FROM THE LIBRARY OF 
 REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON, D. D. 
 
 BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF 
 
 PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
 
 DMfion ^CB 
 
 SectioM Y^V-^ 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2013 
 
 http://archive.org/details/revhughbOObeat 
 
V 
 
 A 
 
 APR 1 1933 
 
 LETTE S&»l se»^ 
 
 REV. HUGH BLAIR, D.D. 
 
 ONE OF THE MINISTERS OF EDINBURGH, 
 ON THE 
 
 IMPROVEMENT OF PSALMODY 
 
 IN 
 
 (BY JAMES BEATTIE, LL.D. 
 
 LATE PROFESSOR OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY AND LOGIC IN 
 
 THE MARISCHAL COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF ABERDEEN.) 
 
 38DCCLXWIII 
 
 EDINBURGH: 
 
 SOLD BY R. BUCHANAN, 26, GEORGE STREET, AND 
 J. STEVENSON, 87, PRINCES STREET. 
 
 MDCCCXXIX. 
 
 ^ 
 
A 
 
 LETTER, &c. 
 
 Reverend Sir, 
 
 The message you lately sent me, by 
 my friend Mr Cameron, has determined me to give you 
 my thoughts at some length upon the subject of it. 
 I am happy in the compliments you pay me, though 
 conscious that they are very far beyond any thing I 
 can pretend to : for I consider them as a proof, that I 
 have no inconsiderable share in your esteem ; and they 
 encourage me to hope, that you will not be displeased 
 to see a more distinct account of a plan, which you 
 already know in part, and have done me the honour 
 to approve. 
 
 About fifteen years ago, I was desired by a Friend, 
 who, like you, Sir, is pleased to think of me more 
 favourably than I deserve, to attempt a new transla- 
 tion of the Psalms into English verse. But, young as 
 I was, I had the prudence to decline that undertak- 
 ing, from a persuasion, that I was by no means equal 
 to it. The improvement of our Psalmody had, how- 
 ever, been in my mind before that time, and has 
 often been in it since, as a thing neither unnecessary 
 nor impracticable. I wish it were in my power to 
 
4 
 
 promote so good a work. If my health were such as 
 it once was, I should think it my duty to comply with 
 your wishes in this particular ; especially as you are 
 pleased to think, that by so doing I might be service- 
 able to the Church. Musick has great power over all 
 the amiable affections of our nature ; but seems to be 
 peculiarly suited to the purposes of devotion. For 
 pious sentiments, enforced by apposite harmony, have, 
 to a serious mind, a charm inexpressible, and seldom 
 fail to convey some good emotions to every tender 
 heart. Indeed, I am inclined to think, that the sing- 
 ing of psalms, if properly conducted, would not only 
 be a most delightful, and consequently a most improv- 
 ing exercise, to all devout persons, but would also 
 recommend the solemn offices of religion even to those 
 who now affect to undervalue them. As long as we 
 consist of a body and a soul, so united as mutually 
 to affect each other with health or disease, pain or 
 pleasure, so long will the teacher of mankind find it 
 necessary to influence the passions, as well as to in- 
 form the judgment, of his hearers, and to appeal 
 to their senses as well as to their understanding. 
 
 But while I speak of the improvement of our Psal- 
 mody, as equally desirable and practicable, I do not 
 mean to draw your attention to myself, as the person 
 who is fit to undertake it. Some private circum- 
 stances, whereof, Sir, you are not ignorant, forbid 
 me to entertain any other hope in regard to this mat- 
 ter, than that of suggesting a hint or two, which may 
 be of use to those, who have equal zeal and more 
 ability. 
 
5 
 
 They, who would reform our Psalmody, must at- 
 tend to two things : first, the Words; and, secondly, the 
 Musick. What I have now to propose, regards the 
 former chiefly ; but I shall make a few remarks on the 
 latter, before I conclude. 
 
 Whether the Psalms of the Old Testament only are 
 to be sung in publick, is a question, upon which I 
 need not expatiate. As both Testaments are equally 
 sacred, and as prayers of human composition are used 
 in churches, I see no reason for confining ourselves 
 in our church service to the Psalms of David ; or for 
 refusing to admit, into that part of worship, those 
 passages of the New Testament which are fit to be set 
 to musick, or even such pious songs of modern date, 
 as those published by Addison in the Spectator. But 
 if a collection of this kind is to be made, it ought in 
 my humble opinion to be done by the General Assem- 
 bly of the Church; and Clergymen should not be 
 permitted to use in the public Psalmody any odes or 
 poems which are not warranted by that authority. 
 
 On this point, however, Christians may differ. 
 But they are, I think, unanimously of opinion, that 
 the Psalms of the Old Testament are well adapted to 
 the church-service. They were originally intended 
 to be accompanied with musick, and sung in the so- 
 lemn assemblies of God's people : they breathe the 
 most exalted strains of morality and devotion: the 
 style throughout, though various, is equally intelli- 
 gible and sublime : they contain a rich fund of topicks 
 suited to religious meditation : and, as they allude to 
 many vicissitudes of human affairs, and many states and 
 
6 
 
 passions of the human soul, and some of them to the 
 most important events of the Gospel- History, there 
 are few circumstances in the Christian life, to which 
 they will not in one respect or other be found appli- 
 cable. All Christian Churches have accordingly in- 
 troduced these Divine Songs into their publick wor- 
 ship ; and many versions and paraphrases of them have 
 appeared, suited to the taste of different ages and 
 nations. 
 
