eminent cardinals and bishops, and by whole bodies of Roman ecclesiastics; and their honest indignation, and their horror at such vileness and infamy, have been expressed in much stronger language than we have ventured to transcribe. So far, indeed, as we are aware, there is nothing in this statement to which any consciencious Roman Catholic might not give his willing assent. Not a single Protestant author has been quoted, not a single doubtful authority is adduced; else it might seem incredible that such things were allowed to exist; that Rome had submitted to be bearded and contemned for more than a hundred years by the sworn slaves of the pope; and that iniquity and crime had soared to such a pitch of audacity. We abhor even to think of the holy name of Christ, and the purity of his religion, in connection with things so detestable; for surely the mission of Madura, built upon perjury and fraud, given over to superstition as it was, where every chord of falsehood was touched with a master's hand, vindicates for its author the very character of the Father of lies."

We also see make for an

In the light of these facts we see to what length in imposture and wickedness men will go, even in the cause of humanity, when they reject the Spirit of God. what pains men will take, and what sacrifices idea, even the favor of God and the salvation of their own souls, in following a false standard of duty. Nor need we wonder that Christianity had incurred so great an odium in Madura; nor that Romanism, though prevalent in the country for 128 years previous to the arrival of the American missionaries in 1834, should not have left any marked traces of genuine Christianity in the public mind, or introduced even the most simple ideas into the spoken language of the people. Some of the works of the learned Beshi would seem to be an exception to this remark. His Instructions to Catechists and Exhortations to Christians, possess in many places a practically religious bearing; yet, connected as it is with the system of Rome, with whom "ignorance is the mother of devotion," its influence, beyond a very narrow circle, is unfelt and unknown.

The present state of the Romanists in Madura is deplorable in the extreme. In the year 1773 the order of Jesuits was dissolved, and from that time, till 1830, their missionary operations were suspended. But so greatly were Protestant missionaries and their converts increasing, that Rome, in the face of all that had taken place in the past, called to their aid the Jesuits, and they have been sent out in considerable numbers, and have taken the place of the Goa priests who entered into the labors of the former Jesuits when they were disbanded, and carried on the work, though on a greatly reduced scale. This has caused great dissatisfaction and many lawsuits.

In the year 1853 the number of Roman Catholics in the district of Madura was 150,000, and the clergy 38; but in consequence of a continuance of heathen rites among them, and their aversion to education, they are, both in intelligence and civilization, far below the heathen with whom they are surrounded. And this state their guides seem to desire. In the year 1835 or 1836, when the Jesuit missionaries reentered Madura, their first labor was to collect into heaps the school books of the American mission schools, where Roman Catholic children attended, and burn them in the streets, nor did they establish any schools in their stead.

ART. IV.-PSALMS, HYMNS, AND SPIRITUAL SONGS.*
By REV. A. D. LORD, Batavia, N. Y.

FROM this twice stated enumeration, it would seem that the inspired Apostle intended to recognize and approve a three-fold classification of the sacred lyrics then used, or thereafter to be employed, in the services of the Christian Church, Commentators have done but little to settle the meaning of the terms here used; most of the older writers have dismissed these passages with some general expression on the subject, without attempting to justify the classifica

* Eph. v, 19; Col. iii, 16.

tion, or determine the grounds on which it should be based. Ellicott leaves it thus undecided, Prof. Hagenbach, of Basle, in an interesting article on "Church Music and Song (Theolog. Eclectic, Vol. IV, p. 237), says, "The Apostolic Church recognized Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs. How these were related to one another, it is hard to determine; yet, by Psalms, we are obliged to understand either the Old Testament Psalms, or Christian Psalms modeled after them; by Hymns, songs of praise; and by Spiritual Songs, hymns of a more general character. Olshausen sees no distinction in them, but considers them as being only different terms for one and the same thing." Dr. Lange, as quoted by Prof. Harbaugh, (Am. Theolog. Review, III, 272,) gives a curious and interesting disquisition on the subject, but it is rather theoretical than practical.

Believing the careful statement of the classification to indicate that it rested upon important distinctions clearly apprehended by the apostle, and that the grounds of these distinctions may be ascertained and understood; feeling confident that the subject is one of no little practical importance to the Church, we propose, without reference to abstruse theories, or nice æsthetic distinctions, to investigate facts; and to do this by examining our sacred lyrics for the purpose of ascertaining what differences may be found in the matter they contain, on which such a classification can be based.

