religious homage in the publick worship of Jehovah. St. Paul exhorts his converts to speak to themselves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in their hearts to the Lord; and Christians, however they may have been unhappily divided on other points, are united in their sense of the important and beneficial influence of this pleasing part of publick worship. It is therefore of the greatest consequence, that a proper attention should be given to the selection and arrangement of the divine songs, which are introduced into our worshipping assemblies. It is not sufficient, that the sentiments they express should be just, and the doctrines they inculcate sound and catholick; but it is also necessary that the style, though poetical, should be clear and simple. It should indeed be so intelligible as to be readily comprehended by the most unlearned, and yet so elegant and chaste as not to offend the ears of the most refined. It should be free from all affected and pompous diction, and that ambitious phraseology, which, though at all times displeasing to a correct taste, is peculiarly so, in performances, which are designed to bring into view the greatness of God, and the weakness, dependence, and sinfulness of man. In short, the style and character of our hymns, allowing for the difference occa. sioned by metrical arrangement, should be modelled on that of our liturgy, which unites, in a remarkable degree, the essential qualities which have been enumerated. It is to be lamented that these obvious requisites of sacred poetry, have not always been sufficiently attended to, in the compilation of psalms and hymns for the use of Christian congregations. The Episcopal church indeed is in possession of a version of the psalms which was introduced towards the end of the seventeenth century, and which in general is very happy. I know of no entire version that has made its appearance since, which has equal claims to our approbation. Particular psalms may have been sometimes rendered in a style of superiour excellence. As a whole, however, it remains unrivalled, and I should be extremely sorry to see it exchanged for any other extant. It was formerly used by the congregationalists as well as by Episcopalians in this part of the country, but has been discarded by many societies of the former denomination, for various collections of more modern date. Many of the psalms in our version are rendered with admirable force and propriety, and I recollect scarcely any, which are liable to any great objections in regard to style and harmony. If ever it should be thought expedient, by the general convention, to make a selection from these psalms, instead of retaining the whole version, a measure, however, which should not be adopted without long and mature deliberation, I trust that none will be rejected which are recommended by any considerable merit. But, while I am happy that we are favoured with so valuable a translation of the psalms in metre, I am sorry to add, that our church is not equally well provided with hymns, notwithstanding the "additional hymns set forth in general convention, 1808." It is not, however, of their small number, that we have, I think, so much reason to complain, as of the quality of some of them. I do not refer to the doctrines they incul cate, or the spirit they breathe. They are not exceptionable in these respects. But several of them are chargeable with low and inelegant phraseology; some of them are partly expressed in the familiar and enthusiastick language too much employed in the methodist societies; and with others, which are very good, as they were originally written by their authors, very unwarrantable liberties are taken, and injudicious alterations made. Indeed where ration is made in the composition of a good writer, it seems to be generally any alte for the worse. The harmony is sometimes injured, or destroyed, by these changes, and the sense frequently obscured. In one instance, a beautiful hymn of Addison,* of six verses, which is quite sufficient to sing at one time, is lengthened by the addition of another of Watts, on a different subject, of seven verses. As there is no apparent connexion between the two hymns, as they are composed by different authors, and are both sufficiently long, it is difficult to conceive why one should be appended to the other. To my apprehension, such an arrangement can hardly be vindicated from the charge of absurdity. In another instance, a beautiful hymn of Merrick, if I mistake not, the sixteenth of the collection, the measure and sense of which require the verses to be of six lines each, as it was originally written, is lamentably marred and defaced by being thrown, without any regard to its meaning, into verses of four lines each; for what purpose it is not easy to conjecture, unless to humour some favourite tune. I shall now proceed to exemplify the remarks which have been made, by reference to the book of hymns. As an instance of inelegant phraseology, the second verse of the thirtieth hymn may be mentioned. Come saints and drop a tear or two, The first and last verses of the thirty. O that my load of sin were gone! * Thirteenth in the collection. I have observed that there are some hymns of great merit as they were originally composed, but which appear to have been injudiciously altered. The first I shall speak of, is a morning hymn, by the author of the manual for Winchester scholars. In