, Shalt thou the way prepare. Lo ! Egypt's kings and wisest men Shall bend the duteous knee, And Ethiopia, wide and great, Through all her vast extended state, Shall stretch her hands to thee. But, awful Sovereign ! who can stand Before the terrors of thy hand. When thy right hand impends the blow To strike a proud obdurate foe ? Yet to thy saints, O God of prayer. How mild thy mercies shine! The tenderest father's ardent care But ill resembles thine : Thy mercies far, oh, far above Thy other wonders shine, A mother's ever watchful love But ill resembles thine ! MOSES BROWNE. Several years before the publication of " Tlie Task," had given celebnty to a spot, the claims of which to association with sacred song were more distinctly advanced by the " Olney Hymns," the secluded Buckinghamshire Vicarage House, where the fervent spirit of Jolni Newton, and the chaste genius of William Cowper first coalesced, had become, in some degree, " lioly ground" with the Christian Muse.* The Rev. Moses Browne, who * It is somewhat surprising that neither Cowper nor Newton have left any composition which can be properly regarded as the Version of a Psalm, though both have, in their Hymns, occasionally adopted the phraseology of the " Sweet Singer of Israel." Compare the Olney Hymn, t)eginning " (Jlorious thing!> of thee are spoken— Zion, city of our God," with I'siilm Ixxxvii. BROWNE. 239 died in 1787, published, while Vicar of Olney, several Poetical Essays of considerable length, and which found numerous readers, especially among religious persons about the middle of the last century. Of these Poems, " An Essay on the Universe," and " Sunday Thoughts," have passed through several editions ; and though little adapted to the highly stimulated and more fastidious appetites of the present day, they, nevertheless, contain much that a pious individual even of refined taste may enjoy, — and not a little, that has rather been super- seded by a more elegant recomposition of the same themes, than that it has become obsolete through any defect in the original selection. Several of the descriptive and moral passages in the " Sunday Thoughts," while they lack the exquisite finish and concentration of Cowper's style, often remind us forcibly of the cast of thought of that most delightful of Poets. The Fourth Part of Browne's Poem last named, comprises, under the designation of " Occa- sional Night Songs," Versions of Psalms cxxx. and cxxxix. PSALM CXXXIX. Omniscient God ! who all this vital frame Searches and knows throughout with clear survey, My rising — sitting — Life's minutest arts, Most private, self-unmark'd ; thy noting eye Observes with cognisance : dread Judge of man ! Ideas, faintly working into thought, Or ere they rise to consciousness ; far off Thy knowledge comprehends. My daily path Mazy, and intricate, my nightly couch Shut with thick glooms, before thy vision lie : Dread intimate of all my secret ways. Thy open ear marks audible each sound, Each whisper of my scarce pronouncing tongue. 240 BROWWE. Before — behind — thy widely-reaching hand Around — on every side — engirds me sure. O ! how unable my reflective powers To reach the high conception, vast and full ! \V'here from thy Spirit, — from thy presence, where Shall my vain-shifting soul attempt to fly? If through yon upper space immense, that holds Planets and suns in regions infinite, To thy own Heaven I soar ; or turn my flight Precipitately back to downmost Hell ; Thine essence, unconfined, rules awful there. Should I invite the morning's fleetest wing, And seek the deeps of Ocean's farthest bed, Fast would thy wondrous hand retain me still. Let Night arise in all her depths of shade. To cover me, her depths of shade obscure. Shall shine about me with tremendous day ; From Thee in vain its umbrage would conceal, Blank dark, and mid tide beam to Thee the same. Thou in the womb recluse, form-givingPower ! I\Iy reins possess'd and fashion'd me, unseen. O ! let me praise thee ! wonderful and wise Thy work of goodness in my structure rare. Each atom of this regulated frame, Hid in the mass of matter as it lay. Was all discern'd ; thy care through ages past. Ev'n from eternity thy perfect eye Contemplative, my shapeless substance view'd ; Writ in thy fix'd decree, heaven's volume large. Sure work ordain'd ere man existence found. Great God ! O praised ! and ever to be praised ! To my admiring soul the thoughts of thee How precious ! — how innumerous swell the sum ! Not the enormous heaps of ocean sands Yield an account so large : perpetual theme Of my long waking hours ; nor wish they change. The wicked, sons of violence and blood Obdurate, shall thy arm vindictive waste. Far from my path be their assembly foul. They breathe reproach malign, in treason bold. Thy foes avowed ; and with irreverent mouths Thy name tremendous use, that awful name ! BROWNE. 241 Be witness thou for me, Jehovah blest ! Acknowledged Lord ! if this, inseparate breast, Hates not the broods that thee, disloyal, hate ; If grieved I view not their rebellious rise. Implacate is the hate, intense its rage, I count thy enemies all doubly mine. — O ! with thy pure and inmost piercing eyes Search me, great God ! this heart of darkness know ; Try the deep mine of latent thoughts within. — Turn, if I err : — my wandering steps reclaim — And lead me — (thy unwilling wanderer) lead, In thy blest path, my everlasting way. A Poet of a very different order from Moses Browne, has versified a portion of this beautiful Psalm, as a motto for one of his " Divine Emblems." I regret that I can only thus incidentally introduce the name of Quarles into this volume : the general terseness of his style, as well as the specimen contained in the few vigorous triplets here adverted to, entitles us to believe that a Psalm from his pen, could not have been without merit. Amidst many things that are quaint and some that are coarse, Quarles, often presents us with sterling thoughts, clothed in the happiest diction — his jewels are sometimes oddly cut — but they are generally of pure water, and however old fashioned the workmanship of their setting, the materials upon which the artist commonly labours are precious stones and fine gold. Byrom has likewise a fine imitation of the first part of the foregoing Psalm : and Blacklock has versified the whole of it : but, perhaps, the best of all the existing Versions, is that by Tate and Brady, as previously mentioned. VOL. ir. 242 BOSWELL. ROBERT BOSWELL. The " Britisli Psalmist" was first piiblislieJ in 1784, and again in 1780; both editions being anonymous. Tlie author, however, was well known to be the late Robert Bos well, a writer to the Signet in Edinburgh, and wlio was born in 1746, being a descendant of the Auchinleck family of that name in Ayrshire. He received a classical education, and early in life attached himself to the religious opinions of the Rev. John Glass, one of the earliest Dissenting Ministers from the Church of Scotland. He was so highly esteemed by the denomination of Clu'istians called " Glassites," or " Sandemanians," that he was chosen by the Church in Edinburgh to be one of their teaching elders. He was an excel- lent Hebrew scholar, and appreciated highly the Version of Psalms used by the Church of Scotland, resfardinof it as the most literal translation from the original that had been made. He thought, however, thaj; it was susceptible of improvement, on account of the harshness of its metre ; and after many years of close study, and of anxiety to give the '* Mind of the Spirit," as revealed in the original, his Version was published, and delivered to the community of which he was a member. He died in 1804.* To • Mr. Roswell'a death was remarkable. He was on a visit to his friends in London; and preached in their Chapel there on Sabbath the 1st, April, 1804. His text was 1st Peter, 24th and 25th verses, " All flesh is as grass, &c." In the middle of the Sermon he was seized with illness, and was carried from the pulpit to an adjoininj; room, where, in the arms of two of his daughters, and amid the lamentations of many attached friends, he, in a few minutes, yielded up liis spirit to his Almighty Father, thus illustrating by his death, the truth and faithfulness of his latest text. BARCLAY. 243 the acknowledged merit of being a faithful inter- pretation of the sacred text, the claims of Mr. Boswell's Version must be confined : for, with many happy lines, and occasionally whole stanzas that may be said to be perfect, with the exception of their not rhyming throughout, he rarely, in an entire Psalm, surpasses the authorised Version — certainly not in the following specimen, as compared with the sonorous " Old Hundred" by Hopkins. PSALM C. 1. Shout to JEHOVAH, all the earth, With loud triumphant voice ! 2. JEHOVAH serve with gladness great ; before Him come, rejoice. 3. Know that JEHOVAH He is GOD ! — He, not ourselves, us made : We are his people, ev'n the sheep within his pasture fed : 4. O efiter then his Gates with thanks, and to his Courts with praise ; Adore ye Him ! and to his Name glad songs of blessing raise : 5. Because JEHOVAH'S ever good, his mercy is most sure ; His truth, through generations all, for ever doth endure ! JOHN BARCLAY, A.M. Mr. Barclay was born in 1 734, in Perthshire, and having been educated for the ministry, he preached in the Kirk of Scotland for somewhat more than twelve years. About 1773, having promulgated as VOL. II. R 2 244 BARCLAY. well from the pulpit as the press, some opinions which were disapproved by the General Assembly, Mr. Barclay left the communion of the Church of Scotland, and became the pastor of an Independent congregation, calling themselves " Bereans,"* of which society a remnant still exists in Edinburgh. He appears to have sustained an unblemished cha- racter, and died July 29, 1 798. Besides some other works, he published in Edinburgh, " The Psalms, Paraphrased according to the New Testament Interpretation, and adapted to the common Church tunes. With an Illustration at the beginning of each Psalm, or else a reference to its parallels ; and an Introductory verse, expressive of its spirit and scope. — To the whole is prefixed a General Preface, serving to shew, that these inspired Songs are not expressive of the private frames and experiences of the Penmen ; but are either historical and comme- morative of public events concerning the Church ; or prophetical and descriptive of the Person, Cha- racter, Mission, Offices, and Kingdom of tlie Lord Jesus Christ. Designed to be sung in Churches and Families. By John Barclay, A.M., Minister of the Berean Assembly, in Edinburgh, mdcclxxvi." The foregoing prolix title, in connexion with the note at the foot of this page, may be said to indicate the general drift of the Seceder's opinions, which have so far survived the reputation of his Psalms, that the common Scottish Version with Barclay's " Dissertation, "f and a Memoir of it^ author pre- fixed, is chiefly in use by the " Bcreans." • The assumption of this title by Mr. Barclay, was on the ground, that he exhorted his hearers to search the Scriptures like the Bereans of old, to ascer- tain whether these things were so. Aetsxvii., 10, 11. f " In this Diserlation," say his friends, " he has, written perhaps, somewhat warmly against those who, though professinj; to be the ministers of Christ, yet BARCLAY. 245 PSALM CXLI. The Angel of the covenant, • Who brings the mercy that toe want, Stands up for all his chosen seed, And smites the Serpent on the head. 1. Lord, how I mourn and cry to thee, O swiftly fly and answer me ; Give ear unto my plaintive voice, And change my sorrows for thy joys. 2. Thine own Messiah intercedes. And in the breach before Thee pleads, The High Priest of thy Saints, O God, Who sheds for them his sacred blood. O let my Meditation be My God accepted now by thee, And let my prayer before thee rise As clouds of incense to the skies ; Accept my evening sacrifice, My lifted hands before thine eyes ; Accept me with my every gift. Upon my cross when they me lift. 3. They strive to catch me in my words, While their own tongues are brandish'd swords ; Be thou the watch. Lord, of my mouth, And let my lips be kept by truth. 4. Incline thou not my heart unto The evils which I should not do ; But draw away my heart from those Who work the works that bring them woes. opposed, what was manifestly the doctrines of the Gospel, by pleading, that a state of doubt and uncertainty of a personal interest in Christ, was consistent with the character of the Christian ; and that the Christian ought to possess a greater degree of holiness on communion occasions : which last doctrine, he said, gave too much room for many to conclude, that such high degrees of holi- ness on these occasions, in their opinion, would in some measure make an atonement for their short-comings at other times." On the other hand, his opponents in the Presbytery, charge him with heresy, for maintaining " that believers have, in the word of God, assurance given them of their salvation, and that they enjoy this assurance at all times :— That Christians should be equally holy in all places, and at all times :— That the Psalms do not speak of the pen- men, but only of Christ and liis Church, and predict the destruction of his and its enemies." 246 BARCLAY. O rather let nie ne'er be blest, Than that their dainties I should taste ; Their works of wickedness I hate, And scorn the pleasures of their state. 5. O let the righteous God me smite, To do his will is my delight ; Let mercy thro' my sufferings come, My blood shall bring the banish'd home. Let God correct me for their sin. My soul for that shall ne'er repine ; It shall be like a precious oil Which shall not bruise, but cause me smile. My head shall never bruised be By all my God shall do to me ; My prayer to him shall ever rise ' To save my Saints from miseries. 6. And when their judges are o'erthrown, Who rise against thy Holy One ; I will not leave them fatherless. To wander lone in wilderness. I'll cause my voice invade their ear, And strike them all with joy who hear How pleasantly my words shall greet And turn their bitter things to sweet. For I am with my chosen still Their Shepherd on my holy hill : What though our bones are scatter'd round Like cloven wood upon the ground : 7. What tho' the grave devour us up ? We lay us down in certain hope, That we shall rise in joy anon — Behold, O God, thy risen Son ! 8. Mine eyes to thee with boldness look. For I have borne thy fierce rebuke. Thine indignation for my flock, Jehovah, look on Zion's Rock. In thee I trust, O leave not me Now destitute, whose hope's in thee. 9. Preserve me from the deadly gin Of men who glory in their sin. WESLEY. 247 1 0. In their own nets let sinners fall, Whilst that my soul escapes withal ; And let my saints escape with me, My blood their Passover shall be. CHARLES WESLEY. Charles Wesley, a younger brother of John, the celebrated founder of the Methodist Societies, and like him also a Clergyman, was emphatically the " Sweet Singer" of the people with which his name is inseparably associated : he was born in 1 708, and died at the mature age of 80. As a writer of Hymns he belongs to the very first class, if, indeed, his be not the first place in that class. Mr. Mont- gomery has assigned pre-eminence as a hymuologist to Dr. Watts, but chiefly, as it would seem, on the ground of priority of time, and the more general scope of his subjects : while " next to Dr. Watts," he places Charles Wesley, of Avhom he says : — " Christian experience, from the deeps of affliction, through all the gradations of doubt, fear, desire, hope, expectation, to the transports of perfect love, in the very beams of the beatific vision, — Christian experience furnishes him with everlasting and inex- haustible themes ; and it must be confessed, that he has celebrated them, with an affluence of diction, and splendour of colouring rarely surpassed. At the same time he has invested them with a power of truth, and endeared them to the imagination and the afi*ections, with a pathos which makes feeling con- viction, and leaves the understanding little to do but 248 WESLEY. to acquiesce in the decision of the heart." Blessed, surely, must be the memory of the bard, who has thus made his muse the handmaid of holiness ! My honoured friend, whose testimony I have just tran- scribed, and to whose judgment the greatest deference on such a subject is always due, has elsewhere spoken of our Poet as " that sweetest of all the sweet singers of our whole Christian Israel." This praise is not too strong: it may indeed be said, on comparing these most celebrated Hymn writers of modern times, that, if Dr. Watts be the Poet of the Christian Assembly, Charles Wesley is the Poet of the Christian heart : if the one illumi- nates, the other inflames : while the former places us on the mount of transfiguration, where we stand like Peter, James, and John, beholding our Lord, as he "appeared in glory," the latter takes us to the feast of Pentecost, where believers, like the Apostles, are " filled with the Holy Ghost :" the songs of one sweet singer diffuse the influence of evangelical truth through the Church generally — those of the other, concentrate the experiences of spiiitual privilege in the soul of the individual believer. Besides his very numerous highly popular and almost inspired compositions in the Methodist Hymn Book, Charles Wesley left behind him a mass of versification* on sacred themes, portions of which * The fertility of bis genius was amazing -. he published during his life time as many Hymns as would make about ten ordinary duodecimo volumes, and left compositions in manuscript that would fill at least ten more ! The Rev. Thomas Jackson, in his interesting Life of Charles Wesley, whom he calls " the Prince of devotional Poets," after mentioning that " he left a Poetic Version of a con- siderable part of the Book of Psahns," adds, " but his chief work, and that upon which he bestowed the greatest pains, consists of Hymns on the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, in Jive quarto volwnes." At the end of the last of these volumes, which was " finished April 24, 1765, 0. A.," arc a WESLEY. 249 have been published since his death : if tliis adds nothing to his reputation as a religious Poet, it happily detracts almost as little from it. The latter praise is perhaps as much as can safely be awarded to his Versions of about a score of the Psalms, whicli were mainly published during his life time in the Methodist Magazine, from which I extract the specimen below. PSALM LXII. 1. In true and patient hope, My soul on God attends, And calmly confident looks up, Till he salvation sends : My Rock and Saviour, He Shall answer to my call ; And while to Him for help I flee, I shall not greatly fall. 2. How long, ye violent men. Mischief will ye devise ? Ye all shall suddenly be slain. And perish with your lies : Who shake your bloody hand 'Gainst injured innocence, Lo ! as a bowing wall ye stand, And as a tottering fence. 3. Wretches, — tis all their joy And study to disgrace, With lies and slanders to destroy, Whom God delights to raise : His ruin to ensure They practice all their art ; Blessings are in their mouth impure, And curses in their heart ! series of memoranda indicative of the labours which the pious author bestowed upon the work, consisting of minutes of eight successive revisals running through a period of twenty-two years, "the Last finished, May 11, 1787. Hallelujah !" —Life a. 451. 250 WESLEY. 4. But still in patient hope, My soul, on God attend, And calmly confident look up, Till he salvation send : I shall his goodness see, While on his Name I call ; He now defends and strengthens me, And I shall never fall. 5. Jesus is my defence, Almighty to redeem ; My Rock is his Omnipotence, My Glory is in him : Into his Name I fly. My Refuge and my Tower, And on his faithful Love rely, And find his saving power. 6. Trust in the Lord alone. Who helps us from above, Ye people all, surround his throne, And hang upon his Love. Pour out your hearts in prayer. And still on him depend. And he that doth your burthen bear, Shall keep you to the end. 7. But never can ye place Your confidence in men, A faithless and delusive race, And altogether vain : Deceitful are they all. Of high and low degree ; Both " the great vulgar, and the small,' Are lies and vanity. 8. Ye powerful to oppress. Boast not your lawless might, Your wanton violence, to disseize The needy of his right : If God increase your store. Do not in riches trust. Nor let your grovelling souls adore, Or liek the golden dust. COTTON. 