in England, but also (with some unimportant variations") in the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, has long ceased to be known at all, except by means of the abuse and ridicule which for the last 200 years it has been the fashion to heap on it. Bishop Horsley claims, however, for this Old Version, the merit of being "an original translation from the Hebrew text, earlier by many years than the prose translation in the Bible; and, of all that are in any degree paraphrastic, as all in verse in some degree must be, the best and most exact to put into the hands of the common people." "The authors," he adds, "were little studious of the harmony of their numbers, or the elegance of their diction; but they were solicitous to give the full and precise sense of the sacred text, according to the best of their judgment, and their judgment, with the exception of some few passages, was very good." This, in its way, is high praise from such an authority as Horsley. Even as regards harmony and elegance, where these are wanting (as they often are), their place is not uncommonly more than supplied by a rugged force and spirit in the versification, which as a variety at least, is far from displeasing. Warton speaks as if the only lines in the Old Version rising above what he considers its prevailing poverty and meanness of style, are in the often quoted verses of Psalm xviii. :— "The Lord descended from above And bowed the heavens high; On cherubs and on cherubims And on the wings of all the winds These are certainly noble lines, well worthy of the high commendation of Dryden. But the old words of the Hundredth Psalm, beginning, "All people that on earth do dwell," etc., and which are reproduced to this day in so many modern collections, first appeared in Sternhold and Hopkins, having been See Livingstone's Preliminary Dissertations, prefixed to his interesting edition of The Scottish Psalter of 1635; and The Works of John Knox, edited by David Laing, vol. vi., p. 283. In some early Edinburgh editions of the Old Version, the Psalms were printed in the Scottish dialect. Translation of the Psalms, 2nd edit., vol. i., p. 11. Warton (History of English Poetry, vol. iii., p. 456,) ignorantly asserts that the translation of Sternhold and Hopkins was probably "altogether made from the Vulgate text, either in Latin or English," and talks (p. 460) of "the entire contexture of the prose version being literally transferred, unbroken and without transposition, allowing for the small deviations necessarily occasioned by the metre and rhyme." written by William Kethe. In like manner the long version of Psalm cxlv., "O Lord, thou art my God and King," and which is still used in some churches, was originally published in the Scotch edition of the same much-decried version. Very many of Sternhold and Hopkins' renderings have indeed been largely taken advantage of by more recent translators. Some very beautiful translations of particular Psalms may be found in the Psalm-book ascribed to King James the First, but the greater portion of which was certainly composed by Sir William Alexander, afterwards Earl of Stirling. The following is a specimen of this version, which James had expected to impose on the churches of England and Scotland: a purpose formed some years before the more successful attempt to introduce a new prose translation of the Holy Scriptures: PSALM LXIII. "O God, thou art my God, and shalt My soul doth thirst, my flesh doth long The greatness of thy mighty power, And glory so to see As in thy sanctuary, erst Thou hast been seen by me. Because thy loving kindness, Lord, In thy most holy name, and will Lift up my hands with joy," etc. The version of the book of Psalms, now, and for the last two hundred years in almost universal use in Scotland, both in the Established and in Dissenting Presbyterian Churches, deserves special notice. It was one of the results of the Assembly of Divines at Westminster. Besides preparing a Confession of Faith, a Form of Church Government, and a Directory of Public Worship, for the projected United Church of England and Scotland, that remarkable convocation also devoted itself to the composition of a new version of the Psalms, adopting as its basis a translation of which Mr. Francis Rous, a member of Parliament, and one of the lay-assessors in the Assembly, was the author. Out of this undertaking grew ultimately the Col lection, which, though far from faultless, is perhaps upon the whole the best we as yet have. And It ought to be good considering the time and pains which were expended in perfecting it. How much anxiety was felt in the Assembly of Divines that the task should be accomplished in a manner befitting its importance, appears very clearly from the letters and journals of Dr. Lightfoot and Principal Baillie. The choice of a new Psalter was for many reasons anything but a matter to be decided perfunctorily in the Westminster Assembly. The various parties represented in it differed even as to the lawfulness of the use of metrical Psalms. not less discordance of opinion prevailed as to the question whether Rous's version, or that of Mr. William Barton, which had also been referred to them by the Commons, should be preferred, as the basis of a national Psalm-book. Accordingly it was not until after much deliberation, and repeated revisals of successive editions, prepared by the author in conformity with the suggestions of the divines, that the Psalms of Rous obtained their imprimatur. A second and even more protracted and elaborate revision awaited the version when sent down for approval to the representatives of the Church of Scotland And in this revision, it is worth noticing, the Committee which superintended the arrangements had authority to make use not only of the labours of Rous and the Westminster Divines, but of other translators, "that what