Scottish Translations and Paraphrases

The Translations and Paraphrases, in Verse, of several Passages of Sacred Scripture represents a landmark milestone in Scottish hymnody. First authorized for public use by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1781, the volume expanded the Church's praise beyond the Hebrew Psalter to incorporate metrical renderings of Old and New Testament passages alongside five select human-composed hymns.

Historical Development and Committees

The preparation of these scriptural paraphrases spanned nearly four decades, carried out through two distinct phases of committee work appointed by the General Assembly.

The Draft of 1745

On May 13, 1742, the General Assembly appointed an initial committee to collect and prepare metrical renderings of Scripture. Additional members were added on May 18, 1744. The ministerial members included:

• 1742 Appointees: James Nisbet, William Gusthart, William Robertson, Robert Kinloch, John Gowdie, Frederick Carmichael, William McGeorge, Thomas Turnbull, Robert Blair, William Wishart, Robert Hamilton, George Logan, James Bannatyne, Patrick Cumming, Alexander Webster, George Wishart, Robert Dalgleish, James Nasmith, and Matthew Mitchell.

• 1744 Additions: Thomas Tullidelph, Daniel McQueen, Hugh Blair, George Kay, and Thomas Randall.

The ruling elders serving on the early committee were John Wilson, Robert Baillie, Alexander Nisbet, Lord Arniston, Lord Drummore, Solicitor General Robert Dundas, and Charles Erskine.

This committee presented its initial draft of forty-five paraphrases in 1745. In 1751, the General Assembly allowed this draft for private family use. Over the following decades, publishers frequently printed these forty-five paraphrases at the end of Scottish Psalters.

The Authorized Collection of 1781

On May 29, 1775, the General Assembly appointed a new committee to revise the 1745 collection and enlarge it for public worship. The committee's membership was expanded across three key dates:

• 1775 Appointees: Ministers Patrick Cumming, Alexander Webster, William Robertson, Robert Finlay, Hugh Blair, Harry Spence, John Ogilvie, Thomas Linning, Andrew Hunter, Alexander Carlyle, Joseph McCormick, John Logan, James Brown, Samuel Martin, Robert Walker, James Campbell, and John Gibson; with ruling elders John Home, James Stoddart, John McLauren, Robert Cullen, Andrew Dalyell, and George Hill.

• 1780 Additions: Ministers Henry Grieve, Robert Walker (Junior), Sir Harry Moncrieff, John Kemp, George Barclay, and Robert Dick; with ruling elders John Dickson, James Colquhoun, and Alexander Stevenson.

• 1781 Additions: Ministers William Dalrymple, James Gillespie, William Burnside, Alexander Watt, John Morison, and William Peebles; with ruling elders Mr. Hardie, William Richardson, and John Anderson.

The committee presented its printed draft in 1781. After introducing numerous verbal revisions, the collection was published for public use under the official title:

Publication Authority

Translations and Paraphrases, in Verse, of several Passages of Sacred Scripture. Collected and prepared by a Committee of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, in order to be sung in Churches. Edinburgh: Printed and sold by J. Dickson, Printer to the Church of Scotland, 1781.

Although the General Assembly assigned the exclusive printing rights to Church printer John Dickson through successive renewals up to 1809, the King's printer began appending the collection directly to the 1650 Scottish Psalter before the close of the eighteenth century.

Breakdown of Authorship and Sources

The 1781 collection contains sixty-seven paraphrases followed by five hymns. Of the sixty-seven paraphrases, thirty-five are presumably of Scottish origin (eight remaining anonymous), while the rest were adapted from English nonconformist sources.

                    [ 1781 Collection: 67 Paraphrases ]
                                    │
           ┌────────────────────────┴────────────────────────┐
           ▼                                                 ▼
[ 45 Retained from 1745 ]                             [ 22 Added in 1781 ]
• Isaac Watts (23)                                    • John Morison (5)
• Philip Doddridge (5)                                • Michael Bruce / John Logan (7)
• William Robertson the Elder (3)                     • Isaac Watts (2)
• Hugh Blair (3)                                      • John Logan & John Morison (2)
• Nahum Tate (2)                                      • William Cameron (2)
• Thomas Randall (1)                                  • Thomas Blacklock (1)
• Anonymous (8)                                       • Samuel Martin (1)
                                                      • John Ogilvie (1)
                                                      • Hugh Blair Cento (1)

1. The 45 Paraphrases from the 1745 Draft

The forty-five pieces retained from the earlier draft—many undergoing extensive text revisions—were sourced as follows:

• Isaac Watts (23): Nos. 1, 3, 7, 13, 20, 22, 24, 40, 41, 46, 47, 50 (partly), 51, 54, 55, 56, 57, 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67.

• Philip Doddridge (5): Nos. 2, 32, 39, 45, and 60.

• Hugh Blair (3): Nos. 4, 33, and 34.

• William Robertson the Elder (3): Nos. 25, 42, and 43.

• Nahum Tate (2): Nos. 36 and 37.

• Thomas Randall (1): No. 49.

• Anonymous (8): Nos. 6, 18, 23, 26, 38, 48, 52, and 59.

2. The 22 Paraphrases Added in 1781

The twenty-two new paraphrases introduced in 1781 were assigned to the following authors:

• Michael Bruce or John Logan (7): Nos. 8, 9, 10, 11, 31, 53, and 58.

