A. Merril Smoak, Jr., Presbyterian Hymnals

Anderson, J.; Howard, S. B. The Social Harp: containing a rich variety of Scriptural Songs, for the use of Christians in their House of Pilgrimage, Adapted to all Occasions & Seasons; Compiled from various sources, by J. Anderson and S. B. Howard, Ministers of the C. P. Church. Louisville: A. F. Cox, Printer, 1858. Revised and Enlarged. [9861]

Full leather, bordered & decorated in gilt front and back, elaborate gilt to spine, joints fine, corner tips worn through, 11.5 x 7 cm (4 1/2 x 2 3/4 inches), all page edges gilt. (i)-iv, (5)-384 pp., text complete, tight. Very good. Hardcover.

This hymnal by Cumberland Presbyterian compilers went through several editions between 1851 and 1870, and all of them are rather scarce.

462 hymns plus 13 doxologies, words only. With index.

The Rev. Jesse Anderson (1812-1885) was made publishing agent of the denomination in 1854, and was editor of the Central Cumberland Presbyterian (Owensboro, Kentucky) at its beginning in 1865. "He was the author of a work on the Identity of the Church, and also of the Life of Jones and Irvine, and was one of the compilers of the 'Social Harp,' a collection of hymns that was popular and used largely in our Church, and to some extent by other Churches." - The Cumberland Presbyterian, April 8, 1886, cited at cumberland dot org.

Rev. S. B. Howard was a member of the Board of Publication from 1851 to 1856.

Church Psalmist; or Psalms and Hymns, for the Public, Social, and Private Use of Evangelical Christians. New York: Mark H. Newman, 1846. Fifteenth Edition. [9936]

Black blindstamped leather, front board almost detached, 11 x 7 cm (4 1/4 x 2 3/4 inches), namestamp of private owner on ffep. (i)-(v), 6-668 pp., complete. Fair. Hardcover.

This hymnal was endorsed in 1842 by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, and in 1843 was issued with a page "Action of the General Assembly of 1843" endorsing the work, and included here. It was also published by the Presbyterian Board of Publication.

722 selections, words only.

Cleland, Thomas. Evangelical Hymns, for Private, Family, Social, and Public Worship: Selected from various Authors. Lexington, Ky: Printed and Published by T. T. Skillman, 1828. Second Edition, Improved. [9839]

Full leather binding, worn with small loss at the ends & corners, spine title label worn through, 13.5 x 7.5 cm (5 1/4 x 2 7/8 inches). Lacks all free end papers. 436 pp., text pages complete. Top of first page of hymns clipped. Several leaves torn with loss of some words, some stains, foxing. Good. Full leather.

Thomas Cleland, D. D. (1778-1858), b. Fairfax Co., Virginia; in 1789 moved with his parents to Washington Co., Kentucky. Cleland was an exhorter during the Great Revival of 1801, and revivals were a frequent result of his ministries. A Presbyterian minister, he "was licensed to preach at Danville in 1803, and began his ministry at Lebanon, then Hardin's Creek; was ordained over New Providence and Harrodsburg Churches in 1813, and continued in charge of the Church in Harrodsburg for twenty-six years, and at New Providence for forty-five years...He was one of the most able and influential ministers of his Church in Kentucky." - The Biographical Encyclopaedia of Kentucky (1878).

"He was one of the most popular and useful preachers in Kentucky. Sixteen young men studied divinity under him. He was appointed one of the synodical commission in the Cumberland Presbyterian difficulties. Dr. Cleland was withal a diligent student, and wielded his pen with signal ability against the Newlights and Campbellites." - M'Clintock & Strong.

Ells, Jane W. The Pocket Hymn Book for Prayer Meetings, Monthly Consorts, &c., &c. Dayton: Printed, Published, and Sold by B. F. Ells..&c., 1837. [9840]

Worn cloth, front board weakly attached, 7.5 x 6 cm (2 15/16 x 2 1/4 inches), lacks the front free end papers.  "Rosa Annie Searer, 1877" in blue ink on front paste-down. 145 [but 154], (6) pp., the last six being an index of first lines. The last page is numbered 145 but should be numbered 154. Text good. Fair. Hardcover.