they found better in any of these might be chosen :" a power of which they largely availed themselves. Barton, in the preface to the later editions of his own Psalms, asserts that they had been greatly indebted to him. They have, in fact, derived sometimes whole Psalms, sometimes appropriated single verses, or even single expressions, from all the best sources within their reach. And the collection, collation, and revision of these materials for the eclectic version eventually agreed to, required in Scotland alone a period of not less than between two and three years for its completion. The result is what might have been expected, not a version remarkable for the graces of poetry, but scrupulously faithful to the original text, and free from offence (if not always to refined taste) at least to devotional feeling. It is not necessary to multiply specimens of a Psalter so generally known. A single illustration may, however, be given from this version of what we consider the greatest merit of any translation of the Psalms, whether into prose or verse,-namely, its fidelity, or the closeness with which it renders the original Hebrew. Milton esti See a full account of the proceedings in an interesting Appendix to the third volume of Mr. David Laing's edition of Baillie's Letters. mated this virtue so highly, that in his own Psalms he has distinguished by the use of italics (as is done in the English Bible) those words in the version which are not in the original. The following is Psalm xcviii. of the Scottish Psalter, printed for the sake of comparison, in parallel columns with the authorized prose version : PSALM XCVIII. 1. O sing unto the Lord a new song, for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand and his holy arm hath gotten him the victory. 2. The Lord God hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen. 3. He hath remembered his mercy and his truth towards the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. 4. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. 5. Sing to the Lord with the harp; with the harp and the voice of a psalm. 6. With trumpets and sound of cornet, make a joyful noise before the Lord the King. 7. Let the sea roar and the fulness thereof, the world, and they that dwell therein. 8. Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together 8. Before the Lord: for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity. 1. O sing a new song to the Lord, 2. The Lord God his salvation 3. He mindful of his grace and truth All ends of the earth have seen. 4. Let all the earth unto the Lord 5. With harp, with harp, and voice of 7. Let seas and all their fulness roar, 9. Before the Lord: because he comes, With regard to the two versions just noticed as having competed in the Westminster Assembly for the honour of forming the basis of the National Psalm-book contemplated by that body, we are not acquainted with Rous, though copies of the original work are, we believe, in existence. Barton's Psalms, which passed through several editions, and were used and highly approved by some of the most eminent Nonconformist ministers in England during the latter half of the seventeenth century, 66 k * Such men as John Owen, Thomas Manton, and Edmund Calamy signed a recommendation of Barton's Psalms, as coming nearest to the original of any they had seen, and running with such a fluent sweetness as to be worthy of recommendation to all Christian congregations." They continued to be reprinted till the year 1705, the date of the latest edition. The first appeared in 1644. are better known. In fact, besides his complete version of the Psalms, Barton has supplied in what he calls his Two Centuries of Psalm Hymns, and in others of his Select Hymns and Spiritual Songs, amounting to at least six hundred, so many alternative renderings of individual Psalms, that he may be said to be the author of not one but several translations. Many of them are the mere sweepings of the author's study-rough drafts afterwards set aside for the results of further labour. Even the most finished of Barton's Psalms are liable to the charge of haste and carelessness. He would doubtless have done better had he written less. Then it is often doubtful how far his versions are his own. Like almost all versifiers of the Psalms, and almost all writers of hymns, Barton seems not to hesitate to avail himself of the labours of previous writers to an extent which in any other kind of literature would be deemed piratical. He complains that he was robbed in like manner himself; and there is certainly remarkable similarity between some of his Psalms and others of the same age: but it is difficult to decide which had the priority. We should, however, upon the whole, recommend recourse to the voluminous labours of William Barton, with the confidence that alternative versions well worthy of preservation will be thus obtained. One of his renderings of Psalm c. may be given as an example of his style: "Make joyful noise to God, O all ye lands ! Observe the Lord with gladness and delight; His people and his pasture sheep are we; Enter his gates, your gratitude proclaim. Come to his courts with praise and bless his name, His truth endures unto eternity." It may seem unnecessary to mention here the Psalms of Dr. Isaac Watts, which are so extensively used by English Dissenters to this day. Beyond, however, the pale of those churches in which they are actually employed in public worship, we believe this often beautiful version to be much less known than it deserves. The translation certainly is professedly made on a principle which, in our opinion, cannot be defended. The title indicates sufficiently the nature of that principle,―The Psalms of David imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and worship; and the plan which Dr. Watts laid down for himself is thus explained in the preface : |