 But I am not certain, that they have been impro- 
 ved by being versified. There is, in our prose trans- 
 lation of the Psalms, and other poetical parts of 
 Scripture, a simple majesty, which it is impossible for 
 the best versifier upon earth, not to violate, when he 
 frames them to modern numbers. Nay, I am in doubt 
 whether Church-musick would not have more energy, 
 if we were to sing our psalms in prose, according to 
 that form of Recitative, which in England is called 
 Chanting. However, being no friend to innovation, 
 I willingly submit this opinion to the authority of the 
 Church, and to the general voice of the people. And 
 this I must allow, in favour of Rhime and Metre, 
 that they render the Psalms more agreeable to the 
 popular taste ; that they assist memory ; and that, by 
 their means, Church-musick is made more simple, and 
 more easily attainable by the vulgar, than it would 
 be, if the prose translation were to be sung in the 
 Chanting Recitative. 
 
 It is therefore right, perhaps, that the Psalms 
 should be translated into verse. But the extreme diffi- 
 culty of this will be apparent to every one, who makes 
 
the trial, and wishes to preserve the simplicity of 
 the original pure from modern refinement, unnecessary- 
 paraphrase, and unwarrantable circumlocution ; and, at 
 the same time, to give that smoothness to the measure, 
 and exactness to the rhimes, which the publick ear 
 now requires, and that elegant plainness to the e§t 
 pression, which, in a work intended to be understood 
 by all, and to please all, is now indispensable. This 
 at least is certain, that no metrical version of these 
 Divine Songs, that has yet appeared in English, is 
 altogether such as it ought to be. One is too rude, 
 another too refined ; one is harsh by being too literal, 
 and another languid by partaking too much of the 
 nature of paraphrase. So that a new and a better 
 version has long been considered by every person of 
 piety and taste as a most desirable improvement. I 
 shall, first, say something of the several versions in 
 metre, that I am acquainted with ; and shall then 
 take the liberty to propose a plan for a better. 
 
 That by Sternhold and Hopkins is the oldest I 
 have seen in our language. Its rudeness has become 
 even proverbial. The verse is very incorrect, the 
 sense not always clear, and the expression sometimes 
 exceedingly vulgar. And yet, even in this version, 
 there are a few stanzas, particularly in the eighteenth, 
 and one hundred and third psalm, which no true poet 
 would undertake to improve. The late editions of it 
 are different from the first, but the amendments 
 are not always for the better. For example, in the 
 old copies of the eighteenth psalm, we have the fol- 
 lowing lines : — 
 
8 
 
 The Lord descended from above, 
 And bow'd the heavens high, 
 And underneath his feet he cast 
 The darkness of the sky : 
 On seraph and on cherubim 
 Full royally he rode, 
 And on the wings of all the winds 
 Came flying all abroad. 
 
 These words are wonderfully well-chosen, and hap- 
 pily arranged ; and there is a spirit in the harmony 
 which has been admired by the best judges. But 
 the reformers of Sternhold have hurt both the sound 
 and the sense, by changing the latter part of the 
 first couplet thus, u And bow'd the heavens most 
 high ;" and by substituting u mighty winds' instead 
 of "all the winds," in the last couplet. The first 
 amendment not only injures the sense, by applying to 
 a part of the inanimate creation an epithet which the 
 Scripture applies to the Creator : but also encumbers 
 the harmony ; for though " heaven" be now pro- 
 nounced as one syllable, it formerly consisted of two ; 
 and no good ear is offended with the old pronunci- 
 ation in an old poem. The second amendment, in 
 order to make room for an unnecessary word, destroys 
 a sublime image, that of the Deity descending from all 
 parts of the universe at once ; which well typifies the 
 Divine Omnipresence, and is indeed one of the most 
 magnificent ideas to be met with in poetry. 
 
 Of the version that comes next in the order of time, 
 I never saw but one copy ; which is a small folio 
 printed at London in 1636, with this title, " The 
 Psalms of King David translated by King James." The 
 
9 
 
 work does honour to this learned Monarch. It is not 
 free from the northern idiom ; but the style seems to 
 me to be superiour to that of every other Scotch writer 
 of that age, Hawthornden excepted. There are in it 
 many good stanzas, most of which have been adopted 
 by the compilers of the version now authorized in 
 Scotland, whereof this of King James is indeed the 
 ground- work. Nay, those compilers have not always 
 equalled the royal versifier, where they intended, no 
 doubt, to excel him. I shall give one example. The 
 third verse of the fiftieth psalm stands in our version 
 thus : — 
 
 Our God shall come, and shall no more 
 Be silent, but speak out ; 
 Before him fire shall waste, great storms 
 Shall compass him about. 
 
 James has the advantage, both in the arrangement of 
 the words, and in the harmony : — 
 
 Our God shall come, and shall not then 
 
 Keep silence any more ; 
 
 A fire before him shall consume, 
 
 Great storms about him roar.* 
 
 The next English version of the Psalms in metre, 
 is that which is now used by all the Presbyterian con- 
 gregations in Scotland. And this, notwithstanding 
 its many imperfections, I cannot help thinking the 
 best. The numbers, it is true, are often harsh and 
 incorrect ; there are frequent obscurities, and some 
 ambiguities in the style ; the Scotch idiom occurs in 
 several places; and the old Scotch pronunciation is 
 
 * Better thus : And storms around Jtim roar. 
 
10 
 
 sometimes necessary to make out the rhime.* Yet in 
 this version there is a manly, though severe, simpli- 
 city, without any affected refinement ; and there are 
 many passages so beautiful, as to stand in need of no 
 emendation. 
 
