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1858.] Congregational Sin 
 
 Art. IY.— congregational MUSIC. 
 
 The writer of the History of Christian Worship in tho 
 Nineteenth Century will be liable to just criticism, if he 
 shall omit to notice the reform in cliurch music, whicli has 
 been going on for the past few years. In some churches, 
 indeed, the work proceeds slowly ; in others it has not com- 
 menced ; but, in many of the more influential ones, it is 
 thoroughly and completely established. This movement, 
 as we all know, is towards the practice of congregational 
 singing, either Avith or without the aid of the choir. 
 Where the choir keeps its ancient place, it is made auxil- 
 iary to the voices of common worshippers ; where it is dis- 
 persed, the precentor takes his place under the pulpit, to 
 select the tune, give the key-note, and lead the congregation, 
 according to the custom of the English and Scotch churches. 
 
 The future historian will perhaps find it easier to chron- 
 icle, than to account for the movement referred to. He 
 may not be certain whether it is the result of a deeper and 
 more active spiritual life, or a means of attaining a more 
 heart-felt devotion, or simply an expedient to render the 
 service more attractive to pew-holders. If, however, this 
 reform shall be found by the historian to have been attended 
 by a revival of true piety, he will be at no loss in determ- 
 ining its causes and effects. Thus much is certain, there is 
 a very common conviction that the congregation ought to 
 take a more active part in public worship. 
 
 It augurs well for the progress of this reform, that it was 
 set on foot after long preparation. Music has now for a 
 good while been regarded as an important part of general 
 education. It has been taught to untold multitudes of 
 children in common schools, in Sunday schools, and in 
 academies of music. What is better, the music they have 
 learned to sing is social and congregational. These child- 
 ren know what it is to lift up the voice in multitude, and 
 ever fresh in their memories will abide the ])ower of confed- 
 erate melodies. 
 
242 • Congregational Singing. [April, 
 
 One of the first apostles of popular music was Joseph. 
 Mainzer. Born at Treves in 1801, he finished his musical 
 education at Rome. Before leaving the Eternal City, he 
 was invited to a farewell party by Thorwaldsen. All the 
 artists of the day were present, and joined in singing his 
 compositions. On returning home, he published his first 
 elementary work— the Singschule — which was introduced 
 into the schools of Prussia as the standard text-book. We 
 afterwards find him at Paris, teaching gratuitously three 
 thousand workmen. But government was alarmed. The 
 blended voices of three thousand laborers were terrific to op- 
 pression ; the police threatened, and left it to Mainzer's 
 choice, either to remain in Paris without these classes of 
 poor men, or to seek elsewhere a field for free popular 
 instruction. He did not hesitate to resolve on the latter. 
 He now very naturally turned his thoughts toward Eng- 
 land, where the people were permitted to sing and shout to 
 their hearts' content. He set out for London ; and England 
 and Scotland thenceforward became the fields cf his musical 
 labors. He died at Manchester in the year 1851. 
 
 Mainzer's gift first discovered itself while he was acting 
 as an engineer of the mines beneath the Saarbuok Mount- 
 ains. Here he would relieve the tedium of endless night, 
 by composing choruses, and teaching them to the miners, 
 whom he thus led both in labor and in song. The popular 
 chorus seems ever to have been the ofispring of toil. The 
 Song of Moses,, which the children of Israel sung on the 
 shores of the Red Sea, must have been learned in part while 
 they were yet murmuring under their task-masters in Egypt. 
 The Greeks found their Dithyrambics in the land of the 
 Nile, and who shall say that the walls of the pyramids did 
 not go up amid the wild shouting of the same ? And who 
 does not know, that the negroes employed in our southern 
 sea-ports are revolutionizing our naval music. Their voice 
 is heard on every sea. Their choruses are sung by all our 
 American sailors with a heartiness that may well make the 
 jealous bones of Dibdin rattle in his coffin. 
 
 As to the comparative merits of choir music and congre- 
 gational singing, a good deal has been spoken and written. 
 
1858.] Congregational Singing. 243 
 
 But as the question has generally been discussed and decided 
 as one of art merely, the champions of choirs have not un- 
 frequently come out of the contest rejoicing victors. It is 
 not difficult to prove tliat sacred music cannot be cultivated 
 to .the highest pitch of refinement, when it is wholly aban- 
 doned to the congregation, and that some fashionable tunes 
 must fall into disuse wherever congregational singing pre- 
 vails. Nor is it hard to expatiate on the common faults 
 and abuses of such singing. But when the moral design 
 of sacred music is chiefly regarded, the question wears a 
 very diflcrent appearance. It is in this latter aspect that 
 we undertake to view the subject. Some professors of music 
 may regard our remarks with a derisive smile, nay, they 
 may call us a Marsyas, and threaten to flay us alive. But 
 we must take leave to say to them beforehand, that we 
 would rather die with Marsyas than live with them, and 
 that we would hazard as little as they often do, were we to 
 assert that Marsyas died a martyr to the cause of popular 
 music, at the hands of the elegant, but proud and exclusive 
 Apollo. 
 
 It is a most significant fact, that all the great reform- 
 ations were marked by the revival of congregational sing- 
 ing. When the statue of Memnon was visited by the first 
 rays of the morning sun, it gave forth, in honor of the 
 light, the most melodious and harmonious sounds. Even 
 so when the Sun of Righteousness shines upon the Church, 
 she is vocal with general praise. The truth of God, by re- 
 storing man to harmony with himself, with his fellow, and 
 with his God, is ever the prelude uf the popular anthem. 
 The Florentine reformer and martyr, Savonarola, awakened 
 a taste for sacred music among the people, and moved con- 
 verted poets to compose lauds to be chanted by them to 
 well-known airs. The Albigenses practised congregational 
 singing, and when, in 1210, Simon de Montfort, their per- 
 secutor, had lighted a pile for their destruction, a hundred 
 and forty of them sang psalms while they were precipita- 
 ting themselves into tlie flames. The followers of Hubs 
 were equally fond of psalmody. Luther and Zwingle re- 
 vived their mode of singing in Germany and Switzerland. 
 
244 Congregational Singing, [April, 
 
 It prevailed in Switzerland until the year 1543, when it 
 was superseded hy the sacred music of the Huguenots. In 
 France, the metrical psalms of Clement Marot were sung 
 by all, even by the King, Francis I, the Queen, and the no- 
 bility, to the tunes of the most favorite songs of the time, 
 in spite of the envious thunders of the Sorbonne. Marot, 
 fleeing from France, was received at Geneva by Calvin, who 
 wrote a preface for his metrical psalms, and so obtained for 
 them universal adoption among his converts. From about 
 the year 1553, to sing Marot's psalms was regarded in 
 France as a declaration of heretical principles, and ^^ Psalm- 
 dist" became another name for Reformer, Huguenot and 
 Calvinist. In 1558, according to Beza, large numbers of 
 Huguenots assembled in the Prez aux Olercs at Paris, and 
 sang psalms for several days together. The King of Nav- 
 arre and many Huguenot nobles were of this congregation. 
 The University was hard by, and some of the popish pro- 
 fessors and students must have been annoyed by so much 
 heretical singing. Roger Ascham, in a letter from Augs- 
 burg, dated the 14th of May, 1551, writes: '^It is nothing 
 to hear in a church of that city, three or four thousand people 
 singing at one time." 
 
