THat Psalmody was, amongst the Jews, a considerable Part of Divine Worship that Book, of which this calls it self a Trans­lation, is a sufficient Evidence; That it [Page] was used among Christians of old, is un­questionable. And perhaps it is no Dispa­ragement either to the Jewish or the Chri­stian Church, that a great part of the old Heathen Worship consisted in Singing Hymns and Praises to their Gods. There is somewhat so truly Divine and Charming in Well-set Notes, and Vocal and In­strumental Harmony; they are so apt to chear and revive languid and drooping Spirits, so likely to make strong Impressions on the Memory, and so extreamly affect­ing to the devout Soul, that as the Agree­ableness of their Numbers made Poets of old the sittest Treasures of Divine Know­ledge, so the Softness and Sweetness of their Notes may make the Masters of Sa­cred Musick among our selves (were but their Lives as Heavenly as their Art) the fittest Companions for happy Souls, and Blissful Angels: With respect to whom, our excellent Waller says;

What Thoughts our first Reformers in this Nation had of this part of Divine Worship is not easie to conjecture; But whether they judged Singing of Psalms by the whole Congregation no neces­sary part of a Publick Liturgy, or sup­posed that the Reading Psalms, chaunt­ed in Recitative, or sung as at present in Cathedrals, (which seems favour'd by that Title they carry in our Common-Prayer-Book, The Psalter or Psalms of David, Pointed as they are to be Said or Sung in Churches,) was enough to answer that part of Worship, 'tis certain they took no Care for any Metrical Trans­lation of those sacred Hymns, for pub­lick Use. And though some pious and learned Men had taken pains to put them into Verse, the setled Liturgy took no notice of the Matter. Nor could I ever find any Authentick Allowance for sing­ing them in publick.

However, the Practice of Singing pr­vail'd here every Day, in Imitation the Reformed abroad, and certainly ten­ed very much towards the advancing the Reformation it self; but, after all was only connived at, or tolerated And after the Restauration of our Re­ligion, and our Government, neve [...] Authorised, or so much as mentioned, a [...] a Part of our Publick Service: And the present and constant Practice of our Ca­thedrals and Collegiate Churches, and our Colleges, not to mention the Chape [...] Royal, and other Places where Choir [...] are fixed, intimates, that such Psalms were never design'd to be setled by Authority; Prose-Anthems being there generally sung, taken out of the Reading Psalms; some short Parts of other Scri­ptural Hymns; some of private Com­posure; and, by chance, sometimes a Verse or two out of Sternhold and Hop­kins; as, particularly, out of the 68th Psalm, Let God arise, &c. Set, I think, by Mr. Laws. Now the Cathedrals be­ing [Page] patterns to our Parochial Assemblies, at least in the main parts of solemn Wor­ship, they having no Example of such a Nature from them, could pretend to no Right of Singing Psalms in Verse by the entire Congregation.

Hence, though the great Sir Philip Sidney translated the whole Book of Psalms into Rhyme; and the pious Bi­shop Hall, and the renouned Lord Bacon, and, it may be some others, turn'd several particular Psalms into Verse, more correct, doubtless, than the former, yet there, ne­ver was any Motion towards introducing them into Churches. And since our Con­vocations, to whom that Work properly belongs, never took any such Cognizance of these, or of the Ancient Version, as to re­commend them, with the Liturgy, to the Parliament, our Common Psalmody re­mains a Matter of Liberty: And it ne­ver yet was made an Article of Enquiry at any Episcopal Visitation, Whether, any Psalms were sung, or what Versions of them were used in Parochial Churches.

On this Account it was, that whereas no Man better understood his own Supre­macy in Ecclesiastical Affairs than Charles the First, of blessed Memory, yet, though he designed the utmost Honour to the Memory of his Father, when the new Translation of King James the First was made publick, he only allow'd and recommended it to common Use; which, as Experience shew'd, was not enough to break in upon Inveterate Cu­stom, or, to exclude that which had for so many Years, gotten Possession of our Bibles and Common-Prayer-Books of all Volumes, and of our Worshipping As­semblies.