 Milton translated some of the psalms into that sort 
 of verse which is used in the church-service. These 
 are commonly overlooked as unworthy of so great a 
 man: but they deserve attention, and that on two 
 accounts. First, because they show, that in Milton's 
 judgment a versified psalm ought to be simple in the 
 style, and as literal as possible ; a circumstance which 
 does honour to our Scotch version : and, secondly, 
 because they contain some very good lines. The fol- 
 lowing image is worthy of the author of Paradise Lost : 
 
 As when an aged wood takes fire, 
 
 Which on a sudden strays ; 
 
 The greedy flame runs higher and higher, 
 
 Till all the mountains blaze. Ps. Ixxxiii. 
 
 And the verse that mentions Baca's vale is more intel- 
 ligible as well as more musical in Milton, than in the 
 other translations : 
 
 They pass through Baca's thirsty vale, 
 
 That dry and barren ground, 
 
 As through a fruitful watery dale, 
 
 "Where springs and showers abound. Ps. lxxxiv. 
 
 About the end of the last century, Dr Brady and 
 Mr Tate published a new version of the Psalms, which 
 was well received, but has not been universally adopt- 
 
 * As when Rejoice is made the rhime to Goes ; and Appnrven 
 to raw*. Psal. xix. and cv. 
 
11 
 
 ed, either in England, or by the English congregations 
 in Scotland. There is an air of modern refinement in 
 the style, which with some readers will pass for ele- 
 gance ; and the general run of the verse is smoother 
 and more correct than in the old versions. Where 
 plain moral sentiments are to be expressed, Tate 
 and Brady succeed well enough. But they often 
 sink into the flatness of prose ; and often affect familiar 
 phrases, antitheses, and other conceits that prevailed 
 among the middling poets of their time. However, 
 their work has considerable merit, and will be found 
 of great use, if the plan I am going to propose shall 
 ever be put in execution. They are least successful 
 in the sublimer parts of the sacred poetry ; for which 
 they seem not to have had any true taste, and which 
 they frequently debase by incongruous ornaments, 
 quaint expressions, mean allusions, and insignificant 
 epithets. In order to suggest a caution to future 
 translators, and that I may not be thought to speak 
 rashly, I shall take the freedom to justify this censure 
 by a few examples. 
 
 In the ninety-eighth psalm, the inspired Author, by 
 a bold but sublime personification, says, " Let the 
 " floods clap their hands, and let the hills be joyful 
 " together before the Lord." Tate and Brady ex- 
 punge the noble figure, and put something in its 
 stead, which, if it is not nonsense, is at least very 
 bad sense : 
 
 With joy let rivulets swell to streams, 
 
 To spreading torrents they, &c. 
 
 Where it is supposed to be an effect of joy to increase 
 
12 
 
 the magnitude of the joyful being. Is this natural ? 
 Does joy make a man taller or larger ? How much 
 better our Scotch version ! 
 
 Let floods clap hands, and let the hills 
 
 Together joy declare, &c. 
 
 In the ninety-seventh psalm, we have this text, " The 
 " Lord cometh to judge the earth." Tate and Brady, 
 instead of imitating the simple energy of the psalmist, 
 endeavour to heighten the idea into a description ; but 
 the circumstances they make choice of are utterly 
 inadequate ; and lead the reader's thoughts to an Eng- 
 lish Judge, or Scotch Lord of Justiciary, setting out 
 with his attendants, to hold the assizes in different parts 
 of the country. 
 
 The Lord's approach they celebrate, 
 Who now sets out with awful state. 
 His circuit through the earth to take, <%c. 
 
 " The heavens declare the glory of God," says David. 
 Our authors, by an unseasonable antithesis not well 
 expressed, introduce obscurity into this plain and era- 
 phatical aphorism : 
 
 The heavens declare thy glory, Lord, 
 Which that alone can fill. 
 
 In that most beautiful hymn upon the creation, the 
 104th psalm, the Divine Poet says, speaking of the 
 streams in the mountains, " They give drink to every 
 " beast of the field ; the wild asses quench their thirst." 
 Our authors not only run into needless paraphrase, 
 but seem even to hint at the natural stupidity of the 
 ass, which is a very remote consideration, and what 
 probably was never once thought of in Judea. 
 
V3 
 
 The field's tame beasts are thither led-, 
 Weary with labour, faint with drought ; 
 And asses on wild mountains bred 
 Have sense to find these currents out. 
 
 The whole psalm in this version is full of these unna- 
 tural additions. 
 
 Not proudest mountains dared as yet 
 To lift above the waves their head. 
 
 The Psalmist says only, " The waters stood above the 
 " mountains." 
 
 The clouds his chariots are, and storms 
 The swift-wing 'd steeds with which he flies. 
 
 The rudeness of Sternhold is more tolerable than 
 these flourishes; which are most unseemly in a 
 psalm, and hardly allowable in any serious composition. 
 Unmeaning epithets occur in almost every page, espe- 
 cially where our authors give eight syllables to each 
 
 line. * 
 
 Let the shrill trumpet's warlike voice, &c 
 And gentle psaltery's silver sound, cl. 
 The chariot of the King of kings, 
 Which active troops of angels drew, 
 On a strong tempest's rapid wings, 
 With most amazing swiftness flew, sviii. 
 
 It is no doubt necessary, in versifying the psalms, to 
 introduce, for the sake of the metre, some epithets, and 
 other ornamental additions, not warranted by the ori- 
 ginal. This inconvenience unavoidably attends that 
 mode of translation. Pope himself and Dryden, even 
 in the best parts of their versions, are obliged to sacri- 
 fice a little of the old sense, and a great deal of the 
 old simplicity, to our modern rhymes and measures, 
 
14 
 
 But a translator of taste will be careful on these oc- 
 casions to adapt himself to that turn of invention and 
 phraseology, which characterises the author; and will 
 be particularly on his guard against witticism and 
 finical conceits, which are so common in modern poetry, 
 and so repugnant to the genius of the antient. 
 
