The Martial Ethos of Historic Reformed Worship: Psalm singing and civil defense in early 17th century Geneva

For the last 400 years, in the evening of December 11^th and on into the wee morning hours of the 12^th of December, the longest day of the year on the Julian calendar, the city of Geneva hosts a very large and raucous celebration called the Fête de l'Escalade, the Celebration of the Scaling. During the span of this celebration a hot and tasty vegetable soup is sold everywhere in the streets of Geneva. Along with this soup, the famous chocolate "marmites", a replica of a soup cauldron, filled with marzipan vegetables and decorated with the colors of Geneva, is sold to revelers. According to a long standing custom, these chocolate pots are smashed, while shouting: Thus perish the enemies of the Republic [of Geneva]. Other customs include the offering of mulled wine and children in Halloween-like costumes singing Escalade songs in local bistros and in the streets, but the height of the celebration is marked by the procession of hundreds of Genevans dressed in full historical costume, along with horsemen, musketeers, crossbow marksmen, torch-bearers, a hangman and his assistant. The procession is accompanied by gun smoke, firecrackers and gun salutes which concludes its processional by marching to the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre where proclamation of Genevese victory is made. Everyone enjoys a good local parade and civic celebration, but what does this  Genevan custom have to do with the martial ethos of historic Reformed worship? The answer is that this parade is a public celebration of the annual celebration of the victory of Calvinistic Genevan forces over hostile, Roman Catholic forces of Duke Charles Emmanuel of Savoy which launched a surprise midnight attack against Geneva.

From the inception of Duke Charles Emmanuel’s rise to the throne of the House of Savoy in 1580, he longed to subject the Calvinists of Geneva to Savoy rule and to make the city the northern capital of the house of Savoy. Over the course of time he alternated diplomatic and military offensives, intimidation, threats and promises of peace, none of which secured the objective which aimed at breaking the back of Protestantism in Geneva. The Duke of Savoy enlisting the help of his brother-in-law, Philip III of Spain, finally attempted to seize his objective by force, amassing a force of 2,000 paid mercenaries, and launching a midnight raid on Geneva. The plan was to use a small mobile force of commandos to scale the city walls and to open the gates from the inside in order to flood the city with attackers. However, the plan of the Savoy attackers was thwarted by an alert sentinel who was able to squeeze off an alarm shot before he was killed. This shot set off the tripping of alarms and bells across the city, waking the Genevans and rallying them to defend the city against attack. One of the enduring legends preserved from that fateful evening is the story of Mother Royaume (Mère Royaume), the mother of 14 children, who, when she realized the city was under attack took a large cauldron of soup she had on the fire and hurled it onto the head of a Savoyard mercenary. To this day this act of valor is commemorated by the selling of the vegetable soup and the smashing of the chocolate pots. The upshot of the story is that the citizens of Geneva managed to repel the attackers from scaling the city wall (climb = escalade); while the Duke's army of 2000 mercenaries suffered several hundred casualties, the Genevans  suffered only 18.

When the smoke settled on December the 12^th and the citizen militia concluded its mop up campaign, they returned to the streets of Geneva in order to celebrate their victory. As crowds gathered and reveled in the streets they sang Psalms giving thanks to God for their victory. At some point during the celebration, Theodore Beza, at this point in his 80’s, appeared before the crowd and called upon them to sing Psalm 124, one of the psalms he had versified in the 1550’s (p.53). Down to this day on December 12^th the Genevans still mark the annual celebration of this momentous victory by the singing of this psalm. The Psalms then, not only galvanized the Reformed in France, the Netherlands, England, and Scotland to face the flames of persecution and filled their hearts with courage as they marched out to battle, they also unified the Calvinists in Geneva to rally in defense of the Reformation in Geneva and to defend it against the malevolent aims of the Roman Catholic Duke of Savoy.

