GEORGE SANDYS. Psalm Ixí. My God, thy servant hear; Even Thou my suit hast sign'd; Whom Thou long life wilt give, He ages shall outlive; His throne shall stand before Thy face for evermore. Thy mercy, Lord, extend; Him for Thy truth defend. Then I in cheerful lays My vows devoutly pay. The Dirge of King David for Saul and Jonathan. 131 O let it not in Gath be known; Lest that sad story should excite Lest in the torrent of our woe, Lest their triumphant daughters ring You hills of Gilboa, never may No morning dew nor fruitful showers Saul and his arms there made a spoil, The bow of noble Jonathan Great battles won: His arrows on the mighty fed Saul never raised his arm in vain; How lovely! O how pleasant! when Than eagles swifter; stronger far Whom love in life so strongly tied Sad Israel's daughters, weep for Saul; Lament his fall: Who fed you with the earth's increase, And crown'd with peace, With robes of Tyrian purple deck'd, And gems, which sparkling light reflect. How are thy worthies by the sword O Jonathan, the better part Of my torn heart! FRANCIS ROUSE. The savage rocks have drunk thy blood, Thy love was great; O never more No woman, when most passionate, How are the mighty fall'n in fight! FRANCIS ROUSE. 133 Francis Rouse was a member of the long Parliament; and after the removal of John Hales, he became Provost of Eton. In 1641 he published a version of the Psalms, which was adopted by the Assembly of Divines, at Westminster, as the basis of a national psalmody. On the subject, Robert Baillie, one of the Scotch commissioners, thus writes:-" Ane old, most honest member of the House of Commons, Mr Rous, hes helped the old Psalter in most places faultie. His friends are verie pressing in the Assemblie that his book may be examined, and helped by the author in what places it shall be found meet, and then be commended to the Parliament, that they may injoin the publick use of it. One of their considerations is, the great private advantage that would thereby come to their friend. But manie do oppose the motion-the most because the work is not so well done as they think it might. We, underhand, will mightilie oppose it; for the Psalter is a great part of our uniformitie, which we cannot let pass till our Church be well advysed with it."+ However, the matter passed so far, that in 1645 Mr Rouse's version, as revised by the Assembly, was printed by order of Parliament, and recommended to general acceptance. The Church of Scotland, nevertheless, retained the privileges of which Baillie was so * Born at Halton, Cornwall, 1579; died at Acton, Middlesex, Jan. 7, 1659. Baillie's Letters and Journal, vol. ii., p. 120. jealous, and in 1647 appointed a committee to revise the Parliamentary Psalter, instructing them to avail themselves of the versions of Sir William Mure, Zachary Boyd, and others, and especially of their own time-honoured translation. In August 1649, the business of revision was re-committed to six brethren, some of whose names are still familiar-viz., James Hamilton, John Smith, Hugh M'Kail, Robert Trail, George Hutchison, and Robert Laurie. On the 23d of November, in that year, the amended version was adopted by the Commission of Assembly, who authorised it as "the only paraphrase of the Psalms to be sung in the Kirk of Scotland, discharging the old paraphrase, and any other than this new paraphrase, to be made use of in any congregation or family, after the first day of May, in the year 1650." * The chief merit of Rouse is fidelity; and, although the Scottish version is in some places sufficiently hard and dry, it will be allowed that it has considerably improved upon the rugged strains of the Cornish Provost of Eton. This will be seen by comparing a specimen of each: Psalm xcv. Come, let us sing to God, to the rock Of our health shout with noise. For God's a great God, and great King, Depths of the earth are in His hand, And the hills' strength is His. The sea is His, He it made; dry land From His hands did being take. *Holland's Psalmists of Britain, vol. i., 57-60. |