 I have seen five other translations of the Psalms in 
 verse, that were printed in England during the last 
 century ; by Joshua Squire, Luke Milbourn, Daniel 
 Burgess, George Wither, and Richard Goodridge ; 
 but I did not find any thing in them worthy of further 
 notice. Two were published a few years ago, one by 
 Mr Smart, the other by Mr Merrick. I have not seen 
 these ; but, from what I know of the authors, I am 
 satisfied, that they well deserve the public attention. 
 
 The learned and ingenious Dr Watts translated the 
 psalms into verse: adapting the sentiments to the 
 language and doctrines of the New Testament. His 
 imagination, as a poet, was not brilliant; and his 
 numbers are rather smooth than harmonious ; but his 
 verse is easy, and his expression clear and simple. I 
 have great respect for the memory of that good man 
 and excellent writer, as well as for the judgment of 
 many of those who approve his translation. But I 
 freely own, that it is not to my taste, though I 
 cannot here give my reasons. If we mean to use the 
 Psalms of David in our worship, I humbly think, 
 that we should take them as they are : without suppo- 
 sing, either that they are not so good as they ought 
 to be, or that it is in our power to make them better. 
 I allow indeed, that New-Testament hymns have at least 
 
15 
 
 an equal claim to our veneration ; but I would not 
 make a parody of the Scripture, by expressing the sen- 
 timents of the one Testament in the words of the other. 
 However, I will not enter into the controversy, which 
 would lead me too far from my present purpose. I 
 shall only remark, that some of Dr Watts's psalms 
 are both elegant and literal, and may be of great use 
 to the person who undertakes to execute the following 
 plan. 
 
 The point in view is, to compose a translation in 
 verse of the Psalms, that shall be " more plain, smooth, 
 '* and agreeable to the text than any heretofore ;*' 
 so simple as to be understood by all ; so elegant as to 
 give no reasonable offence to any ; as literal as the 
 present state of the English tongue and the laws of 
 English versification will permit ; and adapted to the 
 tunes usually sung in our churches. To make it alto- 
 gether new, is, in my opinion, not necessary, and 
 would be very difficult. It should, I think, be com- 
 piled from the best passages of former translations ; 
 with such amendments of the style and measure, as 
 may be requisite to give the whole an appearance of 
 ■uniformity. A strict uniformity should not be attempt- 
 ed. The original psalms themselves are by different 
 authors, and differ greatly in the style : and the version 
 now sung in Scotland is itself a compilation ; many 
 passages being taken from King James, a few from 
 Hopkins and Sternhold, and some no doubt from other 
 authors whom I have not seen. 
 
 That our church tunes should be simple, and of easy 
 acquisition, will be allowed by those who consider the 
 
16 
 
 circumstances of the common people of Scotland ; few 
 of whom have the means of making great proficiencj 
 in musick. And therefore in the proposed work ] 
 would not affect many varieties of measure. Some ol 
 those that occur in the psalms now used have long 
 been obsolete, and deserve not a revival. Such are 
 our second versions (as we call them) of the 124th. 
 136th, and 143d psalms : in the two last of which, the 
 shortness of the verse occasions so quick a return oi 
 the rhimes, as must appear almost ludicrous to a mo- 
 dern reader. The anapestick rhythm of Sternhold's 
 104th psalm, which has been revived by Tate and 
 Brady in their 1 49th, may also be omitted ; as hav- 
 ing nothing to recommend it but a lively tune ; for 
 the measure, in the present improved state of English 
 numbers, has not dignity enough for a psalm. The 
 only measures I would recommend are, first, and 
 chiefly, our common Iambick Lyrick measure, for- 
 merly comprehending two lines of seven feet each, 
 which are now, for the convenience of printers who 
 use a narrow page, broken into four lines, whereof 
 the first and the third consists of eight syllables or four 
 feet, and the second and the fourth of six syllables or 
 three feet : and, secondly, that which is vulgarly 
 called Long Measure, consisting of four lines rhym- 
 ing alternately or in couplets ; each of which lines 
 comprehends four Iambick feet, or a short and a long 
 syllable four times repeated. The first psalm and most 
 of the other psalms are examples of the former ; and the 
 second version of the hundredth psalm is an example of 
 the latter. There is another stanza, which I would not 
 
17 
 
 wholly exclude, and which is used in our first version 
 of the twenty-fifth psalm, consisting of four lines, 
 whereof the first, second, and fourth are of six sylla- 
 bles each, and the third of eight. But the first of 
 these measures is the best of the three, and (if I mis- 
 take not) the most popular, as well as the most con- 
 venient : and I beg leave to add, that in a psalm it 
 has the best effect, and is withal most easy in the 
 composition, when only the second and fourth lines 
 rhyme together. Sternhold and Hopkins, and Tate 
 and Brady, sometimes make the rhimes of this stanza 
 alternate ; but it is a troublesome and unprofitable 
 nicety; for they are often put to hard shifts, and 
 obliged to take unwarrantable freedoms with the sense, 
 in order to make it out. 
 