Relatively scarce with 5 records reported to WorldCat.

144 hymns and 3 doxologies, words only. Selected from many sources, including Watts, Doddridge, Newton, Medley, Fawcett, Cennick, Hart, Steele, &c.

We find in the Missionary Chronicle f(Presbyterian) for 1842 that both Jane W. and B. F. Ells were contributors from the Synod of Cincinnati, Presbytery of Miami, Ohio. In The History of Montgomery County, Ohio (1882), Jane W. Ells was one of the successful petitioners to the state legislature for the founding of the Montgomery County Children's Home in 1844.

Harris, William. The Cumberland Presbyterian Hymn Book; designed for the use of the pious of all Denominations; containing Hymns and Spiritual Songs, selected from the most approved Authors. Russellville, [Kentucky]: Charles Rhea, Printer, 1824. First Edition. [10073]

Full calf, cuts and scratches to the binding, top of spine chipped, 2 x 3 cm hole in center of backstrip, joints good. 12.3 x 7.5 cm (4 7/8 x 3 inches). Lacks all free end papers (blanks). DEFECTIVE: [1]-182, 185-194, 289-408. Index leaves tattered with loss of text to one leaf. Poor.

Scarce, with three locations at WorldCat; two in Kentucky, and AAS. The first hymn book of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church (McDonnold, History of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church (1888), p 92..

William Harris (1772-1845), the son of a Revolutionary War soldier, converted during the great revival of 1800 at an inn in Russellville, Kentucky. He became a catechist in 1804, was licensed 1811, and ordained 1812. He was the first minister of his denomination to preach in Indiana (ca. 1811), and was one of the ministers who constituted the presbytery of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio in 1832, traveling by horseback to Pennsylvania from Kentucky. He became a beloved leader of his denomination, and was remembered as a good, effective, energetic, and prayerful minister of Christ.

"Nearly one-fourth of every year of his life, from the commencement of his ministry, was literally spent encamped in the woods, at camp-meetings. The writer has heard him avow it as his belief, from the pulpit, that a camp-meeting was the best place on this side of heaven. It was not unusual for him to preach once or twice going to, and returning from, those meetings." - Rev. David Lowry, Brief Memoir and Funeral Sermon, as found at cumberlanddotorg online.

Kirk of Scotland. The Psalms of David in Metre: Translated and diligently compared with the original Text and former Translations; More Plain, Smooth, and Agreeable to the Text than any heretofore; Allowed by the authority of the Kirk of Scotland, and appointed to be sung in congregations and families. Pittsburgh: Published by Cramer, Spear and Eichbaum | Robert Ferguson & Co., Printers, 1815. [9977]

Full leather, rubbed and worn, joints good, 10.7 x 7 cm (4 1/4 x 2 3/4 inches). "John Gibbs's Book" and other scribbles on the end papers. Title page with chip at one edge, affecting a few letters of the imprint. (1)-336, number of leaves complete Leaf 75-6 with 1" tear; p. 201 misnumbered as 120; last text leaf torn with loss of bottom half, with loss of words on the recto only. Good.

The 150 Psalms in metre for congregational singing.

Kirk of Scotland. The Psalms of David in Metre: Translated and diligently compared with the original Text and former Translations; More Plain, Smooth, and Agreeable to the Text than any heretofore; Allowed by the Authority of the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland, and appointed to be sung in Congregations and Families. Philadelphia: Published by M'Carty & Davis | Stereotyped by J. Howe, 1826. [9825]

Brown leather with red leather spine title label & gilt lines, small chips to spine ends, bottom joint with surface crack - end paper hinge still good. 9.5 x 6 cm (3 3/4 x 2 1/4 inches), "William Kirkpatrick, His Book" on front and back end papers. Wood-engraved frontispiece of David as king playing a harp. 286 pp. with index. Some light staining to the text. Good. Full leather.

