Entered, according to the Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the year Eighteen Hundred and Ninety-seven, by the Rev. JOHN JENKINS, D.D., LL.D., the Rev. WILLIAM GREGG, D D., and WILLIAM B. MCMURRICH, M.A., Q.C., at the Department of Agriculture. Preface THE PRESBYTERIAN BOOK OF PRAISE is divided into two parts. The the first part contains Selections from Metrical Versions of the Psalter; second part is a new edition of the Hymnal of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, first published in 1880. THE SELECTIONS consist of those portions of the Book of Psalms which are most usually sung, and which contain, in large measure, the sum and substance of Old Testament Sacred Song. They are, for the most part, taken from the Scottish Metrical Version. Some changes have been made in order to bring the meaning into closer conformity with the original text, and to remove imperfections in the metre. Instead of, or besides the common metres, various other metres have been introduced, so that a greater variety of suitable music may be employed. In preparing the Selections the Hymnal Committee, on behalf of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, gratefully acknowledge the valuable assistance derived from the Revised Metrical Version of the Psalter of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the use of which has been generously granted by their Psalmody Committee. The Committee also gratefully acknowledge the valuable assistance obtained from the more recently revised versions of the Psalms published by the United Presbyterian Church of North America and the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America. In the preparation of this new and enlarged edition of the HYMNAL it has been the aim of the Hymnal Committee to provide a comprehensive collection of hymns suitable for the worship of God in Congregations, in Sabbath Schools and Bible Classes, in Prayer Meetings, in Families, in Home and Foreign Missionary Meetings, in Young People's Societies, and in Special Evangelistic Services. It will be observed that in this edition a large number of the Paraphrases' has been incorporated, that Indexes of Subjects and Texts have been provided, that Marks of Expression have been employed, and that to each hymn the name of the author, if known, has been appended. During the years in which this edition has been in course of preparation, the Hymnal Committee enjoyed the valuable co-operation of the Presbyteries of the Church, and in general conformity with their views, as embodied in their Reports, the Hymnal has been revised and enlarged. During these years, also, the Committee obtained, and gratefully acknowledge, valuable assistance from Conferences and correspondence with the Joint Committee of the Scottish Churches in their labors to provide a Common Hymnal for all the Presbyterian Churches in the British Empire. On behalf of the General Assembly the Hymnal Committee offer their grateful acknowledgements to the Authors and Proprietors for their generous permission to insert in this collection certain copyright Hymns, a list of which is given in the large-type Edition of the Words, also in the Music Editions. Great care has been taken not to trespass on the rights of Authors and Proprietors. To any whose rights have been unintentionally infringed the Committee tender sincere apologies. WILLIAM GREGG, Convener, of Hymnal |