9. The Lord hath oft declared, And I his voice have known, 'Tis his to punish or reward, All power is his alone : In perfect righteousness, Thou dost condemn, — approve ; Thou art the God of boundless Grace, And everlasting Love. 251 NATHANIEL COTTON, M.A. Dr. Cotton died in 1788, at the age of 81, after having, for many years, deservedly enjoyed the reputation of his " Visions in Verse," which still continue to answer the original design of their estimable author — " the Entertainment and Instruc- tion of Younger Minds." As a Physician he was honourably distinguished for his skill and humanity in the treatment of disorders of the mind, in which character he secured the gratitude and the friendship of the Poet Cowper, during the time his afflicting mental malady compelled him to reside in the retreat of St. Alban's. After the Doctor's death, appeared two volumes of " Various Pieces, in Prose and Verse, by Nathaniel Cotton, M.D.," including, besides the " Visions," Sermons, Essays, Fables, &c. Among the Metrical pieces are Versions of Psalms xiii. and xlii., and in the prose portion, two Essays on the same. PSALM xin. Offended Majesty ! how long Wilt thou conceal thy face ? How long refuse my fainting soul The succours of thy grace ? 252 GREGORY. While sorrow wrings my bleeding heart, And black despondence reigns, Satan exults at my complaints, And triumphs o'er my pains. Let thy returning Spirit, Lord, Dispel the shades of night ; Smile on my poor deserted soul, My God, thy smiles are light. While scoffers at thy sacred word Deride the pangs I feel. Deem my religion insincere, Or call it useless Zeal. Yet will I ne'er repent my choice, I'll ne'er withdraw my trust ; I know thee. Lord, a powerful friend, And kind, and wise, and just. To doubt thy goodness would be base Ingratitude in me ; Past favours shall renew my hopes. And fix my faith in thee. Indulgent God '. my willing tongue Thy praises shall prolong ; For oh ! thy bounty fires my breast, And rapture swells ray tongue. GEORGE GREGORY. Dr. Gregory, of East Ham, in Essex, where lie (lied ill 1808, is chiefly known to theologi'cal readers as the translator from Latin into English, of the learned work of Bishop Lowth — " Proelectiones Hehraicae." In this work occur various Psalms in Latin verse, by the Bishop. For these, Dr. Gregory has in several instances adopted such existing GREGORY. 253 translations, as appeared in his judgment sufficiently to comport with the original : where this was not the case, he rendered the classical Version into English himself. In these specimens he is allowed to have combined with the skill of a respectable versifier, an accurate sense of the Hebrew original, as well as of the meaning of the author, whose sentiments he was more immediately concerned to translate. As few of the Psalms have been more admired for their poetical beauty, as well as for the blessed sentiment inculcated, than the 133rd, the following note by Dr. Gregory, on an opinion of Lowth's relative to the meaning of a material term in the original, will not be uninteresting : — " Notwithstanding our author's ingenious defence of his own interpretation of the last verse, I am well convinced that Bucha- nan's Version is right, and that the particle sliorn in the last verse relates to the persons, and not to the place : indeed, not only a great part of the general utility, but even the beauty of this Ode is lost, by interpreting it otherwise. The following imitation of Buchanan I submit with all humility to the judgment of the reader. If the measure should seem, in the eyes of some, to bear too near a resem- blance to that of their old acquaintance Sternhold, I have only to urge, that its simplicity seems to be more suitable to the subject, than that which Mr. Merrick has adopted." PSALM cxxxiir. 1. Sweet is the love, that mutual glows Within each other's breast ; And binds in gentlest bonds each heart, All blessing, and all blest. 254 BURNS. 2. Swoet as tlie odorous balsam pour'd On Aaron's sacred head, Which o'er liis beard and down his vest A breathing fragrance shed. 3. Like morning's dews on Sion's mount, Tiiat spread their silver rays ; And deck with gems the verdant pomp Which Hermon's top displays. 4. To such, the Lord of life and love His blessing shall extend : On earth a life of joy and peace. And life that ne'er shall end. ROBERT BURNS. However repugnant to religious propriety, and even to good manners, a large proportion of tlie published verse of " Scotia's Plowman Poet," must unhappily be considered, there are, nevertheless, not wanting evidences of a better taste— a purer feeling ; the effect, no doubt, of those devout Aimily exercises sotouchingly alluded to in "The Cottar's Saturday Night." Who does not wish that compositions of this character had occupied the places of others— alas ! too many— of a far different description ? The quality of the Poet's (lime might, indeed, have been greatly modified in consequence — his admirers would have been found in a diilerent class, to that from which they have been mostly derived. Among the traces of an occasional visitation of religious feeling, which mark tlie pages of Robert Burns, may be mentioned Versions of the First and part of the BURNS. 255 Ninetieth Psalms.* The hitter — in the Scottish Version — is said to have been a favonrite in the household of the Poet's father : the former is thus noticed by Allan Cunningham, in his interesting Life of the Scottish Bard : — " I am not one of those who think Burns so happy in his sacred as in his ordinary poetry. Any one who compares his ' First Psalm' with the common Version of Scotland will feel that in simplicity the sacred minstrel of the days of the Stuarts surpasses the Poet of Kyle. The latter is cold and tame in comparison. The verse describing the good man and the wicked man dwells on many northern memories : — He shall be like a tree that grows Near planted by a river, Which in his season yields his fruit, And his leaf fadeth never : And all he doth shall prosper well ; The wicked are not so, But like they are unto the chaff, Which wind drives to and fro. A New Version of the Psalms has long been talked of in Scotland ; but the General Assembly must proceed warily in this matter. Some of the Psalms arc exquisite compositions. I shall instance but the Eighth Psalm : it is Thomson's Seasons in little. The want of elegance which I have heard complained of is but a poor reason for throwing into oblivion a vast body of verse which abounds with such simplicity of language, such sincerity of ex- pression, and wears such an old-world air, as no living bards with all their harmony and polish can equal. Besides they carry upon them the stamp of • Maxwell, the " Poet in Paisley," mentioned in a preceding page, notices with horror, what he calls " R. Burns' pretended Paraphrase on the xcth Psalm." 256 ^ * MAY. pure ilavs arnS^joly liamU, ami liave tl»e advantage of being venerable." PSALM I* The man, in life wherever placed, Hath liappiness in store, \\ho walks not in the wicked's way, Nor learns their guilty lore ! Nor from the scat of scornful pride Casts forth his eyes abroad, But with humility and awe Still walks before his God. That man shall flourish like the trees Which by the streamlets grow ; The fruitful top is spread on high, And firm the root below. But he wljose blossoms bud in guilt Shall to the ground be cast. And, likt; the rootless stubble, tost Before the sweeping blast. For why ? that Gt)D the good adore Hatii given tlu'm peace and rest, But hath decreed that wicked men, Shall ne'er be truly blest. THOMAS MAY. I Lave met ^vitl^ several allu.sion.s nuule h\ versi- fiers of tlie Psalms, during the seventeenth eentury, to the labours of Thomas May in that department of poetry — the name being so used as to lead to the belief that the old dramatist and historian is the person meant. I cannot, however, after considerable enquiry, find any trace of, or clue to compositions of MAY. 257 this class in tlie voluminous works oF tliat Poet, or any Psalm bearing his name in collections. In Dr. Williams's Library, Red Cross-street, London, there is a Psalm Book, with " T. M." in the title-page, and printed 1(338 : but whatever name may be indicated by these initials, the volume appears merely to contain Psalms of the old Version, fitted with new tunes, by the compiler. Disappointed as I am, for the present, of the opportunity of giving any specimen of the Psalmody of the Thomas May, mentioned by Milbourne and others, it so happens that there is a synonymous individual, who lived in the following century, who has claims to be noticed in this place. In the Library of the British Museum there is a book, comprising three small volumes, bound together, and consisting of the Poems of a T. May, printed at Henley, [on Thames ?] where it may be presumed the author resided. He seems to have been a very young man when his name appeared before the public. The principal piece is, " King Asa, a Poem, in six Books ;" it is in common heroic couplets, and fills 210 pages ; at the end is " i^tatis 18." Among the miscellaneous Poems, which chiefly consist of translations from Virgil and Horace, and specimens of what have sometimes been called " Society Verses," as founded ou passing personal circumstances, are paraphrases of Psalms xxxiii., xxxix., xcvii. They bear date between the writer's age of 13 and 15 years; and certainly do seem rather extraordinary productions of a youth of Avhom nothing seems afterwards to have been heard. The volumes themselves are undated, but the Museum Catalogue assigns the VOL. II. s 258 MAY. publication of them respectively, to tlie years 1790, 1791, 1792, so that this could not be tbe author referred to by Milbunie. PSALM XCVII. The Lord doth reign ; let all the earth In Zion's God rejoice ; The distant isles, with rapture seiz'd, Attend his awful voice. Thick clouds and darkness him surround, In majesty array'd ; Judgment and righteousness were seen When God his power display'd. Before him moves devouring fire To extirpate his foes ; His awful lightnings scare the world ; Earth's convex surface bows. The mountains melt like yielding wax, O'ercome witli fervent heat ; Mankind beheld, and, trembling, fear'd Jehovah's power to meet. The heavens proclaim his righteousness, And nations own his joy ; All those that worship images Will Israel's God destroy. Ye fair celestial angel forms, Jehovah's power adore ! Thy judgments, Lord ! did Zion hear : Peace thrive on Israel's shore. Thou art above the spacious earth, Enthron'd above all gods ; The Heaven of heavens receives thee there Eternal, blcss'd abodes ! From wicked men, and every harm. Doth Israel's God defend ; Love him, ye righteous ! on this rock I^t all your hope depend. MASON. 259 Light for the faithful first was sown, Gladness for the upright ; Rejoice in God omnipotent, Extol his matchless might.* WILLIAM MASON, MA. Tlie Reverend William Mason, M.A., Precentor of York, and Rector of Aston, in that county, was the author of an elegant descriptive or rather didactic Poem, entitled '* The English Garden," two dramatic pieces — " Elfrida" and " Caractacus," respectively constructed on the model of the ancients, a " Memoir of Tiiomas Gray," the Poet, and several other compositions in prose and verse, including " An Essay, historical and critical, on English Church Music." 1795. The character, however, in which he must be more particularly introduced to the reader, in these pages, is announced by a cor- respondent of the late Mr. Polwhele, in the following somewhat overstrained eulogy : — " My soul contemplates with fond exultation the picture of a man, endowed with genius, wit, and every talent to please the great, but sua se virtute involventum, resigning himself with complacency to the humble duties of a country pastor — turning select Psalms into verse to be sung in his Church : simplifying, • There is a Version of this Psalm in iiregular stanzas, in a volume of " Poems," &c., by the Rev. Samuel Say, 1745. Hughes, the Poet, thus speaks of it to the author : — " I give you hearty thanks for your ingenious paraphrase, in which you have so generously rescued the noble Psalmist out of the butcherly hands of Hopkins and Slernhold."— i/tt(?/ic»' Letters, i. 17. Mr. Say succeeded Dr. Calamy as pastor of a Dissenting Congregation, in Westminster: he died in 1743. He became a Unitarian, and various letters and other memoranda re- lating to him were |>ublished in the Monthly Ripository, vol. v. One of the most curious of these papers is a begging letter from a female, who represented herself as the widow of Alexander Selkirk, the original " Hobmson Crusoe." VOL. 11. s 2 260 MASON. and arranging, and directing to the purposes of devotion his Church Music : and performing his duties as a Minister, with meekness, perseverance, and brotherly love." I have before me the seveuth edition, of a selection of twenty-five " Psalms taken from the Old Version, Revised and Altered for the Paiish of Aston." They are likewise sung in several of the Village Churches adjacent. Mason not only prepared these Psalms, but he " taught his parishioners to sing," and, adds Granger, " they perform remarkably well." PSALM LXVII. With mercy, gracious Lord, The sons of men behold ; The heavenly brightness of thy face. To all on earth unfold. Thy holy will make known ; . Thy saving health reveal ; That all the world thy statutes shown, Their song of praise may swell. For when thy just command, And gentle sway they feel. Then every tongue in every land *' The song of praise shall swell." Then earth of faith and love Shall bring her full increase ; While thou shalt bless us from above, With thine eternal peace. Mason died at Aston, April 5, 1707, aged 73 years : his executor, the Rev. W. Alderson, being his successor in the Rectory.* • It would lie out of place hero to repeat tliose particulars of the literary life of Mr. Mason, with which most persons at all aildicteil to reading must bo familiar. I may, however, \>e permitted to recal in these paf;es the j)leasuic ot a visit which, more than twenty years ago, 1 made wiih a friend to the dcliglit- fully situated villajjc of Aston. Amidst recorded notices of the A'illnge, Uall, t liurch, and I'aisoiiiige, I (ii)d the following allusion to ii plot, in which the DWIGHT. 261 TIMOTHY DWIGHT, D.D. It is somewhat remarkable, when we consider how popular the Psalms of Dr. Watts have been from the moment of their publication, and when Versions of a number of the original compositions are alto- gether omitted from the metrical collection, that author of the " English Garden" might almost be said to have realized in his own ground the description given by him of another.in the following lines : — " He taught one little acre to command Each envied happiness of light and shade." "From the Church-yard we gained admission to the Rectory-garden, and it was with pleasing recollections that we found ouiselves in these sacred haunts of the Mus(c Masoni. In entering a beautiful shrubby walk, continued all round a verdant lawn, our eyes were first arrested by a bust of Milton, on a pedestal, cloistered in the trees ; on passing this illustrious janitor, and continuing our walk beneath some fine acacias, we reached a sort of summer-house, built of wood, and closely invested with the tendiils and festoons of the evergreens and flowering plants which were disposed around it. Over the front, on a tablet, was painted the following stanza from the early editions of Gray's Elegy : — " Here scatter'd oft, the earliest of the year, By hands unseen, are showers of violets found, The red-breast loves to build and warble here. And little footsteps lightly print the ground." This verse perfectly accords with the sweet seclusion of the spot, which is ren- dered more particularly interesting by having been once honoured with the presence of Gray himself, when he paid Mr. Mason a visit in 1770, a short time before his death. On entering this recess, we at once discovered ourselves in a temple of the Muses: on cither hand, the ceiling displayed embossed medallions of Mason and Gray ; on a circular stone was engra\en a lyre, and around it the following inscription :—(l)nN AN TA : SYNETOIII. Upon the floor ttood two urns aad pedestals, thus inscribed : — M. S. M. S. TiioM.E Gray, Gulielmus Mason, Qui vixit anni LIV. Qui vixit an. I, XXII. Mens. VII. Mens. I. Diob. V. Dieb. XI II. Amico Optimo morenti, Amico optime mercnti, Gulielmus Mason posvil ; Chris. Alderson posvil. MDCCLXXl. MDCCC. Who could behold these affecting memorials of departed genius without re. 262 DWIGHT. nearly a century sliould have elapsed before any one ventured to supply the lackmg Versions — and then, that the expermient should have been made, not in England, but in America. The amiable Christian Poet little foresaw, when he entitled one of his sacred Paraphrases, " A Psalm for New England,"* that to a Minister of the Gospel in that very country, one of similar doctiines, and bearing the same titular degree with himself, the English language would be first indebted for the successful completionf of that popular scheme of Psalmody curring with ineffable pleasure to those lines which open the third book of the English Garden : — " Closed is that curious eye by death's cold hand, That mark'd each error of my careless strain With kind severity; to whom my Muse Still loved to whisper what she meant to sing In louder accent ; to whose taste supreme She first and last appeal'd, nor wish'd for praise, Save when his smile was herald to her fame. Yes, thou art gone; and still, by Fancy soothed, Fain would she hope her Gray attends the call. Why, then, alas, in this my favourite haunt, Place I the urn, the bust, the sculptured lyre. Or fix this votive tablet, fair inscribed With numbers worthy thee, for they are thine? Why, if thou hear'st me still, these symbols sad Of fond memorial? Oh, my pensive soul ! He hears me not, nor ever more shall hear The theme his candour, not his taste, approved." * Psalm 107. Last Part. f The celebrated Joel Barlow, whose poem entitled "The Columbiad," has been regarded as the national epic of America, undertook, about 1787, a revision of Dr. Watts's Version of the Psalms, at the request of the General Association of the State of Connecticut, for the sale of which work when printed, as well as of his patriotic poem above named, he opened a book-store in Hartford. After a variety of public employments under successive Presidents of the United States, he died at Zarnawica, in Poland, in 1812. At the moment this sheet is passing through the press, I am favoured by a gentleman at Boston, U. S., with the following : — " The late Joel Barlow was a congregational Minister, orthodox in sentiment in early life, but afterwards sceptical, intemperate, and I believe, at last, Infidel. His collection of Psalms and Hymns were in general use among the Churches of Connecticut, until his bad character brought tlicm into DWIGHT. 263 which he left nnfinislied. It will be obvious to every one acquainted with the Psalm Book of Dr. Watts, that besides the omissions alluded to, there are many expressions, which, however beautiful and appro- priate to the British Churches, became inapplicable to the American States after the Revolution. Con- sequently, certain Psalms were disused, or various alterations took place in the text, until 1797, when Dr. Dwight, late President of Yale College, in Connecticut, was requested by the General Associa- tion of that State, on behalf of the Churches generally, to revise the whole work, and at the same time to versify the Psalms omitted by Watts. The task was undertaken accordingly, and the whole was published in 1800, with an " Advertisement" expla- natory of the design and execution of the work, and disrepute, when the collection by Dr. Dwight was made and introduced. Some Psalms and Hymns of his versification are still in use here," i. e. at Boston. The following is Barlow's Version of PSALM CXXXVII. Along the banks where Babel's current flows, Our captive bands in deep despondence staid. While Zion's fall in sad remembrance rose, Her friends, her children, mingled with the dead. The tuneless harp, that once with joy we strung. When praise employed, and mirth inspired the lay. In mournful silence, on the willows hung. And growing grief prolonged the tedious day. Our hard oppressors, to encrease our wo, With taunting smiles a Song of Zion claim. Bid sacred praise, in strains melodious flow. While they blaspheme the great Jehovah's name. But how in heathen chains, and lands unknown, Shall Israel's Sons a Song of Zion raise, O hopeless Salem, God's terrestrial throne. Thou land of glory — sacred mount of praise — If e'er my memory lose thy lovely name, If my cold heart neglect thy kindred race, Let dire destruction seize this guilty frame, AJy hand shall perish, and my voice shall ceaie. 