The Rage for the Psalter in France
This article by Rev. Angus Stewart traces the historical phenomenon of Psalm-singing during the French Reformation, particularly through Clement Marot's versification of the Psalms at Calvin's behest, and documents how the Psalter became the dominant form of worship music throughout France. The piece advocates for the recovery of Psalm-singing in Reformed churches against the modern trend toward uninspired hymns, grounding its argument in the historical practice of the Reformed tradition.
Rev. Angus Stewart Today, the Psalms—God’s manual of praise for his church—are rejected by many professed Protestants for uninspired hymns. It once was very different! All the Reformed churches sang the Psalms. J. A Wylie in his famous History of Protestantism (book 2, pp. 137-138) describes “the rage for the Psalter” in France in the days of the Reformation in the lengthy but engaging quotation below: At an early stage of the Reformation in France, the New Testament … was translated in the...