It is apparent from the series of examples highlighted in these past several posts that the singing of the psalms cultivated a martial ethos in the hearts of Reformed worshipers across the continent and the British Isles, not only unifying the Reformed in their experience of their worship but also energizing them to take up the sword in self-defense and strengthening them in heart to face the fiery flames of persecution. Dr. Reid, looking over the evidence makes a couple of pointed conclusions. First he says that, “the vernacular-metrical psalm…became woven into the fabric of the sixteenth century Calvinist and life—one might even say it became part of the Calvinistic mystique” (p.53). So, Dr. Reid makes the claim that psalm singing was part of the fabric and mystique of the Calvinist way of life in the 16^th century. In thinking about that statement, a reasonable question to ask is if that could be said of the Reformed and Presbyterian church today. Is the singing of psalms part of the fabric and mystique of the Church? Only a moment of reflection will lead to the sad conclusion that no, psalm singing is not a part of the fabric and mystique of the Church today. The reason it is not is because the Reformed and Presbyterian church somewhere along the line decided that the regulative principle of worship, formulated in the 16^th and 17^th century confessions did not apply to the content of the songs sung in worship. An unintended consequence of this false assessment is that it changed the ethos of the Reformed and Presbyterian church, exchanging a martial ethos for an ethos of pietistic, syrupy and sentimental emotionalism reflected in the revivalistic hymns of the 18^th and 19^th century and the vapid praise songs of the 1970’s and 80’s which mimic the tunes and sentiments of Barry Manilow and Ann Murray. Second, Dr, Reid draws the conclusion that psalm singing became one of the major factors in “forming and inspiring Calvinist resistance to persecution, oppression, and attack” (p.54). Can this be said of the Reformed and Presbyterian churches today? Again, only a moments reflection will lead to the obvious conclusion that such an ethos of courage and valor to face persecution, oppression, and attack is not being formed and cultivated in contemporary Reformed and Presbyterian Christians. It would not be stretching the truth too much to say that a major problem in the Reformed and Presbyterian church is that it lacks an identity and therefore has no significant identity to embrace or rally around in support, defense, or self-sacrifice. The Reformed were once known for virulent defense of worship; now, Reformed worship includes everything from Bill Gaither style of worship to the worship style Calvary Chapel or the Vineyard.  With such an amorphous worship identity it is no surprise that the Reformed church is suffering from spiritual anemia having replaced the regulative principle of the confessions with the principle suited to the taste of the masses which is constantly driven by the winds of change: whatever feels good, do it.

It is time for the Reformed and Presbyterian church to be honest, either admitting that the regulative principle of worship contained in the confessions is inaccurate and unbiblical, therefore standing in need of a reformulation which conforms more closely to Scripture, or, it is time to be honest and admit that the innovations which have taken place in its worship since the 16^th century are inconsistent with the regulative principle and thus mobilize to restore the old form of Reformed worship. This will not happen however until the record about historic Reformed worship is set straight and the Reformed and Presbyterian churches are consciously made aware of the fact that in practice they have both departed from and rejected the regulative principle of worship. Once there is an awareness of that fact, a decision will have to be made, will the Church embrace its own confession or will it reformulate the regulative principle of worship along the lines which Dr. John Frame has proposed. Evading this question is dishonest and not only undermines the credibility of the Reformed churches, it also cultivates a spineless mushy ethos in the churches and leaves it without a clear identity to embrace or an obvious purpose to rally around, promote, defend, and sacrifice for. No amount of substituting hot button commitments to home-schooling, six day creation, Van Tilian apologetics, or denial of women’s suffrage will restore vigor to the Reformed since the backbone and foundation of the Reformed church is worship as John Calvin himself said in On the Necessity of Reforming the Church:

If it be inquired, then, by what things chiefly; the Christian religion has a standing existence amongst us, and maintains its truth, it will be found that the following two not only occupy the principal place, but comprehend under them all the other parts, and consequently the whole substance of Christianity, viz., a knowledge, first, of the mode in which God is duly worshipped; and, secondly, of the source from which salvation is to be obtained.