 What added to the commotion produced by these new 
 sounds, was the contrast they presented to what had hitherto 
 been heard in the churches. We must remember that the 
 words sung had ever been those of an unknown tongue, and 
 conveyed neither sense to the minds, nor inspiration to the 
 hearts of the congregation. The only sacred music known 
 in Europe up to that time, had been the plain chant and 
 descant, performed by the ecclesiastics in choirs, whose per- 
 petual chantings and intonings had no charm for the people. 
 In the reign of Henry VIII, the first step was taken towards 
 rendering church music popular, by translating some part 
 of the church service into English. The Puritans, in the 
 days of Queen Elizabeth, demanded congregational singing, 
 cost what it might. To secure this, they silenced the ca- 
 thedral service, both vocal and instrumental. They insisted 
 on singing not only the psalms, but all the rest of the 
 Scriptures, including the genealogies, and sounding them 
 
1858.] Congregational Singing. 245 
 
 syllable by syllable, assigning as a reason for such an abuse 
 of words, and annihilation of poetry, the absolute necessity 
 of such a plain and simple kind of music as would suit the 
 whole congregation. Bi«liop Jewel, in his letter to Peter 
 Martyr, dated March 5th, 15G0, says : '^ A change now ap- 
 pears more visible among the peoj)le, which nothing pro- 
 motes more than inviting them to sing psalms. This was 
 begun in a church in liondon, and did soon spread itself 
 not only through the city, but in the neighboring places. 
 Sometimes at St. Paul's Cross there will be six tliousand 
 people singing together." 
 
 In Scotland, the Reformation enlivened its triumphs with 
 poj^ular song. When, at intervals, the people reposed from 
 breaking images and pulling down cathedrals, tliey passed 
 the time in singing praises. After the poi)ulace had as- 
 saulted the bishops and the Queen Regent in her own pal- 
 ace, and destroyed the statue of St. Giles, attempts were 
 made to arrest the leaders, but they assembled in compa- 
 nies, singing psalms with such spirit and vehemence, that 
 the officers were confounded. The godly zealots found 
 themselves literally '^ compassed about with songs of deliv- 
 erance." 
 
 In the dawn of the commonwealth, wlien Puritan princi- 
 ples came to wield tlie civil power of the British people_, one 
 of the first reforms undertaken was in the matter of church 
 music. Tlie Westminster Assembly of divines, in IfUi, en- 
 joined as the duty of all to sing psalms together, in the con- 
 gregation, as well as privately in the family. In singing 
 psalms, the voice was to be audibly and gravely ordered, 
 but the chief care was to be, to sing with the understanding, 
 with grace in the heart, making melody unto the Lord. In 
 order that the whole congregation might join in singing, 
 every one was to have a psalm-book, and all persons not 
 disabled by age or otherwise, were to be exhorted to learn 
 to read. Meanwhile, for the benefit of the many who had 
 not as yet learned to read, it was ordered that the minister 
 or some fit person appointed by him, should read the psalms, 
 line by line, before they were sung. 
 
 CromwelPs soldiers were mighty in praise, as well as in 
 
246 Congregational Singing. [April, 
 
 prayers. The psalms were their war-songs, and to the dis- 
 solute cavaliers a great army of Roundheads, chanting the 
 songs of Zion, must have appeared terrible — beyond descrip- 
 tion terrible, — for the sight and the sound awakened fear 
 for both body and soul. At this period the Royalists kept 
 up the cathedral service, with its choir and organ, while 
 their adversaries, abhorring both, believed that the best 
 music was the mere singing of psalms by the entire congre- 
 gation. There is on record only one instance in which a 
 compromise was made between these two forms of worship, 
 and it is singular enough that this occurred at York, during 
 the siege, in 1644, while the town was the stronghold of the 
 Royalists. Master Mace, in his '^ Musick's Monument," 
 describes with quaint raptures what he then saw and heard 
 at York Minster. 
 
 "The psalm-singing," says he, "was the most excellent that has been 
 known or remembered any where in these latter days. Most certain I 
 am, that to mj^self it was the very l^est harmonical musick that ever I 
 heard ; yea, excelling all other, either private or public, cathedral music, 
 and iniiaitely beyond all verbal expression or conceiving. Now here you 
 must take notice, that they had there a custom in that church — which I 
 hear not of in any other cathedral — which was this: always, before ser- 
 mon, the whole congregation sang a psalm together Avith the choir and 
 the organ. You must also know, that there was then there a most excel- 
 lent, largo, plump, lusty, full-speaking organ, which cost, as I am cred- 
 ibly informed, a thousand pounds. This organ, I say, when the psalm 
 was set, before the sermon, being lot out unto all its fulness of stops, 
 together with the choir, began the psalm. Now when the vast concord 
 and unity of the whole congregational choir came, as I may say, thunder- 
 ing on, even so as to make the very ground shake under us, ah ! the un- 
 utterable, ravishing soul's delight ! I was so transported and rapt up 
 with high contemplation, that there was no room left in my body and 
 spirit for any thing bc'.ow divine and heavenly raiHures."' 
 
 Had this congregational singing been recently admitted 
 into the cathedral serv ce, with a view to conciliate the res- 
 ident dissenters? Or was there yet abiding at York the 
 ancient Puritan spirit joined to Royalist principles? And 
 was it because there was so much of this spiritual life 
 amonor them, that they were able to maintain so stout a re- 
 sistance to the besieging army of the Roundheads? These 
 arc questions we must submit to the bookworms, who have 
 devoured tlic documents that afford an answer. 
 
 Congregational singing ever kept abreast with the doc- 
 
1858.] Congregational Singing. 247 
 
 trines of the Reformation, and was not a mere change of 
 ritual with which the regeneration of the heart liad nothing 
 to do. This may he gathered from many facts, and from 
 this, among others, that in Italy, where the llef'urmation 
 was onl}'' felt as a savor of death unto deatli, there was noth- 
 ing heard during all this period hut the most luguhrious 
 canting from monks, priests,, and professional eunuchs. 
 The state of church music throughout Italy at that time, is 
 hardly exaggerated hy the satire of Salvator Rosa, a j)art of 
 which we will here quote from an indifferent translation : 
 
 " Who blushes not to hear a hireling; ]>an(l, 
 At times appointed to subdue the heart, 
 Profane the temple with sol-fa in hand, 
 
 When tears repentant from each eye should start? 
 