• John Morison (5): Nos. 19, 21, 29, 30, and 35.

• Isaac Watts (2): Nos. 5 and 15.

• John Logan and John Morison Jointly (2): Nos. 27 and 28.

• William Cameron (2): Nos. 14 and 17.

• Hugh Blair (1): No. 44 (a composite cento).

• Thomas Blacklock (1): No. 16.

• Samuel Martin (1): No. 12.

• John Ogilvie (1): No. 62.

3. The 5 Appended Hymns

The five standalone hymns appended to the end of the collection were sourced from:

• Joseph Addison (3): No. 1 ("When all thy mercies, O my God"), No. 2 ("The spacious firmament on high"), and No. 3 ("When rising from the bed of death").

• Isaac Watts (1): No. 4 ("Blest morning! whose first dawning rays").

• Michael Bruce or John Logan (1): No. 5 ("The hour of my departure's come").

Index of First Lines (1781 Collection)

I. Paraphrases Originally Published in 1745–51

1. Let heav'n arise, let earth appear (Alt: Now let a spacious world arise)

2. O God of Bethel! by whose hand

3. Naked as from the earth we came

4. How still and peaceful is the grave

5. The rush may rise where waters flow (Alt: Say grows the rush without the mire)

6. How should the sons of Adam's race

7. Keep silence, all ye sons of men (Alt: Shall Wisdom cry aloud)

8. Behold! the mountain of the Lord (Alt: In latter days, the mount of God)

9. How glorious Zion's courts appear (Alt: How honourable is the place)

10. Why pour'st thou forth thine anxious plaint (Alt: Whence do our mournful thoughts arise)

11. Behold my servant! see him rise

12. Ye heav'ns send forth your song of praise! (Alt: Now shall my inward joys arise)

13. How few receive with cordial faith

14. Ho! ye that thirst, approach the spring

15. What though no flow'rs the fig-tree clothe (Alt: So firm the saints' foundation stands)

16. Father of all! we bow to thee

17. Thus spake the Saviour of the world (Alt: With solemn thanksgiving our Lord)

18. My soul and spirit, fill'd with joy

19. While humble shepherds watch'd their flocks (Alt: While shepherds watch'd their flocks by night)

20. Just and devout old Simeon liv'd (Alt: Now let Thy servant die in peace)

21. Hark, the glad sound, the Saviour comes

22. The wretched prodigal behold (Alt: Behold the wretch whose lust and wine)

23. As when the Hebrew prophet rais'd (Alt: So did the Hebrew prophet raise)

24. Let not your hearts with anxious thoughts

25. You now must hear my voice no more

26. Ungrateful sinners! whence this scorn

27. Vain are the hopes the sons of men

28. And shall we then go on to sin (Alt: Shall we go on to sin)

29. Let Christian faith and hope dispel (Alt: Now let our souls ascend above)

30. Though perfect eloquence adorn'd (Alt: Though all men's eloquence adorn'd)

31. When the last trumpet's awful voice (Alt: O for an overcoming faith)

32. Soon shall this earthly frame dissolv'd

33. Ye who the name of Jesus bear (Alt: You who the name of Jesus bear)

34. I'm not asham'd to own my Lord

35. My race is run; my warfare's o'er (Alt: Death may dissolve my body now)

36. How wretched was our former state (Alt: Lord, we confess our numerous faults)

37. Jesus, the Son of God, who once (Alt: With joy we meditate the grace)

38. Behold what witnesses unseen

39. Father of peace, and God of love!

40. Bless'd be the everlasting God

41. Behold th' amazing gift of love (Alt: Behold what wondrous grace)

42. To him that lov'd the souls of men (Alt: Now to the Lord that makes us know)

43. Behold the glories of the Lamb

44. How bright these glorious spirits shine! (Alt: These glorious minds, how bright they shine)

45. Lo! what a glorious sight appears

II. Paraphrases Added in 1781

5. Tho' trouble springs not from the dust (Alt: Not from the dust affliction grows)

6. Few are thy days, and full of woe

7. Who can resist th' Almighty arm

8. In streets, and op'nings of the gates

9. O happy is the man who hears

10. Ye indolent and slothful rise

11. While others crowd the house of mirth (Alt: Let such as would with Wisdom dwell)

12. As long as life its term extends (Alt: Life is the time to serve the Lord)

13. In life's gay dawn, when sprightly youth

14. Rulers of Sodom! hear the voice

15. The race that long in darkness pin'd

16. Attend, ye tribes that dwell remote

17. Thus speaks the High and Lofty One (Alt: The High and Holy One hath spoke)

18. Attend, and mark the solemn fast

19. Amidst the mighty, where is he

20. Come, let us to the Lord our God

21. Thus speaks the Heathen; How shall man

22. 'Twas on that night when doom'd to know

23. Behold the Saviour on the cross

24. Take comfort, Christians! when your friends

25. Where high the heavenly temple stands

26. Lo! in the last of days behold

III. Hymns Added in 1781

1. When all thy mercies, O my God

2. The spacious firmament on high

3. When rising from the bed of death

4. Blest morning! whose first dawning rays (Alt: Bless'd morning, whose young dawning rays)

5. The hour of my departure's come