The longer the Reformed and Presbyterian churches, which want to claim the mantle of faithful Calvinism, fail to reckon and make peace with this statement of Calvin, that the whole substance of Christianity rests upon the mode in which God is duly worshiped, the more the Church will suffer from anemia and will twist and shift with the winds of worship which blow across evangelicalism and it will not be able to draw sharp contrasts between itself and broad evangelicalism. Sadly, the Reformed will be indistinguishable from a broad range of churches which includes everything from Anglicanism, to traditional Southern Baptist worship, to Calvary Chapel and the Assembly of God.

People of God, now is the time to rise up in protest, now is the time to embrace our Biblical and historic Reformed heritage!

The Martial Ethos of Historic Reformed Worship: Psalm singing, persecution, and public resistance in the 16th century British Isles

While the psalms may have been sung on the continent as battle songs for courageous soldiers marching out to war, Dr. Reid points out that they were put to a slightly different use in the 16^th century on the British Isles. Reid argues that the reason for this difference lies in the fact that the opponents of the Calvinists on the Isles were not primarily Roman Catholic; rather, the martial conflicts were related more toward nationalism and politics (p.50). However, it is worth pointing out, during the 17^th century, the psalms would be used by Ironsides and the Covenanters in a series of military skirmishes. Though it is proper to note that there is a difference in use between the Isles and the Continent, it is clear that the psalms continued to be a galvanizing force in Britain among the Reformed, and had important cultural applications.

Psalm signing was not always a prominent feature of British piety however. Dr. Reid explains that prior to 1539 there were no English metrical versions of psalms. This void was first filled by Miles Coverdale’s publication of his Ghostly Psalms, and was further supplemented by the work of Thomas Sternhold and John Hopkins who contributed another thirty or so psalms to the growing collection of metrical psalms. It is worth noting in passing that these psalms were suppressed by King Henry the 8^th and at the same time were used to strengthen the resolve of persecuted Christians such as Bishop Hooper as they were led to the stake for slaughter.

It would however be left to the leadership of John Knox to promote an expanded use of the Psalter. Knox, having been forced to move on from serving saints in Frankfurt on account of the swelling ranks of Anglican refugees, moved on to Geneva to serve a congregation of British exiles. Here Knox presided over the construction of a liturgy based upon the model used in Geneva and oversaw the publication of a Psalter consisting of 54 metrical psalms arranged and edited by Sternhold and Hopkins (p.51). Upon Knox’ return to Scotland he brought both the liturgy and Psalter with him establishing their use in the Scottish Church.

A similar liturgical use of the psalms occurred at this time in England as well. As Marian exiles returned home after the accession of Elizabeth, they brought a complete Psalter with them containing all 150 psalms. It would turn out that these psalms would take up a vital place in Puritan, non-conformist worship. Dr. Reid reports that when the lectureships were established, it was a common practice for the congregants to gather together about an hour before worship began to join their voices together in praise using the psalms. The use of psalms became a signature mark of English Puritanism and a badge of Puritan identity similar to their use on the Continent. One practice in particular highlights this characteristic feature of the 16^th century Puritans which was the gathering of large crowds in the evenings at St. Paul’s Cross to sing the “Genevan jigs” as a form of protest against Queen Elizabeth’s demand for religious and liturgical uniformity (p.52).  

Two separate examples of the use of psalm singing in Scotland are worth mentioning here before winding this post down with a note of conclusion. First, when Mary returned to Scotland in 1561, she was greeted on her first night by a large crowd of Scottish Christians who serenaded her with psalms under her bedroom window. The rather chilling significance of this public display was not lost on Mary who experienced a taste of the psalm singing ethos, as it functioned among the Huguenot’s, during her stay in France while married to Francis II (p.52). Second, a specific incident occurred on 4 September 1582 upon the return of exiled minister John Durie. Durie, a minister in Edinburgh, who had been exiled by James VI by the hand of Esme Stuart, Duke of Lennox, was escorted from seaport to his Edinburgh rectory by a throng of  psalm singing Scots. As Durie made his way toward the St. Giles Kirk, a crowd numbering in the thousands lifted up their voice in praise using the psalms. This public display of psalm singing was so unsettling to the Duke that he immediately tucked his tale in fear, leaving Scotland, never to return (p.53).