 What scandal 'tis within the sacred wall 
 
 To hear them fijrunt the Vespers, bark tlic Mass, 
 
 The Gloria, Credo, Paler No.sler, bawl 
 With the vile fury of a braying ass ? 
 
 And still more scandalous in such a place, 
 
 We see infatuate Christians listening; round — 
 
 Instead of supplicating God for grace — 
 To tenor, bass and subtleties of sound. 
 
 And while such trivial talents are display'd 
 
 In howls and squeaks which wound the pious ear, 
 
 No sacred word is with the sound convey'd 
 To purify the soul, or heart to cheer." 
 
 About tlie middle of the previous century, church music 
 in Italy had lost itself in artificial intricacies. Tiie reputa- 
 tion of tlie composer rested entirely on tricks and feats of 
 art, in the performance of which, the meaning of the words 
 was wliolly disregarded. Many of the Miusses were little 
 else than variations of well-known profane airs. The Coun- 
 cil of Trent, in 15G2, made a decree against music of this 
 description, and there were tliose wlio undertook a reform in 
 this regard. Palestrina did much to improve tlie music of 
 the choirs, but he did nothing that contributed in the least 
 degree to popularize sacred music. Hymnology itself was 
 forsaken by the Divine Spirit. The devotional verse of the 
 earlier fathers was fraught witli the experiences of the re- 
 newed heart ; the savor of the sacrifice testified to the 
 
248 Congregational Singing, [April, 
 
 heavenly origin of the flame that flung it aloft and abroad. 
 But now the hymn was addressed to a cross, or to an image 
 of the Madonna, and was as cold and breathless as the stone 
 or the iron which it adored. It descanted long and wearily 
 on the attributes of tlie idol, but gave forth no note that 
 spoke of the soul of the worshipper. The senses drew the 
 heart after them trailing in the dust. 
 
 How the mind is refreshed as it turns from these thirsty 
 hymns to the deep fountains of Moravian melody. It is 
 the music of living waters once more. It is the hallelujah 
 of the heart, sung by many congregated voices. It is no 
 longer man's lips, but God's works that praise Him. The 
 hymns of the United Brethren every where breathe tones of 
 kindness and compassion, love and gratitude. They every 
 where speak to the heart of the poor and the meek ; they 
 have a note for every mood of gracious experience, and ev- 
 ery event of Christian life. They were born, not of the 
 cliorists, but of the social prayer meeting, and of the great 
 congregation. They have ever remained with their kin- 
 dred. Whitefield and the Wesley s afforded them a large 
 place in their sympathies, and gave them out to be sung in 
 their meetings. Wliitefield was decidedly averse to the ca- 
 thedral m.usic of liis day, and to ^'the linked sweetness 
 long drawn out," of the parochial psalmody of England. 
 He would not suffer a bar of it to be warbled in his taber- 
 nacle. He thought the lively ballad airs of secular origin, 
 more suitable to the joy and gladness of the new-born soul. 
 He declared that it was shameful to praise God in the drawl- 
 ing strains of the Church, and downright sacrilege to allow 
 the devil the monopoly of all the jubilant music. John 
 Wesley was equally persuaded of the necessity of a musical 
 revival, which sliould give utterance to the new experiences 
 of his converts. Happening one day to hear a sailor sing- 
 ing in the street, it struck him that the melody he was pour- 
 ing forth would, above all others, suit the words of some of 
 his hymns, and greatly delight and edify the people. Know- 
 ing how to v/rite music, he wrote down the notes on the 
 spot, introduced them into his meetings, and alw^ays de- 
 clared, that it was the most solemn and appropriate of all 
 
1858.] Congregational Singing, 249 
 
 the tunes which were sung hy his followers. The churches 
 of the Methodist connection have always ahounded in sacred 
 sonnets. Of no other denomination can it he so emphat- 
 ically said, '^The joy of the Lord is your strength." 
 Their mountain path ever breaks forth into singing. They 
 do not forget that the gospel first fell on the ears of Beth- 
 lehem shepherds in notes of heavenly song, and they tliink 
 that it now deserves rather to be sung than preached. 
 How many of their converts owe their first warning or 
 invitation to the clioruses of their congregations? Their 
 social music has done much to make their religion a sunny 
 and gladsome religion. Does any doubt? His brethren 
 resolve all his doubts with a hymn. Is any disconsolate, 
 or lukewarm, or fearful? From hundreds of according 
 voices his heart receives and applies the remedy. Painful 
 are their searchings of heart, agonizing are their prayers, 
 great is the heaviness of their souls, as they look on a 
 world full of sin ; but on casting up the account of good 
 and evil, they find a large balance in favor of doxologies 
 and hallelujahs. Tliey scatter all the mystery of human 
 woe, the moment they catch tlie strain of ''^ blest voices 
 uttering joy." 
 
 The great awakening in the days of Jonathan Edwards, 
 like that of all living nature on a summer's morning, was 
 attended by general song. Those who were as yet only 
 dreamers, and knew not what they said, muttered some- 
 thing against the singing of ^' hymns of human compos- 
 ure," instead of the Psalms of David. But Edwards 
 defended the practice in a masterly manner, and was of 
 opinion, that to complain of this kind of singing too much 
 resembles the Pharisees, who were disgusted when the mul- 
 titude of the disciples began to rejoice, and with loud voices 
 to praise God, and cry ** Hosanna " when Christ was enter- 
 ing into Jerusalem. 
 
 In tliis view all '^ evangelists " and revivalists concur. 
 However widely remot<3 the times and the countries wlierein 
 they have flourished, they have been as one in iiushing 
 choirs and instrumental music, and in creating a taste for 
 plain, lively and familiar hymns. They have solemnly 
 6 
 
250 Congregational Singing, [April, 
 
 declared tliat tlie Divine Spirit is very jealous of every 
 thing that sounds like the orchestra, and that the effect of 
 a sermon may he utterly neutralized by fashionable church 
 music. Christmas Evans, speaking of the English Bap- 
 tists, puts forth opinions which are shared by all ministers 
 of similar character. *^ Are they aware," writes he, ^*that 
 tlie spirit of revival is quite as independent as they are? 
 Our English brethren will have their own way ; so with the 
 spirit of revival. It is as the lightning flashing from the 
 throne of Jehovah, and is very jealous. What may be 
 deemed in England very trifling — the sound of an organ or 
 a fiddle in the house of God, instead of men and women 
 with contrite hearts singing his praises, or formal sermons 
 without Christ in them, or long prayers without faith, 
 would be sufficient to offend the spirit of revival^ and cause 
 it to depart, like the glory from Israel of old." 
 
