The object of this volume is to furnish the Churches with a complete Collection of Sacred Songs for pubfic worship; and in presenting such a work, when so many, aiming at the same end, are already in circulation, we seem to be called upon state some reasons which have influenced us in this undertak Ing, and which may have some weight with others. The least offensive mode in which this can be done, will be to give a brief exposition of the principles which have been kept in view in its execution. An outline is all that will be given-for more than this, however much it may be demanded, or however rich in thought or replete with practical wisdom, would be hardly ever read. A Preface is generally deemed a very dull and unattractive part of a Book, so much so, that if an author had some profound secrets which he wished to record, and yet preserve in deep obscurity, he might be advised, as it regards most readers, to commit them to the safe-keeping of these neglected pages. And yet some persons read a Preface, and for the benefit of such this one is written.

The subjects of Lyric Poetry and Psalmody are intimately and inseparably connected, and it is in vain to expect one to exist in a high state of perfec tion without the other; or for either to attain disunguished excellence without cultivation. It must be acknowledged, that ministers and churches have not studied this subject with that attention which it claims, nor even in relative proportion when compared with other grave matters pertaining to the worship of God. Singing often falls far below every other part of the services of the sanctuary, from the want of both sympathy and knowledge, on the part of the Church. Little is known on the subject, and ättle is felt in relation to it. But this is a state as anwise as it is criminal. It is a matter of vast and vital importance that all who desire that the public Institutions of religion may make the best impres Bion and secure their highest results, and especially that ministers of the gospel should understand what Sacred Songs are adapted to social worship, and

what tunes will impart to them the greatest powei and efficiency. Both of these subjects should form a part of christian instruction, and especially of theological training. A brief course of Lectures on Lyric Poetry, is hardly less necessary than a course on Sermonizing and Pastoral Theology; and a preacher of the gospel should read and study the best Psalms and Hymns, as an every-day-business, as he does his Bible, till he is acquainted with their sentiments, familiar with their structure and imagery, and deeply imbued with their spirit. The advan tages of such a course are obvious and numberless } -some of them so plain that they need not be spe cified, and when taken collectively, and in all their intellectual and moral relations, too many to be embraced in this rapid sketch. It is not saying too much to affirm, that such a discipline would enlarge a minister's knowledge, improve his taste, increase his piety, refine his imagination, invigorate his eloquence, and give him readiness, appropriateness and power, in the public exercises of his profession. His volume of sacred poetry should be a Text-Book by the side of the Bible, and he should be equally familiar with both. If this were the case, the sermon and singing would more generally harmonize in their object and impressions, than they now do, the minister would have to expend less time in consulting numerous indexes in order to know what to select; and in the very act of reading the Psalm or Hymn, he would make an impression which would instruct the hearers, and give the key-note of sentiment and expression to the choir. How deficient the ministry may be in these respects, is matter of opinion of which every person will judge for himself.

The character of Psalmody must always be affected by a great variety of circumstances which need not be adverted to in this place; but nothing has a greater influence to elevate or depress, to advance or retard its progress, than the Lyric Poetry which is employed in the service of God. The for lowing defects may easily be detected in many o the Psalms and hymns now in use. Some are com· posed on subjects unsuited to song-others are des itute of a lyrical spirit-another class lack simplicity of design and execution--and not a few are of an

anreasonable length for a single exercise of singing. fo remedy these and other defects, and to secure, if possible, certain excellencies which are attained as jet only in part, are among the objects of this pubication.

That Lyric Poetry has a character of its own—that t moves in a sphere peculiar to itself-and that its subjects are limited, there is no room for doubt. On hese points all critics agree. This poetry is made o be sung; and, when combined with appropriate music, we have a vehicle, at once natural and refined, for the expression of strong emotion. A Psalm or Hymn should be devotional, rather than didactic, because the warm inspirations of the heart, and not the cool deductions of the intellect, are its province. Ascriptions of thanksgiving and praise to God, the breathings of filial desire and confidence, the cheering influence of hope, the tremblings of self-distrust and religious fear, "peace and joy in the Holy Ghost," and all the strong feelings which are called forth in a world of conflict and expectation, belong 10 this department of poetry. Any thing and every thing which pertains to devotion and christian experience, may furnish a subject fur spiritual song.

