THE New Testament question of three words, "Is any merry?" is answered by James himself in the words "let him sing psalms" (James 5:13). Singing psalms is indeed a good occupation, whether one is merry or sad, as the singing—with understanding—of psalms will lead the singer into a much deeper experience with God. We are living now in days when not much psalm singing is done, hymns having taken their place, and psalm chanting being foreign to Seventh-day Adventist churches.
Metrical Psalms
It must be remembered that hymns as we have them are a comparatively new addition to Christian worship, for John Calvin, for instance, maintained that whatever was sung should be the \vords of Scripture only. He therefore restricted his congregational singing to metrical versions of the psalms, not admitting hymns of what he considered to be human origin. The Presbyterians following him continued this practice, and Scotland and the Covenanters are still known for their psalm singing. The Church of England authorized a metrical version of the Psalms by Sternhold and Hopkins, but later a revision was made by Tate and Brady, thus making the former the Old Version. In this way the tunes fitted to the psalms derived their names, the Old Hundredth, for example (Church Hymnal, No. 13) being that tune which, in Sternhold and Hopkins or Old Version, was sung to the metrical form of Psalm 100. One other example in the Church Hymnal is the Old 134th (No. 270), also called now St. Michael (No. 285). Incidentally, this latter tune is transposed up one semitone and the three lower parts slightly changed. Some of the metrical versions are very awkward, since in order to produce a rhyme and the correct meter words have been rearranged in a fashion that does violence to good poetry. Others are highly successful; however, one, the shepherd's psalm (No. 260) follows the Authorized Version very closely. A comparison reveals that the only changes are:
"quiet" is used for "still" in Psalm 23:2.
"me to walk" is used for "leadeth" in verse 3.
"dark vale" is used for "valley of the shadow"in verse 4.
"ill" is used for "evil" in verse 4.
"furnished" is used for "preparest" in verse 5.
"foes" is used for "enemies" in verse 5.
"overflows" is used for "runneth over" in verse 5.
"God" is used for "Lord" in verse 6.
"my dwelling place" is used for "I will dwell" in verse 6.
All the other words used are taken from the psalm itself. This metrical version is the only one used in the Church Hymnal.
Paraphrases
It is said that the poor poetic quality of many of the metrical psalms irritated young Isaac Watts (1674-1748), then a youth of 18 years, so that he complained to his father, a deacon of the Independent Church. On being sarcastically advised to produce something better, young Isaac produced—
"Behold the glories of the Lamb
Amidst His Father's throne,
Prepare new honours for His name
And songs before unknown."
He also wrote a new hymn each Sunday for the next two years. He paraphrased all the psalms, some of these being very close to the Authorized Version, others being much more free. A good illustration of what can be done is shown by contrasting hymn No. 13 in our Church Hymnal, where William Kethe in four stanzas uses a large proportion of the words in four verses of Psalm 100, with hymn No. 1, in which Isaac Watts is much freer and uses the thought only of the same psalm, this treatment necessitating many other words and similes not found in the psalm itself. A similar comparison may be made between hymn No. 260, already mentioned, and James Montgomery's paraphrase, No. 405, which, while also fairly close to the original, is not nearly so close as the metrical version of the shepherd's psalm.
Some fairly close paraphrases by Isaac Watts are hymn No. 14, which is the first half of Psalm 147; No. 24, which is the first half of Psalm 84; No. 69, which is the middle third of Psalm 36; No. 72, which is the first three verses of Psalm 63 with some additions; No. 81, which is the first few verses of Psalm 90; and No. 172, which is the first seven verses of Psalm 95. In any matching of hymn and psalm we must always bear in mind that the Church Hymnal contains selections of stanzas from Watts's original paraphrases, so that some omissions are only apparently so. Not all poets have been as successful as Watts, and even his verse varies in quality. Two other fairly close paraphrases of the psalms, however, are one by James Montgomery of Psalm 3 in hymn No. 253 and one by Harriet Auber of Psalm 90 (in part) in hymn No. 79.
