Observations Upon the Metrical Version at the Psalms

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1822 Excerpt: ...separated from the rest, " Wisdom did, in a Sermon vindicate the English Book, meaning the Common Prayer, and somewhat sharply blamed them that went away, calling them madheads." Strype also gives a high character of his zeal as a preacher, and of his labours as an author. "Besides other books," he says, " Wisdom penned a very godly and fruitful exposition upon certain Psalms of David; of the which he translated some into English metre. There is one of them, and I think no more, still remaining in our ordinary singing Psalms; namely, the hundred twenty-fifth; which in the title is said to the Geneva faction, and a Divine who had been so distinguished by Cranmer, as to be one of four proproposed by him for the Archbishopric of Armagh, contributed one of the Psalms, and another metrical composition. To this collection Archbishop Parker, who strictly required conformity to the national religion, and lent no aid to Puritanism, yielded his assent, in taking no measures to introduce his own Version into the Church, which he had formed with great care, and with a view to public usage, as we shall presently see: and either he had copied from this collection a whole treatise, without any alteration, and a hymn with very little; or he had permitted both to be copied from his own publication: so friendly was this primate to Metrical Psalmody. To this collection the learned Joseph Mede appears to be composed by R. W. There is also a Hymn of his preserved, and set usually at the end of our English singing Psalms, in our Bibles, beginning, Preserve Us, Lord, By Tht Dear Word." He appears to have had the credit, indeed, of forming the whole collection, which is called that of Sternhold, Hopkins, and others. Overbury, in his Characters, of whi...