The Standart of our English Language having been so much alter'd of late; and Poetry especially having reach'd its ut­most Height, by that noble Genius ap­pearing in the Writings of Sir John Den­ham Mr. Waller, and Mr. Cowley, and some later Authors, the Roughness: and Uncorrectness of the Ancient Version has appear'd the more evident and notorious: [Page] The Observation of which made Mr. San­dys, Mr. May, Mr. Burnaby, Bishop King, Mr. Barton, Sir John Denham himself, Mr. Smith, Mr. Goodridge. Dr. Patrick, Dr. Woodford, and Dr. Ford, and now very lately. Mr. Brady and Mr. Tate, make their several Translations with different Success. Mr. Burnaby's Book and Mr. May's Essay, I have seen: Mr. Sandys's and the Reverend Dr. Wood­ford's are above our ordinary Musick, the last especially, whose Author seems to breath with David's Spirit, and to aspire to Raptures almost equal with that Divine Psalmist; and whose Steps are as nobly fol­low'd by that Masculine Poet, as well as Painter, the incomparable Mrs. Beal. Mr. Barton's Version is generally apposite enough to the Text, but exalted little above the Old. Sir John Denham's I have not seen, but find the admirable Dr. Wood­ford (a sufficient Judge) giving them a noble and, doubtless, a deserv'd Chara­cter. That of the Right Reverend Bishop of Chichester labours under the unhappy [Page] Choice of his Rhyme (as Others have observ'd) so far, as to render, that other­wise excellent Work ungrateful to the Ear. Mr. Smith is very gay, and per­haps too affected, if the Reverend Do­ctor Patrick may be Judge, whose own is pious indeed, and generally plain; but an almost Unpoetical Translation of the most exalted Poetry. For Mr. Brady's and Mr. Tate's, since they are now pub­lishing a New and Corrected Edition of their Translation, I shall pass no Judg­ment on that Work, whose Errours and Excellencies I must be content to be ig­norant of till it is published. Among those which I have hitherto seen, which are fitted to common Tunes, the best, the most Elaborate, and the most Musical, is, that of Dr. Ford; that Reverend Per­son having a truly Poetical Genius, at­tended with great and solid Learning, and Exemplary Piety; excellent Quali­fications for a compleat Paraphrast. Nor ought Mr. Goodridge, for his Zeal and Piety in promoting more Correct Church [Page] Musick, to be passed without a just Com­mendation.

What might be said of the Use and Excellency of Psalmody, is so exhaust­ed by Dr. Woodford, Mr. Goodridge and Dr. Ford, as to supersede any thing I can say. The Question only recurrs now, Is Psalmody a real Part of Di­vine Worship, or is it not? If not, 'tis no matter whether David's Psalms, or only Arbitrary Spiritual Philadelphian Hymns, be sung; whether any, or none at all. If it be a Part of Divine Ser­vice, how comes it to pass that our Ec­clesiastical Representative have not thought Uniformity in singing of Psalms as beautiful, and as valuable, as in any other Part of the Publick Service? Why not in the Poetical, as well as in the Prose-Version? This would take the Choice of them out of the Parish-Clerk's Power, and make it the Priest's Business, whose Discretion might be farther relied on in it. Admit the Translation of Stern­hold and Hopkins was rejected by the [Page] Convocation or Commissioners of Ed­ward the Sixth, as appearing too mean; that could not preclude a more agreeable One. And though it might seem a very hard Work, which few of the Clergy (though the fittest for it) durst under­take; yet, since at this time there are several Versions of the Psalms extant, why may not some One, or a choice Col­lection out of All, be made by Learned and Judicious Persons, skill'd in Divi­nity and Poetry too, appointed for that purpose, in a Convocation? Why may not such a Committee examine them se­verely as to Clearness of Sense, Purity and Decency of Language, Agreeable­ness of Stile, Orthodoxy of Doctrine, Suitableness to the Original Text, and Smoothness and Musicalness, of Num­bers? And may not these, after such an Examination, be approved by the Con­vocation, as the whole Liturgy former­ly was, and so be recommended by them to the Three Estates in Parliament, and to His Majesty as Head of the Church; [Page] and so receive a Just and Legal San­ction, and become one Part of our Pub­lick Unity and Uniformity? Would such an Action bring them under a Pre­munire, merely because it was not parti­cularly commanded by His Majesty? I may, perhaps, be too fond of my own Thoughts; but I conclude, this Piece of Uniformity would give less Offence to Dissenters of all sorts, than some other Things which are yet justly stood upon; for they are not about Laying down the last Translation of the Bible: The nicest Pretenders to Conscience would have no-nothing to object to pure Scripture-Forms: Nor would they, when commanded under a Penalty to sing David's Psalms, of the best Version, complain of the Mischief of Impositions.