264 DWIGHT. minutes of approval from the General Assembly and General Association of Connecticut. The additional Psalms comprised in the American Edition of Watts are upwards of twenty, including some aliters. The Versions are, for the most part, respectable ; but the Independents of this country appear never to have considered the American and the English Poets as sufficiently co-equal in merit and authority to induce them to adopt those contributions of Dr. D wight, which render the work of Dr. Watts more complete, if not more precious.* Dr. Dwight died January 11, 1817, aged 65, leaving behind him a System of Theology, and other works. • The only trace of exclusive nationaliiy which I have noticed in the hook occurs in the four following stanzas of the secoml part of P^salm 18, which is •'applied to the A.mcrican Revolution," anil which 1 quote for their curiosity: it must, however, he rcc )llected that the lines were composed more than forty years oso : — ** When fir'd to rage, against our nation rose Chiefs of proud name, and hands of haughty foes, He train'd our hosts to fifoib, flntangled in his snare. 9. He bows, he &wns, with fraudful an. Low crouching on the ground : Prompt on his helpless prey to start. And close his victim round. 10. " God sees it not' with heart consign'd To vile conceits he cries : " Oblivion clouds Jehovah's mind. And distance veils his eyes." 11. Arise, Jehovah ! God of might. Thy lifted hand display. Nor from the meek withdraw thv sight. Nor turn thy thoughts awav ! 1 2. Why should the rebel heart o'erflow With pride ? Why God demise ? And say, " nor eye of thine shaD koow. Nor hand of thine chastise r" 13. But, Lord, thy eyes th' oppressor see ; The proud thy hand shall par: In thee the poor confide ; in Thee The orphan finds his stav. 1 4. The scomer's might, O Lord, subdue 1 The spoilers power confound : His sin with just revenge pursue. Till sin no more be found. 310 TURNER. 15. For aye, and while the world shall stand, The Lord the sceptre wields ; He drives the faithless from liis land, And he tlie faitliful sliields. Kj. Father of all ! thy watchful care Prepares the humble breast, Bends to its plaint a willing ear. And grants the meek recjuest. 17. 'Tis thine the arm of pride to break. And make the tyrant bow : Thou art the Saviour of the weak, — The orphan's Father Thou. BAPTIST NOEL TURNER, M.A. This truly exemplary, accomplished, and liiglily respected Clergyman, was Rector of Denton, in the County of Lincoln, and of Wing, in the County of Rutland. He was born in 1739, and named after Baptist Noel, Earl of Gainsborough, who was his godfather. He received tlie rudiments of his education at tlie Grammar School of Oakham, in Rutland, (of which Seminary he was afterwards some time Head Master,) and completed it at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He was in early life known to, and esteemed by Dr. Johnson, of liis interviews witli whom Mr. Turner publislied some interesting accounts. He was the aullior of several seasonable works mostly of a religio-political cha- racter : they shew, as indeed his whole cliaracter did, that his loyalty was not less real, than liis zeal and ability in the discharge of his duties as a Parish Priest were exemplary — as well among his parish- TURNER. 311 iouers at Wing, where lie long resided, as at his other living of Denton, to which place he afterwards removed. " Here," says the writer of the interesting obituary in the Gentleman's Magazine^ to which I am indebted for these particulars — " He continued a constant resident, till within a few years of his death ; when attention to his health required him to spend the winter months in London. But during the long period of half a century, this truly pious Clergyman discharged all his sacred functions in person ; and few men can be found who have more zealously, faithfully, and conscientiously performed these important duties. As he administered to the spiritual wants of his poorer neighbours, his wife was always ready, with a tenderness and care peculiar to her disposition, to lend her aid in affording them comfort and succour in their temporal neces- sities. The door of his mansion was ever open to their applica- tions, and none but the idle and worthless applied in vain."* To a thorough knowledge of the Latin and Greek classics, and the rarer accomplishment of a fine elocution, Mr. Turner added a taste and a talent for poetry, the adventurousness of which, at least, may be judged of from the circumstance, that, being an enthusiastic admirer of Dryden's celebrated Ode, he was so charmed with its beauties, and disgusted with its blemishes, that he attempted to improve it, " by filling out the grand idea, as manifestly intended by the Bard himself; i. e., to render every passion regularly excited by Timotheus, and the coiTespond- ing effects produced on the Monarch." In 1824, he published "Songs of Solyma, with a Dedica- tion to the Bishop of St. David's; or a New Version of the Psalms of David, the long ones beino- compressed in general into two parts or portions of Psalmody, comprising their prophetic evidences and ' Genlkmnu's Magnzinc, vol. icvi. pt. it, 46". 312 TURNER. principal beauties." I am indebted to J. Turner, Esq., of London, a son of the author, for a copy of the Songs of Solyma, several of Avhich were a few years ago set to music, and published under the auspices of tlie late Montagu Burgoyne, Esq. Mr. Turner's Psalmody, of which it is no disparagement to say, that it is not more likely than some com- positions of much higher merit ever to supersede the Old or the New Versions in our Public Worship, shews that the author's lieart was in a work, which has been thus judiciously appreciated in the obituary above alluded to : — " These translations are highly respectable in point of literary merit, (simplicity and unaffected piety being their chief characteristic), particularly when it is considered that they were the amusements of the evening of a literary life, the author having attained his eightieth year when he began the task." Mr. Turner died in May, 1826, aged 80. There is a Memoir and Portrait of him in Nichols's " Illustrations of the Plistory of Litera- ture in the Eighteenth Century." PSALM XX. 1. Valiant prince, go forth and vanquish, Jacob's God thy head defend, And, to keep thy heart from anguish, From His temple aid extend. 2. May He favour each oblation Thou hast offer'd at His shrine. Grant thy wish its consummation, And to all thy vows incline. 3. Yes — O King, Jehovah lendeth To our prayers a gracious ear. Thee from every ill dcft'iideth, Thee whose life to Him is dear. SANKEY. 313 4. Some in chariots trust or horses To increase their power or fame ; God can crush all human forces While we combat in His name. MATTHEW SANKEY. Of this iiulividual I know nothing, — nor is there anything in his Version of the Psahns to excite par- ticular enquiry. His volume, which was publislied in 1825, is dedicated to the Archbishop of Cashel : and he acknowledges in his Preface tliat, had he " been aware of the many Versions, authorised and unauthorised, which from time to time have appeared and disappeared, lie should never have been tempted to add another." A Poet who volunteers such a confession of ignorance of what has been done in Metrical Psalmody, is but little likely to supersede the *' unhappy ingenuity" of the " commonly received Version." PSALM XCIII. I. The Lord in Majesty array'd And cloth'd with strength for ever reigns ; 'Tis He the world so firm hath made, And it unmoved that still sustains. II. Of old establish'd is thy throne, Ere worlds began is thine abode ; From everlasting, Lord alone, To everlasting, thou art God. III. The floods have lifted up, O Lord, The floods have lifted up their voice } 314 ROWLAND. But thou, O God, canst wiili a word, Subdue the mighty water's noise. IV. Thy testimonies, Lord, like Thee, Display thy constant faithfulness; For nought witliin thy courts shall be But what becomelh holiness. EDWARD ROWLAND. Mr. Rowland was originally a timber merchant, in Carlisle, who retired from business in 1810, having realized a comfortable independence. In 1826, he executed, for his amusement, the work published in the same year, with the following title : — " The Psalms of David, attempted in Verse, Regular, Irregidar, in the way of Paraphrase, Sec, By Senex. A Clergyman. ' He fixed his thoughts upon celestial things, Seiz'd David's Harp and swept the golden strings.' " In poetical merit, the Version of " Senex" is below mediocrity : it was, however, a fruit of that pious meditation in which amiable senility has occa- sionally indulged — and ought, therefore, to be if not generously, yet at least tenderly judged : the more so, as the author neither defies nor 2>ropitiates criticism by a single line of Preface. It may be mentioned that most of the Psalms are in the eleffiac stanza, like the following specimen, and consequently little suited to singing. I cannot learn on what pretext the designation of " a Clergyman" was USHER. 315 iiitroducetl into the title page. Mr. Rowland, I am told, died in 1824, at the advanced age of 81 years, much respected. PSALM CXVII. O ! praise the Lord, ye heathen, clap your hands, Praise iiim all nations, praise liini in all lands ; ilis love for us encreaseth more and more, His truth endures for ever, praise your God therefore. JAMES USHER. The subjoined specimen is from " A New Version of the Psalms of David, from their Original Text," published in 1827, and " dutifully inscribed to the Rev. Robert Hamilton, D.D., by his affectionate pupil, James Usher." Beyond this, I know nothing of the author ; the " First Part" of the work before me, which does not contain a line of Preface, extends only to the Thirtieth Psalm, including some selec- tions : the remainder was probably never published. If the Version does not comprise the entire meaning of the original, the deficiency cannot be charged upon any attempt at compression or brevity. PSALM XVIIL To the President, of the Servant of Jehovah, of David, who spake to Jehovah the tvords of this Song in the Day in which Jehovah delivered him from the grasp of all his Ene- mies, a?id from the hand of Saul ; and he said, 1. My strength, Jehovah! thee I hail, My rock Jehovah shall prevail. My fortress, my Redeemer just. My Saviour God, in whom I trust. 310 USHER. 2. My shield, my confidence, and song, The horn of my salvation strong. Praise to Jehovah I'll confess, Who saves when adversaries press. 3. The bonds of death my soul enthrail'd, The powers of Hell my heart appall'd ; I pass'd the regions of the dead, The toils of death about me spread. 4. I to Jeliovah rais'd my cry, Adjur'd my God in agony ; My prayer his holy presence hail'd, My prayer before his throne prevail'd. 5. Then was the solid earth convuls'd, Tlie mountains, from their base, repuls'd, Lightnings, before his presence, came, His wrath sent forth devouring flame. 6. The Heavens he bowed, and came down, Darkness confest his awful frown ; The cherubim attendant shin'd, He came upon the subtle wind. 7. Dark, waters his pavilion made, Clouds wrapt his throne in awful shade ; The brightness which before him past, Hailstones and bolts of thunder cast. 8. From Heaven Jehovah thund'red round. The Highest gave his voice profound ; Hailstones, and bolts of fire he sent, W'hh lightning shone the element. 9. His flaming shafts their host pursued. His lightnings dread tiieir host subdu'd ; Tlien was the vast abyss exposed. The world's foundations were disclosed, 10. At thy rebukes, Jehovah dread ! The wrath thine awful presence shed. He sent from High, in mercy bound, He took me from tlic gulf profound. 11. He rescu'd from the mighty foe, From all whose hatred fill'd my woe ; Too strong for me, witli quenclilcss spite, 'I'hcy urged me in attiiction's night : \2. liut He, Jehovah ! was my slay, To victory he led the way USHER. 317 He rescued me, with love intense, Jehovah crown'd mine innocence : 13. According to my righteousness. My purity, he wrought redress. The merciful thy grace shall trust, With all upright thou shalt be just. 14. The pure, in purity, shall thrive. But witii the froward thou slialt strive ; For thou the meek of heart shalt crown, But quell the lofty with thy frown. 15. My God shall crown with glory bright, Jehovah make my darkness light ; When to my God for aid I call, I break a troop, or leap the wall. 16. Oh, God ! perfections are thy way, Thy word, Jehovah ! claims assay ; The fiercest test its worth shall prove. Thou shield of all who trust thy love ! 17. Who's God, Jehovah dread ! beside? What rock stands with our God allied ? 'Tis God that girds my heart with might. My course doth with perfections light. 18. He makes my feet, like hart's to bound, He sets me on advantage ground ; My hands he guideth to the stroke, A bow of brass mine arms have broke, if). Salvation thou hast given my shield. My strength is thy right hand reveal'd. Thy discipline hath made me great, Thy guidance on my steps shall wait : 20. The path I went thy care enlarg'd. Till foes in general doom I cliarg'd To rise no more : I trode their might, My strength thou girdedst to the fight. 21. Subdu'dst all 'gainst mine arm that rose, Thou gav'st the necks of all my foes ; They cried, but there was none to save, Jehovah never answer gave. 22. Then to the wind I gave their dust, Them as from streets the mire — I thrust ; Thou'st rescued from the people's hate. And o'er the Gentiles rais'd my state. 318 PATULLO. 23. Nations I know not, hail my sway And, hearing, my just laws obey : But the strange chililren love to lie, Nor yield, chastis'd by misery. 24. Abjur'd of grace their heirs shall fail, Nor from despair and bonds prevail. Jehovah lives ! my rock, my guide ! Be God my Saviour glorified. 25. Ev'n God my glory that renews, And nations to my realm subdues ; Yea rescues me from all my foes And rebels at my footstool bows ; 26. Lifts o'er the man of wrong my throne : Therefore my Saviour I'll make known, Among the nations will proclaim Jehovah ! thine all glorious name. 27. A fortress to the King he loves, To David his salvation proves ; All ages shall his offspring bless, Messiah, King of Kings, confess. MARGARET PATULLO. Of tliis lady I know nothing more tlian was coni- mnnicated to the public in her volume, entitled "The Christian Psalter, a New Version of the Psalms of David, calculated for all Denominations of Christians." Edinburgh, 1828. To JMiss Patullo, a lady of highly respectable connexions in Perthshire, belongs the distinction of having been the only indi- vidual of her sex, who, single handed, has versified the whole Book of Psalms : I wisli I could add, that her work would be found, on comparison, equal in merit to the average of specimens from other female hands. The fair authoress holds that " the name of PATULLO, 319 our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ought not to be omitted in Spiritual Psalms," and accordingly, she introduces it into almost every one of her com- positions. PSALM LXXV. 1 . To tliee, O God ! we render thanks, Give praise to him ye difterent ranks, Because his glories do declare How great and wonderful they are. 2. Jehovali's name is very great, Enthroned in glory is his seat ; The Saviour, the Lamb of God, At his right hand has his abode. 3. And when the day of judgment comes, Will utter forth our separate dooms, " O come, ye righteous, enter in, For in my blood ye are wash'd clean ; 4. " But O, you sinful wretches all, Whate'er your station, great or small, Depart from me each wicked one, I know you not, — from me begone. 5. " But all my sheep come here to me. And now my Father's face you'll see ; Like polish'd pillars ye shall shine, Full of his grace and love divine." 6. 'Tis not from south, east, west, or north. But God promotion does bring forth ; 'Tis he alone exalteth those That humbly here obey his laws. 7. He is the sovereign Judge of all, His hand the bitter cup lets fall ; And the full mixture he pours fortii, Then does the guilty feel his wratli. 8. The bitter draught they must then drink, Repenting when too late to tliink ; But I for ever will declare How sweet to me God's precepts are. 9. The Lord will humble lofty pride. And from the proud his saints divide ; The meek and lowly he will raise To glorifv their Maker's praise. 320 WRANGHAM. WILLIAM WRANGHAM. Mr. Wraugbaui, avIio was a tradcsiiiau at Loutli, in Lincoliisliirc,* published in tliat town, in 1829, " A New Metrical Version of the Psalms, adapted to Devotional purposes." The measures are suited to the more connnon tunes sung in Churches : and the versification, although generally' equable, presents little to praise or blame on the score of poetic merit. ►Some of the Psalms, however, are very pleasingly rendered ; indeed an equal freedom, from burlesque, bombast, and obscurity cannot always be claimed for several better learned and more pretentious aspirants to similar distinction. The success of the under- taking is, on the whole, such as might be expected from a pious and intelligent man, little accomplished in the artifices of composition, but who chose this method of solacing himself during the protracted indisposition Avhich preceded his death in 1832. PSALM XCII. With what delight, Almighty Lord, Thy goodness I proclaim ; The wonders of Tliy grace record. And magnify Thy name. How pleasant, M'itli the morning's light, To feel Thy pardoning love ; And, in tiie darken'd shades of night, Thy faithfulness to prove; • Similarity of names lias led to llio nfllliBtinK our Aiithor'ii Version of tlio Pialmii on the venerable Arcluleacon of CleTelnml — indeed the current London Cntnlo;.'uo of Books mistakenly ^ives the work to " Francis WranRham," to v\lioso clajsioal pen I am, however, autliori.-c-il in ntlribu(inj{ a Version of the 137tti I'salm, printed in tlio Cvttofjcr's Monthhj Visitor, 1S30. WRANGIIAM. 321 On ten string'd instruments to raise The sound of joy divine ; With grateful hearts in liymns of praise, The harp and lute to join. Thy work, which shall for ever stand, Has fill'd me with delight ; I view the wonders of Thy hand, And triumph in thy might. How great the power which thou hast shewn ! Thy counsels, Lord, how good ! Thy ways to sinners are unknown. By fools not understood. They know not when the wicked rise, As grass which clothes the field. That also as it fades and dies, So they to death shall yield. But thou, O Lord, the God alone, Whom heaven and earth adore, Where thou on high hast fix'd thy throne, Shalt reign for evermore. For, lo, thine enemies, O Lord, Shall perish from thy sight, Shall fall beneath thy vengeful SM'ord, Or be dispers'd in flight. Thou shalt with oil anoint me o'er, Exalt on high my horn ; Shalt make me, in thy might and power, Strong as the unicorn. Mine eyes shall see with joy my foes Unto destruction brought ; Mine ears shall hear the fate of those Who have my ruin sought. As when the palm-tree spreads its boughs, Or, towering o'er the plain. On Lebanon the cedar grows. So shall tiie just remain. Planted and nourish'd by thine hand, Tliey shall thy courts engage ; VOL. II. Y 322 BATHURST. Bear fruit and flourisli in the land, When furrow'd o'er with age. To shew that God's eternal love Is stcatlfast and secure : Firm as a rock His truth shall prove, His righteousness endure. W. H. BATHURST, M.A. The subjoined specimen is copied from a, very pleasing and judicious collection of " Psalms and Hymns, for Public and Private use j" published in 1831, by the worthy Rector of Barwick-in-Elmet, near Leeds, who is a nephew of Earl Bathurst. The only copy of this excellent, but unpretending- little volume which happens to have fallen under my notice, appears to have belonged to the late William Dawson, the celebrated Wesleyan " Local Preacher," who was a parishioner of Mr. Bathurst' s, and by him interred in Barwick Church Yard, in July, 1841.* The Hymns, upwards of two hundred in number, and the Psalms with a few exceptions, ore original. PSALM XCI. 1. The man who can rest on the arm Of INIercy, and commune with God, Shall find a sure refuge from harm, And dwell in a happy abode. 2. The wings of thy mercy, O Lord, Shall cover and shelter his head ; To ward ofl' the enemy's sword The shield of thy truth shall be spread. • Everett's Life of Dawson, [>. 4PS. 3IARSII. 