 I have been told, that the people called Methodists, 
 and some other sectaries, use many varieties of measure 
 in their psalms, and sing some of them to the airs of 
 common songs; assigning this whimsical reason, that 
 it is pity, the devil should have all our good musick. 
 Pity it is indeed, if it be so : but I am not one of 
 those, who think there is any thing diabolical, or 
 even blameable, in a song expressive of love, chear- 
 fulness, valour, or any other virtuous or innocent af- 
 fection. Be that however as it will, I mean only to 
 observe here, that as we ought not to give our good 
 musick to the devil, so neither should we receive our 
 religious musick from him. The sanctuary cannot be 
 adorned by that which is already black with the pol- 
 lutions of hell. But, to leave this allegorical cant, I 
 am seriously of opinion, that psalm-tunes only should 
 
 B 
 
18 
 
 be used in singing psalms, and that nothing but psalms 
 or hymns should be sung to psalm tunes. For, as I 
 would not make the church a place for dancing, or 
 card-tables, or even for the ordinary business of com- 
 merce or of agriculture ; so neither would I, without 
 necessity, perform the church-service in a ball-room, 
 in the market-place, or in a barn. They, who fancy 
 themselves perfect, or who have been accustomed to 
 attend to outward things only, without minding what 
 passes inwardly in the human imagination, may in- 
 deed urge, that to the pure all things are pure, and 
 that, if the heart be right, there can be no harm in 
 places, or in any other external circumstance. But I 
 know not in what part of this world -we have any 
 chance to meet with a perfect man ; all the human 
 creatures I have seen being subject to very powerful 
 impressions from without, and liable to have their 
 thoughts rectified and composed by one set of external 
 objects, or discomposed and perverted by another. And 
 therefore, it much concerns us, when we wish to have 
 the command of our thoughts, to keep aloof from every 
 thing that may tend to make them unruly. The ex- 
 pression of musick is so equivocal, that a tune can hard- 
 ly be said to have any determinate meaning, till words 
 are set to it : and if we have been long accustomed to 
 hear certain words accompanied with a certain tune, we 
 shall never perhaps be able, if we have a musical ear, 
 to separate them, so as not to be put in mind of the 
 former on hearing the latter. Let our common church- 
 tunes, therefore, some of which are excellent in their 
 kind, be still used in publick worship ; and to them 
 
19 
 
 or^y let the measures of our psalms be adapted. I 
 have no objection to anthems ; and there is reason to 
 think, that many of Marcello's Psalms, and of Handel's 
 sacred songs and choruses, might be performed in 
 churches with the happiest effect : but these are sorts 
 of composition quite different from what I now speak 
 of; and as they cannot be sung with any degree of 
 propriety, except by those who have been well instruct- 
 ed in musick, we are not to suppose them within the 
 reach of the common people, or of ordinary congrega- 
 tions. 
 
 Of the proposed version, that which is now au- 
 thorized in Scotland should, in my judgment, be the 
 groundwork ; its plan being better than that of 
 any other I have seen, and the verse in many parts 
 unexceptionable, though perhaps there are not in the 
 (whole book seven stanzas in succession, to which amend- 
 ment may not be necessary. Where any passage is to be 
 corrected, the compiler will consult the other versions, 
 md freely take from them what may suit his purpose ; 
 >r, if none of them should be to his mind, will inter- 
 leave lines or phrases of his own ; taking care to 
 nake the general colour of the style nearly uniform, 
 o avoid incorrectness of rhime and measure, and to 
 mitate as much as possible the brevity, plainness, and 
 ublimity of the original. I shall in a few paragraphs 
 lint at some of those general imperfections of the 
 •resent version, that seem to require amendment ; after 
 olemnly declaring, that I do so, not from any plea- 
 ure which I take in finding fault, but from a sincere 
 esire of seeing a better version, that shall be superiour 
 
20 
 
 to the captiousness of criticism, and to the sneer of 
 the scorn er. 
 
 Words or idioms peculiar to Scotland, or not war- 
 ranted by good English authors, ought to be expun- 
 ged, and classical expressions put in their place. A 
 few improprieties of this sort occur ; but it is surprising 
 that there are not more : as approven for approved, Ps. 
 105; greed for coveiousness, Ps. 119; the swallow 
 hath purchased a nest, Ps. 84 ; I'll (I will J not want, 
 for / shall, Ps. 23 ; tempd for tempted, Ps. 05 ; riggs 
 for ridges, Ps. 65 ; hythest for appearest, Ps. 18; 
 silk and alongst, for since and along, which last are 
 obsolete English. The knowledge of the English 
 tongue gains ground in Scotland every day ; and it is 
 to be hoped, that in a few years a Scoticism will be 
 as offensive to our ear as a broad Scotch word. In all 
 solemn and elegant writing therefore, it ought as care- 
 fully to be avoided. 
 
 All licences, in regard to rhime and measure, are 
 to be removed, which in the present state of English 
 numbers would not be tolerated in serious poetry ; 
 such as making two syllables of enemies, and three 
 of testimonies ; such as approven rhyming to own, re- 
 joice to goes ; distresses to faces, encompasseth to de- 
 livereth, consider to deliver, remember to for ever / and 
 all double or treble rhimes in general, as conversation 
 —salvation ; and all such fetches for a rhime, as 
 
 Those that are anti-ents. Ps. cxix. 
 
 All thy command-e-ments. Ibid. 
 
 Of our salvati-on. Ps. xcv. 
 
 Commandement occurs in Sternhold, and several times 
 
2i 
 
 in our version. It is the French form of the wort), and 
 was once no doubt in general use among us, for I have 
 heard it in the conversation of old people ; but it is now 
 entirely obsolete. A rhime in itself is no doubt a very- 
 insignificant thing ; but in poetry the ear must be gra- 
 tified : and the publick taste in regard to rhimes and 
 measures is now become so delicate, that every inaccu- 
 racy of this kind gives offence, and is taken for a proof 
 of a bad ear, of negligence, or of want of skill in lan- 
 guage. Horace severely blames the dramatic poets of 
 his time for their licentious numbers ; and yet that 
 nicety of versification is never required in the drama, 
 which one expects to find in a Lyrick ode. 
 