The 150 Psalms in metre for congregational singing.

Kirk of Scotland. The Psalms of David in Metre: Translated and diligently compared with the original Text and former Translations; More Plain, Smooth, and Agreeable to the Text than any heretofore; Allowed by the Authority of the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland, and appointed to be sung in Congregations and Families. London, Edinburgh & New York: T. Nelson and Sons, 1855. [9810]

Burgundy morocco, decorated in blind, gilt shield to front and gilt title to spine, all page edges gilt. Binding rubbed at edges and a bit bowed with short cracks at the ends of the joints. 10.7 x 7.2 cm (4 1/4 x 2 7/8 inches), yellow waxed end papers. 1858 owner's signature on ffep & at top of the tp. Title page in red & black with red border. 352 clean pp., tight. Good. Full leather.

The 150 Psalms in metre for singing, followed by 67 paraphrases in metre of other Bible passages, and 5 hymns.

McClure, Samuel. The Psalms of David, and Song of Solomon, in Metre. Lewistown, Pa & Harrisburg: Samuel McClure and Hickok & Barrett, 1849. First Edition. [9876]

Checked leather spine with blue marbled paper boards, front board detached, rear joint cracked, 13.6 x 7.8 cm (5 3/8 x 3 inches). 304 pp., text complete, some light stains. Fair. Hardcover.

This translation was intended for the private use of the Christian, rather than for public singing. "Like the religious poems of Meikle, these compositions of Mr. McClure are designed for the private reading and edification of the Christian." - William Easton.

Includes a recommendation by William Easton (1804-1879), a native of Scotland and Presbyterian minister in Pennsylvania. Also one by J. S. [John Smith] Easton (1806-1879), also a native of Scotland, and the minister of the Presbyterian Church at Lewistown, Pa., the town in which this Psalter was published.

If you have a copy of the standard Scottish Psalter, here is the beginning of the first Psalm for comparison:

Blest is the man, who will not sit
With men that sinners are,
Who hates the den where atheists meet,
And shuns the scoffer's chair.

But he has placed his chief delight
In the eternal word;
And meditated by day and night,
The statutes of the Lord.

Psalms and Hymns adapted to Social, Private, and Public Worship in the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America; Approved and Authorized by the General Assembly. Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1843. [9830]

Full sheep, joints good, a few short surface pulls, small 8.5 x 6.3 cm (3 1/4 x 2 1/2 inches). 1878 gift inscription on ffep, "To Alice, as a token of love..." 240 + 745 clean pp., tight.

Copyright 1843, no print date. Stereotyped by S. Douglas Wyeth, Agt.; Wm. S. Martien, Printer.

Separate title page after the 240 pp. of Psalms: - Selections from the Book of Psalms, in Metre, according to the version used in the Church of Scotland, and Authorized by the general Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. Includes index of first lines and two subject indices.

[Watts, Isaac]. An Imitation of the Psalms of David: carefully suited to the Christian Worship: being An Improvement of the former Versions of the Psalms; Allowed by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, to be used in Churches and private Families. Albany: Charles R. and George Webster, 1805. [9895]

Full leather, worn and scuffed, chipped at the spine ends, joints good, 14.7 x 9 cm (5 3/4 x 3 1/2 inches). Lacks all free end papers (blanks). (i)-(iv), (5)-176, 179-323, (1). Lacking one leaf of text, pp. 177-178. Pages are dark, with some stains, a few torn margins. Fair. Full leather.

This Psalter is based upon Watts, with additional Psalms which he neglected, and editing to remove specific reference to Great Britain, "so as to render the Composition better adapted to the Circumstances of Christians in every Country." - To the Reader.

The Psalter plus 6 Doxologies, 8 Hymns and one Song of Praise.

With adverts for books published or sold by Charles & George Webster. The verso to the tp has a full-page advert for The Easy Instructor, by William Little and William Smith; the verso of To the Reader has a list of books for sale at Webster's Bookstore, Albany; and the very last page has a list of books published and for sale by the same.