323 3. No terror shall harm him by night, Nor arrow that flieth by day ; The pestilence shall not affright, For thou wilt forbid it to slay. 4. Thougli thousands should fall by his side, Uninjured thy servant shall stand; In thee he shall safely abide, And bless thy delivering hand. 5. For angels, conmiission'd by thee, Shall guard him wherever he goes ; Shall keep him from injury free. And frustrate the rage of his foes- 6. In vain shall the tempter annoy. For tliou, Lord, wilt answer his prayer, Wilt grant him thy grace to enjoy, Thy endless salvation to share. EDWARD GARRARD MARSH, M.A. In 1832, appeared " The Book of Psalms trans- lated into English Verse : and illustrated with Practical and Explanatory Notes," by E. G. Marsli. The work has not a line of Preface or Introduction. A brief Advertisement calls the attention of the reader to a useful table which is prefixed, " with a view to facilitate the perusal of the several Psalms in connexion with the events in sacred history, which gave rise to many of them." The " Notes" which fill two hundred pages of an octavo volume, form a valuable body of pious annotation. PSALM LXXX. Hear, Israel's Shepherd, thou, whose rod 1 Leads Joseph, like a flock, abroad ! > Between the cherubs shine, O God ! } VOL. II. Y 2 324 MARSH. For Benjamin and Ephraim fight, Before Manasseh plead our right, Stand fortli, and save us by tliy might, Turn us, O God ! Thy brightness shew, And we shall thy salvation know. Jehovah, God of hosts, how long Wilt thou abhor thy weeping throng ? While tears for bread sustain our life. And plenteous tears thou bidst us quafi'; We to our neighbours are a strife. Our foes at all our misery laugh. Turn, God of hosts I thy brightness shew. That we may Thy salvation know. A vine from Egypt thou hast brought. And made proud nations give it place ; And when due clearance it had wrought, It struck deep roots and fiU'd the space : The hills were cover'd with its shade ; Its arms, like goodly cedars grew, Far as the sea its boughs it spread, Its branches to the river threw. Why hast thou rent its fence away, And left it, every hunter's prey ? The forest boar disturbs its root. The field-bred swine devours its fruit. Return, O God of hosts ! explore From heaven, thy dwelling, as of yore, And visit this thy vine once more. The vineyard planted by thy hand, The branch made strong by thy command. Is burn'd with fire, to ruin doom'd, In thy rebuking frown consumed. The man at thy right hand behold. The son of man, thy champion bold ; And lest we now from thee withdraw. Oh give us life, to keep thy law ! Jehovah, God of hosts, thy brightness shew ! Turn us, and we shall all thy goodness know. S GAHAGAN. 325 HENRY GAHAGAN. In 1832, was publislied " A Rhyme Version of the Liturgy Psahns, by Henry Gahagan, Esq., M.A., Christ Churcli, Oxon ; Barrister-at-Law." The author claims no meiit for a Avork, which appears to have been undertaken as a laudable amusement in the intervals of severer studies. The following specimen, taken at random, will not, it is probable, incline the reader to differ from the versifier in the modest estimate of his achievement. PSALM XCVII. The Lord is King ; thou may'st, O earth, be glad ! Ye numerous isles, your exultations add ! Though clouds and darkness roll around his feet, Yet truth and justice occupy his seat. A fire before him shall his way illume, His foes on every side shall it consume : His vivid lightnings to the world gave light, The earth did see it, and it shrunk with fright. Lord, at thy presence did strong hills relax, Lord, at thy presence they did melt as wax ; The heavens around his righteousness have told, His glory all the people did behold. Yet man's perverse ; confounded be all they To carved images who worship pay : That in vain gods, mere idols, do delight ! To him alone, ye gods, allegiance plight. Sion heard of it — Juilah's daughter's hail'd The tidings glad ; thy judgments, Lord prcvail'd : Thou, Lord, art higher than all that are in earth, Far 'bove all gods is thy transcendant worth. 326 GAHAGAN. Hate all that's evil, j'e that love the Lord, His saints he rescues from th' ungodly 's sword ; So, for the riglitcous is sprung up a light, For men true-hearted 'tis a gladsome sight. In God rejoice, to him your thanks address, For a remembrance of his holiness. It may by some persons be tliongbt strange tliat iuilividiials of no poetic reputation whatever, should not only have set themselves to a task in which so many minds, including some of a high order, have signally failed ; but tliat such metrical adventurers should have published their failures to the world. But it sliould be recollected that a disposition to appreciate the " beauty of holiness," which irradiates our common Prose Versions of the Psalms, or, in other words, a religious sympathy, witli that deep experience of the " things of the Spirit," w liich they disclose, is very likely to excite the idea of attempt- ing to versify, first particular portions, and then the whole of them ; and if the individual making the experiment be of an enthusiastic temperament, he is only so much the more likely to mistake the indul- gence of liis own ardour for a proof of success. It is usually quite the reverse Avith regard to uninspired compositions. A person of taste reads Spenser, or Milton, or Sliakspeare, with rapt enjoyment ; but the more thoroughly he enters into their merits, tlie less assuredly will he think of imitating, much less of rivalling them — the more he becomes accpiainted with them, the more perfect do they seem : but they satisfy as much from their congruity with English associations, as for their accordance with the feelings and principles of human nature. SKURRAY. 327 FRANCIS SKURRAY, B.D. 1 believe the Sliurrays were transplanted from Weiisley Dale, in Yorkshire, into the West of England, by the grandfather of the worthy Clergy- man named above, who was formerly Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxon, and is now the respected Incumbent of Horningsham, near Warminster, in the county of Wilts. Several years ago, Mr. Skurray published a pleasing descriptive Poem, entitled " Bidcombe Hill," Avhich has passed into a third edition : and in 1832, another volume of poetry — " The Shepherd's Garland," in Avhich were intro- duced forty-five specimens of Psalms in metre. The success of this experiment induced the reverend author to finish a Version of the whole Book of Psalms : the work is not yet printed ; and I am indebted to a pleasing instance of that epistolary courtesy which I have so repeatedly experienced in the course of this undertaking, not only for a sight of the specimens as they first appeared, but for the revised transcript of the following Psalm, which is by no means selected as a favourable criterion of Mr. Skurray's skill, but as being best suited to my purpose : — PSALM LXI. To my complaint, O Lord, attend, And listen to my prayer Which from the ends of earth I send To Thee in my despair. 328 MUSGRAVE. If on a rock thou fix my seat To guard and cheer my soul, Waves may advance and then retreat, And bellow as they roll. So when loud Tempests shake the sky, And Heaven and Earth deform, Unto IVIount Sion I will fly, And there outlive the storm. I shall find safety from my foes, Where dwells the King of Kings, And I will seek for my repose, The shadow of thy wings. There oft in prayer would I engage. And Thou hast heard the same. And Thou hast given an Heritage To those that fear Thy name. The King for many years shall live ; Thou wilt his life secure ; Thy blessing to him Thou wilt give, And make his years endure. He shall for ever dwell with Thee : Thy love and truth prepaix^, So he shall be preserved, and wo Will off"er praise and prayer. GEORGE MUSGRAVE, A.M. It is not surprising, considering tlic number of Versions of the Psalms lluit liavc appeared in tliis country since tlie publication of " Paradise Lost," that the idea of turning them into blank verse, sLould have occurred to more than one person. It can hardly, however, be expected, after the cool reception given by the public to the work about to MUSGRAVE. 329 be mentioned, that the expeiimeut will often be repeated, except, perhaps, in the case of particular Psalms : not that Mr. Musgrave lias been unsuccess- ful in his effort — but rather because he has, by the very extent of his success, shewn, how little is to be expected from a style of composition, which attenu- ates the vigour of our masculine prose translation by merely drawing it out, often by the aid of expletive terms, into rhythmical lines of equal length and smoothness. It is true, that in all attempts at metrical rendering, the solemn gravity, and in some degree, of course, the doctrinal precision also, of the old Bible Version, are liable to be affected — but a concentrated brilliancy of expression, an ineffable charm which at once wins the ear and often reaches to the heart, is the grateful harmony of the true Hymnic metres — to say nothing of their choral character. It may, indeed, be asserted, without much fear of contradiction, that whatever suscep- tibility of poetic translation into the heroic measure, the Psalms may possess — and perhaps it may be added, whatever the talent of the individual mahing the experiment, either with the numbers of Milton or Dryden, Pope or Younge — or even Cowper and Montgomery — those for reading, in which the style is farthest from verse, and those for singing, in which the construction is least like prose, are the only Versions ever likely to be popular. The goodly volume, which has suggested these remarks, is entitled — " The Book of the Psalms of David, in English Blank Verse : being a New Poetical Arrangement of the Sweet Songs of Israel : adapted to the use of general Readers, with a view to the more perfect understanding, and consequent 330 MUSGRAVE. relish and appreciation of tlie subject matter of those Divine Compositions. By the Rev. George Miis- grave, A.M., B.N.C., Oxon." A Dedication to Dr. Barney, dated 1833, is followed by a somewliat prolix Preface, in which the author tells us the design of his work was — " that in a serious and sober form of verse, the structure of which bears, on that very account, a nearer resemblance to the vernacular prose translation of the Psalms, than any other metre, these beauteous effusions of devout and lioly thought, praise, prayer, confession, intercession, and thanksgiving, may commend themselves more sweetly to tlie sense, and more intelligibly to the comprehension of casual readers, than in tlie crude and uninviting (only because more literal and rugged) diction of the Liturgical Translation." Tliat tlie author has succeeded in making " the stream of verse to flow in a level course, and with an even current," has been already intimated. The following lines afford no unfavourable illustration of the whole — the subject of the Psalm, being itself not unsuited to the measure : — PSALM LXVIir. List, O my people ! to your Teacher's voice, Mark, well the utterance of a mouth, whose lips With speech sublime sliall open, and the tale Of ancient days in pointed truths unfold. Tlie records we have heard, — the truths mc know, And the recital from our fiithcrs loarn'd, Withold we not : — their children and the race As yet unborn our witness shall receive. And in His wondrous deeds for Israel wrought Their Maker's power — th' Alinigiity's glory hail. To Jacob's race a solemn charge He gave — A law orilain'd in Israel, whose decree MUSGRAVE. 331 Parental care awakening bade our sires To every child this ordinance reveal, And to their children's offspring, that the tribes In ages yet to come, with timely heed Might hail the heavenly mandate, and that son To son succeeding should the law declare, And through their endless line its word record. Thus of His mighty deeds in their behalf Reminded ever — To His sacred laws For ever bound, their soul's eternal hopes By God Himself to Heaven were raised — their fliith By God required : — faith, whose unswerving course The rebel and apostate deeds might shame Of their false-hearted ancestry, a race. Whose failing truth, by no allegiance held. And treacherous proved, our Sovereign Lord forsook. As when of old, the tribe of Ephraim's sons, With bows accoutred and for con(iuest arm'd, In its first onset, fled the battle strife. God's cov'nant broken, their unfaithful feet The paths rejected of His law ; their minds All memory spurn'd of those stupendous works His power to Israel's wondering eye reveal'd. What ! did He not e'en in their fathers' sight On Egypt's plain — on Zoan's torrid field — His marvellous might discover ? When that arm Omnipotent the breadth of Ocean cleft. And, all its waters heaping, bade their waves, On either side erect, a causeway leave, Whose track our Heaven -directed people trod ? The Lord of Armies in His signal cloud By day reveal'd, their legion'd numbers led — Their march, by night, obey'd His guiding fire. Riven by the voice divine, the flinty rocks With instant chasm oped, and Israel's sons E'en in the desert waste a copious draught As from the vasty deep imbibed ; while floods From stony crags, at God's high bidding, call'd, Like earth's great rivers urg'd their rushing course. Yet did their reckless, sinning spirit strive, And on those lone and ever barren wilds 332 BfUSGRAVE. To indignation rouse the Lord Most High : Tlieir inward longings — yea, their heart's desire Was an oH'ence to Heaven; Mith such demand Arose that cry for food, which bade their God The craving sate of their luxurious gorge. With taunting challenge was His name reviled, His greatness tlius upbraided : " How can God In this lone wilderness a banquet spread ? True ! He hath smitten rocks, and from their sides Have waters gush'd, and streams o'erflowing pour'd — Can he give bread to Israel ? Can His hand With ample flesh this peojile's wants supply ?" God heard indignant : at that daring cry The kindled wrath of Heaven ou Jacob's sons Flash'd awful flames ; and anger from tlie Lord The tribes involv'd of Israel's sinful host; For sin it was, which from their faithless hearts All trust in God had banish'd, and the hope Of sure salvation at His hand destroy'd : Though, to the clouds above, that voice divine Command had given, at whose Almighty word Wide oped the portals of th' etherial sky ; And manna, raining sustenance and food. The grain of Heaven itself — abundant showers On Israel pour'd of viands, in whose taste The palates of the mightiest would have joy'd ; Till each his full-suflieing portion ate. Then the fierce orient breeze in Ileav'n, gan blow : At their Creator's summons, all the blasts Of southern winds arose, and flesh, like dust. From sky to earth descending pour'd a cloud Of plumed fowls, whose number, like the sand On Ocean's shore, in every dwi-lling swarm'd, Or strew'd tiic midway passes of the camp. Thus did they eat, thus satiate, too, with food Saw they their cravings answer'd, but while yet The meat was in their mouths, the wrath of God Dealt vengeance universal, in whose blow Tin: fairest met their doom — lh(> youthful prime Of Israel's warrior sons untimely died. Ceased here tluir foul transgression r With \iv\\ guilt MUSGRAVE. 333 Resumed they eacli his course, and in the sight Of miracle itself no credence gave Nor faith to Ilinx who wrought it ; for with doubts Of harden'd unbelief, their days of life Were by the sentence of indignant Heaven, For' evermore to fruitless hope consign'd — Their years to soul-consuming sorrows dooni'd. Reckless they souglit not God, till in their ranks The hand of wrath divine its victim slew, And waked the eager prayer, with whose appeal Returning to its Lord, each recreant heart Was fain to hail Ilini for that Rock of strength, Whose might rcdeem'd them, even God Most High : INIouth-honour, only, to the Lord of Lords ! While the false tongue addressed a lie to Heav'n ; For in that host of flatterers, not a heart Uprightly dealt before Him — not one soul To Israel's God in covenant taithful stood. Still did His mercy sway ; His pitying love Pronounced the gracious pardon of their sin, And linger'd to destroy : Full many a time His rising indignation would He stay — The promptings of his furious wrath assuage ; So mindful was that God, in whose regard They were but Men — vain mortals I merest flesh ! A breath respiring to return no more. Ah ! then and there were deeds of rebel pride — That bold defiance in the wilderness, Whose provocation dared the power divine, And the dread sanctity of Israel's God With wrath -exciting scorn and outrage wrong'd. How little reck'd their memories, in that hour, The liand that had preserved them ! All regards, All record, then, was spurn'd of those great days W^hen God himself redeem'd them from their foes ; When on the eye of Egypt all His signs Portentous gleam'd ; When Kingly Zoan's plains Their witness bore to His miraculous might : When at His bidding Pharoah's river-streams Began to flow in blood, whose gory draught No lip could touch — no thirst essay to drink. 334 MUSGRAVE. At God's high summons warping came the fly, Whose all-devouring ravage bared the land, While swarming frogs their rank corruption spread ; By God's decree, all increase, all the growth Of Egypt's fruit became the prey of worms — All labour's produce, all the gains of toil W^ere to the locust given : The cluster'd vines Scaped not destruction in that freezing storm, Whose hailstone crush'd the figs, — whose icy sleet Th' abandon'd herds amid their pastures slew, While flocks fell lifeless in the lightning's blast. Terrifick fervour of celestial ire ! What indignation, wrath and grievous woe, — What evil Angels in that hour were sent ! By outrage roused, God's anger hew'd its course, Unpitying, nor from death's aftlictive blow The race of man exempting, sent that plague, Whose mortal ravage in th' Egyptian homes Each first-born soul destroying, smote to earth The pride and prowess of th' abodes of Ham. Then onward march'd the Israelites, — the tribes Accounted as God's own ! Led on, like sheep, Their numbers then went forth, and, by the hand Omnipotent conducted, held their way : — Yea, as a flock the desert waste they cross'd, Unharm'd, undaunted ; M-hile their tyrant foes In ocean's overwhelming billows sunk. Thus to the hallow'd verge of Sion's mount — This consecrated steep, which God's right hand Victorious made his own, — our favour'd sires By heavenly guidance came, and with their march Came rout and exile to the Pagan host, By God himself, in Israel's sigiit, out-driv'n ; — Till, line by line ajiportion'd, Canaan's fields An heritage to Jacob's oft'spring fell. Then Israel's tribes — so will'd their Sovereign Lord, Dwelt in the Heathen's lone abandon'd tents ; Alas ! to tempt anew the most High (lod, To wake His wratli, His sacred word to spurn, To retrograde again, and, like the bow That foils the archer's aim, to turn aside ; MUSGRAVE. 335 E en tnus revolting swerved they from their truth, And, like their fathers, false and faithless proved, Dealt foully with their God. What anger roused The majesty of Heav'n, when high in air Their lofty-piled, forbidden altars rose ! What fierce, indignant jealousy beheld The graven image ! that unholy work — That outrage, from whose form the eye divine Abhorrent turn'd, to loathe our sinful race. Ah ! then of God forsaken was th' abode. The dwelling-place in Shiloh, where His might And glory's presen ce shone ; forsaken then That tabernacle, fixt amid the homes Of mortal men ! The power of The Most High Submissive yielded, to its captor's claim — The Lord of Heaven Himself to hostile hands His glory's pride abandon'd — and the race Of Israel, His own people, to the sword. For, in that hour of wrath, what heir of God His awful anger felt not ? Raging flame The chosen ones devour'd of Israel's youth — No strain of nuptial hymn the virgins hail'd — No Priest, Jehovah's Minister, could shun The slaught'ring sword — no widow lived, to raise The wailing cry of sorrow for the slain. But lo ! as when from slumber sudden roused, The sleeper starts to action ; or as M'hen Some man of might, with ample draughts elate Of deep carousal, puts his valour forth — Thus, even thus uprose the Lord our God, With rearward torment goading all His foes. Till in their smitten forms Philistia's sons The record bore of everlasting shame. Rejected then of God was Joseph's tent — And Ephraini's tribe no longer, as of old. Their Lord's adoption hail'd; — for Judah's sons The chosen stood of Heaven, and Sion's mount, Beloved of The Most Higii, His favour won : From Sion's steep the Sanctuary's walls Their height to Heav'n uplifted — firm as earth. And like this globe in strength eternal fixt. 336 BAUTRIIM. TuENCE on that servant who with pastral care The shecpfold watch'cl in Bethlehem, — by whose feet Attentive traek'd, the teeming milch ewes grazed — E'en on that David lighted all the choice And countenance of his God : to him alone Committed was the trust of Jacob's race, — The nurture of God's people, Israel's tribes, The heirs of The Almighty : — yea, and well Did he, the chosen shepherd, tend his charge, For by a faitliful heart their needs were met, And ablest judgment mark'd the guidance of his sway. JOSEPH P. BARTRUM. Of this American contributor to the stock of our veniacular Psahuody, I know little beyond his name in the title page, and his opinions in a Preface to " The Psalms, Newly Paraphrased for the Service of the Sanctuary," published at Boston, U.S., in 1833.