 Ambiguities of phrase are faults of greater magni- 
 tude. These are not unfrequent in our version. One 
 occurs in the first verse of the 137th Psalm : — 
 
 By Babel's streams we sat and wept, 
 When Zion we-thought on ; 
 In midst thereof we hang'd our harps 
 The willow -trees upon. 
 
 The words in midst thereof occasion no ambiguity as 
 they stand in the prose translation ; but, in the stanza, 
 one cannot readily discover their meaning. They 
 may be referred to Zion, or to the streams ; but do 
 not clearly show what the Psalmist intended, namely, 
 that the willow- trees grew in the midst of Babylon. 
 This, however, being a circumstance not material to 
 us, may perhaps be omitted. 
 
 By Babylonian streams afar 
 We sat and wept forlorn, 
 
When Zion we thought on ; our harps 
 On willow-boughs were born. 
 
 Or if this be, as I think it is, rather too elaborate, 
 what if we should read it thus ; 
 
 By Babylonian streams afar, 
 
 While Zion we thought on, 
 
 We sat and wept ; our harps were hung 
 
 The willow-trees upon ? 
 
 The rhime is somewhat faulty ; but it is pardonable. 
 Tate and Brady's paraphrase of this verse is remark- 
 ably injudicious. Sternhold and Hopkins come very 
 near burlesque. 
 
 Some passages that seem to require the "utmost pos- 
 sible brevity, are expressed by our versifiers with un- 
 necessary diffusion. This is not the only fault obser- 
 vable in the following stanza : — 
 
 A man was famous, and was had 
 In estimation^ 
 According as he lifted up 
 His ax thick trees upon. 
 
 The first line of the first psalm is perhaps more ver- 
 bose than it should be ; and an attentive reader will 
 find many others of the same character. 
 
 There are also a few phrases in our psalms in metre, 
 which from an improper choice of words approach to 
 the Ludicrous. The compiler of the new version will 
 be careful to correct these. I shall not give a speci- 
 men ; nor is it necessary. 
 
 Passages that are so obscure, as not to be intelligible 
 without a commentary, ought not to appear in a po- 
 pular version. Of these there are too many in the 
 
23 
 
 work before us. I shall only mention the verse that 
 relates to Baca's vale, Psal. 84, the fourth verse of the 
 104th psalm, and the greater part of the eighty-seventh. 
 A translator's first duty is to make himself master of 
 his author's meaning. Till this be done, it will be im- 
 possible for him to make others understand it. And 
 therefore, the author of the proposed version ought, in 
 my judgment, to be a Clergyman, skilled in the ori- 
 ginal language, and acquainted with the commentators. 
 And before he attempt any psalm, he will do well to 
 study it, both in the prose translation, and in the He- 
 brew, so as to have a clear view of the sentiments that 
 he is to versify. Those expressions of severity towards 
 enemies, which the best interpreters consider as pro- 
 phetical, ought perhaps to be so framed as to assume 
 the form of prophecy ; but in this great discretion will 
 be requisite, lest unwarrantable liberties be taken with 
 the sacred text. 
 
 Some arrangements of words occur in the Scotch 
 version, which are now hardly tolerable ; as when, in 
 order to make out the rhirae, the auxiliary is put 
 after the principal verb. An example or two will ex- 
 plain my meaning, and be a sufficient caution to future 
 versifiers. 
 
 He was no foe that mc reproach'd, 
 
 Then that endure I could ; 
 
 Nor hater that did 'gainst me boast. 
 
 From him me hide I would. Psal. Iv. 
 
 'Tis full of mixture ; he pours forth 
 
 And makes the wicked all 
 
 Wring out the bitter dregs thereof ; 
 
 Yea, and they drink them shall. Ps. lxxv. 
 
24 
 
 I could mention also some very harsh lines, which it 
 is even difficult to articulate ; as, 
 
 Thou Tarshish ships with east wind break'st. Ps. xlviii. 
 
 — But I will not carry these criticisms any further. 
 It is a disagreeable subject ; and, therefore, I shall 
 only say in general, that all tautology, excessive bre- 
 vity, obscurity, ambiguity, and every sort of harsh- 
 ness in the sound, in the arrangement, or in the syn- 
 tax of words, ought carefully to be guarded against on 
 the one hand ; and all mean or familiar allusions, fini- 
 cal ornaments, and common place phraseologies pecu- 
 liar to the sing-song of modern poetry, on the other. 
 The work should not exhibit the modish "air of Tate 
 and Brady, nor the antique guise of Sternhold and 
 Hopkins ; but should have something of the cast of 
 antiquity, tempered with the elegance and smoothness 
 of latter times. 
 
 Pope's condemnation of the verb Do, as an exple- 
 tive, is perhaps too general. A poet not inferiour to 
 Pope, either in correctness or in harmony, has used it 
 without blame in a place, where it adds nothing to the 
 sense, and serves only to lengthen the verse and pre- 
 pare the rhime ; 
 
 The moping owl does to the moon complain. 
 
 I would not therefore entirely discard Do and Did, even 
 as expletives ; but they are offensive when frequent. 
 These lines I did to memory commend, 
 When vanquish'd Thyrsis did in vain contend. 
 
 Dryden's Virgil. 
 
 This blemish is but too common in our Scotch version 
 of the Psalms. See particularly Psal. xv. 3. and ciii. 
 