 Nettleton's conscientious care in providing for his converts 
 hymns which would fan instead of quelling the heavenly 
 flame, is well known, and will long be kept in memory by 
 his excellent collection of '' Village Hymns." All are prob- 
 ably familiar with other more recent illustrations of the 
 same tendency.* 
 
 Now facts like these are not to be flung aside as unworthy 
 of consideration. Is it indeed true that the Holy Ghost 
 chooses his own verse and his own music ? Is it true that 
 many of those who are first allured into the sanctuary by 
 the enchantments of choir and organ, are no sooner con- 
 verted, than all these polished and complacent sounds are 
 counted as so much Chinese discord? Is it true that when 
 a church is all melted with compassion for perishing sin- 
 ners, they naturally call to one another, in congregational 
 song, to rally to the rescue? Is it true that it is chiefly in 
 such song that they celebrate the conquests and the tri- 
 
 *''The Hymn and Tune Bool','' beinjj; the expurgated and enlarged edi- 
 tion of the Plymouth Collection, lately published by Messrs. Sheldon, 
 Blakonian & Co., New York, is worthy of mention in this connection. 
 It is tlie largest collection in the world, containing sixteen hundred hymns 
 and f<»ur hundred tunes. But what is better, it is full of those dearly 
 beloved fiuilts, which critics have been long laboring to correct, to the 
 great affliction of the old, and to the no small sophistication of the young 
 
1858.] Congregational Singing. 251 
 
 umplis of regenerating grace ? Is it true, that when ye 
 hear the sighings of tliis wind-harp, it is tlie Spirit who is 
 abroad, and *' ye hear the sound thereof?" Is it ever true 
 that tlie aged Christian, who has survived many spiritual 
 vicissitudes, when laid aside from spiritual duty, and, it 
 may he, lying on the bed of deatli, recollects and sings 
 these hymns with undecayed raptures, or if, through infirm- 
 ity, no longer able to sing, says to his attendants : 
 
 " Give me that piece of song, 
 That old and antique 8ong we heard last night, 
 Methouf^iit it did relieve my passion much 
 JNlore than light airs and recollected terms 
 Of these most brisk and giddy-patcd times. 
 It is old and plain." 
 
 But we are told that the revival state of the Church is 
 not her normal and ordinary state — that for the greater 
 part of tlie time the experience of her members is of a dif- 
 ferent description, and seeks utterance in another language, 
 and that it is not the conversion of sinners, but their own 
 edification, which must chiefly engage their thoughts and 
 shape their endeavors. But this does not in the least trench 
 upon our main position, that the triumphs of the Divine 
 Spirit over the hearts of the unregenerated have usually been 
 attended by congregational singing. That some churches 
 may keep too closely to revival hymns must be conceded. 
 And yet there is nothing in the practice of congregational 
 singing itself, that forbids the use of hymns tliat are better 
 adapted to the Church's march and encampment, than to 
 her day of battle in ^^ the valley of decision." So far from 
 it, we may very naturally conclude that the kind of church 
 music which is the language and instrument of the Spirit 
 in regeneration, will be equally the language and instru- 
 ment of the Spirit in sanctification, where the hymns are 
 selected purposely to furtlier the latter object. More than 
 this, if congregational music has helped to intrench some 
 churches in narrow and insufficient views of tlieir mission, 
 would not this same music be e(|ually potent to draw them 
 out into the broad field of Christian exertion? If this moral 
 power be innocent in itself— and it must be admitted that it 
 
252 Congregational Singing, [-^P^^^^ 
 
 is — why should it not he attached to hymns whose direct 
 aim is to promote the growtli of every Christian grace? 
 
 Most choirs fail to edify tlie mass of church-goerSj partly 
 from want of devotional feeling among their memhership, 
 and partly from the obligation and necessity laid upon them 
 to maintain their reputation as musical performers. Both 
 these causes conspire to make choir music a mere fine art, 
 which is to be judged of only by a3sthetical laws. So long 
 as they are acquitted by these, they think they have nothing 
 to fear from those who regard sacred music from higher 
 grounds. Hence these singers suppose they have nothing 
 to do but stick to their time and their tune, without indulg- 
 ing any burst of feeling inspired at the moment by some 
 turn in the strain, or any sudden pathos to bring the tear 
 into the eye, or any mounting away like the lark, as the 
 soul, expanding with jubilant melody, soars to meet the 
 sunrise of heavenly truth. Exposed to a remorseless crit- 
 icism, they dare not, if they would, venture on the inspira- 
 tions of right feeling. They do not stand in awe of the few 
 persons of a different taste, who say : '' What is the use of 
 your voluntaries, your preludes, and your interludes ? What 
 possible sympathy can I have with a solo where a female, 
 with unabashed front, stands up in the presence of a full 
 congregation, and, with out-stretched neck, screams above 
 the voice of the multitude and the swell of the organ, like a 
 sea-gull in a tempest?" 
 
 The prevailing spirit of most choirs is sadly at war with 
 the proper objects of public worship. The members being 
 for the greater part young, and abandoned to the gaieties^ 
 if not the vices of youth, and meeting to entertain the con- 
 o-regation, rather than to seek any spiritual good, frequently 
 give no attention to any otlier part of the service, and be- 
 have as if the Christian religion were of no personal conse- 
 quence to them. Any one who has frequented their rehear- 
 sals, and been witness to their levities on such occasions, 
 when the joke passed merrily around, and the loud laugh 
 reverberated through the sanctuary, will not wonder that 
 they have lost all reverence for the holy place, and that 
 they are stupidly insensible to the indecorums they commit 
 
1858.] Congregational Singing. 253 
 
 at every service — indecorums that have, perhaps, for months 
 excited the remark and the disgust of the congregation, and 
 especially of the minister, who, from his position in the 
 pulpit, is compelled to face the entire scene of disorder and 
 profanation. * 
 
 The chorister and organist, who ought to he exam])les to 
 the rest, are engaged with sole I'eference to their musical 
 attainments, and if they have a reputation in the fashion- 
 ahle world as vocalists and pianists^ so much the w^orse. 
 Their manner of lile as professors of music is too well known 
 to need any description from us. Their days are employed 
 in teaching fashionable songs, many of whose very titles are 
 startling to those who have been accustomed to regard art 
 and literature in their moral and religious bearings — songs 
 fraught with delirious passion — the heart-breakings, the 
 heart-burnings, tlie moans and weepings of a sentiment too 
 gross to be romantic, and too grovelling to be poetic. Their 
 nights are passed at the opera, at the theatre, at the fash- 
 ionable party, or at the last ^^ Grand Musical Festival," 
 at whicli they cannot shine unless they are familiar with 
 the devils of Der Freischutz, and the last comic, political 
 and bacchanal song of the day. Is it to be expected that 
 men who have passed six clays amid such demoralizing influ- 
 ences, will ajjpear in tlieir place on the seventh, prepared to 
 sing with grace, *^ making melody in their hearts unto the 
 Lord?" When Leonardo Justiniano had inundated Italy 
 with his love songs, he was able indeed to avert the thun- 
 derbolts of excommunication, by composing an equal number 
 of hymns in honor of the holy Virgin, but the long prosti- 
 tution of his genius was a poor preparation for any truly 
 Christian performance. The Italian painters and sculptors 
 who one day worked on a Cupid or a Bacchus, and the next 
 on an angel or an apostle, gave their angels tlie airs of a 
 Cupid, and their apostles the colors and proportions of a 
 Bacchus. It is, accordingly, no wonder that these profess- 
 ors of music sliould shed the malign influence of tlieir daily 
 vocation over tlieir part of the Sunday services ; that they 
 should perform choruses and duets from operas, adapted to 
 Te Demn and JubilantCj and that they should play the 
 
