1640 version psalm book

I am pleased to have this in my reference book collection jim. Old hundred from the bay psalm book 1640 margaret dodd. An online version of the exhibition will be made available. Printing the bay psalm book in 1640 required importing the tools and materials of. Psalm bible book with full chapters new international. The first edition of the resulting bay psalm book was printed in cambridge, massachusetts, in 1640, and sothebys will auction one of the. By the 20th century, they were mostly replaced by hymns in church services. Stark old colonial american version of psalm 100, from the massachusetts bay colony bay psalm book of 1640. Preface to the 1640 bay psalm book the singing of psalms, though it breath forth nothing but holy harmony, and melody. Book published in 1640 sets a record at auction the new. Everyone the lord has saved should repeat that word of thanks. The bay psalm book 1640, the first book published in the british colonies in america, was a new metrical psalter.

Its a book that was not created to be fancy or splendid or valuable in any way other than the significance of its content, says derick dreher, the director of philadelphias rosenbach library, one of the few institutions to hold a bay psalm book. The bay psalm book was published in 1640, more than a century and a half after the first gutenberg bibles and 20 years after the pilgrims had landed at plymouth. Book published in 1640 sets a record at auction the new york. The 1700 copies of the first edition provided puritans with a plain and familiar translation designed to represent more faithfully the hebrew psalms than did the version used by the. Heath anthology of american literaturethe bay psalm book. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither whatever they do prospers. Bay psalm book wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. The bay psalm book was the first book to be printed in north america, twenty years after the arrival of the pilgrims in massachusetts.

It would be a good addition to a pastors book collection, and also gives insight on the thought of 1640. James version of the bible, retranslated the psalms from hebrew. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my god. Praise him, all who have been rescued from the enemy.

Later writers attempted to repair the literary inadequacies of the sternhold and hopkins version. This first edition of the bay psalm book contained text but no tunes. As we mentioned in our history of the bay psalm book, millar patrick described the work of a dr. As for the scruple that some take at the translation of the book of psalms into. Book i psalms 141 blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. This book, with which the pilgrims literally sang their praises to god, presents a translation of the psalms from hebrew, transposed into metrical rhyme for congregational singing. The 1640 edition of the bay psalm book is the earliest surviving print from the press, and was adopted by nearly every congregation in the massachusetts bay area. The founders of the massachusetts bay colony came to the new world seeking religious freedom, and their first publication was a hymnal. The psalms in metre, faithfully translated for the use, edification, and comfort of. Neither cottons essay nor the poems have been attended to by modern critics.

The bay psalm book is a metrical psalter, first printed in 1640 in cambridge, massachusetts. Most of our transcriptions of the bay psalm book will use modernized american english, since our main purpose is the pragmatic one of wanting to encourage and aid the actual singing of the psalms. The first edition of the resulting bay psalm book was printed in cambridge, mass. For example, in reading the psalms, it is useful to compare the bay psalm book version with those of the king james translation or others, noting the choices. Whole booke of psalmes, 1640 1r early printed books. Printed in 1640 by puritans in massachusetts, the bay psalm book one. Bay psalm book last updated march 14, 2020 title page of the copy of the bay psalm book held by the beinecke rare book and manuscript library. The bay psalm book is a book of many firststhe first englishlanguage book in north america, the first book of american poetry, and the first instance in a long and vital history of printing in america. Those lines were in a volume published in massachusetts in 1640 that amounted to the puritans religious and cultural manifesto. The bay psalm book is a religious and cultural manifesto of the puritan fathers and a towering icon of the founding of the united states. New york, 12 april 20 on 26 november 20, sothebys new york will auction one of the finest surviving copies of the bay psalm book the first book printed in what is now the united states of america. The reverend jesse glover imported the first printing press to the massachusetts bay colony in 1638, some 18 years after the first english settlers landed at plymouth rock.

Many collections preceded this final compilation of the psalms. Their efforts yielded the 1640 version that would become the bay psalm book, which was then revised and reprinted nine times in the seventeenth century alone. He brought them from east and west, north and south. Rorison, who with incredible patience and particularity, carried out a detailed comparison of the 1650 version with ten others, in order to trace every line, so far as might be possible, to its source. The whole book of psalms faithfully translated in english metre, more commonly known as the bay psalm book, was first printed in 1640 by a group of massachusetts ministers who were dissatisfied with the psalm book currently in use.