the first verse there is but one word changed, but for what purpose does not appear. As taken from the original, in Nelson's devotions, it reads thus: Awake, my soul, and with the sun In our hymn book, the word marked in italicks, joyful, is changed to early. Why is the sense altered? Those who rise with the sun, of course rise early, and the idea need not be repeated to the exclusion of another idea very properly introduced. The second verse in the original runs thus: Thy mispent time that's past redeem; In the hymn book the words are, Redeem thy mispent time that's past, The sense is the same in the altered verse, but what a difference exists in respect to harmony and elegance of diction! The unseemly elisions which are employed are as unnecessary, as they are awkward. But it is needless to say more. If the impropriety of the alterations in this verse does not immediately strike the reader on comparison, nothing that can be said would be likely to convince him of it. There are other alterations in this hymn, which, to say the least, are unnecessary, although they are not so objectionable as those which have been pointed out. The next hymn, an evening hymn by the same writer, is also lamentably injured by alterations. In the first verse, the harmony of the two last lines, Keep me, O keep me, King of kings, is much diminished by substituting the word under for beneath. In the second verse, the word ill is improperly put in the plural. In the third verse, the lines To die that this vile body may are thus changed: Teach me to die, that so I may To attempt to show the inferiority of the last, in point of harmony and expression, would be an insult to a man of common understanding. In the sixth verse, "divine love into me instil," instead of " his love angelical instil," does not certainly mend the sense nor the musick. In the next verse, the lines, Thought to thought with my soul converse, Celestial joys to me rehearse, If half the strings of life should break, The first verse of the thirty-first hymn presents a singular contrast, in respect to harmony and dignity, with the second, as will appear by reading them together. Our Lord is risen from the dead, Ways rhymes badly with grace in the seventh verse of the thirty-second hymn, nor does infuse chime much bet ter with use in the third verse of the thirty-fourth. The expression "sinsick soul," in the preceding verse, savours too much perhaps of a technical phraseology. The fifth verse of the thirty-third may be thought somewhat too familiar, though not deserving of much censure. I have congratulated the church in having Tate and Brady's version of the psalms included in the editions of the are but a poor substitute for the origi- common prayer book. It is however nal; May he celestial joy rehearse, And thought to thought with me converse. Some less exceptionable alterations occur in other hymns, which at present I shall pass over in silence. There are also hymns to which objections may be made on other accounts, of which I have made no mention. It may be sufficient merely to refer to the second verse of the seventeenth. The fourth verse of the twenty-third, how. ever, may be quoted as an instance of unfortunate phraseology. In a subject of regret that even some of them appear to have been altered. an Oxford edition of the bible and book of common prayer, printed in 1784, now before me, the third verse' of Tate and Brady's translation of the ninety-fifth psalm at the end of the volume is thus read. For God the Lord enthroned in state, The two last lines stand in our prayer book A king superiour far to all In the same Oxford edition, the first two lines of the fifth verse of the thirtysixth psalm are thus given. But, Lord, thy mercy, my sure hope, The highest orb of heaven transcends. This is sense. But what can we make of the lines in our book. But Lord, thy mercy, my sure hope, Above the heavenly orb ascends. What is meant by the heavenly orb? is there but one? I have seen however, an older English edition of these psalms, in which the words are as in our American edition. Which reading is genuine? In an edition printed in Boston in 1772, purporting to be a reprint, the lines are given as in the Oxford edition. There may be other variations which I have not met with, but the detection of these, will suggest the expediency of collating the whole version, if a revision should take place at any future period. It is but justice to add, after making these remarks, which have only originated in a wish to render our service, in general so beautiful and edifying, as free as possible from every blemish or imperfection, that a considerable part of the hymns are selected with judgment, and possess great merit. I wish not to be understood as intending to censure those who may have been appointed to make the compilation. I know not the circumstances under which it was made, nor the difficulties which may have prevented a more happy selection; neither do I know whether the compilers found the alter. ations or made them. These free observations are only intended to attract attention to the subject, as it will perhaps undergo a discussion at the next general convention in 1823, I. B. REVIEW. History of the Reformation, being an Abridgment of Burnet's History of the Reformation of the Church of England, together with Sketches of the Lives of Luther, Calvin, and Zuingle, the three celebrated Reformers of the Continent. By the Rev. BENJAMIN ALLEN, Rector of the Parish of St. Andrews, Virginia. Washington city, 1820. 