254 Co7igregatio7idl Singing. [April, 
 
 *' Fairy's Dance " from La Bayadere as a voluntary while 
 the congregation are retiring. 
 
 Now if, instead of such ungodly organists, choristers, 
 and choirs, we liad such as felt that a spiritual as well 
 as artificial preparation is needed in leading the devotions 
 of the worshippers, such as would form a hahit of coming 
 to their places directly from secret or social prayer, what an 
 ally of moral and sj)iritual forces would thus he hrought 
 into the service of the churches of our land. Merely to 
 listen to the music of such choirs would greatly edify the 
 most spiritual person. The music purged of all operatic 
 and theatrical associations, would he marked hy such a holy 
 dignity and simplicity as would give the fittest expression to 
 the psalm or hymn, and so find a prompt response in the 
 experience of every pious heart. When choirs can thus 
 claim kindred to that which sang over the sheep-folds of 
 Bethlehem_, then may the shepherds hear without joining 
 the song ; when choirs thus hreathe the atmosphere of 
 heaven, and Ijieir prayers are smoking in the celestial cen- 
 ser, then may St. John give ear in silence, while they cry, 
 *' Worthy is the Lamb that was slain." 
 
 But worldly and unspiritual as most choirs now are, it is 
 to be feared that there is such a corresponding decline of 
 piety, and such a lack of musical training in our congrega- 
 tions, that little would be gained at present by committing 
 the singing to the latter exclusively. Wlien the Jews had 
 no smiths among them, they Avere compelled to go down to 
 the Philistines to sharpen their shares and coulters. The 
 choirs must, in many churches^ still hold their place, wliile 
 they ought no longer to be regarded as alone responsible 
 for the part of worship in question^ or as any other than 
 leaders and ministrants of congregational music. Those 
 who compose and give out hymns must still place much 
 reliance on the Asaphs of our choirs, for any thing like 
 fitness and skill in the musical worship of the people. 
 
 The cause of congregational singing would suifer less from 
 the silencing of instrumental music, particularly that of the 
 organ. The organ is chiefly prejudicial to the music we are 
 commending, because of its exclusiveness, and of its mil- 
 
1858.] Congregational Singing. 255 
 
 itating against verbal articulation. Its sounds, like tliose 
 of all other instruments, can never coalesce with those of 
 the human voice, nor can tliey cause tliose of the congrega- 
 tion to blend among themselves. Its imperial thunders are 
 ever drowning the words of the hymn, even where they do 
 not altogether swallow up all vocal sounds. In a chorus of 
 voices well tuned and thoroughly trained, it is easy to 
 attain to complete harmony. Open an organ upon them, 
 and the unity and concord are in a considerable degree 
 broken. The harmony of the choir may indeed itself be 
 preserved, but it cannot, along with the organ, form one 
 grand body of harmony. But it will be said that, how 
 much soever the organ may break the general harmony, it 
 more than atones for this by the force and energy it imparts 
 to the voices of the congregation. But the fact is, that 
 where any considerable number of the people will sing, no 
 such assistance can be needed. They will have force and 
 energy enough of their own. It is only the feeble choir, 
 unsupported by the people, that can need this auxiliary. 
 
 We are told, however, that instrumental music, as a part 
 of divine worship, can be justified by Scripture precept and 
 example. This we ^ rant. But we do not concede that all 
 kinds of musical instruments, and all kinds of playing, can 
 claim the support of Divine authority. It would be suffi- 
 ciently difficult to prove that the Levitical service admitted 
 any such instrument as the modern organ ; or if it can be 
 proved that the trumpets that were used were equally clam- 
 orous, it would be hard to show that the trumpeters ever 
 sounded their notes simultaneously with the singing. It is 
 not probable that the Levitical bands would have had the 
 boldness to destroy the sense of the Psalms of David, as most 
 of our organists have the hardihood to do. Timotheus, the 
 Lacedemonian, being condemned for admitting, contrary to 
 law, more than seven strings to his lyre, the executioner 
 was on the point of cutting away the new strings, when the 
 musician, happening to discover a statue of Apollo with as 
 many strings upon his lyre, showed it to the judges, and 
 was acquitted. The advocates of instrumental music might, 
 no doubt, be quite as shrewd and successful in finding 
 
256 Congregational Singing, [April, 
 
 divine authority for the use of a great number of instruments 
 in divine worship. But they seem at present disposed to con- 
 tent themselves with one large instrument, and so make up 
 in dimensions what they lack in numbers. We submit 
 whether tbis is an improvement on the Levitical system. 
 If instruments must still be tolerated, let them ba smaller 
 and more numerous. Let them be dispersed in various 
 parts of the congregation, and be kept strictly subservient 
 to the singing. The suggestion has something better than 
 novelty to recommend it. Such a system of instruments, 
 fitly chosen and skillfully played, would, in our judgment, 
 avoid the derelictions which we have ascribed to the organ^ 
 besides being 2:>ositively helpful to the singing of the congre- 
 gation. 
 
 Tlie general neglect of congregational singing, and the 
 abandonment of sacred music to choirs, have exerted an un- 
 friendly influence both on hymn-writers and musical compo- 
 sers, who have conspired to please the ear, at the expense of 
 all the higher attributes of sacred music. 
 