And yet, notwithstanding these well-defined limits, which nature itself has fixed to Lyric Poetry, there are hundreds of Hymns, in our language, which can never be sung to any good effect, because their subject-matter is foreign to this kind of writing. They can, from their very nature, neither inspire religious emotion, nor become the channels of that emotion already inspired. They contribute to extinguish, rather than to kindle up, the holy flame. They are good sermons, but poor songs. This fault in the choice of subjects, is much more rarely to be met with in secular than spiritual odes; and the same may be said in relation to the music by which they are accompanied. The reasons of this may not, perhaps, be easily detected. It cannot be for a moment admitted, that revealed religion is unfruitful in themes. If nature may be sung, why not nature's God? If creation can inspire the lyric bard, why not redemption, with its brighter glories, and its more enduring interests? If earth has its raptures, why should heaven be poor, and powerless, and without • song? If If great and go od men who have lived and

acted and died, have, by their virtues or heroism, called forth the finest and sweetest tones of the Lyre, why should the praises of the only Great and Good, who lives in his own immortality, and whose wondrous acts are recorded for the admiration of all worlds, sleep in silence and be forgotten? It may be worthy of remark in this place, that few poets of the first order have ever tried their pinions in this upper sky; but when they have, and selected an appropriate theme, they have showed that the waters of Zion can impart a purer inspiration than the fabled Castalian spring.

If the province of Lyric Poetry is to inspire and express emotion, then no Psalm nor Hymn can answer the true purpose of christian worship unless it breathes the appropriate spirit. Its execution, as well as its subject, must be lyric. It may be rhyme, and not poetry. It may be poetry, and yet not he adapted to singing. Heroics can never, with any advantage, be set to music. A Hymn, whether it respects God, our fellow beings, or ourselves, should be the effusion of the heart, and that heart under proper influences-melted and dissolved by just such emotions as suit the condition described, or the oc· casion for which the song is intended. The language should be simple; the images striking, but not gaudy; the figures unincumbered; the sentences uninvolved and short; the structure free from all ambiguity; the whole style and manner chaste, .ne not loaded with ornament or epithet; and the stan zas, and even lines, express, as far as practicable, a complete idea. In one word, it must be poetry, an lyric poetry, or it will chill the native inspirationa of song, and defeat the great end of this part of wor

ship.

A Hymn should possess unity of design, and simplicity in execution. One great object should be aimed at, and every thought and expression should be rendered subservient to this. The piece should be one, tending to a single end, and terminating in one grand impression. One of the first poets of the presen age, and one who has written many excellent Hymns too, has described this property so well, that we can not forbear transcribing his language, as more appro priate than any thing that we can say. "The rea der," he says, "should know when the strain in

complete, and be satisfied, as at the close of an air in music; while defects and superfluities should be felt by him as annoyances, in whatever part they might occur. The practice of many good men, in framing Hymns, has been quite the contrary. They have begun apparently with the only idea in their mind at the time; another, with a little relationship to the former, has been forced upon them by a refractory rhyme; a third became necessary to eke out a verse, a fourth to begin one; and so on, till having compiled a sufficient number of stanzas of so many lines. ind lines of so many syllables, the operation has been suspended."

As every Sacred Song should have a subject of its own, and form a regular production, having a beginning, a middle and an end, so it should be adapted, in its length, to the purpose of singing. Important as this thought is, it has been greatly overlooked by the writers of Hymns, and the compilers of books for the use of the sanctuary. The very best authors are not free from this fault. In one volume now be fore us of no mean pretensions, hymns may be found of eight, ten and twelve stanzas; and one occurs of eight stanzas of eight lines each, Long Metre-making sixty-four lines; and this Hymn, the author telis us in the preface, "is considerably abridged from the original." Various expedients have been resorted to both by authors and compilers, in order to remedy this evil. Here and there a stanza is included in brackets, and pauses are introduced into the middle, or other parts of the production-thus marring the beauty of the page, and often destroying the connection, and always impairing the unity of the piece. The better way, no doubt, is to reduce every Psalm or Hymn, designed for public worship, to a convenient length for this purpose, by rejecting those stanzas which are redundant, which are deficient in lyric spirit, and which destroy the unity of design. There are few long Hymns, in our language, which will not be sufficiently shortened by the application of the above rule. Some of a popular character, and, as it regards portions of them, of standard merit, may be reduced to two or three stanzas; but this is not objec tionable, as we often need short IIymns of a striking character, for evening meetings, and at the close of

mons. And it should not be forgotten, that muck