It is not too difficult to see the significance of the role of the psalms as the Reformation swept across the British Isles in the mid 16^th century. First, no sooner had a Reformed movement taken embryonic shape in Britain than metrical versions of the psalms were arranged, published, and made use of to strengthen and nourish the saints and to sustain martyrs as they faced the fires of unholy persecution. Second, the psalms were used exclusively in both Scotland and England as the manual of praise among those who identified themselves with the Reformation which emanated from Geneva. This fact is significant to highlight as it establishes the form of worship which was characteristic of Calvinistic worship in the British Isles of the 16^th century. Commitment to exclusive canonical psalmody was not a subsequent development of 17^th century hard line, fundamentalist Puritanism, as is sometimes claimed, rather it was the practice of the Calvinistic Reformed churches from the time when the Reformation gained a footing in Britain. Third, though the psalms did not quite have the same role in 16^th century Britain as they did in on the Continent, they certainly were an identifying feature of Reformed British worship and piety as is exemplified by the examples of their use in both England and Scotland which were cited above. A fair and reasonable conclusion to draw from this evidence is that wherever the Reformed church went the Psalter went, whether on the Continent or Britain, and, the psalms were put to use as a powerful means of resistance to tyrannical, anti-Reformed magistrates.  All this points to the fact that psalm signing was central to the ethos of the church militant in the 16^th century British Isles.

The Martial Ethos of Historic Reformed Worship: Psalm singing and persecution in the Netherlands

In pursuing the connection between psalm singing and persecution, we move from France to the Netherlands. Sadly, the experience of the Reformed in the Netherlands varied little from the experience of the French Reformed, as pools of bright red Reformed blood formed across the landscape of the Netherlands as the Reformed faith struggled to take root. Besides being bonded by blood, these churches were bonded by a common commitment to the singing of psalms, and it was this commitment that generated violent opposition against the Reformed church.

From the inception of Reformation in the Netherlands, there was no lack of Psalters available to Reformed Christians to help them give voice to their praise. As early as 1539 psalm books flowed from the presses in Antwerp as the Reformed faith began to gain a footing. In 1540 Souder Liedekens' complete Psalter was rolled out, eventually  going through thirty-three editions. Another Dutch Psalter was produced by Jan van Utenhove who brought his own version of 100 psalm settings over from London. The introduction to Psalm 46 in this Psalter highlighted the relationship between psalm singing and persecution stating, “this psalm also aroused all those truly praising God to trust whenever the godless arose in persecution.” However, the Psalter which gained widest circulation was the Marot-Beza Genevan Psalter of 1562 which was translated into Dutch first by de Heere, and then by Dathenus, the latter version being adopted officially at the Reformed synods of Wesel (1568) and Dordrecht (1574).

As the psalms began to unite the hearts and voices of the Dutch Reformed in praise and worship, it will come as no surprise that persecution was initiated against them. Strada, a Roman Catholic historian, reports that hundreds of Reformed Christians flocked to public meetings where psalms were sung in protest against the Roman Catholic magistrate. In the Netherlands, public psalm singing led to the same experience of bloodshed as it did in France. On one occasion, 300 English refugees were sent to the stake with Psalm 130 on their lips, while on others, riots broke out and arrests led to mass executions.

A series of instances of persecution against the Reformed are worth taking a moment to highlight and draw attention to, as we consider the connection between psalm singing and persecution in the Netherlands. First, in 1562 at Valenciennes, when the magistrate attempted to execute a man named Faveau and his associate for publicly preaching Reformed doctrine, a large crowd of Reformed Christians began to form and started to loudly sing the psalms. Mayhem was unleashed and the end result was that the mob of psalm singers overwhelmed the executioners, effecting the release of the prisoners. Second, in 1562 a man named Christopher Fabricius was condemned to death for preaching Protestant doctrine. While positioned on the pyre awaiting execution, Fabricius began to sing Psalm 130 and the crowd began to join their voices to his. The situation rapidly deteriorated with the executioner  and civic officials turning tale and running; however, before the executioner fled in panic he thrust Fabricius through with a sword and smashed his head in, instantly killing him. Third, in 1566 Viscount Brederode began to publicly organize large public worship services as a means of civil disobedience against the magistrate. These public services, often attracting crowds measured in the thousands, consisted of preaching and psalm singing. On one occasion, Dr. Hermanus led his followers into a cathedral and preached a fiery sermon against idolatry. In response to the sermon, the crowd began to vigorously sing the psalms, which eventually led to an outburst of iconoclasm as the worshipers destroyed all the images in the cathedral. The regent was so alarmed by these public meetings that she wrote to Philip II warning him psalm singing was leading to widespread civil unrest and rebellion. Fourth, by 1574 the public singing so enraged the magistrate that the Dutch Reformed experienced their own St. Bartholomews Day massacre in Alva’s Council of Blood, which effectively suppressed the public gatherings of the Reformed.