25 
 
 3, 4». When they give energy to an expression, which 
 is often the case ; or when they serve to separate two 
 words, which cannot otherwise be separated, and which 
 would form a harsh combination if united, Do and Did 
 are allowable both in prose and verse, and are some- 
 times very graceful. In sentences of interrogation they 
 are frequently necessary, and therefore admitted by the 
 best versifiers. 
 
 Do morning suns in ruddier glory rise ? 
 Does evening fan her with serener gales' ? 
 
 Tears of Old May-day. 
 
 The old termination, in eth, of the third person 
 singular of English verbs, is also too frequent in our 
 metre psalms ; but, though I would not wish to see 
 it in every page of the proposed version, I will not say 
 that it ought to be every where kept out. By the best 
 English writers of the present time it is generally 
 avoided both in prose and in verse ; and perhaps with 
 reason : for as it never occurs in conversation, it is 
 not quite familiar to our ear, and therefore sounds a 
 little uncouth, except in scripture style, and in other 
 solemn writings that are known to be of considerable 
 antiquity. Some late authors have however adopted 
 it in certain words, from an opinion that it sounds 
 better than the modern termination S. But to adopt 
 it in some words, and not in all, makes a style appear 
 both old and new ; and it may deserve attention, that 
 in language, a sound which is uncommon will give 
 greater offence to the ear, than another sound which 
 is more common though less harmonious. Nay, it may 
 be doubted, whether a foreigner would prefer the 
 
26 
 
 sound of lit to that of the softer S or Z. Persons who 
 lisp substitute the former for the latter ; but their 
 articulation is not the more musical on that account. 
 Yet it must be allowed, that the old termination, from 
 being constantly used in the English Bible, and other 
 religious writings of the same age, has acquired a pecu- 
 liar solemnity, and therefore, when the Scripture style 
 is imitated, as in forms of prayer, may be more ma- 
 jestick than the other. But in the versification even 
 of sacred poetry, it has seldom been used of late by any 
 good author, and therefore, though it may be excused, 
 is not to be approved of: partly, because in verse 
 it is uncommon ; and partly, because it may look like 
 a shift to fill up a line, by ekeing out a word with 
 an unnecessary syllable. This effect it often has in 
 our Scotch psalms, as nrght be proved by many ex- 
 amples. So that if it is to be used at all in the pro- 
 posed version, it should be used very sparingly. 
 
 I come now, Sir, to make a remark or two on the 
 Musick of our Psalmody; in which I shall be very 
 brief, as I have already taken up too much of your 
 time. 
 
 Church- musick, like other outward circumstances 
 relating to Divine Worship, cannot be supposed to 
 possess any intrinsic sanctity ; nor to be useful in any 
 other respect, than as a means of settling and soothing 
 the mind, and infusing devout affections. And it is 
 not to be doubted, that Providence bestowed a sense of 
 harmony on man, for this purpose, among others, that 
 it might assist him in the discharge of religious duty, 
 
27 
 
 both by making him take pleasure in it, and also by 
 enforcing upon him the sentiments of piety and virtue. 
 
 That church-musick may answer this end, it is not 
 necessary, that every Christian should join in it. Mu- 
 sicians know, that the hearers of a symphony, or of a 
 song, are often more agreeably affected than the per- 
 formers. There is something unspeakably delightful 
 in listening to the voices of a choir, or to the song of a 
 congregation : so that the best singer, though at the 
 same time a most devout person, will often, for his own 
 sake, choose to be silent while others sing, that the 
 musick may operate upon his mind with the .greater 
 energy. 
 
 If this be allowed, and I think no person who knows 
 any thing of musick will deny it, I would earnestly 
 entreat those, who sing very ill, not to sing at all, at 
 least in the church. If they are silent, they may have 
 their affections raised by the singing of others : but if 
 they sing, especially if they sing loud (which bad sing- 
 ers seldom fail to do) they will not hear the congrega- 
 tion, and they must disturb every person in the neigh- 
 bourhood of their pew, who has a musical ear. It is a 
 hard case, in performing an act of devotion, to have 
 one's senses confounded, and one's thoughts discompo- 
 sed, by those unmerciful bawlers, a few of whom are to 
 be met with in almost every country parish, and whose 
 roarings are generally loud in proportion as they are 
 untuneable. 
 
 Let me also recommend it to those who join in the 
 publick psalmody, to sing softly. This will give both 
 mellowness and exactness to the musick. For in most 
 
28 
 
 human voices, when much exerted, especially those of 
 women and boys, there is a tendency to fall below the 
 key : which in a church is frequently productive of 
 intolerable dissonance. But all psalms should not be 
 sung with the same exertion. Repentance and sorrow 
 are most emphatically expressed in a low voice, and 
 pious thanksgiving in a tone that is neither too low 
 nor too loud ; while psalms of rejoicing and triumph 
 demand a bolder strain. Where they sing in full cho- 
 rus, the bass should be sounded more forcibly, and the 
 treble more faintly, than the other parts ; the counter- 
 tenor, which adds wonderful grace to the harmony, 
 requires a sweet and delicate utterance, just loud 
 enough to be heard through the church, and no 
 louder. The tenor, or church-part, as it is called, must 
 be sung by men and women indifferently ; because 
 there will always be, in every congregation, a great 
 number of both sexes, who can sing no other part. 
 The treble, or highest part, belongs to women and 
 boys ; for their voices are to the voice of a man what 
 the violin is to the violoncello : the counter-tenor 
 should be left to such men as have a voice that is 
 sweet and clear, and capable of rising to a high pitch. 
 Counter-tenor voices are not often met with ; but two 
 or three may be found in every parish ; and two or 
 three are sufficient to compleat the harmony in any well- 
 tuned congregation. The parts thus adjusted would 
 have a charming effect. But so little regard is paid 
 to propriety in these matters, that, in one church, I 
 have heard a multitude of boys employed on the bass; 
 and, in another, a great number of women singing the 
 
29 
 
 counter-tenor in so shrill a tone, as to overpower all 
 the other voices of the assembly. Before arrangements 
 of this kind are made, it would not be unworthy of a 
 kirk-session, to take the advice of those who under- 
 stand the theory of musick. 
 