* I believe he was an Englishman, who spent two or three years in the University of Cambridge, U.S., and entered into holy orders : but what became of him after the publication of his Psalmody, which involved him in some pecuniary difliculties, is not known. Mr. Bartrum's aim has been to supply the lack of a " Metrical Version of the Psalms, com- bining chasteness of interpretation with an application to existing manners, and sublimity of language witli a fitness for devotional music." In this aim, he cannot be said to have succeeded. If, indeed, his own effort had been as successful as his perception • I am indebted to the kindness of the Rev. Thomas Ilarlwell llornc, for the loan of liartrum's N'crsion. BARTRUM. 337 of tlie defects of liis predecessors appears to have been acute, lie might, at least, have sliared with some of them a reputation, wliich, however repeatedly- disparaged, seems destined to be permanent. The Poet who imputes to Watts, " coarseness of diction, harsh elisions, and general negligence," will be expected, by at least a large portion of the Christian community to bring more than ordinary skill to the renewal of the oft-repeated experiment of tuning the sacred harp of David, to the music of our British choir. Our author speaks of Tate and Brady, as having " unyoked themselves from the letter, (by which " Watts too was bound") which killeth poetry, as well as some other things" — " poetic diction having been among his own chief aims" — and a laudable aim it is, when directed in conformity with the spirit of the sacred original : but, incongruous to the spirit as to the letter of the Psalms, there is a meretricious style, which, however it may be adapted to the lighter lyrics of a merely sentimental character, is but little accordant with the sober sublimity of the word of God. Of this, the worthy Boston paraphrast appears to be so perfectly aware, that he considers himself " bound at least to apologise for the intro- duction of a phraseology so different from that in which sacred things have usually been exhibited. Poetry has its appropriate language ; and why should it be objected to any one, that he has used the well understood language of poetry, in versifyino- a work of the highest poetical, as well as sacred, character ? Is the world for ever to be drivellino- over its horn-book ? Are we to have a sacred and a secular language, the latter of wliich, with the ex- ception of a few common places, shall engross all VOL. ir. z 338 BARTRUM. there may be of the sublime and the patlietic, in conversation and composition ? Forbid it heaven ! Forbid it, ye solemn duties ! ye sublime rewards ! Forbid it, all that can raise man above the dull clods of earth, and refine his soul for celestial intercourse ! Let the bards of sacred song be allowed access to every means of reaching the heart, Avhich the best writers have employed for a similar purpose ; they may then be simple, yet sublime, poetic, without bombast, devotional, without sanctimoniousness." I liave given this curious passage, and adverted so much at length to the book, because it is little likely to be in the hands of many persons in this country. It would be easy to quote passages from almost every page of Mr. Bartrum's Version, to shew that he has indeed avoided the " common places" of his compe- titors, but not so easy, at the same time to reconcile grave religious users, either of those Psalms of Watts, " which, shaped into metre, continue to make a waste of paper," or even those who are familiar with the " authorised Versions," to these light and tinsel measines — these ungraceful elisions, for which the American Poet claims the suffrage of piety and taste. Of the " greater fitness of the present Version, for musical expression," than some others, there can be no doubt : but if the nuisic be as airy as many of the metres are lightsome, the work becomes only so much the less entitled to respect.* • Of a very ili(Terent cbar.icter to Rartrum's bonk, is the volume, entitled " Churcli Psalmoily : a collection of Psalms and Hymns, ada|ited to Public Worship," published at Boston, in 18.'?*2. It is preceded by a very elaborate, and on the whole, a judicious Preface, sifjned by " Lowell Mason, and David Greene." The work contains 454 Versions of Psalms, and 731 Hymns, and comprises the names of most of the well known writers or collections of sacred lyrics in England and America. Prefixed to the various compositions, arc a set of symbols designed " to indicate, to some extent, the manner of performance." These marks for musical expression are such as arc commonly emi)loyed in JUDKIN. 339 PSALM LXXXVII. 1. Amid the heaven of heavens Our God hath fix'd his seat ; Thence views, with eye intent, the worlds That roll beneath his feet. 2. But wliere the saints abide, And Zion's gates unfold. Beyond the bright and blazing orb, His love hath dwelt of old. 3. O Church, beloved of God, How fair, how glad, thy state ! Nor pomp, nor power, nor joy of thrones, Can rise to height so great. 4. Within thy courts arc born The sons and heirs of light ; Thy name, endear'd o'er all on earth, To bliss secures their right. 5. In thee our joys revive, Our hopes shall heavenward spring ; In thee, with voice of song, our thanks To heaven's high Lord we bring. THOMAS JAMES JUDKIN, M.A. The following stanzas are from "Church and Home Melodies ; being a New Version of the more Devotional parts of the Psalms," &c. : by the Minister of Somers' Town Chapel, 1834. A leading peculiarity of this Version, and one of which the merit will scarcely be thought to be made out by the Music Books, and with which choirs are generally acquainted. I am indel-tcil for a sight of this really excellent Collection to the kindness of the Re?erend Gentleman named in the preceding note. I may add, that there was published at Boston, in 1S31, " A New Translation of the Book of Psalms," in a sort of measured prose, by G. R. Noyes. VOL. II. z 2 340 JUDKIN. reason assigned, is tlic rule the autlior lias laid down, of " allowing no Psalm or Hvnni to exceed the compass of four verses, (lluit hc'in(j the vert/ e.rtent of I'epelilion ir/dch any tune will hear;)'"' he is also "anxious to ascertain, as a son of the Church, how far I could supply from my own resources the nutri- ment which her members may want — leaving it to them of a bolder wing and a wider range to cull more richly from the same field — that thus, through my example, her own labouring bees might gather honey for her own hive without pilfering from the stores of another. Lyrical cmbclli.shment has been sacrificed to a higher object." This is rather an erpiivocal disclaimer : the judicious use of " Lyrical emhcllislnnent," being chiefly that which must dis- tinguisli the truly poetical, from the bald literal Version : how different the sentiment of »Sandys, who, in preseiitinghis noble Paraphrase of the Psalms to King Charles the First, tells his Majesty that the Muse, having " Fetch'd from Engaddi, spice; from Jury, balm ; And bound her brows with Idumean palm: Now old, hath her last voyage made, and brought To royal harbour this her sacred Trauglit : (freight.) Who to her King bequeaths (he wealth of Kings; And dying, her owne Epicedium sings." The following, as being a short Psalm, is one of the few which Mr. Judkin, in conse(|uence of his foiu'-verse sclieme, has been able to give at length : — PSALM CXXII. (Ireat gladness fills my heart to hear My dear companions say, Now let us in God's house appear Upon Mis holy day. BEAUMONT. 341 Yes, Lord, we'll stand with willing feet Within thy temple gate, Where all thy saints united meet. Thy grace to supplicate. To pour commingling prayer and praise ; Since there with joy they see, How David's Lord His throne displays In truth and equity. The peace which we desire is there, And there in plenteousness, Each gift divine to soothe our care, All good our souls to bless.* JOHN BEAUMONT. An attempt, more enterprising than successliil, was made to emulate tlie devotional lyrics of Dr. Watts, in " Original Psalms, or Sacred 8ongs, taken from the Psalms of David, and Imitated in the language of the New Testament, in twenty different metres. By John Beaumont, 1834." The author, who dates from ^Mcole Brace, dedicates this work to the Rev. Edward Bather, Arciideacou of Salop. PSALM LXXXn. 1 . Among the mighty sons of earth. The great Jehovah stands, Let all ot" liigh and iuimble birth Obey his just commands. 2. Let not the rich oppress the poor. Unjustly in his sight, Nor haughty sinners dwell secure In worldly pomp and might. ♦ Bishop Spratt is said to have made a poetical paraphrase on this Psalm ; but I have not seen it— nor does it occur in the collection of his poems as usually printed. 3-12 DICKSON. 3. I've said of Princes, Yc are gods, And sons of the Most High, Yet Kings and Emperors, Dukes and Lords, As men shall surely die. 4. Arise, O Lord, and judge the earth, Possess tlie nations all. Let all of Iiigii and humble birth Obey the Gospel call. THOMAS DICKSON. The author of the little volume of " Paraphrases and Hymns," printed at Berwick, in 1834, from Avhich I take tlic subjoined verses, Avas a School- master, at Chirnside. He has neatly versified fourteen of the Psalms : it is pleasant to receive these few flowers of sacred poetry, as an evidence that the dews of Hermon have fallen not unrefresh- iugly on a spot so remote and so little kuown, as the residence of this pious Schoolmaster. PSALM LXXVIL When with my voice to God I cried. Awhile no help appear'd : With tears and groans I still applied, Till heard in that I fear'd. When trouble heavy on rae press'd, I sought Jehovah's throne ; My prayers withheld my nightly rest, Yet comfort fuuml I none. My thoughts of God, so sweet before, With dark forebodings pain'd ; My soul was ovcrwhelia'd the more, Till! more that 1 coniplain'd. To muse o'er all the days of old, My pensive hours employs ; DICKSON. 343 Communion with my heart I hold, And mourn departed joys. Is then his mercy ever fled ? And can his promise fail ? Shall I no more in him be glad? Shall love no more prevail ? I said, 'tis sure my weakness all. Unchanged Jehovah is : The ancient years to mind I'll call. Years he was wont to bless. What God so great as is our God ! Thou, God, hast wonders wrought ; When groan'd our sires in Ham's abode, Thine arm salvation brought. The waters saw thee then, O Lord ! They saw and durst not stay ; Api)aird thy dread rebuke they heard. And fled in haste away. The clouds pour'd forth their watery load, Whilst sounds of dread alarm'd ; Thine arrows also went abroad. With swift destruction arm'd. Throughout the heaven thy thunders peal'd, Thy lightnings flash'd dismay ; Earth trembling to her centre, reel'd, In that portentous day. Thy path was through the stormy main. Thy footsteps were unknown : With all a father's kindness then, Thou ledd'st thy people on.* » In this Psalm " Selali," a word left untranslateil in our Bibles, and never introduced into any Metrical Version at all, is thrice repeated. The term occurs about seventy times in the course of the Psalms. All commentators have acknowledged its obscurity ; nor does it appear, so far as can be judj^ed, ma- terial to the meaning of the context. It may probably have been originally a mark connected with the musical expression of the passage : this, indeed, is the opinion of a good practical authority in such matters : — " When it is considered that these compositions were sung, and accompanied by a variety of instruments, the i)oints where this term occurs, are the very places where the voices should rest, and bo followed by the instruments; and to the eye of a musician its import is at once suggested by the woiJ ni/mjifwnij." — Gardner's Music and Friends, ii, 6(51. 344 LYTE. H. F. LYTE, A.M. Of the Clergyman lierc named, I know nothing beyond the fact tliat he designates himself '* Minister of Lower Brixham," in the title page of the fourth edition of " The Spirit of the Psalms, or the Psalms of David adapted to Christian Worship." 1830. This elegant and useful compendium of devotional sentiment was first published anonymously : but the reception which it met with among religious readers was too unequivocally flattering, to allow the author's name to remain concealed. The foregoing title, although perhaps, unobjectionable enough in the popular meaning of the terms, for distinguishing the work from many others having a similar bearing, is not of very definite or defensible signification, as characterising its contents. For it would surely be as absurd to take it for granted that Mr. Lyte has compressed into five or six quatrains of English rhyme, the meaning, or even, in many instances, indicated the drift — the " spirit" of the Psalmist so often exhibited through five or six times that extent of verbiage in the original, as it would be impossible to believe that those portions of each composition of the sweet singer of Israel, which are not included in its INIetrical counterpart, contain none at all, or if any, only a less important measure of " the Spirit of the Psalms." Of course, it is not for one moment intended to place Mr. Lyte's meritorious labours in any such dilemma, as the foregoing remarks might seem to imply : for whatever the strict bearing of tlie LYTE. 345 title, the book does, in fact, consist of Hymns, com- posed, in a certain sense, in " The Spirit of the Psahns ;" but on the whole, no more calculated to give any idea of the entire meaning of " The Book of Psalms," than would a seiies of " Imitations," of the Odes and Epistles of Horace, in which the original names and incidents were dropped, and English sentiments and associations substituted for those of the genuine text, give the reader any real notion of the productions of the Latin Poet. But let us attend to the explanation of our author himself, who tells us that, " instead of attempting a New Version of the Psalms," a majority of which, owing to the " modern practice of using only three or four verses at a time," would, " if literally trans- lated, be unfit, on the score of length, for public worship," he has " simply endeavoured to give the spirit of each Psalm in such a compass as the public taste would tolerate, and to furnish, sometimes, when the length of the original would admit of it, an almost literal translation, sometimes a kind of spiritual paraphrase, and at others even a brief commentary on the whole Psalm. He feels in truth that, in order to render the Psalms fully applicable to a Christian audience, considerable liberties must be allowed in the way of adaptation. They ought, he thinks, to be made to express all that David himself would have expressed, had he lived under the superior light which we enjoy, and beheld, not the mere twilight of the yet unrisen * Sun of Righteousness,' but, like ourselves, the splendour of His meridian day. What, therefore, he darkly intimates respecting Christ and his Gospel (and the Psalms are full of such intimations), the 346 LYTE. author lias, in many instances, endeavoured to unfold and expand -, and, adapting the whole in some degree to present limes, usages, and cir- cumstances, he has sought to preserve the spirit of the originals, while he has somewhat altered the letter." What is said in hehalf of brief singing, in the foregoing quotation, may, perhaps, be a good reason for composing Hymns in " three or four verses;" or for dividing a Psalm into parts of similai* length ; or even for versifying only so much of each as can be conveniently sung at once : but so long as the revelation of God is considered pai'a- mount to the sentiments of men, and so long also as every portion of Holy Scripture is received as equally of Divine inspiration, so long will that Metrical Version of the Book of Psalms which comes up the most nearly to the measure of the original, in quantity and quality, be the best entitled to general admira- tion and adoption, — the temporary interest of beau- tiful exceptions to this great rule, notwithstanding. As a whole, then, Mr. Lyte's work must chiefly be indebted for its legitimate praise, to the degree in which it approaches the hitherto unsurpassed merit of the Psalmody of Dr. Watts. In this comparison it will probably suffer less than some other, and more pretending competitors ; its leading merit, in this respect, is a freedom from many verbal solecisms, and casual turns of expression, which every one must wish away from some of the compositions of the venerable father of modern Hymnology : its striking inferiority consists in the absence of that compact concatenation of thought and expression, which must so generally strike a pious reader on a LYTE. 347 first acquaiutance with Watts, and which afterwards fixes so firmly in the memory — a few words being often charged with an intensity of meaning, which is sufficient to electrify the soul, on the interposition of any appropriate conductor between the simple verbiage of the Poet, and the spiritual understanding in which his language is lodged. Tlie verses of Mr. Lyte, exhibit a fluency of diction, and a unity of object, which render them very pleasant and profitable for reading aloud : indeed, there is a general buoyancy of thought, and commonly a directly practical appeal, or some soul-exhilarating expression at the close of each Hymn, which is of more importance and efl'ect when delivered by an appropriate emphasis of the voice, than in tlie more uniform expression of a musical tune.* PSALM XLVIILf Great is the Lord ; His praise be great ! Ye lands, your tributes bring : And, Britain, thou, His chosen seat, Be first to praise thy King. • The Rev. Charles Smith Bird, in a small volume, printed at Liverpool in 1833, entitled " Ever and Ever, and other Poems," has forty-two Hymns derived from the earlier Psalms. It was his intention to have " adapted Hymns to all the Psalms," had not the appearance of Mr. Lyte's work put an end to the design. f The subjoined is a full rendering of Psalm xlviii., from the authorised Scottish Version : — 1. Great is the Lord, and greatly he 6. Great terror there took hold on them, is to be praised slill, they were possess'd with fear; Within the city of our God, Their grief came like a woman's pain upon his holy hill. when she a child doth bear. 2. Mount Sion stands most beautiful, 7. Thou Tarshish ships with east wind the joy of all the land ; 8. As we have heard it told. L''f^''*l'''st 5 The city of the mighty King So, in the ci>y of the Lord, on her north side dolh stand. our eyes did it behold ; 3. The Lord within her palaces In our God's city, which his hand is for a refuge known. for ever stablish will, 4. For, lo, the kings that gather'd were 9. We of thy loving kindness thought, together, by have yone. Lord, in thy temple still. 5. But when they did behold the same, 10. O Lord, according to thy name, they, wond'rinfi, would not stay ; through all the earth's thy praise ; But being troubled at the sight, And thy right hand, O Lord, is full they thence did haste away. of righteousness always. 348 SADLER. God in thy borders well is known A strong and faithful Friend : O rest thou slill on Him alone, And He will still defend. Here in thy courts again we stand, Thy grace, O Lord, to see : Soon let it shine on every land, And win all hearts to Thee. But, Lord, be Britain still thy choice ; Still walk around her towers : Still let lier sons in Thee rejoice, And cry " the Lord is onrs I" MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. Mr. Sadler was born Jan. 30, 1780, at Doveridge, near Ashbourne, in Derbyshire. In early life, he engaged in mercantile pursuits in Leeds ; but the ministerial proposition of the Catholic Relief Bill, in 1829, drew him into public life, and he sat in two successive Parliaments for Newark-upon-Trent, and in a third, till the passing of the Reform Bill, for the ancient borough of Aldborough, in Yorkshire. In politics he was what is termed a Tory ; and as well by his opponents, as by his own party, he was con- sidered one of the most accomplished orators in the House of Commons. As an author Mr. Sadler published among other things, a valuable work, entitled, " Ireland ; its Evils and their Remedies," in which book as well as in his place in Parliament, lie strenuously advocated the introduction of a Poor 11. Because thy judgments are made 13. Consider ye her jialaces, let Sion mount rejoice ; [known, and mark her bulwarks well ; Of Judah let the daughters all That ye may tell posterity send forth a cheerful voice. 14. For this God doth abide 12. Walk about Sion, and go round ; Our GoJ for evermore ; ho will the high low'rs thereof tell ; ev'n unto dealli us guide. SADLER. 