Hymns Based on Psalms
Once the break with metrical psalm singing had been made, it was easier to introduce hymns that did not follow the scripture words slavishly, but used them as a basis of thought to be expressed in poetic form. Here again Isaac Watts leads the way, as in hymn No. 89, which follows Psalm 46:1-5; No. 189, which follows part of Psalm 98; and No. 392, which follows Psalm 125. While he exercises great liberty, it is nevertheless easy to recognize that he has used the Psalms as his source in these three hymns, amplifying the idea in his own words. In fact, his declared intention was to reset the Psalms in a Christian background, omitting various local references, and altering the destruction of David's particular enemies for instance, to the destruction of the enemies of God and of His people in any age. A good example of this modernization of a psalm is seen in hymn No. 179, which paraphrases the first five verses of Psalm 97 fairly freely, applying the words directly to the second advent of our Lord. Then the poet concludes in the last stanza of his hymn with an almost direct quotation from the New Testament, Luke 21:28, "Then . . . lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh," the actual words used in his last stanza being italicized. Sir Henry Williams Baker adopted a similar device in his paraphrase of the shepherd's psalm in hymn No. 86, where he interjects in his third stanza a reference to the New Testament parable of the Lost Sheep, taking the thought from Luke 15: 5, 6: "He layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home. . ."
Hymns Based on Verses From Psalms
An example of a hymn that is a long way removed from a psalm and yet contains obvious references to it, is hymn No. 4, by Isaac Watts, which uses expressions that can be found in Psalm 98:7, 8, 15, 16, and 52, if not all in word, at least in thought. Other writers too have caught an expression from the psalmist and developed that, often without reference to the rest of the psalm. Hymn No. 393, by John Henry Gilmore, derives its inspiration from part of Psalm 23:2, 3, "He leadeth me," and was, in fact, written after he had given a prayer meeting talk on this theme. He opens the hymn with these three words, ends each stanza with two of these words, and quotes the clause four times in the chorus. Singing the complete hymn will therefore sound "leadeth me" twenty-one times, but there are few other references, perhaps two, "by waters still" and "death's cold wave" that recall the twenty-third psalm.
Luther's famous hymn, "A Mighty Fortress," No. 261, was inspired by David's comforting words recorded in Psalm 46:1, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble," though it is by no means a paraphrase of the whole psalm. It equally recalls Psalm 91:2, "He is my refuge and my fortress: my God." Using the inspiration of this challenging metaphor, these words became the battle hymn of the Reformation.
In the same way the poet Joseph Addison deliberately chose some verses of a psalm and rewrote the idea in his own lines. Hymn No. 91 is one example where he gracefully dilates on the first few verses of Psalm 19, only about one quarter of his hymn using the actual scriptural words of the Authorized Version, the rest being largely an expansion of the thought of the first three verses in more imaginative language.
Henry Francis Lyte has caught the inspiration of the theme of Psalm 150, a psalm of continuous and universal praise, and while not paraphrasing it verse by verse he arrives at the same exultant climax as the psalmist, using his same language in the last two lines. Lyte's "All that breathe, your Lord adore" closely parallels David's "Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord" (Ps. 150:6).
Psalm Index
These examples do not exhaust the fairly close paraphrases of the psalms that appear as hymns in the Church Hymnal. Neither have we mentioned the many single texts from the Psalms that have been deliberately used as the inspiration of a hymn, nor those many others which have probably been the unconscious source of parts of hymns. An index of references to the Psalms has therefore been compiled, and this may prove useful to those preachers who, having chosen their text, require a hymn based upon it. Often a closing hymn, echoing the theme of the sermon, will sing the message into the heart. Not all the references will be readily seen, and there may be many that are omitted, so corrections or additions to this index will be most welcome. Throughout the ages the Psalms have been a tremendous source of spiritual strength to Jews and Christians. It is hoped that a restudy of them and a singing of them will give further inspiration and blessing as their basic ideas become transplanted in our own souls.
Index to Psalm, References in "Church Hymnal"
Please see the PDF version of this issue for the chart.
