he older version of the Psalms
being changed in the Prayer Book in the seventeenth century, when other
passages of Scripture were revised, still hold good. Neither A.V. nor
R.V. are so well adapted for music, nor have they endeared themselves
to the worshipper by daily use. Those who have time and opportunity
may {30} discover for themselves more exact meanings or clear up
difficulties by private study. But even those who have not may find
that there are better uses of the Psalter than a merely intellectual
grasp of its meaning. Possibly an occasional obscurity may even have a
humbling or awe-inspiring effect on the mind. The strange version of
the Vulgate of Ps. lxxi. 14, though incorrect, is not without its point:

Quoniam non cognovi litteraturam,
introibo in potentias Domini.[1]

Learning by itself can never lift the soul on the wings of devotion and
worship. The unlearned, Christ's "little ones," have in every age
found a voice that spoke to them in the liturgy of the Catholic Church,
even though its accents were inarticulate, and its message music rather
than words. Such considerations may prevent us distressing ourselves
because something, perhaps much, in the Church's book of praise is
unintelligible and must remain so.

Two practical suggestions may be offered here to those who find
themselves hindered in devotion by the difficulties of the Psalter, by
its rapid transitions, or its constantly varying tone. The leading
purpose of the Psalter in {31} the Church's use is expressed in its
Hebrew title, _Tehillim_, "praises." "We shall do well," says Dr.
Cheyne, "to accustom ourselves to the intelligent use of this title,
and to look out in every psalm for an element of praise." It is good
to allow this thought to dominate our mind while the Psalms are being
read or sung in the Church's service. For this and for that our
fathers in the Faith thanked God; for what He had revealed, or promised
or done. And He is the same, He changes not. Ever and anon as the
service proceeds, a verse will suggest some ground of thanksgiving for
ourselves or for the Church we love. We need to keep our minds, like
our bodies, in the attitude of praise and aspiration, like that exiled
lover of his nation who wrote Ps. cvi.:

Remember me, O Lord, according to the favour that Thou
bearest unto Thy people:
O visit me with Thy salvation;
That I may see the felicity of Thy chosen:
And rejoice in the gla