12mo. pp. 298. THIS little volume has long laid on our table, and has been unnoticed for no other reason than that we have been obliged to attend to other and more pressing claims. Mr. Allen's object in publishing it, was to make the people of this country somewhat acquainted with the principles and practice of the English reformation; and to those who are interested in this great subject, and have but little leisure for study or reading, it will doubtless be a useful and agreeable compendium. We cannot but think, however, that the author has used the pruning knife too frequently, unless he meant to make his work an epitome for the use of schools. In 1682, bishop Burnet, himself published an abridgment of the first two volumes of his history. The third volume containing a supplement to the two former, was not published till 1714, and as the author died soon after, the task of abridging it devolved upon his son Gilbert Burnet. This abridgment was published in the year 1719, in one vol. 8vo. The whole work in this abridged form having become scarce, a new edition was published at the Oxford university press, in 1818. The author in his preface, gave the following opinion on the subject of abridgments: "I know abridgments are generally hurtful: in them men receive such a slight tincture of knowledge as only feeds vanity, and furnishes discourse, but does not give so clear a view of things, nor so solid an instruction as may be had in more copious writings." The abridg ment made by the bishop of the two first volumes of his work is contained in four hundred closely printed octavo pages: what would he have said of an abridgment which professes to give "the cream of those two alarming folios" in a duodecimo volume, which, if equal ly compressed, might have been contained in one hundred and fifty pages! We are of opinion then that every person who is deterred by the size of the original work from perusing it in its form of three folio or six octavo volumes, will prefer the abridgment made by the author and his son, to any other, even if they were equal in other respects. But no one, we apprehend, who is at all disposed to make himself familiar with the important events of the English reformation, will refuse to read a single octavo volume of 578 pages. Mr. Allen's work therefore will not be likely to find its way into the select libraries of literary laymen. It is rather fitted as we have before ob served for the use of schools, and for that class of our community who can not be ranked among the readers. In this view, however, it must be considered as an important work, and deserving of much commendation. No reason can be assigned why some knowledge of ecclesiastical history should not make a part of the religious education of children. Epitomes of civil and political history have been found eminently useful as preparatory to more extended knowledge. And if abridg ments of Roman and Grecian history are introduced into our schools, why not also abridgments of the history of the Christian church? If our children are made acquainted at an early period with the events which led to the independence of our country, and the establishment of our present happy and prosperous civil institutions, why should they not also learn something of those interesting facts which relate to the purification of our mother church from those corruptions which had been introduced by her subjection to the see of Rome? We wish that Mr. Allen would continue his useful labours by making an abridgment of the history of the Christian church from the day of Pentecost to the period of the reformation, with a view to its being used in the upper classes of our parochial schools. The work would certainly be much more arduous, be cause there is no good ecclesiastical history to be made the basis of his labours. Mosheim's presbyterian partialities, the absence of all pious reflections upon passing events, the minute and rather disgusting details of heretical opinions and practices, and the artificial and scholastick arrangement of the work, render it unfit for this pur pose. Milner's history, with much fairer claims, is not yet free from the imputation of undue partiality on fa▪ vourite points of doctrine. If the ancient histories were taken as the basis of such a compendium, the modern historians being compared, and the mind, by this general view, being guarded from the impressions of party statements, it would be a work of great service for the promotion of an enlightened attachment to our communion. We have been led to digress from our subject in the hope that these ob servations may meet the eye of Mr. Allen, and that he may be induced to give his attention to an employment, for which, we think, from the specimen before us, he would be well qualified. The original work is divided into four books; each comprising the events in the reign of one of the four sovereigns, Henry VIII. Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth. The same order is observed by bishop Burnet in his own abridgment; but Mr. Allen has thought proper to divide the whole into fifteen chapters; to each of which, the last excepted, he has prefixed some reflections of his own. Many of these are very interesting and are well suited to make a good im pression on the minds of youth, while at the same time by breaking the con |