1650-John Cotton (1584-1652).-An excellent treatise on Psalm singing by an eminent New England Puritan. Cotton gives a good overview for the arguments for only singing Psalms together with a spirited defense of the use of metrical psalmody.
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1848-John T. Pressly.-This is Pressly’s spirited response to Ralston’s attack on those who only sing Psalms in the worship of God. Pressly examines his claims to a divine warrant for making and using hymns of human composure in worship.
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1900-John T. Chalmers (1860-1902).-Mr. Chalmers explains the principles, merit and authority behind the exclusive use of the Psalms in the public worship of the people of God in easy to understand language and drawing clear conclusions.
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1874-Anonymous.-An article taken from the Reformation Advocate magazine which asks a much needed question about hymns and why they are so difficult for people to abandon in order to sing the inspired 150 Psalms collected in the Bible's hymnal.
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1862-Anonymous.-An article from The Associate Presbyterian, an North American Anti-burgher Seceder magazine, which canvasses the history of psalm singing in an effort to determine the mode in which the church has always sung Psalms.
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1859-Hugh Brown.-Two discourse on purity of worship. The first examines and defends the exclusive use of the inspired Psalms in the praise of the church; the second explains why the use of instrumental music in the worship of God is not warranted under the New Testament.
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1851-Robert J. Dodds (1824-1870).-This is the last salvo in a series of 19th century books on the war over exclusive psalmody amongst various groups of Presbyterians. Dodds takes up the cause of God and truth against hymn singer George Morton and examines the merits of his criticisms on John T. Pressly's work on behalf of Psalmody.
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1840-Donald Campbell McLaren.-An excellent primer on the subject of Psalmody wherein the author painstakingly explains why only the inspired Book of Psalms should be used in the worship of God.
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1838-Anonymous.-An article from The Reformed Presbyterian Magazine defending the practice of lining of the Psalms when they are sung in congregational settings as the most ancient usage of the church.
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1640-Richard Mather (1596-1669).-An essay affixed as a preface to the Bay Psalm Book (1640), almost certainly the work of Richard Mather (one of the translators), explaining the philosophy of translation employed together with reason why literalism is to be preferred over smoothness in metrical psalmody.
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1852-Gilbert McMaster.-A comprehensive view of the benefits of the use of the Psalms in the worship of God together with the importance of retaining them in order to bring genuine ecclesiastical union and communion.
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1849-Alexander Blaikie (1804-1885).-An Associate Reformed Presbyterian minister defends the practice of a cappella psalmody by way of catechetical exercises.
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ca. 1885-David Steele.-A defense of the practice of lining in the singing of the Psalms. Mr. Steele explains how the principle of charity ought to work in the public worship of the church.
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