A slight examination of the hymns, so called, in any one of our collections, will show, first, that a large proportion (about one-half) of them contain no address to the Deity; and second, that an equal number have, in one or more stanzas, a direct address to God. In the greater part of these, the address is in the form of prayer or supplication; while a smaller number contain no petitions, but are filled with devout and adoring views of the character and attributes of God, accompanied with thanksgiving, or ascriptions of praise, honor and glory to him, as Creator, Preserver or Redeemer. The objects of the class first named, those not addressed to God, are either to state important religious truths, or, when addressed directly to the human soul, to secure its attention

to these important themes, to arouse the dormant energies of its spiritual life, to kindle its emotions, to warm its affections, to intensify its desires, to strengthen its purposes; and thus to cheer it onward in its pilgrimage, and encourage it in its warfare; or prepare it to enter the presence chamber, and present its prayer, or offer its adoration and praise, at the footstool of its King. In the forms of address first named, the soul, deeply impressed with a sense of its want, its weakness, its dependence, comes to God, with faith in his ability to supply all its needs, to ask for that supply. Prayer is therefore the distinguishing characteristic of this class. In the other form of address we find the utterances of the soul, when, its own wants and those of the body being for the time fully supplied, it is filled with a sense of the abounding goodness and mercy of God, and can only pour forth its devout emotions, and express its glowing affections in ascriptions of thanksgiving, adoration and praise. This is the highest style of sacred verse it is closely allied in character, indeed identical in matter and spirit, with the music of the heavenly world.*

Have we not, then, three distinct classes of sacred lyrics, differing widely in the matter they contain, the purpose for which they are intended, and the frames of mind to which they owe their origin? What names shall we apply to each of these classes? Since Psalm has always been regarded as a sacred word, and, by almost universal consent, has been applied to lyrics used by worshipers of the true God; and Hymn was applied by the Greeks and Romans to the odes used in the worship of their deities; while Song, without the epithet spiritual or sacred, is appropriately applied to any secular lyric poem; it will, doubtless, be admitted that the names in one title are arranged as an anti-climax. We propose, then, that the highest style of lyrics above described be called Psalms, the next, Hymns, and the third Spiritual Songs.

* A short time before his death, Toplady, the author of "Rock of Ages," said, "I can not tell the comforts I feel in my soul; they are past expression. The consolations of God are so abounding that he leaves me nothing to pray for. My prayers are all converted into praise."

Remembering that the Psalm contains praise, the Hymn prayer, or a declaration of faith in God, and that the Song is generally addressed to created beings, no one will find it difficult to classify the contents of any Hymn-book. True, we shall find some of mixed character; this might be expected. Some are Psalm-hymns, Psalm-songs, or Hymn-songs; while a few have the characteristics of all three. Yet it will be found that four-fifths, if not nine-tenths, may be appropriately referred to one or another of these classes. To be satisfied of this, it will only be necessary to examine forty or fifty of the hymns of any collection.*

Adopting this classification, it will be found that the Psalms need no subdivision. Hymns may be divided into four classes: first, those containing prayer only; second, those containing confession for sin or negligence in duty, followed by prayer; third, those in which a meditation upon religious truth is followed by prayer; and fourth, those in which a similar meditation upon the attributes of God, or the work of Christ, is followed by a declaration of trust or an act of self-consecration. Spiritual songs are divisible into three classes: first, those containing statements of doctrine or truth, without the form of address; second, those of warning or exhortation to the impenitent; and third, those addressed to believers.†

13.

*PSALMS: "Eternal wisdom! thee we praise," Church Psalmist, Hymn 12. "Great God! how infinite art thou," "Father whate'er of earthly bliss," "Lord, we come before thee now,"

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434.

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428.

HYMNS:

SP. SONGS: "My soul, be on thy guard,"

"Nor eye hath seen, nor ear hath heard,"

"Lord! when we bend before thy throne,"

HYMNS: Class I-"Father of heaven! whose love profound," Hymn 224

II-"O thou, whose tender mercy hears," "Lord at thy feet we sinners lie," III" Since all the varying scenes of life," "Oh! where shall rest be found?" IV-"Majestic sweetness sits enthroned," "I'm not ashamed to own my Lord,"

SP. SONGS: Class I-"Faith is the brightest evidence,

"Nor eye hath seen, nor ear hath heard," II-"Sinners, the voice of God regard,"

III

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Return, O wanderer, now return," Bless, O my soul, the living God," "Come ye that love the Lord,