This brief survey of the early days of reformation in the Netherlands shows that the Dutch Reformed were psalm singers whose experience was one of persecution and the costly shedding of blood. While Roman Catholic oppressors hated the psalms, the Reformed found their identity and unity in them.  Though the psalms were sung out of the conviction that God had prescribed them as an element of worship, they were not relegated to the Lord’s Day worship alone, as the Dutch Christians made use of them at home privately and in the public square openly as a means of civil disobedience.  Clearly, the Psalms were the fuel of first generation reformers in the Netherlands, giving shape to Dutch worship, piety, and practice, and would remain dominant in Dutch Reformed life for hundreds of years until the winds of 19^th century liberalism would sweep over the Dutch church in the Netherlands and until the blight of revivalism and Yankee pragmatism would ravage Dutch Reformed convictions about worship in the 20^th century in America. If the Dutch Reformed church would regain the robust faith of their forefathers it will need to toss out the use of manmade revivalistic hymns and junk praise songs and replace them with the Psalms, God’s very own appointed manual of praise.

The Martial Ethos of Historic Reformed Worship: Psalm singing and persecution in France

Continuing on in our series on the relationship of psalm singing to the corporate life and experience of the Reformed churches, which embraced the theology of worship spelled out by John Calvin, we turn to psalm singing and persecution. The experience of Reformed churches in three different geographical regions in France will be taken up for examination. Throughout the following paragraphs we will highlight certain key facts and insights provided by Dr. Reid.

First, strong opposition to psalm singing was encountered by the Reformed at the hands of Catholic leaning French authorities in city of Paris. As early as October 1557 in Paris, the Huegenots were being persecuted by the magistrate. Dr. Reid cites a particular instance of persecution which occurred at a meeting of Huguenots at the home of a Parisian citizen on Rue St. Jacues behind the Sorbonne. Here, hundreds of Huguenots met for worship with a large spillover crowd positioned outside the home. Sorbonne clergy, alerted about the meeting, gathered up a mob of thugs, deputized them and sent them in to arrest the men assembled at the gathering.  A substantial portion of the men pushed their way of the house, leaving women and children behind, believing that the women and children would be unharmed by the clergy's deputies. The plan backfired as many women and children were incarcerated for an extended period of time; however, the incarceration led to greater antagonism as the captives spent much of their time singing psalms in unison. As for the men, many of them were subsequently captured and burned at the stake for the subversive act of practicing their Calvinist faith with its signature feature of psalm singing. At this point it is a reasonable question to ask whether these Christians would have been as savagely persecuted had they been gathering to sing hymns as praise songs and "ministered to" by naturally talented individuals who sang together in choirs, trios, duos, and solos. While it is difficult to answer the question to everyone's satisfaction, a reasonable conjecture, based upon a knowledge of the facts, is that the Reformed would not have experienced such severe persecution. It is undeniable that psalm singing generated stiff opposition then, as it does now.

Second, similar confrontation was experienced in La Rochelle and beyond. As early as 1550 ecclesiastical court documents indicate that authorities had banned the importation of the Calvinist Geneva Psalter. Opposition to psalm signing was also encountered about the same time at Bas-Poitou, Bourges, and Bordeaux. In all these places the civil and ecclesiastical authorities maintained the position that such singing "was in derision and to the great scandal of the Christian religion." In Nantes, the hatred of psalm singing ran so deep that authorities, in 1562, petitioned Duc d'Etampes to come and stamp out the public singing of the psalms. It is worth pausing to notice, that being Protestant in general, or more specifically "Calvinitistic" did not necessarily provoke the ire of civil and ecclesiastical authorities, rather, it was the additional factor of psalm signing that made these French Reformed Christians targets for savage persecution.

