fitting that they be published and sung in churches instead of the old translation or not."1 On 28th December 1627, a patent was granted to Alexander of the copyright for a period of thirty-one years, in consideration of his work in revising them and seeing them through the press in 1632 they were sent down to Presbyteries, and were not well received; but Charles was obstinate, and under date 14th March 1637 the records of the Scottish Privy Council contain the following:-" Forasmeikle as the late Psalmes have by authority of the King his Majestie and the clergie of both Kingdoms been exactly revised and approvin, so that now his Majestie according to his pleasure formerly signified for receaving of the said Psalmes is fully resolved to have that worke goe on for the good of the Church and memorie of the author, thairfor the lords of secret Counsell according to his Majesties express will and pleasure signified unto them by writt hes discharged, and by tenor of this present act discharges all forder impression of the old psalmes as alswa the inbringing of the same from England or elliswhere to the intent the new psalmes may be imprintit and generallie receaved and sung in all the churches of this Kingdome, and the saids lords hes recommendit and be the tenor heirof recommends to the archbishop of St Andrews, Lord High Chancellor of the Kingdome, to call before him, or before the provost and baillies of burrows, the whole printers and stationers within this Kingdome and all others whom this matter may concerne, and to intimat unto them this act and ordinance, and to require thame to conform themselffes and give obedience thereunto under the pane of confiscation of the whole bookes which shall be printed or imparted agains the tenor of this act, and ordains letters of publication to be direct heirupon if need bees in forme and effeirs. Follows his Majesties missive," &c. A curious effect, which we may probably trace to the introduction of this version of the Psalms, was the casting out of Hymns from the service of the Church of Scotland 1 Baillie, Letters, iii., 530. See also 'Alexander Hume,' by Rev. R. Menzies Ferguson, 1899. for more than one hundred years;1 and the almost total disuse to the present day of the metrical Doxology at the close whether of (metrical) Psalms or Hymns. The older Scottish Psalm-book contained no fewer than thirty-four different metrical renderings of "Glory be to the Father, &c.," to suit the great variety of metres in which the Psalms are given. It had also a number of Hymns, including a metrical version of "The Ten Commandment,” "A Prayer," "The Lord's Prayer" (in metre), "The Twelve Articles of the Christian Faith" (so, i.e., the Apostles' Creed),2 “Veni Creator” (in English), “The Humble Suit of a Sinner," "The Lamentation of a Sinner," "The Complaynt of a Sinner," "O Lord, in Thee is all my trust,” “The Song of the blessed Marie, called Magnificat," "3"The Song of Simeon, called Nunc dimittis,' "The Song of Moses, Deut. xxxii." (in six parts), and “A Thanksgiving after the Receiving of the Lord's Supper," which expresses an idea found in the Didaché, ix. 4— "And as the corns by unity Into one loaf are knit : So is the Lord and his whole Church Four lines from its version of Veni Creator may serve at once to conclude those Notes and to express the prayer 1 The first collection of the Paraphrases was printed in 1749: that still in use, with the five Hymns appended to it, dates from 1781. 2 The version printed at Aberdeen contains the verse referred to by Bishop Pearson (on the Creed):— "His Sprite did after this descend Of them that long in darkness were But the versions printed at Edinburgh are less expository :— "He thol'd the last assault of death Which did life's torments end: Thereafter he was buried, And did to hell descend." 3 This is the Aberdeen title: our Edinburgh edition has "The Song of the blessed Virgine Mary." with which the Editor undertook, and (as he humbly trusts) has carried out this work : "Of all strife and confusion, O Lord, dissolve the bands: And make the knots of peace and love THE END. PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS. |