Psalms Of Praise -- Notable Quotable

I thought these brief quotes were a good follow-up to the previous post on music.

"In his early years there, Calvin was not impressed with the quality of the singing at Geneva, so he took the practical step of requiring that the catechism classes for the children include the memorizing and singing of Psalms. Church office-bearers and Christian school teachers had a role here. Calvin states, 'Write a letter to the judges of the consistory to acquaint them with the fact that the Lord desires that the youth learn to sing the Psalms, and that the principal of the school and his headmaster teach the music of the said Psalms'"

-- (John Calvin on the Wonder of the Psalms by Pastor Angus Stewart, Calvin quotation from, Ford Lewis Battles, The Piety of John Calvin [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1978], p. 142).

"Now what Saint Augustine says is true, that no one is able to sing things worthy of God unless he has received them from him. Wherefore, when we have looked thoroughly everywhere and searched high and low, we shall find no better songs nor more appropriate for the purpose than the Psalms of David, which the Holy Spirit made and spoke through him. And furthermore, when we sing them, we are certain that God puts the words in our mouths, as if he himself were singing in us to exalt his glory."

-- John Calvin, "Epistle to the Reader" prefixed to the Genevan Psalter (1542)

Grace and peace to you and yours!

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