Third, Reformed churches in Normandy and Dieppe experienced similar hostility from authorities. To voice opposition to the Cardinal's opposition to the French Reformed churches in this region, the Huguenots positioned a force of 2,000 worshipers outside his residence who sang the psalms for hours. Of course, this action initiated a hostile response and many Huguenots subsequently lost their life. The Huguenots however were not to be deterred as throngs of worshipers openly sang the psalms as they marched the dead to their graves in public funeral processions.  

These three examples of regional persecution of French Reformed Calvinists mark only a tip of the iceberg of violent persecution directed toward Reformed psalms singers. On the one hand, it is encouraging to think about the persistence of the Huguenots in practicing their faith in the face of fierce opposition, noting that this persecuted minority steadfastly maintained their faith believing they were commanded to do so, instead of caving in to the authorities and abandoning their convictions to pacify oppressors in order to make their lives more comfortable.  One way to account for this remarkable testimony of faithfulness is by realizing that the practice of singing these Holy Spirit inspired Psalms itself, tapped into rich streams of energizing grace, which in turn, nourished and fostered dutiful and God-glorifying obedience. On the other hand, it is deeply discouraging to consider that fierce opposition to exclusive psalm singing persists 500 years later. What is especially disheartening is that the Roman Catholic civil and ecclesiastical authorities have been replaced by the Reformed churches as the primary oppressors and opponents of exclusive psalm singing. It is inexplicable that those who claim to bear the mantle of Calvinist theology are those who would have opposed and oppressed Calvin himself for instituting exclusive canonical psalm singing. I can only imagine that this hostility flows at least in part from ignorance of the history of the Reformed church and it is my hope that the publication of the record of the historic Reformed commitment to this distinctive practice of exclusive singing of canonical psalms will not only lead Reformed people to set aside their hostility and opposition to psalm singing, but will also lead them to reconsider their own practice of worship and conform it to the pattern of historical Calvinism.

The Martial Ethos of Historic Reformed Worship: Psalm-singing for Vigorous Kingdom Service (part 3)

So far in our series of posts about the martial ethos of historic Reformed worship, cultivated as it was by the godly singing of the Psalms, we have noted Dr. Reid’s bold claim that this particular music developed a peculiar resolve in the hearts of Calvinists who were forced to use weapons to defend their lives and promote their liberty. Unlike the Lutherans, who after the Peace of Augsburg (1555) did not have to take up arms to defend themselves against hostile enemies, the Reformed were in a much different position and would spend the next 150 years marching out to battlefields and being marched to the stake to be burnt in the flames for holding to their Calvinistic, Reformed faith. These assertions are simple matters of fact, and Dr. Reid has made the argument that what galvanized the hearts of the Reformed around their cause, trained their hands to fight, and steeled their courage to endure intense persecution, was the singing of the psalms. Beyond that, we have seen that the construction of the Geneva Psalter, which was a life long pursuit of Calvin completed in 1562, left the Reformed with a song book comprised of nothing but the psalms bequeathing a distinct heritage of psalm-singing that would serve as a badge of identity and strengthen their morale in the face of persecution and conflict (p.42). That leads us in this post to address the question of why the Psalms had this effect by expounding the three reasons Dr. Reid furnishes as answers which account for it.

            First, Reid argues that psalm-singing provided the Reformed with a distinct identity (p.43). It appears that this distinctive practice was so prominent among the Reformed that they were derisively labeled as “psalm-singers” by those from without. It is not too difficult to understand how this practice could have served as such vivid and accurate label when we consider that all the rest of the churches of 16^th century Europe sang what could be called “sacred music” meaning hymns and canticles accompanied by an organ. Encountering the “strangeness” of Reformed worship (a cappella singing) in that day would have left just as much of an impression upon the casual observer of the peculiarity of the practice, as it would in our church context today which almost entirely dominated by praise and worship music. So, singing of the Psalms had the effect of strengthening the Reformed to face opposition and conflict because it gave them a distinct identity which was as peculiar as it was easy to identify.