349 Law into that countiy : he also published a " Treatise oil Population," in opposition to the views of Malthus — subjects, it may be thought, little calculated to lead into the track of the Psalmist. Mr. Sadler, however, was not only possessed of brilliant oratorical powers, and of a highly cultivated mind, but the tone of his works and of his speeches, whether on dry questions of political economy, or on subjects of practical benevolence, was that of a sincere and practical Christian, in the plain sense of the term. From a boy, Mr. Sadler had paid some court to the Muses, and especially he had at intervals, exercised his pious ingenuity in versifying the whole of the Psalms : these he revised during the illness which preceded his death in 1835, as I learn from his brother, B. Sadler, Esq., who kindly transmitted to me the subjoined literal Version of the 63rd Psalm, which has not appeared in print before, and the pub- lication of which, here, can certainly do no *' injustice" to the memory of the respected author.* PSALM LXIII. 1. O my God, for mine Thou art, Early will I seek tliy face ; Thirsts for Thee my soul, my heart Longs for thy refreshing grace, In a dry and barren land, Looking for thy power I've been, As I have thy glorious hand, In the Sanctuary seen. 2. Thee, whose love is better far Ev'n than life, my lips shall praise; • Since the above was written, the " Memoirs of the Life and Writings of M. T. Sadler, Esq," have been given to the public in a bulky volume. This work contains not only ample details relative to Mr. Sadler's views on great public questions, but Versions of Psalms Ixviii., xxix., Ixxvi., Ixxxvii., xc, xciii., cxxii., and exxxvii., as specimens of his Metrical experiment. 350 BLACKALL. Bless Thee, while that life thou spare; In thy name my hands I'll raise : Satisfied my soul shall be, As with heavenly marrow fed. And my mouth, inspired by Thee, Praise my joyful lips shall spread. 3. Gracious Father, have I not Thee remember'd on my bed ; Upon thee when waking thought, Thee, mine only help and aid. Therefore will I still rejoice, In thy wings' almighty shade. Upon thee my soul relies, Hangs by thy right hand upstaid. ELIZABETH BLACKALL. I am iiidebtecl to a siglit of Mr. Montgomery's presentation copy for my knowledge of the existence of the little volume of "Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs," the title-page of which bears the foregoing name. I presume the authoress belongs to the Sister Island ; her work having been printed at Dublin, in 1835 : it contains, along with other l)ious compositions. Versions of twelve Psalms. At the end of the Preface she says, " If the Lord give grace and opportunity, it is purposed at some future period to complete tlie paraphrase of the Psalms." Tliis intention appears not to have been realized : nor, judging from tlic specimen published, would the achievement be likely to possess any particular claim to notice, except that of its being the produc- tion of a female hand. BLACKALL. 351 PSALM XVI. Preserve me, God, in thee I trust, My soul hath said, thou art my Lord, My goodness unto thee — the just, And holy God, can nought afford- But to the saints upon the earth, And good in whom is my deliglit ; Their griefs be multiplied — their mirtli Destroy'd that seek an idol's sight. I'll not present their gifts of blood, Nor take upon my lips their name. My portion and my cup is God, From him my lot assured, I'll claim. The lines have fall'n in places fair, A goodly heritage is mine, I'll bless the Lord, who counsel rare Hath given me, with grace divine. My reins also, in deepest night. Instruct me — and the Lord I've set Always before me in ray sight. At my right hand I find him yet. Therefore unmoved I shall remain, My heart rejoice, my glory sing, My flesh its hope shall still retain. That from the grave with joy 'twill spring. For Thou'lt not leave my soul in hell. Nor suffer that thy Holy One Should see corruption, nor should dwell In dark abode, imprison'd, lone. The path of life to me thou'lt show. Fulness of joy is in thy sight, At thy right hand, rich pleasures flow, For evermore in cloudless light. 352 DRAKE. NATHAN DRAKE, M.D. I introduce witli much pleasure the name of tliis true admirer of our genuine English literature, the author of " Literary Hours," " Shakspeare and his Times," " Winter Nights," &c. (Sec. ; and, however, his own claims as an original versifier of the Psalms may be deemed equivocal, his zeal and his taste as a collector, improver, and annotator of the labours of others, entitle him to the respect of every lover of this department of our sacred poetry. In 1837, Avas published, by subscription, in two volumes, " The Harp of Judah ; or {Songs of Sion : behig a Metrical Translation of the Psalms, constructed from the most beautiful parts of the English Versions : with an Introduction and Notes, critical and explanatory ; including the paraphrases, imita- tions, and poetical illustrations of the Psalms. By the late Nathan Drake." To this somewhat prolix title, may be added, as explaining the nature of the work, the following passage from the " Introduction," which contains likewise some account of many of the leading translators of the Psalms into English metre : — " The professed object, then, of these volumes is, to furnish for tlie Closet an entire, hut selected Version of the Psalms, which shall, with its accompanying Illustrations, prove alike acceptable to individuals of literature and taste ^ a Version, in short, which may subserve the best interests of moraHty and religion, not only within the hallowed DRAKE. 353 walls of tlie Church, but as studied or recited in the library or boudoir j a desideratum which, it appeared to tlic Editor, could only be supplied through the medium of a selection from the best translations extant, and which, if executed with due judgment, might present to the world, as its result, a Version in almost every respect superior to any with which it has hitherto been acquainted." In pursuance of this plan, the worthy Editor has not only combined the best parts of different Versions in the same Psalm — eight authors at least, being laid under contribution to the 119th — but, finding sometimes the language and composition of his author very inadequate in his opinion, to express the energy, pathos, or sublimity of the original — " in these instances, though with a timid and reluctant hand, he has endeavoured, by alterations, additions, or new translations, to remove, in some degree at least, the apparent deficiency."* These alterations extend, more or less, to between sixty and seventy of the Versions quoted :■)■ in some instances they are * The plan adopted by Dr. Drake appears to have orij^inated in a suojgestion made by the Rev, Baptist Noel Turner, in the Genlkman's Mapazinc, (vol. xc. pt. i. p. 396.) " It has been sujjuiested," wrote that ?eneral)ie Cierjiyinan, with a specimen of the First Psalm in metre, " that an object of the highest consequence might be achieved, even the improvement of our Cliurch Psalmody, by the following obvious means: if a selection were made of the best Versions any wherein existence; if an adequate portion were extracted from each, e.g. three or four stanzas, but never more than sis ; if such as were faulty or imper- fect were cautiously retouched ; and lastly, in cases where nothing sufficiently faithful or elegant seemed to offrir itself, (which cases would be numerous), new matter were attempted to be supplied, and, if possible, with proper spirit ; not, indeed, the whole of the Psalter, but a competent proportion of it, as the whole would be unnecessary, or perhaps redundant, since of some Psalms more than one portion must be admitted, and possibly two different versions of the same passage, if both have sufficient merit ; then it is hoped that one great point would be attained towards the above grand object." f Few persons at all conversant with our popular Hymnology, can have failed to notice the liberties commonly taken by the compilers of different Collections with the compositions of such authors as fall in their way. These mutilations VOL. II. 2 A 354 DRAKE. slight ; in otlicrs^ much more coiisiclorable : but in every case tliev are acknowledged and marked, and, it must be confessed, that they almost always indi- cate good taste in the execution, and still more uniformly shew a delicate acquaintance with the recognised meaning of the Psalmist. The subjoined Psalm will not only illustrate the method adopted by Dr. Drake in the compilation of his certainly valua- ble Version, but will also shew how very nearly his claims approach those of an original translator : the lines in italics are taken from Dr. AVatts ; the remainder of the Psalm is by Dr. Drake himself. PSALM LXXI. 1 . Lord, I have put my trust in thee, O turn me not to shame ; 2. 3. Thy promise is a rock to me, A refuge is thy name. 4. From men who seek my soul to slay, Who for my blood combine, O save me, gracious Lord, I pray. For power alone is thine. of tie genuine text of the Poet, ar.- sometimes so far from being confined to the change of a word or the omi-sion of a verse, that the expressions and efen the doctrines are so altered that the original author, would scarcely recognise, much less approve of what appears under his name. The Rev. John Wesley — himself a judicious improver of the Hymns of others, protests against this piactice, in the Preface to the Collection used among the Methodists : and I know too, that Montgomery — no inexperienced refiner of the accredited strains of his prede- cessors — when solicited, as he frequently is, to allow compilers to use his own exquisite Hymns, invarialily accompanies the permission with the condition that they shall be taken unmutilated. This question then presents itself: — Should a Psalm or a Hymn never he altered hy the transciit)er ? 1 answer, I think it may, under given circumstances, as I, when obsolete or uncouth terms are simply changed for others more suitable ; 2, whenever the alterations, how- ever considerable, are printed in italics, placed within brackets, or otherwise fairly pointed out ; and 3, perhaps without restraint in all cases where the com- positions are anonymous : 4, it would probably bo little to the purpose to add, that this privilege should be accorded ad lUiitum, to the Version whose poetical reputation is a guarantee that his alterations will be improvements. DRAKE. 355 5. My God, mi/ everlasting hope, I live upon On/ truth ; Thine hands have held my childhood up, And strengthened all my youth. G. My flesh was fashioned by thy power, With all these limbs of mine. And from my mother's painful hour I've bec7i entirely thine. 7. To many I a wonder seem, But thou my refuge art ; 8. From opening morn to day's last beam Thy praise dwells in my heart. 9. Cast me not ojfin my decline. Now hoary hairs arise ; But round me let thy glory shine, Whene'er thy servant dies. 10. My foes they plan in dark debate, The fatal snare to lay, 11. « His God has left him to his fate," In ruthless scorn they say. 12. But be not thou far from me, God, haste my soul to save ; Turn back my foes the way they trod, And wrap them in the grave. 14. Thou art my everlasting trust, Thy goodness I adore ; 15. And since I knew thy graces first, 1 speak thy glories more. IG. Thy strength shall aid me in distress, Thy pitying ear be mine. And I will plead thy righteousness, And mention none but thine. 17. God of my childhood and my youth, The guide of all my days, I have declared thy heavenly truth, And told thy wondrous ways. 18. JVilt thou forsake my hoary hairs, And leave my Jaintiny heart ? VOL. II. 2 A 2 / 350 FARR. W/io shall sustain my sinking years, If God, my strength, depart ? Let me thy poice'r and truth proclaim. Nor heed the bad man's scorn, But leave a record oi" tliy name To ages yet unborn. 1 9. To us, in mercy, hast thou giv'n Thy rigliteous deeds to see ; Thy glory spreads through earth and hcav'n, O, who is like to thee ? 20. Hard, though thine liand hath prcss'd on me, 'Twas mercy dealt the wound. Thou shalt my great deliverer be, When earth hath closed me round. 21. Amid the realms of bliss and peace Will I thy mercy sing ; There shall my glory still increase. Thy comforts round me spring. 22. Thee on the psaltery will I praise, Thee on the sounding lyre ; 23. Thy love, the subject of my lays, Shall hope and joy inspire. 24. From morn till eve's soft dews are shed, I'll sound thy hallow'd name ; Whilst every tongue shall haste to spread l\Iy foemen's flight and shame. E. FARR. In 1830 appeared " A New Version of the Psalms of David, in all the various metres suited to Psalmody," by an individual of the name of Farr. After mentioning the defects of several FARR. 367 preceding Versions, our author proceeds in his Preface to speak of his own performance in tho following terms : — " Thus is the Church of England left without an approved Psalmody ; and it is to be feared that this has been the means of driving away many valuable members from her community. But why is this part of her service, naturally so noble and sublime, thus left ? Doubt- less, there are some living who could write such a work ; and how many have there been, whose works have delighted us, who would have gained a lasting immortality in the Church of God, had they re- touched the harp of the son of Jesse. But they are gone, and left it, to borrow the Psalmist's idea, hanging silently upon the willows. Grieved to see it thus neglected, I have taken it down, and with a trembling hand have swept its chords." This, from a person wholly unknown as a Poet, is not the language of diffidence, either as to self-appreciation or in judging of others. The volume, however, contains a good deal of really clever versification ; and of what, if not more satisfactory to many readers, is a merit not to be overlooked — a very successful recasting into metre the substance of the authorised Version. PSALM LIV. Oh, save me, O God, for thy glorious name, In judgment to aid me, draw near; Accept thou my prayer and deliverance proclaim, To my voice of complaining give ear. For strangers are risen against me, and join My oppressors in seeking my life ; The fear, O my God, of thy vengeance divine. Allays not their gathering strife. 358 C. F. AND E. C. But God is mine helper, he strengthens the friends, Who me in my sorrows sustain ; While on my oppressors his vengeance descends, In his truth they are scatter'd and slain. Then freely I'll offer an offering of praise, It is good to exalt his great power : For his arm hatli deliver'd me by its displays, And my foes I shall see them no more, C. F. & E. C. " How long shall heaven's own poet be debased ? How long by envious clouds his brightness hid? In such dull casket shall such gems be placed. And shall we ne'er presume to lift the lid ? From such a coin, the stamp be still effaced ? Ye shades of Judah's bards and seers forbid ! Oh never, never, was it meant for such To strike her sacred lyre — her hallowed ark to touch !" And why not the gentle genius of woman compete for tlie di^jtinction which one of the sex has so spiritedly anticipated in the above stanza ? In David's land and in David's language, Miriam and Deborah sang in strains which are as imperishable as those of the sweet Singer of Israel and his fellow Psalmists. In this country especially, female hands have twined the flowers of poetry and devotion into a wreath of unfading beauty : and how often, and how gracefully that wreath has been placed upon the Hebresv lyre, even these pages testify — the latest addition of leaves and flowers contributed by the gentle sex to that ever-freshening guerdon which the Psalmist has received from all ages, must now be noticed. C. F. AND E. C. 359 It is with something like hesitation, if not with actual misgiving;, that I have allowed myself to become accessory to publicly lifting the veil, which female delicacy had drawn over the names indicated by the letters at the head of this notice, in the fearful experiment of maiden authorship. I am loth, how- ever, to believe, that an unpretending work of pious ingenuity, published all but anonymously by two young ladies, will be regarded with less tender consideration, by any party, now that the names of the auiiable authors are thus incidentally, though not unadvisedly disclosed to the public. The work in question appeared in 183G, under the title of "A New Metrical Version of the Psalms of David, by C. F. & E. C." The book was printed at Hull, and dedicated to the Venerable Archdeacon of Cleveland — the Rev. Francis Wrangham. On ob- taining a copy, I addressed, through the pnnter, a respectful enquiry to the authors, and in due course I received two letters, both Avritten " north of the Trent," and signed respectively, " Catherine Foster," and " Elizabeth Colling." Both these communications were couched in terms of such frank avowal as to the origin and progress of their undertaking on the one hand, and of such a sensitive appreliension of the publication of their names on the other, that I felt, at first, somewhat embarrassed as to the propriety of seeking to be allowed to divulge to the world even a secret of authorship, which had hitherto been so strictly kept, and of which I had only become possessed through peculiar circumstances. Further correspondence and consideration, however, not only encouraged me to ask, but authorised me to aliix the names oi the fair 360 C. F. AND E. C. Poets to specimens of their Psalms respectively. I have done so ; and will now merely add what I had written before I had tlie slightest suspicion that the letters in the title-page before me, were the repre- sentatives of two individuals of that sex, to whose piety and poetical taste our Psalmody has repeatedly been indebted. The authors of this work are not wholly diffident of the success of their own labours. " It seems," say they, " to be generally allowed that the Psalms, as a whole, have not yet been rendered into English verse, in a manner to satisfy a true taste for poetry. At the same time, it has been deemed indispensable to have them in metre — a new rhyme Version, therefore, is still a desideratum in the lanijuaffe. Those who have adhered to the literal have allowed the poetical to escape — and those which have studied the poetical have wandered too far from the literal. An attempt has here been made to unite as much as it was possible the t\^o." Propriety and fluency of diction — taking the volume as one of English verse, may be said to characterise these compositions, which are but little redolent of the spirit of the Hebrew original, as might be expected, considering the circumstances under Avhich they were executed. The character of the " Old Version," and some contemporary specimens of Psalmody, almost remind us of the Rose of Sharon, which used to be brought (as I think Sir Thomas Browne states) in a dried state from the East, as a present by travellers for their friends : it had form, and colour, and fragrance — but the beauty, the delicacy, the vitality of the flower were gone. On the other hand, many modern Versions of the Psalms remind us of con- C. F. AND E. C. 361 scrvatory blooms — there is life, and tint, and perhaps sweetness — but tlie living exotic has neither the size, the colour, nor the smell of the old horlus siccus specimen. In the elegant Version of the Psalms now under notice, a great variety of metres has been adopted ; and although " primarily intended for the closet" — " many, indeed most of them," we are told, " Avill admit of being adapted for the Church." Whatever may be thought of the adaptability of these Psalms for public worship, the following specimen of graceful and fluent verse evinces equal taste and skill on the part of the versifier, Catherine Foster. PSALM XCVII. " The Lord is King, the Earth may he glad thereof^ Let the floods clap their hands, and the earth raise her voice, And the isles of the ocean, for gladness rejoice ; 'Tis the Lord reigns on high, in dominion alone, And judgment and righteousness compass his throne. 'Tis the Lord shall look forth, from the veil that enshrouds His glory, with tempest, thick darkness, and clouds ; He shall hurl the red bolt, from his terrible hand, And wither the wicked that poison the land. A fire shall consume them, and earth, with affright, Shall tremble, through all her vast orb at the sight ; And the mountains that rear their proud heads to the skies, Melt even as wax, when the Lord shall arise. Is it God that shall rule ? then confounded be ye, Who at Baal's base altar, bave bended the knee ; Then perish the false gods, the heathen adored, And let Judah rejoice, in thy judgments, O Lord ! For exalted above all this low earth contains, Jehovah in might, and in majesty reigns ; O ye ! that adore him, from evil forbear, And shun ye the wicked, nor fall in his snare. 