PARISH PSALMODY.

A COLLECTION OF

PSALMS AND HYMNS

FOR

PUBLIC WORSHIP:

CONTAINING

DR. WATTS'S VERSIFICATION OF THE PSALMS OF DAVID, ENTIRE,
A LARGE PORTION OF DR. WATTS'S HYMNS, AND
PSALMS AND HYMNS BY OTHER AUTHORS,

SELECTED AND ORIGINAL.

TO WHICH ARE APPENDED,

THE CONFESSION OF FAITH

AND

SHORTER CATECHISM OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA.

PHILADELPHIA:

PUBLISHED BY HENRY PERKINS.

1850.

ENTERED according to Act of Congress, in the year 1844, by PERKINS & PURVES, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

BV 430

175TH

P3 1850

PREFACE.

THE versification of the Psalms by Dr. Watts, to which he gave the title, descriptive of its character, The Psalms of David imitated in the Language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian State and Worship-a work which has rendered his memory dear to a large portion of the church-is presented, in this volume, entire, and without alteration, except in the few instances of national allusion inappropriate to our country. Versifications by Dwight, Montgomery, and others, of the Psalms omitted by Dr. Watts, and of a few besides, have been inserted.

Of Dr. Watts's Hymns, nearly two hundred are to be found in this collection; the design has been to omit only those which are rarely used in public worship. Those standard productions of Doddridge, Cowper, Charles Wesley, Newton, Mrs. Steele, and others, which are precious to every pious heart, have also been carefully retained. For the remainder of the selection, a laborious examination has been made of a large number of Hymn-Books, and other volumes of religious poetry, British and American, with a view to meeting, as fully as possible, the demands of worshiping assemblies, particularly in reference to

special occasions. The hymns which have been written for this collection are designated as orig inal.

Alterations in language have been very sparingly allowed, especially in well known, standard hymns; and the abridgment of such hymns has been avoided with similar caution.

It is proper to add that this compilation has not been prepared without much labor and much solicitude. It is now submitted to the only human test which can be decisive in such a case-the general judgment of the Christian public.

NOTE BY THE PUBLISHERS.

The "Parish Hymns," prepared and published in connection with this work, is a distinct collection of hymns, designed more especially for evening meetings, and other occasions of social worship. It contains 72 hymns which are not found in this volume, being peculiarly suited to a collection of that kind; and this volume contains 144 hymns which were not supposed to be needed in that. A number of hymns appear in this collection with less abridgment than in the "Parish Hymns."

FIRST LINES OF THE PSALMS AND

HYMNS.

..

BACKWARD, with humble 389

Begin, my soul, th' ex.. 290

Begin, my tongue, some 416

Behold a stranger at the 401

Behold, how sinners 444

Behold, the blind their . 342

Behold the glories of the 372

Behold, the lofty sky,.. 65

Behold the love, the. 94

Behold, the morning sun, 66

Behold, the mountain of 560

Behold the potter and the 323

Behold the sure

Behold thy waiting

Behold what wondrous

Be joyful in God, all ye

233

241

507

201