 They have, in the first place, swerved from that simpli- 
 city of purpose without which men cannot work freely or 
 successfully. Take, for proof of this, what has come to 
 pass in the kindred art of painting. So long as the paint- 
 ers were pious men, and kept to the single intention of ex- 
 pressing sacred truth and Christian experience, they put 
 forward their subject in the foremost place, and kept artistic 
 excellences in due subordination. They were so earnest in 
 their love of truth, that they often showed a noble scorn of 
 the beauties and graces of tlieir art. Then it was that they 
 gained a powerful hold on the hearts of the common people: 
 for they ennobled their handiwork by wedding it to noble sub- 
 jects. Identifying themselves Avith tlie cause of religion, 
 they deservedly shared her triumphs. But the moment 
 their degenerate successors made heauty the object of art, 
 they began to lose their dignity and their power. By de- 
 grees, slow at first, but soon very rapid, they alienated from 
 them all the sympathies of the people. None but men of 
 taste and refinement could appreciate, or affect to appre- 
 ciate, all that was of any value in their works, namely, mere 
 
1858.] Congregatwmd Singing, 257 
 
 matters of drawing, coloring, chiaroscuro^ and foreshort- 
 ening. It has been said that one reason why the ancient 
 musicians wrought sucli wonders by their skill, was that 
 they singly aimed to excite some particular passion, affect- 
 ion or emotion, and made the whole force of their art bend 
 to this one purpose. Had they, like most moderns, merely 
 sought to please the ear by a sweet blending of parts and 
 voices, cadences and concords, they might have accomplished 
 an object so mean and mercenary, but they could not have 
 gone farther, and moved the deep passions of the human 
 soul, or spoken a language that would l^ave been heard and 
 heeded by our common nature, whether rude or cultivated.* 
 This lack of simplicity of purpose leads, in the second 
 place, to a lack of tliat plainness in the music which a congre- 
 gation requires. When music becomes complex and arti- 
 ficial, it ceases to be understood or appreciated by any except 
 2)rofessors and amateurs. There may be, in many parts, 
 too wide a compass, and too quick transitions of voice^ to 
 enlist the feelings of the people. Nice and skillful turns, 
 and subtle harmonies, are quite beyond their taste and their 
 comprehension. A full appreciation of melody and rythm 
 may exist, where the faculty of comprehending and receiv- 
 ing pleasure i'rom complicated harmonies is wanting or dor- 
 mant. Pope, Johnson, Scott and Byron, could none of 
 them find pleasure in the mazy involutions of modern mu- 
 sic, while to simple rythm and melody they were highly 
 susceptible. Some of the most eminent composers, when 
 left to consult their own taste, and to follow the unbribed 
 feelings of their own hearts, produced compositions very dif- 
 ferent from those which were the offspring of tlieir ambition 
 or their selfisliness. When Stradella, Scarlatti and Bonon- 
 cini studied for their own delight, they did not produce 
 
 * Gliick was of opinion that tlie ;;roat fault that I'ornipts an«l <lel»ilitatefl 
 all arts, is that of overlooking the proper object of art. The p(»et hlind 
 to nature, fails to interest, because his vei'scs are more the language of 
 the head than of the heart ; the painter bent on imprnvin;:, mther than 
 being improved by nature, becomes false, and therefore unaffeitinp. The 
 musician aims at fulness and brilliancy, and therefore satiates and fa- 
 tigues the ear, without moving the soul. 
 
258 Congregational Singing. [April, 
 
 songs or airs calculated to astonish the hearers with the 
 tricks o£ the singer, but cantatas and duets, of which the 
 sweetness of the melody, and the just expression of fine po- 
 etical sentiments, are their principal praise. If there was 
 any thing in which they displayed mere art, it was perhaps 
 a madrigal for four or five voices, where the various excel- 
 lences of the melody and harmony were so united as to leave 
 a lasting impression on the mind. The same may he said 
 of Handel. A music which pleases only the educated and 
 the refined, will ever beget an afiectation for yet another 
 kind of music^ which really pleases nobody, but which is 
 patronized and praised solely because it happens to be in 
 fashion . 
 
 The simplest kind of church music is the chant, in its 
 plain and ancient form. It is strange that those who are 
 now endeavoring to restore singing to the congregation, 
 should not have considered how suited to their purpose are 
 the chants of antiquity. Denominational prejudice may 
 cause some to eschew the chant. Such may overcome their 
 scruples, by reflecting that they are not merely following 
 the Puseyite choir, that sings it in the church on the other 
 side of the park, but also the congregations that sang in the 
 Greek churches more than a thousand years ago. And if 
 they will make their selections from the plainest chants, 
 they may encourage themselves with the thought that they 
 are, in this regard, nearer primitive simplicity than their 
 neighbors are. Nay, even more ; they will put to silence 
 the professors of music, who say that to chant well is very 
 difficult, and that nothing is so ludicrous as the attempt of 
 a congregation to scramble through the chant.* Such re- 
 marks can only apply to the most artificial of modern 
 
 " Rev. John Jebl), in his work on the Choral Service of the Church of 
 En;;1and, sjiys: " A ^roat anxiety is often shown so to regulate the reci- 
 tative, as that each word and syllable may be pronounced at the same time 
 by the whole choir. But it is not desirable to enforce any such rule. A 
 certain degree of license ought to be ])ormitted to each singer, so as to allow 
 of that devotional freed(mi and elasticity which gives so much life to the 
 chant, and whicli distinguishes it froju metrical psalmody. This is (juite 
 consistent with suflRcient distinctness; and, I confess, I should l)e sorry to 
 exchange for a correct, but tame and mechanical performance, that majestic 
 roll of the chant which resembles the voice of many waters." 
 
1858.] Confjregaticytial Sinfjinfj. 259 
 
 chants. The ancient chants are the simplest music known, 
 and consist of a very few notes perpetually recurring. In 
 many of the dissenting churches of England, the whole 
 congregation are found competent to join in the strains of 
 Fanal and Tallis, and the lines of the Gregorian chant. 
 The pitch should not be so high that most of the congrega- 
 tion cannot comfortably reach it, nor so low, that those who 
 are so disposed might not make use of its octave. Though 
 chanting is no difficult feat of art, it may not be wisest to 
 commence with it ; for the reason that most people are less 
 familiar with it than with florid and complex tunes. One 
 means of rendering it more popular would be to adapt it to 
 some of those old hymns which, though rough and irregular, 
 maintain the mastery of popular feeling. 
 
 Next to the chant, tunes of long or common metre are 
 best adapted to the use of congregations. Of this class Old 
 Hundred is the standard and model. Among its merits, its 
 admirable melody, and its capability of admitting a great 
 variety of harmony are not the least. After this, such tunes 
 as St. Martin's, Elgin, Warwick, Mear, Bath, Litchfield 
 and Little Marlborough, are worthy of mention, as admi- 
 rably suited to general song. All great bodies move slowly, 
 and the tunes that are designed for the mass of the congre- 
 gation must be of a deliberate character, abounding in mi- 
 nims and semibreves, rather than in crotchets and quavers. 
 It is a remarkable fact, that some of the old long metre 
 tunes have of late years been altered to quicker time, with 
 a view to make them more acceptable to modern choirs, and 
 more conformable to i\\Q notion that, if you set a congrega- 
 tion to singing in slow time, they are sure to *^ drag." But 
 we submit whether this " dragging " be not the result of a 
 common ignorance of the old long metre tunes — a result to 
 which choirs, by rarely singing them, have greatly contrib- 
 uted ; for want of practice, and forgetful ness, are as potent 
 a cause of ** dragging " in choirs as in congregations. Be- 
 sides, it will ever hold good that the demand fur florid and 
 lively tunes is proportional to the want of deep and serious 
 feeling. The lack of momentum must, it is thought, be 
 made up by an increase of velocity. When this is not 
 