 Different rules have been laid down, for ascertaining 
 the time of psalm-tunes. As I hold a distinct arti- 
 culation of the words to be essential to good sing- 
 ing, I would say, that psalms should be sung in such 
 a manner, as that they who are hearers may under- 
 stand the words pronounced by the singers. Were 
 this rule observed, that excessive drawling would be 
 avoided, which tends rather to stupify than to elevate 
 the mind ; and pious sentiments and harmonious 
 sounds would mutually enliven and recommend each 
 other. Yet some psalms would seem to require a 
 quicker, and some a slower movement. And here, 
 in regard to quickness, I might repeat the rule which 
 I formerly proposed in regard to loudness ; for the 
 same affections quicken the motion, that elevate the 
 voice. 
 
 Every good performer employs a variety of graces, 
 especially in slow musick, for preparing and connecting 
 his notes, and giving them expression. But great 
 knowledge of the art, both in practice and in theory, 
 is necessary to qualify him for this ; and it is better 
 to give no graces at all, than to throw them in un- 
 skilfully. To be able to apply them with address 
 in singing, one must both understand musick, and 
 also have great flexibility of voice. But these are 
 talents which can never become universal among man- 
 
30 
 
 kind ; and therefore, the common people should be 
 taught to sing the psalm-tunes as they are set, and 
 without graces. This may sound a little aukward 
 in a single song ; but in a full chorus it is not so ob- 
 servable. At any rate, and at all times, it will give 
 less offence, than graces and quaverings unskilfully in- 
 troduced. 
 
 I wonder, whence Presbyterians have got the cus- 
 tom of sitting while the psalms are sung. In this pos- 
 ture one cannot sing freely, or with the full command 
 of one's voice. The very act of rising up, in company 
 with a great multitude, gives an impulse to the soul, 
 and prepares it for a new exertion. Besides, if there 
 be any thing peculiarly decent in sitting while we 
 praise God, I would fain know, why the precentors or 
 clerks are obliged to stand. 
 
 I wish they were also obliged to put on a serious 
 air, while they are thus employed. Many of them 
 do so ; and have a right sense of those decorums that 
 belong to an act of worship. But some affect the ap- 
 pearance of total inattention ; and, while they sing, 
 cast their eyes to every corner of the church, and turn 
 their head at every opening of the door ; as if they 
 meant to satisfy the audience, that they could keep the 
 tune without once thinking of what they were about. 
 
 The practice in Scotland, of reading each line of the 
 psalm separate, and then singing it, was introduced, as 
 I have been told, when it was in some sort necessary ; 
 that is, when a great number of people in every con- 
 gregation could not read. That is not the case now ; 
 and therefore the practice should be discontinued. And 
 
31 
 
 I humbly think, that the minister should always read 
 over, in a distinct voice, that part of the psalm which 
 is to be sung ; and if he were to explain any difficult 
 phrase that may occur in it, I believe his people 
 would think themselves obliged to him. This indeed 
 is done in many places : but, in some country parishes, 
 the morning" psalms are begun before the minister 
 enters the church ; and of the other psalms he never 
 reads more than the first line ; which cannot fail to 
 lessen the veneration of the people for that part of 
 worship. 
 
 The reasonableness of using Instrumental Musick in 
 churches might be proved, from Scripture ; from the 
 general practice of Christians ; from the constitution 
 of the human mind ; and from the very nature of the 
 human voice, and of musical sound. But I need not 
 enter upon the proof; as, in this country at least, 
 the practice can never become universal. For though 
 the Assembly were to authorise it, I doubt whether 
 there are sixty parishes in Scotland, that could, af- 
 ford the expence of an organ, and an organist. The 
 best things however may be abused ; and the lovers 
 of that instrument may draw comfort from this 
 consideration, that, if we enjoy not the benefit of 
 organ-musick, we are not hurt by its improprieties ; 
 which, as that matter is too frequently conducted, are 
 neither few nor small. 
 
 I cannot conclude, Sir, without returning you my 
 best thanks for the pleasure and instruction I have 
 reaped from your excellent Sermons. The reception 
 this Jirst volume (as I flatter myself it will soon be 
 
32 
 
 called) has met with from the publick, does honour to 
 the piety and taste of the age ; and will, it is to be 
 hoped, prevail with you to give us many other such 
 volumes; which they who have the happiness to 
 be your hearers know you can do with very little 
 trouble. 
 
 I am, with great esteem and respect, 
 
 Reverend Sir, 
 
 Your most faithful, humble servant. 
 
 May SI. \ 
 
 1778. J 
 
 [The preceding Letter is reprinted verbatim from a copy (penes 
 It. B.) printed in 1778, but never published. It is singular that it 
 was not known to Sir William Forbes, the Biographer of 
 Dr Beattie. The reader may consult Letters CXV. and CXXV. 
 in Sir William Forbes' Account of the Life and Writings of the 
 Doctor ; also the note relative to Mr Cameron, appended to Let- 
 ter CII.J 
 
 W. Aitken, Printer, 
 20, Bank Street. 
 

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