Massachusetts bay colony 1642 first complete finnish bible a folio, two columns to a page, illustrated with artistic woodcuts, with the title pages in neat baroque style copper engravings. The first edition of the bay psalm book, or new england version of the psalms, printed by stephen daye at cambridge, massachusetts, in 1640, has the distinction of being the first book printed in. Seventeenth century bibles and biblical history from 16001699. Reissued in successive editions, it remained in use for more than 100 years. Principally written by john eliot, thomas welde, and richard mather, these psalms transitioned from a literal translation to a more aesthetically pleasing metered version. The bay psalm book of 1640 was the first book printed in america. Americas hesitation over hymns christian history magazine. Isaiah thomass history of printing in the united states worcester, 1810 includes a catalogue of books printed by stephen day, and it is clear from thomass description of the bay psalm book that this copy was then still owned by william bentley. However, its production, just 20 years after the pilgrims arrival at plymouth, massachusetts, represents a considerable achievement. The content of this book was exactly what i was looking for in this reproduction of this psalm book of 1640. Preface to the 1640 bay psalm book reformed theology at.

Clicking on a chapter will show you the text of that chapter of psalm in the bible new international version. Eleven copies of the first edition of the bay psalm book are still known to exist, of which only five copies are complete. Let bidding begin for the bay psalm book from 1640. It was the first book printed in british north america. In a few cases we will also provide a version that retains the 1640 spelling to. The bay psalm book had been compiled by a group of new england divines and was employed in nearly every puritan church of the massachusetts bay colony. Census of copies of the bay psalm book, with provenance.

When the book was reprinted in 1698, tunes were added for the first time. The bay psalm book, formally titled the whole book of psalmes faithfully. Then he opened a weathered little book and read the version it contained. It will go on display in libraries across the united states. Made from an original copy of the prince collection in the boston public library. The lord to mee a shepheard is, want therefore shall not i. The bay psalm book sale view auction details, bid, buy and collect.

However, the psalms are popular for private devotion among many protestants and still used in. First printed in 1640 in cambridge, massachusetts, the bay psalm book was the first book printed in colonialist america. The volume was sold for twenty pence, and the 1640 edition was. The bay psalm book was the collaborative project of over twelve leading puritan divines and the first publishing venture of the massachusetts colony. At that time psalms appears also to have been used as a title for the entire section of the hebrew ot canon more commonly known as the writings see lk 24. He first edition of the bay psalm book, or new england version of the psalms, printed by stephen daye at cambridge, massachusetts, in. The bay psalm book, as this work is commonly known, is the first book printed in british north america.

The first book printed in north america was a collection of psalm settings, the bay psalm book 1640. The bay psalm book 1640 and the new england primer 1683. The first edition of the resulting bay psalm book was printed in cambridge, massachusetts, in 1640. Bay psalm book in metre 1640 logos bible software forums. The bay psalm book the first book printed in america. Psalm 98 bay psalm book, 1640, by thomas ravenscroft ca. The translations are not particularly polished, and not one has remained in use, although some of the tunes to which they were sung have survived. The bay psalm book is a metrical psalter first printed in 1640 in cambridge, massachusetts. The two psalters most widely used were the bay psalm book 1640 and sternhold and hopkinss whole book of psalms the old version, 1562. No example of the bay psalm book has appeared at auction since 1947, when another copy achieved a record auction price for any printed book at the time many multiples of what other icons of printing achieved in that period, including the. He gathered his people together from many different countries.

The psalms in it are metrical translations into english. The bay psalm book, printed just twenty years after the pilgrims arrival. Bay colony set out to produce a translation from the hebrew that was. A london printer, stephen daye, came with the press and established a printing office in cambridge. Book 5 psalms 107150 praise the lord, because he is good. Bible collection, rare book and special collections division, library of.

The whole booke of psalmes faithfully translated into. Let bidding begin for the bay psalm book from 1640 the. The psalm book, written and printed by the puritans of massachusetts bay colony in 1640, was designed to allow a whole congregation to sing psalms together in church and at home. These are all of the chapters of the book of psalm. Being a facsimile reprint of the first edition, printed by. The book is a psalter, first printed in 1640 in cambridge, massachusetts. The whole booke of psalmes faithfully translated in to english metre 1640 also known as the bay psalm book was the first booklength publication in the north american colonies. Whole booke of psalmes, 1640 1r the bay psalm book, as this work is known, is the first book printed in british north america. Adopted by nearly every congregation in the massachusetts bay colony, a revised and enlarged edition. The congregationalist puritans who emigrated to massachusetts bay in search of religious freedom quickly set about to translate and produce a version of the book of psalms that was a. My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, where is your god. Book ii psalms 4272 psalm 42 for the director of music.