362 C. F. AND E. C. What ill can o'ertake them, what dangers assail, Or who 'gainst the loved of the Lord, shall prevail ? For his faitii shall be sure, and his mercies abound, And the shield of his holiness compass them round. A light shall spring forth, and a glory shall shine, Round the path of the righteous, with radiance divine; Then praise ye our God, be his goodness adored. And let songs of thanksgiving ascend to the Lord. Since llie foregoing was wiitten, I liave been favoured with the sight of the letter in which tlie reverend and venerable Archdeacon acknowledges the Dedication of this " New Metrical Version of the Psalms" to himself: and I cannot, under the circumstances, forego the grateful opportunity thus afforded, of making my page the means of recording and exhibiting the favourable judgment of so elegant and accomplished a scholar. Speaking of the work under notice, Mr. Wrangham says : — " It appears to be universally elegant, and in a great many instances most exquisite. I am indeed surprised, as much as I am delighted, at the singular felicity with which you have contrived to incorporate so much of the simple language of the piose translation, and to invest it with the garb of the most refined poetry." After such a testimony from such a judge, it may almost seem presumptuous in me to offer any opinion. I will, therefore, only add, that if graceful and varied versification, and a not unsuccessful exhibition of the sense of the old Prayer Book translation, leave mucli to be desired in an uniin- peachably acceptable Version of the Psalms, espe- cially for Congregational use, which tlie work executed by the zealous and almost sisterly co- operation of tl»e ladies named in this notice, C. F. AND E. C. 363 can scarcely perhaps be said to have supplied, they only share in this respect the lot of many more experienced and confident aspirants of both sexes. But while it can be no great disparagement for any one not to have succeeded entirely, Avhere so many have failed altogether, it is a distinction of which Miss Colling and her accomplished colleague may be justly proud, that theirs, although not the first, is certainly the best entire Metrical Version of the Book of Psalms, claiming to be of female autliorship : and for themselves at least, however the public may sympathise with them in tlieir labours, it must ever be a pleasing reflection, that they perpetuated so singular a record of a friendship, harmonized, and sanctified by a reduction of the strains of the sweet singer of Israel, from a prose to a metrical form of expression : a task which, by whomsoever under- taken with right motives, and with whatever measure of success, can scarcely fail to command the respect, if not the admiration of every one who has a suffi- cient acquaintance with the matter to appreciate the address and perseverance required to give a new rendering to the wliole Book of Psalms. The following specimen of that portion of the work which belongs to Elizabeth Colling, is, it will be seen, one of the Psalms which occur iu the Evening Service of that Church, whose sublime and varied ritual is unequalled by any other human composition : — PSALM XCVIII. Sing to our God a new-made song ! He glorious things hath done ; With his own right arm, in battle strong, The victory he hath won. 364 CONDER. Tlie Lord hath liis salvation shown To Israel's favour'cl land ; And earth's remotest ends shall own The judgments of his hand. Show forth your joy unto the Lord, Lift, lift, tlic exulting voice ; In grateful hymns his deeds record — O ! sing — give thanks — rejoice ! Sing to the harp His sounding praise, To shawm and trumpet sing ; Let every heart its tribute raise Before the Lord our King. Sound forth, thou sea, in solemn strain — The deep-toned anthem sound ! Earth ! catch it from the heaving main. And roll the burden round ! Ye floods — ye hills — in concert blend, To Him who gave ye birth ; For see from heaven the Lord descend — He comes to judge the earth ! He comes his glory to display — His equity to prove : And with innnortal bliss repay All — all — His laws who love. JOSIAH CONDER. Mr. Josiali Coiulcr is a gentleman Avell known as an elegant writer, and occasional preacher among the Congregational Dissenters. Ten years ago, he was editor of tlie Eclectic Review, in which work he occasionally introduced printed specimens of his own Psalms, along with his critical notices of the Versions CONDER. 365 of others. In 1837, lie publislicd a volume of Poems iiiider the title of " The Choir and the Oratory, or Praise and Prayer." The staple of the work is intrinsically of a pious character, while the style is that of a finished adept in the arts of composition : there is, indeed, in most of the pieces, considerable beauty of design and elaborateness of finish ; — too rarely, however, accompanied by that depth of feeling in the substance of the theme, which characterises the first-rate Poet. Occasionally too, slight marks of the file are discernible through the polish of the verse, the writer not having always succeeded in practising that " art to conceal art," in which the perfection of the poetical limce labor consists. The greater part of the volume above named, consists of Original Hymns, Versions of the Collects of the Church,* and of what the writer calls " Poetical translations of the Psalms." In a Preface which records Mr. Condor's judgment on the labours of his predecessors, and at the same time expounds his own doctrines, he says — " For many years, the study of the Book of Psalms has occupied such attention as I could give to it, under the cherished conviction, that it might be found practicable to exhibit the poetry of the Hebrew Scriptures in the rich and varied measures of English versification, without compromising either the fidelity of a chaste translation or the simple majesty of the original." After some remarks on the poetic portions of the sacred volume, and of the Psalms in particular, it is asked, with much propriety, " Can any thing, then, be more improper than to employ the • A more extended and very successful esperiment of tlie kind mentioned in the text had previously been made in the " Hymns for Private Devotion for the Sundays and Saints' Days throughout the Year," which were published in 1825, by the Rev. Samuel Rickards, 31. A., Curate of Ulcombe. 360 CONDER. same metrical modes in attempting to adapt to the genius of English poetry, an elegiac complaint, an ode of triumph, a choral hallelujali, and an acrostic of axioms ? In original poetry, the metre is governed by the feeling of the writer, and expresses it. Paradise Lost could not have been composed in heroic couplets ; and how much of the charm of the Faerie Queeue lies in the magnificent stanza." All this will meet with general concurrence : there are, however, other of our author's dicta, to which it would be less easy to render critical assent. The following lines, entitled " The King of Sion," will serve at once as an illustration of Mr. Condor's principles of rendering, and as a specimen of liis verse : — PSALM XLV. My heart is labouring with a glorious theme : My song is of the King. My tongue doth teem With glowing thoughts, wliich it would fain disclose, As language from the practised writer tlows. In that countenance benign, Beauties more than human shine : Gracious words those lips dispense, Dropping sweetest eloquence ; For Jehovah, on thy head. Hath eternal blessings shed. Arise, gird on thy sword, O thou most mighty Lord ! Put on Thy panoply of light, And in tliy majesty Ride forth triumphantly, Thy chariot. Truth, the meek and poor to right. Let thy right hand spread terror all before, Tiiat nations may fall prostrate and adore. Oh let them know, who dare Thy reign oppose, How sharp the arrows that subdue Thy foes. CONDER. 367 Eternal is Thy Throne, O God ! Eternal justice is Thy kingly rod. Beloved of Thee, the righteous meet reward, Nor less by Thee the wicked are abhorred. Therefore, O Christ, on Thine exalted head, Jehovah hath the royal unction shed. Above Thy peers ; and unto Thee Shall every creature bow the knee. All thy robes around Thee shed Richest odours sweetly blended, When, from ivory halls, attended By joyful choirs, thy pomp is led. Amid the virgin train are seen Daughters of kings, and many a royal maid ; While at thy right hand, gloriously arrayed In gold of Ophir, stands the Queen. Hearken, O daughter ! See thy King draw near, And to His accents bow thy willing ear. Thy native land remote no more regret, But in His love thy father's house forget : So in thy beauty shall the King delight ; Thy Lord, who claims thy homage as His right. The rich with gifts thy favour shall entreat. And Tyre shall pour her treasures at thy feet. How fair, in bridal glory drest. The Queen, — of woven gold her vest, Her flowing robe of purple dye, Enwrought with Phrygian broidery. Now is she led, O King, to Thee, With all her virgin company : With sounds of joy and nuptial song, Tlie glad procession moves along ; And to the royal courts they bring The spotless Consort of the King. Sons to their fathers shall succeed ; Princes of earth shall be thy seed ; Thy name remotest times adore ; Thy praise endure for evermore. 368 BOSWELL. ROBERT BRUCE BOSWELL. Contemporary with the date of the foregoing work, was the appearance, anonymously, of a thick vohune of " Psahns and Hymns," Printed at the Church Blission Press, Calcutta. The bulk of the matter consists of judicious selections from popular English authors ; included, liowevor, are " about Fifty Psalms, which are original, and as close a transla- tion, as a Metrical Version would admit." These Psalms were collected and edited, and the original portion of them composed by the Rev. Robert Bruce Boswell, (grandson of the Mr. Boswell previously noticed), a Clergyman of the Church of England, and at present Minister of St. James's Church, Calcutta. He has been in India about ten years, and is esteemed a faithful, zealous, and evangelical pastor. The transcription of a brief specimen of this Anglo-Indian Psalter, is due to the individual, who has not only prepared for his countrymen tliese " Songs of the Lord in a strange land," but who has given us in this edifying combination of oriental printing with his mother tongue, an evidence and an earnest of the beneficial prevalence of both, in regions where European conquest has too rarely been iden- tified with the establishment or advancement of Christian institutions. PSALM xxviir. To thee, O Lord, I cry, My Rock, M'lien foes assail ; O send an answer from on liigli, Nor let Tliy succour fail. SCOTT. 2. My supplications hear — *^ My troubled soul set free, When I before Thy shrine appear, And lift my hands to Thee. 3. Jehovau's Name be prais'd ! The Lord be ever bless'd ! I have my supplications rais'd — He has my wrongs redress'd. 4. He is my strength and shield ; My heart on Him relied ; And He His mighty arm reveal'd : — The Lord is on my side. 5. My heart exulting moves My tongue to speak His praise : The Lord to his anointed proves Salvation all their days. 6. O save Thy people, Lord! Thine heritage defend ; O bless, and feed them with Thy word Exalt them without end. 369 'lb- R. A. SCOTT, M.A. One of the most recent productions of the chiss to the enumeration of which this work is devoted, is a neat little volume, comprising " Metrical Paraphrases of Selected Portions of the Psalms," generally adapted to the purposes of Public Worship or Private Devotion : by the Rev. Robert Allan Scott, M.A., late of Balliol College, Oxford, Curate of Sheriffhales and Woodcote, Shropshire, 1839. This work is dedicated to Dr. Howard, Dean of Lichfield. " As to the plan pursued in the metres themselves, it has," says the author, " been first, to select for their VOL. If. 2 B 370 SCOTT. groiiTulwork such portions of the Book of Psalms as seemed most siiiteil, in tlieir nature and spirit, to the devotional purposes of tlie Christian ; — next, to give such unity of thought and design to each piece as its subject admitted of; and lastly, to incliule each within such limits as might adapt the collection generally, to the purposes of Congregational Wor- ship, as well as Pnvate Devotion." This plan has been judiciously and tastefully carried out in 150 compositions, Avell suited for singing : hut which cannot be considered as consecutive Versions of the whole of the Psalms, when in no case do they extend to more than five verses, and rarely exceed four. PSALM XCV. Come, let us make a joyful noise, And praise, with thankful heart and voice, Our great eternal King ; Till all the earth resound the song, And every tongue the notes prolong. Salvation's Rock that sing. He is the Lord of heaven and earth ; To Him at first they owed their birth ; And all His will obey, Save those, — rebellious to His law, Who from their Shepherd's care withdraw, And from His pasture stray. Yet still the warning voice is heard ; — "Ah, wherefore, thus forsake the Lord. As did your sires of old ? Lest, if ye still refuse to turn, At lengtli His wrathful anger burn, And drive you from his fold." Then let us come, and joyous all Before this awful presence fall, A faithful, willing flock ; For Ho, the Lord our (Jod, is sure. His every promise stands secure. And firm Salvation's Hock. GRANT. 371 SIR ROBERT GRANT. In 1839, appeared a small collection— thirty-seven pages— of " Sacred Poems. By the late Riglit Hon. Sir Robert Grant." Several of the pieces luid previously appeared in print either in periodicals, or in collections of sacred poetry : they are wholly of a religious cast ; and although without pretensions to high literary merit, they exhibit in numbers evincing a correct taste, a sweet vein of pious sentiment, more than sufficient to justify Lord Glenelg in the belief expressed in the Pref\ice, that he should " render an acceptable service to the lovers of poetry and re- ligion," in printing these memorials of his deceased and amiable brother : '' he was," says Wilberforce, "one of tlie very best men I ever knew." The volume contains Versions of seven Psalms : viz., ii. xix., Ixxi., Ixxxiv., civ., xii., xlix. I transcribe the last, which, it will be seen, contains traces of the true poetic touch. PSALM XLIX. 1. With musings sad my spirit teems, My liarp is strung to saddest themes ; O, mortal, hear its notes complain, Nor shun a daik but faithful strain Whose simple length, though short, siiall span The mournful history of man. 2. How ofl, wilii dreams of pomp elate, The rich upbuilds his haughty state, VOL. II. 2 B 2 372 GRANT. With eager fondness counts his gains, And proudly names his wide domains ; While, left to poverty and scorn, The just in humble silence mourn ! 3. Yet envy not the pomp, ye just, That towers upon a base of dust : For O, when death decreed shall come To shake the proud man's lofty dome ; Will proffer'd gold avail to save ? Or ransoms bribe the yawning grave ? 4. Lo, stretch'd before his anguish'd eyes, A child, a wife, a brother lies ; How vain his stores, his cares how vain, The fleeting spirit to retain ! The form he clasps resigns its breath, And fills his blank embrace with death. 5. Again it strikes, — a second blow, — The man of pride himself is low : Shall wealth, shall state, attend the dead ? 'Tis only to his clay-cold bed. Caress'd by crowds, by hundreds known, He fills the narrow house alone. 6. The funeral pomp, superb and slow. The gorgeous pageantry of woe. The praise that fills th' historic roll, — Can these assist the parted soul ? Or will remcmber'd grandeur cheer The shivering, lonely, traveller ? 7. And when that breathless, wasting clay Again shall feel the life-blood play, When on the cell, where dark it lies, A morn of piercing light shall rise, O whither then shall guilt retire ? Or how avoid the eyes of fire ? KEBLE. 373 8. O man, with heaven's own honours bright, And fall'st thou thus, thou child of light ? And still shall heirs on heirs anew The melancholy jest pursue ? And, born the offspring of the sky, In folly live, in darkness die? 9. But I on thee depend, O Lord, My hope, my help, and high reward ; Thy word illumes mj'^ feeble eyes ; Thy spirit all my strength supplies ; In sickness thou my aid shalt be. And death but gives me all to thee ! JOHN KEBLE, M.A. The most reccut attempt to sliare whatever repu- tutation might bo maintained by any previous experiment of the introduction of unauthorised Psalmody into the Churches of this country, lias been the publication of " The Psalter or Psalms of David ; in English Verse ; by a member of the University of Oxford." 1839. Although the work was thus announced by the publisher in conformity with the title, so as to excite curiosity towards the author, the booksellers by a series of contemporary advertisements, took care to forestal mistake by giving the name of Mr. Keble. The announcement of such a work from such a quarter excited consider- able expectation. Mr. Keble was Professor of Poetry at Oxford ; he had given to the puldic a little volume of charming verse, entitled the 374 KEBLE. ** Chi-istiau Year," of which more than thirty editions liad heen sold ; and lie was, moreover, well known as one of the University Confederacy in that singular attempt recently made to revive in the English Church certain ohsolete opinions and cere- monials often akin to Romanism, and which has heen called from the name of the learned Hebrew Pro- fessor, who took the lead in the zealous movement — PusEYisM. With the particular doctrines promul- gated in the " 'JVacts for the Times," the present notice has nothing to do, except in so far as this translation of the Psalms may have been affected by similar views. How far that is the case, will be somewhat apparent from the following extract from the Preface of this Oxford Psalter : the passage is long ; but it is likewise of considerable importance, not only as explaining the author's views, but as embodying the substance of what may be said on the side of a reverential adherence to the literal moaning of the original, as contrasted with the arguments for a more interpretive or evangelical rendering." " It will perliaps be felt by some a disappointment, that the mystical and evangjelical meaning of the Psalms is not so much brought out as it might have been. It seemed the more dutiful and correct, and therefore in the end surely the more edifying, way, to represent, in this respect also as nearly as possible the tenor of the Hebre«v ^'eri(y : to observe the rule, which he who ppake by the prophets has, (if it may be so said,) appointed for Himself in all His connnunications to mankind ; to disclose, rather tlian exhil)it, His dealings and His will ; to koej) Himself, to the generality, under a veil of reserve, through which the eyes of men might see just so n)uch and so cleaily, as they were purged by Faith and Purity and Obedience. Considering the Psalms especially as Divine Poems, this surely is a quality which we should expect to find in them : a certain combination of reserve with openness being of tiie very essence of poetry : KEBLE. 375 and the Psalms being apparently ordained to leaven the poetry of the whole world, as the history of the Old Testament to be * the Sun of all other histories.' Not to dwell on the obvious result, that, by trying to bring out the spiritual meaning, we do to a certain degree limit it, in such a manner as would make a translation unfaithful, though it may be allowed perhaps in a commentary. For instance ; it is a known ancient rule of inter- pretation, ' You shall hardly find a word in the Psalms, but it is spoken in the name of Christ and the Church, either both jointly, or one of the two singly ; and if of the Church, then of each one amongst us.' It cannot then be right to translate a passage, which, for aught we know, may be capable of the double inter- pretation, so as to confine it to the single one ; and yet this is what we should be often doing, were we to express more fully the prophetical allusions to our Lord, under the notion of spiritualising them. ' / laid me down and slept, and rose up again, for the Lord sustained me ;' is doubtless an allusion to our Saviour's death and resurrection : but were a translator to express that allusion, he would exclude what is surely intended also; the hint that each Christian's daily lying down and rising up is a token, or, as the ancient Church would denominate it, ' a Sacrament,' of the same death and resurrection, and also of our own." So much for the claims of a close interpretation of the Book of Psalms, even in a poetical rendering. It would redound to the credit of Mr. Keble's Version, if it could be said that the metrical execution of the work, at all came up to the degree of success with which every thing- like deviation into the freedom of evangelical paraphrase has been avoided. The diffi- culty of combining with a literal interpretation of the Hebrew original, that free and melodious tone which characterises the most perfect species of rhynied English versification, which had been the stumbling- block of every previous translator, was distinctly perceived and acknowledged by Mr. Keble. But when all the difficulties inseparable from the task are taken into the account, and the merits of this new 376 KEBLE. Version most geuerously appreciated, poetical justice compels the acknowledgment, that however abundant and undeniable the evidences of a scholarlike per- lormance, we encounter in almost every Psalm instances, more or less obtrusive of that " harshness and constraint, both in sound and expression, which," the author admits, " might have been avoided by more skill in tlie translator." Were it not an invi- dious task, more examples of violent elision in the sense, inelegant expletives to bring about the rhyme, and quaint, or imperfectly developed turns of ex- pression, might be adduced from this, than from perhaps any other modern Version : nor can these defects be said to be compensated by surpassing fidelity, though the latter merit, at least, is avouched by the patronage of the Bishop of Oxford, and the " most kind and thoughtful revision of the whole" by Dr. Pusey. The faults alluded to perpetually mar our enjoyment of beauties, which it were im- possible not to recognise, and disingenuous not to acknowledge, as occurring in almost every page of this really interesting Psalter. The following Psalm, which is highly poetical in itself, and therefore can hardly be rendered without effect, in any Version, will afford a favourable speci- men of INIr. Keble's style ; it may be compared with the unrhyined translation by Dr. JNlason Good, which is given in ihc Introduction to this work : — PSALM C'XVIII. Chorus. Praise yc llie Lord, how kiinl, Iiow nigli, His mercy fills Eternity, Let Israel now adoriiif^ ery, " His nierey fills Eternity." Let Aaron's sons new Anthems try, " His nierey fills Eternity." KEBLE. 