            Second, Reid proposes that the identity shaped by psalm-singing produced unity among the Reformed (p.43). The bonds of unity were not only reinforced by sharing in the same practice of worship and the singing of psalms exclusively, it was also cultivated by sharing in a common cause and profession of faith expressed in the psalms. Beyond that Reid points out that the Reformed shared a profound sense of being enlisted in a common battle for the defense and promotion of the kingdom of God even to the point of bearing of arms in battle. Evidence for this form of unity is indicated in the fact that they sang the Psalms in unison as battle songs while they marched in columns toward fields of battle gaining the confidence every step of the way that “no matter what would take place they were on the Lords, i.e., the winning side” (p.43). Not only did the Psalms play a significant role in building up confidence and courageous resolve as the Reformed marched out to battle, they also united their hearts in praise as they gave thanks to the Lord for victory with psalms. So psalm-singing cultivated unity among the Reformed as they rallied together around the common cause of promoting the kingdom of God.

            Third, Reid makes the case that the singing of the psalms had a profound effect upon the Reformed because they were convinced that they could legitimately appropriate them to themselves. A primary point of departure for appropriating the psalms to themselves was by identifying the new covenant church as the continuation of the covenant people of God who were bonded together in covenant with the sovereign Lord. By singing the psalms in worship and in a host of informal contexts they bore witness to this relationship. Hopeful that the psalms would be used for this very purpose Clarence Marot wrote, in his dedicatory address of his own publication of 49 metrical psalms in 1543, that it “would a happy time when prayer would flourish, with the laborer at his plow, the carter in the street, and the craftsmen in his shop singing psalms to ease their work” (p.44). Hostile witnesses provide more than ample evidence that Marot’s wishes were fulfilled as Roman Catholic Claude Haton, wrote in his memoirs the Huguenots sang psalms “to move their hearts” and fellow Catholic M. de Casteleneau observed that the “harmonious and delectable singing stirred the Calvinists to proclaim the praises of the Lord no matter what the circumstances” (p.44). Clearly, even beyond the walls of houses of worship, the Reformed testified to their identity as the covenant people of God as they took His sacred songs upon their lips in praise.

In our next post we will chronicle some of the opposition mounted against the psalm-signing Calvinists by their bitter enemies.

The Martial Ethos of Historic Reformed Worship: Psalm-singing for vigorous Kingdom service (part 2)

In thinking about the historic Reformed practice of psalm-singing and how it cultivated the particular effect of a martial ethos, it will be helpful to briefly trace the origin and distribution of the Geneva Psalter which had such a substantial hand in shaping Reformed worship for at least a few centuries subsequent to the Reformation. Although Psalms were being sung as early as the 1520’s among the Reformed, it was Calvin who helped make this practice a badge of identity for the Reformed churches. Taking a middle road between Luther on the one hand, who incorporated hymns and psalms in public worship, and Zwingli on the other, who rejected the use of both instruments and songs altogether in public worship, Calvin proposed the singing of the Psalms a capella by the whole congregation.

To facilitate turning this principle into a consistent practice, Calvin oversaw the editing and publication of a French psalter in 1539, while yet in Strausburg (p.38). Though this first run at producing a psalter was not without its flaws or limitations, it did at least accomplish the objective of putting his principles into practice, not only in his congregation of French refugees, but it also laid the groundwork for the spread and use of the Psalms in the worship of the Reformed churches through the influence it had upon Valerian Poullain, his successor in Strausburg, who then went on subsequently to serve in England and then Frankfurt (p.39). A few short years later, in 1542, having returned to minister in Geneva, Calvin published a new version of the psalter, this time with a preface which explained the rationale for using the psalter in Reformed worship:

And in truth, we know by experience, that singing has great strength and vigor to move and inflame the hearts of men to invoke and praise God with a more vehement and ardent zeal.