This is such a Point of Uniformity, as all Churches, our own only except­ed, agree in: The Scots have theirs; the Dutch and French, theirs; the last, in­deed, corrected by Mr. Conrart, the Standart of their Language having been [Page] much alter'd by the Academy, since Ma­rot and Beza translated them; yet their Work being still good and intelligible, Monsieur Conrart's has taken only among particular Persons, without any Intrench­ment upon the general Harmony. The Lutherans too keep up this Uniformity; though, besides David's Psalms, they have about 750 Spiritual Songs and Hymns, Stated, and Occasional. And who knows, but now that Singing of Psalms by Rule grows so much in Fashion, this Settlement might somewhat temper and cicurate the Humour of Separation in other Matters?

If such a thing should be thought fit, there is no doubt but that, of particular Versions, the best ought to be chosen: Of all in general, the best particular Psalms; for one Man's Spirit might be raised, where another droop'd; and Men would commonly perform best, where they were most affected by the Matter. But to enjoin Unity or Uniformity in a worse Translation, where a better might be had; [Page] or to cull out meaner Performances, where, out of our present Variety of Choice, excel­lent Things might be drawn, would dash us upon the same Rock again; and the next Age might complain, that the Names of our Psalmographers were alter'd indeed, but the Defects continued: This is a Fai­lure which a Convocation, assisted by the good Spirit of God, could not easily fall under the Suspicion of.

That I, as now an Ancient Presbyter of the Church of England, might contribute my poor Offering to the Adorning of this part of Sacred Worship, I put this into your Hands, Most Reverend, Right Re­verend, and Reverend Fathers and Bre­thren! A Work of some Pains and Care; and on which my most serious Thoughts were for a considerable time engag'd, God's Honour, and the Church's Service, was my End; and his Grace, earnestly and humbly implor'd, both in the Beginning and Continuance of the Work, my Assist­ance. The Original was my Text; the Polyglot Bible and Criticks, my Interpre­ters, [Page] where needful; and the Double Translation of the Reading Psalms, in that called the Bishops Bible, and the last in our common Bibles, my Correctors: Though I have not tied my self so supersti­tiously to any, as not to use my own Judg­ment sometimes; and in some Things to stem the Current of Paraphrasts, and other Writers on that Divine Book. Particu­larly, I have adhered to those Applica­tions made of several Passages here, by the Inspir'd Pen-men of the New Testament; whom to quit for over nice and Sociniani­zing Criticks, I think absurd and dangerous. I have, in general, made the Sense and Coherence so plain, that this Version, perhaps may be as serviceable to some as a Commentator.

The Measures I have used are the Old, neither so hard, nor so harsh as some have thought: The Rhymes are every where double, sometimes more; such being, when unforced, more pleasant, and more grateful, I have generally avoided the Clashing of Consonants, as Unmusical. About 50 are [Page] twice Translated, some thrice; by that Means sometimes taking in those different Senses of particular Texts, of which 'tis hard to fix the best; Paraphrasing some lofty Psalms more fully, and using higher Expressions than a single Version could have admitted of. Hence every Psalm has one Translation so close and plain, as may be sung in the plainest Country-Congre­gations; and yet I have used such Variety of Measures, as may answer all the Tunes in Playford's Edition: And that the Work might be the more compleat, I have given all such of Mr. Sandys's Measures, with their Tunes in Two Parts, which could not be sung by the common Notes. The whole, indeed, may be an entire Bo­dy of Church-Musick: No Old Tune lost several New are added; and the Words so sitted, as to be more agree­ble both to the Dutch, French and English Tunes, as sung in any of our Churches, than any former Version has [...]een.

I have generally followed the Stile of the Original, rising and falling with That. The Measures of Chearful Psalms are fitted to Chearful Tunes Those more Melancholick, to Slow Tunes, and of a sadder Air. The Re­petitions in the Hebrew are so charm­ing, that I could not but think they would be very beautiful in English; as parti­cularly, in the 118th Psalm. I have in­dustriously avoided both Obsolete an New-fangled Words; I have invented none, nor used any harsh Transposition of Words: Though I doubt not, but, af­ter all my Care, many Mistakes may have escaped me, which whosoever with charitably point out, will lay the great­est Obligation upon me. That we might use Doxologies as well to the Singing as the Reading Psalms, I have suite One to every Measure, through the whole Book. A Right Reverend Pro­late of our Church did me the Ho­nour to read the whole over very carefu­lly; whose Encouragement was a great [Page] Motive to this Publication. If it be acceptable to others, and bless'd by God, so as to promote his Honour, I have my End: And,

Non nobis, Domine; non nobis:
Sed Nomini Tuo da Gloriam.