377 Who fear the Lord, sing deep and high, " His mercy fills Eternity." " 'Mid straitening woes to Him I cried, " I call'd the Lord by name, " And in a region far and wide " The Lord's true answer came. " The Lord is mine, I fear no ill " Tliat man may do to me. " The Lord, mine aid ; my prayer and will, " Upon my foes I see." Chorus. In the Lord's shade 'tis good to rest, Not hold by mortals weak : To trust in God is good, is best, Not to high nobles seek. " All heathen hordes around me throng " ' Jehovah' is my call, " Thy Name, my war-note : I am strong, " To mow, to rend them all. " As swarming bees around they flow, " As fire in thorns they fall ; " In God's high Name I onward go, " I mar, I quench them all. " Thou hast thrust sore to cast me down, " The Lord was on my side ; " The Lord my Strength, my minstrel Crown, *' Mine Health and Saviour tried." Chorxis. A voice of health, a glad alarm, Where good men dwell : — the Lord's right Arm Wrought power — the Lord's right Arm on high, The Lord's right Arm in victory. " I shall not die, but live, and tell " Tiie deeds of God most high ; " The Lord hath chastened me full well, " But left me not to die. " Come throw me wide th' eternal gate " Of Truth and Righteousness ; " There entering, evermore I'll wait, " Jehovah's name to bless." " This is the portal of the Lord, " The riglitcous here may find the way." 378 BURGESS. " I praii^e Thee, for Thine answering word, " Because Thou art my Health and Stay." Full Chorus. Lo ! now the Stone the builders spurn'd. To the Head Corner-Stone is turn'd ; 'Twas of the Lord ; He wrought in might : 'Tis high, 'tis wonderous in our sight. This is the day Jehovah made, A day for all our joy and mirth ; O Lord, now save us ! Father, aid ! O Lord, now cheer our way on earth ! Who in Jehovah's " name draws near. Blessed is he ; we hold him dear. We bless you on your holy road. We of the house and shrine of God. God is the Lord" who shewed us light : Come bind the sacrifice with cords Even to the altar horns so bright ; That Lamb, that Altar, is the Lord's. Thou art my God, 'tis Thee I praise ! My Lord — on high Thy Name I raise : Praise to the Lord, for good is He, His mercy fills Eternity. GEORGE BURGESS, A.M. It is soniewliat remarkable that siiiiiiltaneously with tlie publication of Mr. Keble's Version, appeared " The 13o()k of Psalms ; translated into English Verse. J^y Georj^e Burgess, A.M., Rector of Christ Church, Hartford." But Avhile the object of the two works was similar, and their emission synchronous, the circumstances of interest connected with each were widely different : the former emanated from the Poetry Professor of the tirst University in BURGESS. 379 the world ; the latter was put forth by a compara- tively obscure Clergyman of the Ameiican State of Connecticut. The former was heralded by announce- ments, which stimulated expectation on both sides of the Atlantic — the latter has scarcely yet been heard of in this country : a comparison of the merits of these contemporaneous Versions would be invidious. Mr. Burgess, who inscribes his unpretending volume " To the Congregation of Christ Church, Hartford, as tlie relaxation of a few years devoted and due to their service in the Lord," says in his Introduction, that, " in the present Version, the author has endea- voured to follow the same principles which would govern liim in the translation of any ancient poems into English verse ; to be so literal, as to give the very sentiment, and, if possible, the spirit of the original, and yet so free as not to inflict pain on tlie reader of taste." Guided by this sensible canon, the New England metrist has produced a Version freer from palpable blemishes, and perliaps more nearly realizing the idea of what a metrical translation should be — or at least what it must he — than has been accomplished by almost any other individual. It is not pretended that the execution is so perfect as to preclude emendation or competition ; or that it equals in poetical merit certain paraphrases of the whole, nuich less specimens of some portions of the Psalms Avliich have been published : but to this com- parison no pretension is made. At tlie same time, and keeping in view the translator's jjledge of fidelity, the exceptions whicli a professed critic could fairly urge against tlie construction of the verse, would be exceedingly iow : and in one particular, this American versifier might shame most of the 380 BURGESS. Psalmists of this country — tlicre is not a bad or (loublful rhyme in the wliole range of 270 pages ! It may be mentioned, tliat in all the Acvostical Psalms the translator has retained, as far as was practicable, the leading peculiarity of the original. Tliis implies no particular merit in itself : and if it necessarily interfered either with the freedom or the usefulness of the Version, might be worse than use- less. But since we can scarcely dismiss as trivial what the inspired penman has made such repeated and characteristic use of, — so it will not be denied to be wholly without interest as enhancing in some slight degree at least, the fidelity of the Version, especially if it do not cripple or constrain the stanza in which it is adopted. I believe I\lr. Burgess is the author of a new prose translation of the Psalms, with aimotations : the notes to the Metrical Version are very compact and interesting : they introduce a peculiarity which will be understood from the fol- lowing specimens: — Psal. 97. ver. 2. "This verse is the celebrated choms, which so incensed the Emperor Julian, Avhcn a multitude of Christians assembled to remove the remains of the martyr Babylas from tlie grave of Daplnie to Antioch." Psal. 103. " It was the death-l)ed Psalm of Bisliop Sanderson." Psal. 110. vcr. 5. "This and tlie following verse were ' the Cygnean Caution' of the excellent Doctor Thomas Jackson." Psalm 131. " Dr. Wolir in his researches, mentions a book written by a converted Jew in the East, in wliich it is reconnucndcd that, when a ])erson is not able to sleep, he sliould read this Psalm. 'I'lie recommen- dation is in harmony witli the (luiot and trustincr meekness of the sacred Poet." These kind of BURGESS. 381 examples appear to embody the practical application of tlie sacred text in the sympathies of our common liumaiiity : but were all the known instances in which passages of the Psalms have been at one time or other thus used for consolation amidst distress, encouragement in death, or exultation in the triumphs of Christianity — what portion would remain unap- propriated?* PSALM XCIV. Lord God of vengeance, light the skies With judgmcJit's fiery cloud : O God of vengeance just, arise, And recompense the proud. How long shall guilt, O Lord of hosts. How long shall guilt rejoice ? How long the wicked make their boasts, And lift their scornful voice ? They trample down the humble race. And slay the seed oppress'd. The widow in her child's embrace. The orphan and the guest. • Since the greater part of this concluding sheet was in type, I have seen some published particulars "regarding the Metrical Versions of the Psalms received by the Church of Scotland," appended to Principal Bailiie's Letters and Journals, recently edited by Mr. David Laing. The bulk of this appendix consists of official documents relative to the ado|)tion, revisals, and enforcement by the General Assembly, &c., of House's Version, that which is still exclusively authorised and used in the Kirk of Scotland. In an early part of my first volume, (p. 192,) I have mentioned a contributor to the Scottish edition of the " Old Version," of whom Mr. Laing gives the following account : — " The initials L C. are supposed to denote John Craig, who had been a Monk of the order of St. Dominic, at Bologna, but having embraced the Protestant faith, he escaped from Italy, and returning to his native country, after an absence of 24 years, he became Minister of Holyrood-house, and of the King's Household, and died 4th December, leOO, aged 88. His Psalms are 24, 5G, 75, 102, 105, 108, llOi 117, 118, 132, I3G, 140, 141, 143, and 145. Mr. Laing must surely be mistaken in attributing to Kethe our venerable "Old Hundredth" Psalm, "All people that on earth do dwell." It occurs, indeed, with only a few slight changes in the authorised Scottish Version, but neither in that nor tlio English book is it the " second copy," but the first : and has never, so far as I have seen, borne any other initials than those of John Hopkins. 382 BURGESS. They mock their victims, as they bleed ; They mock their parting groans ; '« The Lord," they cry, " shall never heed. The Lord, whom Jacob owns." O souls most dark I behold and fear : How long refuse ye light ? Shall he not hear, who fram'd the ear, Nor see, who gave us sight ? Shall not the world's high Judge chastise. The source of knowledge, know ? He knows the thoughts that men devise, A vain and fleeting show. How blcss'd the man, in chast'nings bless'd, Whom thou hast taught and tried ! In evil days thou give'st him rest, Till guilt the grave shall hide. For God will ne'er forsake his own, Nor cast his saints away ; Till justice sit on judgment's throne. While all the ])nre obey. But when I cried, " my footsteps fail," Thy mercy made me strong ; And though a thousand griefs assail, Thy comforts cheer my song. Wilt thou th' unrighteous throne maintain, That bids the lawless deed, Against the good arrays its train. And dooms the just to bleed ? The Lord our God, our Rock and Tower, Shall all their crimes repay ; The Lord our God shall wield their power, The slayer's self shall slay. EDEN. 383 JOHN EDEN, B.D. After what has been said, and from the specimens which have appeared in the foregoing pages, it can hardly be necessary to repeat tlie opinion tliat of all the poetic forms into which the Psalms may he moulded, the heroic couplet and blank verse are almost sure to be the least attractive — the former, as not being adapted for singing, the only value that can attach to any new Metrical Version ; and the latter, as almost of necessity inferior to a prose rendering, for critical and exegetical purposes. These remarks are suggested by the recent publi- cation of '•' The Book of Psalms, in Blank Verse, with Practical Reflections. By the Rev. John Eden, B.D., late Vicar of St. Nicholas and St. Leonard's, Bristol. With a brief Memoir. Mr. Eden died December, 25, 1840, having for ;he long period of forty-one years, filled the station )f pastor of St. Nicholas. He left behind him a nost exemplary character as a Clergyman and a itizen, and the work here noticed, a large quarto volume, beautifully printed by Chilcott, of Bristol, was intended as a memento for the personal friends of the author. If this appropriate memorial of one whose piety and love of literature, were as unosten- tatious as they were solid, could receive any addi- tional value from the opinion of another, it might be derived from the verdict of a higli authority in that Church of which Mr. Eden was a Minister, a Bishop whose taste is well known to be highlv refined ; he 384 EDEN. pronounced tliis to be " the best Metrical Version of the Psalms lie had ever seen." PSALM II. Why rage the heathen ? why, with vain attempt, Conspire the people? Princes of the earth Stand up, and rulers frame their dark designs Against the Lord and His Anointed. Come, They say, with tongue presumptuous, let us burst Their bonds asunder, let us cast away Their cords! But He who sits enthroned in heaven Will laugh to scorn His enemies ; the Lord Will hold them in derision — He shall speak In wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure. Yet have I set My King upon My hill, My holy hill of Sion. I will preach The law, whereof the Almighty hath pronounced, " Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee." Desire of Me, O Son, and I will give The heathen for Thine own inheritance, For Thy possession earth's remotest realms. Thou with a rod of iron Tiiy vanquish'd foes Shalt dash in pieces like a potter's vessel. Now, therefore, be ye wise, ye kings : be learn'd. Ye that are judges of the earth. In fear Serve ye the Lord ; with reverential awe Rejoice before Him, and adore the Son, Lest He be angry, and His righteous ire Sweep you from oft' the earth. How blest are they Who kindle not His wrath, but humbly trust. And place their stedfast confidence in Him. THE END. o. RiDGii:, rniNTKR, suEFni:i.D. INDEX TO VOL. II. • Absalom and Achilnphel,' 110. Adaptation of llie Psalms, 150. Addison, Joseph, 157, ' Additional Psalmody,' 38. .ilneid, Brady's trans, of, 106. Milbourne's, 11(3. * A gen,' 94. AUeyn, founder of D'llwicli Col- lege, 1'25 Alterations of Psalms, 353. American Revolution, Psahn on, 2(34. Versions of Psalms, 338, 378. Andrew Marvell, 158. Anglo-Indian Psalter, 368. Annesley, Samuel, 123. Annihilation of thinking faculty, 173. Anlholin's, St. 282. Anthony ;i Wood, 09. Approver.s of Barton's Psalms, 19, Assembly of Divines, 31, 67. Assurance of Salvation, 245. Aston, Lord, 158. Aston Rectory Grounds, 261. 'Athenian Mercury,' 82, 110. Baillie, his letters, 32, 381. Bangonr, Hamilton of, 184. Baptist College, 224. Barhauld, Mrs., lines on Mrs. Rowc, 176, Barclay, John, 243, Barlow, Joel. 262. Barton, William, 18. Barton, William, his Psalms re- printed in Holland, 20. Edward of Wei ford, 133. Bartrum, Joseph P., 336. Bathurst, W. [L, 322 Baxter, Richard, 95, 187. Sinss Psalms with his wife, 96. His fidelity to God's Word, 98. Beale, Mary, 75, 116. Bear-bailing, 125. Beallie, Dr., on Scottish Version, 37, Beaumont, John, 341. Bendish, Bridget, 95. Berean Version, 244. Berrington, Lord, 158. Beveridge, Bp., on New Version, 102. Old Version, 141. Biblical Works used in Prince's Version, 189. Bird, C S., 347. Blackall, Elizabeth, 350. Blackmore, Richard, 165. Blackstock, James, 241. Blank Verse Versions, 141, 193, 220, 239, 294, 330. Bolingbnikc and Burgess, 137. Boston Psalm Book, 336. Bosw ell, Robert B., 368. Boswell, Robert, 242. Bowdler, John, 274. Boyd, Zachavy, 23. VOL. II. 2 C 38G INDEX. Boyd, liis Donation to the Glas- gow Library, 24. Robt. Minister of Trochrigg, 23. Boyse, Samuel, 179. Bradbury, Thomas, 153. Brady, Nicholas, 10.3. Brown, Simon, 172. Moses, 238. Brunlon, Dr , 38. Buchanan's Psalms, 198, 253, Burgess, Daniel, 1.37. George, 378. Burnaby, Mr., 1 17. Burns, Ro!)ert, 254. Byrom, John, 241. Byron, Lord, 285. Calvinislic doctrines, 233. Cawlhorne, 280. Cecilia, St. Odes to, 105. C. F. k E.C ,358. Chalmers' Poets, 93, 184. Chamberlaine, James, 80. Chest of Mure's MSS., 45. Chichester Cathedral, versions preserved there, 212. Cholmondely, Hugh, 29. ' Christian Psalmist,' 301. Church Music, Baxter's opinion of, 95. Clark, Dr. Adam, on Mont- gomery's Psalm, 303. ' Clavis Bibliorum,' 61. Cobb, Samuel, 132. Coldwell, William, 291. Coleraine, Lord, 86. Colling, Elizabeth, 363. Colman, George, 235, Conder, Josiah, 364. Coney, Thomas, 171. Copyright Deed of New Version, 104. Cottle, Joseph, 266. Cotton, Charles, 92. Nathaniel, 251. Coventry Mysteries, 86. Cowley's Psalm cxiv., 69, 84. Cradock, Thomas, 198, Craig, John, .381. Crashaw, Richard, 12. on death of, Cowley, 13. Cromwell licenses Barton's Psilms, , 19. I Cumberland, Richard, 268. Cunninfiham, Allan, on Scottish Version, 255. Dale, Thomas, 299. Daniel, Richard, 169. ' Daveidos,' Pliiilips', 121. Dawson, William, 322. Day, the printer, 188. Decasyllabic measure, 196 207, 270! ' Degrees,' Psalms of, 88. Dell, his colleclion of Psalms, 201. Denham, Sir John, 113. Dennis, Thomas, 270. ' Devout Soul,' Coney's, 171. Dickson, Thomas, 342. ' Directory,' the, 66. • Divine Cosmographer,' the, 94. Dod, Mr., his story of Rouse, 31. Doddridge, Philip, 171. Donne, Dr., 287. Donald, Robert, 276. Drake, Nathan, 352. Drayton, Beauchamp, 297. Drummond, of Hawihorndcn, 46. Dryden and Burnet, 165. Dun star, Henry, 188. Dunster, on Milton's reading, 40. Dunton, John, 82. his character of Mil- bourne, 118. his own ' Life and Errors,' 123. D wight, Timothy, 261, Eclectic Review, 364. Eden, John, 383. Elliot, Mr., 187. Elwood's ' Davideis,' 84. Errors of Press in New Version, 104. Eton College, Rouse, Provost of, 36. Evangelization of the Psalms, 147, 229, 345. Evan.s, Dr. Caleb, 224. ' Ever and Ever,' Bird's, 347. Fairfax, Sir Thomas, versified the Psalms, 18. Faithful Teate, 109. Farr, E., 356. ' Female Reign,' a Pindaric Ode, 133. Flatman praises Woodford's Ver- sion, 72. Fleming, Robert, 161. Fleming's specimens of Boyd, 25. Fleslier, Miles, the printer, 35. Fletcher, Phineas, 16. ' Flowers of Zion,' Boyd's, 24. Ford, Simon, 90. Foster, Catherine, 361. Four-verse, imitations, 340, 346. ' Frazer's Magazine,' and Scot- tish Version, 33. ' Friendly Debate,' 78. Gahagan, Henry, 325. Gallic Alonarchy, fall of, pre- dicted by Fleming, 164. Gambold, John, 217. Genius and indiscretion, 180. Gihbs, James, 205. Gifford, William, 271. Glassites, 242. Goode, William, 282. Goodridge, Richard, 53. Goodwin, Edward, 280. Grant, Sir Robert's, sequel to . Addison's Hymn, 160. Versions of Psalms, by, 371. Gray and Mason, memorials of, 261. Gregory, George, 252. Hales of Eton, 36. Hall, Bishop, 27. Hallel, or Paschal Hymn, 123. Hamilton, William, 184. Hare, Lord Coleraine, 87. Harte, Walter, 219. ' Harp of Judah,' 352. Hastings, Lady Flora, 47. Hebraisms, questionable, 294. Henry Vill., on popular polemics, 3. Henry, Rev. P., approves Barton's Psalms, 20. Heroic Measure, 196, 207. Heylin, on Psalm Singing, 96. Huchinson, Governor, 190. Huntingdon, William, 139. Hymn Writing, Montgomery, on 302. INDEX. 387 Hymnsand Songsof the Church,8. Italian Versions of the Psalms, 87. James L, his praise of verse, 8. Johnson, Dr., on Sacred Poetry, 113. Johnston's translation of Psalms, 153. Judkin, James. 339. ' Juvenilia' of Wither, 6. Keble, John, 373. Kennet, Basil, 102, 126. ' Keniish Worthies,' 111. Kethe, -381. King, Dr. Henry, 50. Knox's Psalmody, 38. Laing, Mr D., 35,381. Lambeth Library, 120, 193. Lame Rhyme, apology for, 141. Lauder, on Milton's Imitations, 152. Leapor, Mary, 201. Leigh, Samuel, 54. Lintot, Bernard, printer, 169. I-oredano, Gio. F., 87. Loretto, Crashaw, Canon of, 12. Lowe, Henry, 289. * Loyal Man's Psalter,' 156. Lyte, H. F., 344. Maitland, S. R., 193. Major Generals, 5. Makkaph,62. Mant, Bishop, 307. Manton, Dr., 55, 137. Marsh, E. G., 323. Marshall, Stephen, 287. Marston Moor, Battle of, 45. Martinus Scriblerius and Black- more, 165. ' Mary in the Temple,' 86. Mason and Greene's Psalmody, 338. Mason, John, 129. Mason on Psalmody, 40. Mason, William, 259. Masters, Mary, 202. Mather, Cotton, 140. Richard, 187. Maxwell, James, 37, 227. May, Thomas, 257. 388 INDEX. Measures, variable, 99, 144. Medical Profession, 166 • Meditations,' Bi>liop Hall's, 27. Merrick, .lames, 209. Mickle, W. J., 23(5. Milboiirnc, Luke, 116,75, 121. Military Psalm-singing, 4. Milton, John, 39. ' Mirror of Divine Love Un- veiled,' 161. Montgomery, Alexander, 43. James, 300. . His opinion of Bax- ter's poetry, 97. Of Cobb's poetry, 1 32. Of Watts, 151. Of C. Wesley, 247. Poetical Similes, striking, 83. Political P!^alm-singin