There was no Watts, and no
Wesley, in the days of the Pilgrims; they brought with them in each
family, as the most precious of household possessions, a thick volume
containing, first, the Book of Common Prayer, with the Psalter appointed
to be read in churches; second, the whole Bible in the Geneva
translation, which was the basis on which our present English translation
was made; and, third, the Psalms of David, in meter, by Sternhold and
Hopkins, with the music notes of the tunes, adapted to singing. Therefore
it was that our little band were able to lift up their voices together in
song and that the noble tones of Old Hundred for the first time floated
over the silent bay and mingled with the sound of winds and waters,
consecrating our American shores.
"All people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice:
Him serve with fear, His praise forthtell;
Come ye before Him and rejoice.
"The Lord, ye know, is God indeed;
Without our aid He did us make;
We are His flock, He doth us feed,
And for his sheep He doth us take.
"O enter then His gates with praise,
Approach with joy His courts unto:
Praise, laud, and bless His name always,
For it is seemly so to do.
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