260 Congregational Singing, [April, 
 
 found sufficient, noise and extravagance are added. Now 
 whao is tlie cliaracter of that music whicli Milton describes 
 
 as 
 
 ** Able to create a soul 
 Even under the ribs of death V 
 
 Is it the cry of the fireman, or the bawl of tbe huckster ? 
 No, no. It is 
 
 ** A soft and solemn breathing sound '' 
 
 — a description of music that strikingly corresponds to the 
 productions of the grand masters of song. Whether trans- 
 ported with joy and gladness, or overwhelmed with sorrow, 
 the soul ought nevertheless to repose free and happy in the 
 outpourings of its melody. Such is the nature of all the 
 best sacred music. Such is the melodious expression of Pa- 
 lestrina, Durante, Lotti, Pergolese, Gluck, Haydn and Mo- 
 zart. The serene calri of the soul is never disturbed in the 
 compositions of these great masters. 
 
 But it will be asked, are not a rapid and loud utterance 
 the natural expression of feeling? Our reply is, yes, 
 feeling of a certain kind, but what we want in music is not 
 mere bursts of feeling, but those things that cause feeling. 
 Here is a principle equally important to the composer and 
 the orator, — a principle generally disregarded by both ; and 
 for this reason, perhaps, that the common people, who can 
 never be made to comprehend it, would not set a proper 
 value on their productions, were they to study in the light 
 of it. The most pathetic orators have always been calm 
 and tearless themselves. They know that the logic of the 
 heart never jumps to its conclusions ; they know that it is 
 by slow and quiet processes that the fountains of feeling are 
 fed from the deep reservoirs of the soul. In the most an- 
 cient music of the Church, in the Crucijixus, for example, 
 the pathos does not consist in the metrical and musical ut- 
 terance of the grief which the contemplation of the Passion 
 inspires, but in profound thoughts awakened concerning our 
 Lord betrayed, arrested, condemned, crucified and laid in 
 the tomb. The power is laid in the calm meditations which 
 are unrolled in the course of the harmony and the melody. 
 
1858.] Congregatiaiial Singing. 201 
 
 To understand this principle, we have hut to reflect that the 
 woe felt hy our Lord's first disciples, when they saw him 
 crucified, could not have been what it was, without prepa- 
 ration. Their hearing his sweet discourses, their oehohling 
 the miracles he had wrought for their benefit, the enjoying 
 of his presence and his friendship on the dusty road^ in the 
 field, on the mountain, in the cottage, and on the sea ; the 
 knowledge he had imparted, the hopes he had inspired — 
 these and a thousand other circumstances made up the in- 
 gredients in their cup of sorrow. So it is the proper work 
 of the composer, the poet and the orator who v,^ouid be pa- 
 thetic, to ripen and mellow the hearts of others, rather than 
 to demonstrate to them that, as their own hearts are already 
 ripe and mellow, so should those of their audience be in tlie 
 same state. 
 
 A tliird cause of the moral impotency of modern choir 
 music, is the neglect of articulation. We refer now more 
 especially to the distinct rendering of the words of tlie 
 psalm or hymn. One principal reason why the rude music 
 of antiquity wrought sucli wonders is, that it was married 
 to verse, and that its chief aim was to give every syllable and 
 word a just and worthy expression. It is probable that tlie 
 power of all music is principally owing to the poetic sug- 
 gestions it starts, or to its awakening the recollection of the 
 verses with which its strains are somehow associated in the 
 mind. We are, it is true, told of music that has exercised 
 lordship over savage beasts. In such instances it certainly 
 was not the poetry that charmed. But it is one thing for 
 music to subdue beasts, and quite another for it to charm 
 men. To master a reasonable being by music, it is neces- 
 sary that it should either give utterance to some poetic sen- 
 timent, or excite to the origination of poetic sentiment. 
 We have seen that the reformers sacrificed choir, or^'an, and 
 all melody and harmony to the distinct and accurate express- 
 ion of every word of the psalm or hymn. They liad more 
 faith in the power of inspired verse, than in all the witch- 
 eries of melodious sounds. Did they lose aught of edifica- 
 tion by this sacrifice? Not they. Too well w^ere they 
 versed in all gracious experiences, and too familiar were 
 
262 Congregational Singing. [April, 
 
 they with all the influences that becloud or brighten them. 
 The temptation is strong to disregard the text when it is 
 expressed ever so well, but it is stronger when a painful at- 
 tention is necessary to catch the words. Augustine, who 
 had often heard the Ambrosian chant in its primeval purity, 
 says: ''When the music affects me more than the subject 
 of the song, I confess that I sin grievously, and then I wish 
 not to hear the singer." Who does not know, that some- 
 times the mere reading of psalms and hymns to a congre- 
 gation has roused deep religious feeling, and kindled the 
 flame of holy and earnest devotion? Now shall all this 
 spiritual power be lost for the sake of catering to the taste 
 of a few dilettanti f 
 
 It is, we know, a maxim received by all composers, that 
 nothing is so melodious as nonsense. Hence it is that 
 thought is so sparsely sprinkled over modern song, and that 
 all hymns are too harsh and stubborn to be articulated by 
 the choirs of these times. How grievously are the best 
 hymns tortured and mangled, as if to murder sacred poetry 
 were the consummation of fine art. To describe the process 
 were to tell again the old story of Orpheus torn in pieces 
 by the Thracian women, under the rage and excitement of 
 their Bacchanalian orgies. A general return to congre- 
 gational singing would, we humbly conceive^ correct this 
 great and growing abuse. 
 
 As the proper language of the religious emotions, singing 
 should be practiced by all who are not physically discapaci- 
 tated for this part of Divine worship. If we neglect the 
 musical utterance of devout feeling, we abandon it to sure 
 and deplorable decay. Whence is the general lamentation 
 of lukewarmness? May it not spring, partially at least, 
 from the habitual neglect of the duty of singing the praises 
 of the Lord. As an exercise for the holy passions, there is 
 no other part of worship that can supply the place of this 
 sacred music. 
 
 The influences of congregational music are the most fit- 
 ting symbol of those of the Divine Spirit. Both are 
 mysterious, enrapturing and resistless, and both are otl- 
 cn so blended, that it is not easy to regard them apart. 
 
1858.] Congregational Singing. 263 
 
 They bear some resemblance to the same Divine Being in 
 his spiritual substance, for they seem to enter into the very 
 soul, and diffuse satisfaction and delight over all its facul- 
 ties. 
 
 As a means of grace, congregational music is both com- 
 mon and effectual. How often has the Divine Spirit re- 
 stored the harp of tlie soul to holy symphony, wliile He was 
 striking its discordant strings in the services of the sanctu- 
 ary. We recollect having seen at Rome a painting by one 
 of the Bassani, the subject of which was the angels appear- 
 ing to the shepherds of Bethlehem. Some of the shepherds 
 were roused from their slumbers by the celestial glory that 
 shone upon them, others by the anthem of the heavenly 
 host. This last idea was to us as poetic as it was truthful. 
 We know that some are spiritually awakened by the light 
 of the gospel, while others who have a more sensitive frame, 
 are startled by its music. That Being wlio deliglits to glorify 
 His almightiness by vanquishing the greatest by the help 
 of the smallest, has often bidden a mere song be stronger 
 than the strong man armed. 
 
265 Qaalifications for the Lord^a Supper. [April, 
 
 Article V,— QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE LORD'S 
 
 SUPPER. 
 
 Terms of Communion ^ iviih a particular view to the case of 
 the Baptists and Pedohoptists. By Rev. Robert Hall^ 
 A.M. (Published in 1815.) 
 
 Communion: the Distinction between Christian and Church 
 Fellowship, and hetioeen Communion and its Symbols, dtc.j 
 etc. By T. F. Curtis, A.M., Professor of Theology, 
 Howard College, Ala. Philadelphia : American Baptist 
 Publication Society. 1850. 
 
 Open Communion ; or, the Principles of Restrictive Commun- 
 ion Examined and proved to be Unscriptural and False, 
 dc, dc. By S. W. Whitney^ A.M., late Pastor of the 
 Baptist Church, Westport, N. Y. M. W. Dodd. 1853. 
 
 Between Baptists and Pedobaptists there is strictly no 
 difference as to what is called Close Communion ; since the 
 latter, as much as the former, close the door to the Lord's 
 table against all whom they regard as unba^otized. Be- 
 tween them, then, the whole controversy turns upon the 
 question, " What is baptism?" Accordingly, with intelli- 
 gent and strict Pedobaptists, the argumentum ad hominem, 
 which assumes that baptism is a prerequisite to the Supper, 
 is alw.iys sufficient to silence objection to Baptist practice 
 with reference to Communion, and throw the discussion 
 back, where it properly belongs, to the Baptismal question.* 
 
 * We propose, for the sake of completeness, to sustain, by quotations 
 from various eminent Pedobaptists, as well as from several denomina- 
 tional creeds, our statement as to the position occupied by the Pedoliap- 
 tist world on this subject. Many of these quotations are furnished ready 
 tr our use in the works of Howell and Taylor. And, first, we may simply 
 refer to a number of accredited writers, representing every age, from that 
 immediately succeeding the apostolic, to the present time. 
 
 "Justin Martyr wrote about A. D. 150, not more than fifty years after 
 the death of tlie Apostle John Cn the subject before us Apol. 2, 
 p. 1G*J, apud Suicerus — he says : " This food is called by us the Eucha- 
 rist, of wliich it is not lawfulYor any to partake, but such as believe tho 
 things that are taught by us to be true, and have been baptized." 
 
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 RECEIPTS WILL BE ENCLOSED IN THE NUMBER SUCCEEDING THE 
 PAYMENT. 
 
 All letters must be addressed " Christian Review, Baltimore, Md." 
 
OPINIONS OP THE PRESS. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN REVIEW HAS .AN HONORABLE HISTORY.-Thc number is not 
 small who have been its Cv.ustant readers ever since it was started. The first number of 
 If*.?* is as worthy of lienisal now, as when first iTi-iuted. It has collected and preserved a 
 body of literature, much Jiaving a h storical and clenominational value, which else had been 
 iost. We need it to-day as much, and more, than ever. It cannot be dispensea with ; it meets, 
 better far llian any other Quarterly, the wants of our ministry and membership.— I ra<c-V 
 man and Hc^flcctor, Boiton, 
 
 We hope to. see llio Review more extensively circulated in the Western States. It is invalu- 
 able to ministers, and to all who prize a pure and vigorous denominational literature. — Wester r. 
 Watchman, St. Louia, Missouri. 
 
 This Baptist Quarterly has been the vehicle for the prodiictions of jnany of our ablest thoolo 
 elans and writers. It lias now lallen into the hands ol those wlio Avill not Vtrniit it to deteriorate 
 irom its well earned reputation. Baltimore, from its central position, is tlie most favorable 
 location that could be srlccted for a periodical intended to siibsevve tlie interests of the whole 
 ilcuomination, North, South, East and West. — litligious Herald, Kichmond, Va. -^ 
 
 We have the fullest confidence in the ability and disposition of the new proprietors, to make 
 tlie work in every respect what it should be as a Christian licvicv', leflecting honor on 
 lliemselves, on tlie" churches, and the cau^e of Christ generally. Wc hope the pastors and 
 the membership, both North and South, will feel the deepest interest in the future history 
 of this dencniinational Mork, and by tlieir communications and contributions, do what they 
 can to make it a noble thing, justly ranking with that issued at A ndover, under the auspices 
 of that sclioolof the Prophets. This work has b'<t>n in e.sistenco twenty-one years. It has 
 maintained a high char;'.cter, in a literary and theological point of xiow, and has .justly won 
 iho warm approVal of all tranches of-the Christian Church. It ought to be regarded as a nation- 
 al work, knowing nothing of a sectional nature ; and as such ought to be generously circulated 
 both North and South.-- We wish it the highest success, and shall over welcoine it to our table 
 and treat it with all the respect of an old and valued Iriend. We hope no subscriber will wit i- 
 tiraw his name because emigrated to a more southern latitude.— C/ou/m/i Chronick,Philadrlphia. 
 
 This stately Review of twenty-two years standing, is now fairly domesticated as a literary 
 f entre lor the Baptist denominat'ion of this country. It deserves a national circulatiou, and a • 
 tliree-lold increase.— iSo!(//u/n hapdht, Lharlatvn, S. C. 
 
 We hope The Christian Rf view will still have the fostering support rf American Baptists.— 
 Of this it seems determined, in the new hands into which it lias passed, to show itself worthy. 
 — Watchman end llrjUctor, Boston, Mass. 
 
 TO CONTRIBUTORS. 
 
 1. Short articles arc nlwnvs preferred, and 7?fnVjr.<f, Kxcgt?c>. or Di:^CllSsious of 
 "Living?' Questions, ratlier tluin Essays on General Subjects. 
 
 '1. The Kditors nn.st be the sole judges as to the propriety of publishing articles 
 f^ubinitted, and as to the lime of their jiublicatiou. 
 
 3. Rejected i.rtit lis arc uct rtti;rntd, unless by special request. 
 

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