It is evident from even this brief remark that Calvin saw the inherent power of music to move the soul and viewed the Psalms as the most pure lyrical form to mold pious zeal for holy ends.

Believing the Psalms were best suited to cultivate a true and substantial holy ardor and in view of that seeking to actually compile a psalter complete with musical settings was one thing, pulling it off in practice was quite another. Early on Calvin had put his own hand to translating and arranging metrical versions of the Psalms, but had to admit his own labors were less than satisfactory. By the providence of God, a man named Clement Marot was led to Calvin for just such a purpose. Hands down, Marot was one of the leading French poets of the day. So renowned for his capabilities was Marot that he had access to the court of Francis I, but acquiring his skills for Geneva's project proved to be quite an ordeal. In 1535 Marot had been accused of heresy and fled Paris to seek refuge in the court of Renee of Ferrara where he met Calvin (p.40).  Apparently, someone was able to patch things up between Marot and Francis I because he can be found back in the king’s court by 1538 and was at that time already producing metrical versions of the psalms that even found favor with the king and his court. By 1543, while Marot’s psalm settings were growing in popularity in various pockets of France, they were growing in disfavor with the Roman intelligentsia at the Sorbonne and with the Roman authorities. To escape persecution Marot fled to Geneva where he received a hearty welcome from his old friend John Calvin. Though Marot’s stay in Geneva would not be a particularly lengthy one, he was able to publish a total of 49 metrical versions of the Psalms. Apparently Clement had a knack for crossing swords with people, and before he could finish his work in Geneva he was exiled from the city for inappropriate fraternization with some ladies down at the local pub. After expulsion from Geneva things took a sharp dive southward for Marot as he died suddenly and prematurely in Turin by means of poisoning (p.41).  

With about one third of the psalter arranged for music, Calvin turned to another leading humanist and poet, Theodore Beza, in order to see to it that the work Marot started would be brought to conclusion. From 1549 to 1562 Beza worked steadily to complete the psalter project. Beza, working side by side with musicians such as Franc, Goudimel, and especially, Louis Bourgeouis, was able to produce a psalter that displayed a remarkable artistic touch and was well adapted for popular use.

With production complete, the psalter was ready for distribution, and all indications are that it was a hot commodity as it rolled off the press. Upon completion of the final edition in 1562, the Geneva Psalter was translated into Dutch, German, Hungarian, and English (p.42). For the most part, the new translations attempted to retain the tunes and simply translate and arrange the lyrics to the musical settings. The success of the psalter can measured by its massive popularity as Reid notes, “even Godeau, Bishop of Grasse in 1649, could witness to the popularity and influence of the Huguenot psalm-singing while his own Roman Catholics were either dumb or sang “des chansons deshonnetes” (p.42).  The effect of the psalter was that it unleashed a wave of what Reid calls “popular music” for it had finally put sacred lyrics to tunes that were accessible to the musically untrained. This popular music certainly had unintended consequences, which we will take note of in subsequent posts, but for now I leave us to consider Reid’s preliminary summary of the psalter’s effect:

This was of great importance for it meant that the faithful could now sing together the songs of faith, a practice which was bound to strengthen their morale in the face of persecution and conflict (p.42).

Imagine that being said of Fanny Crosby or CCM songs, or even the trendy new worship songs advertised on one web site which promotes “intimate songs of the heart” that are “sure to capture your heart, and leave you with an enduring sense of His presence, and a hunger for more.” To even consider the question for a moment is to answer it; such pious doggerel does not nourish the heart for even a moment, let alone for the flames of persecution.

With these comments in view I conclude with Dr. Reid’s bold claim for consideration, “certain types of music have power to stimulate to action, even the power to incite hands to war and fingers to fight.”

In the next post we will examine how psalm-singing shaped the Reformed identity and bore witness to their motivation and purpose as they sought to spread the truth and how they sustained them when they faced the fiery flames of persecution.

The Martial Ethos of Historic Reformed Worship: Psalm-singing for vigorous Kingdom service (part 1)

Calvinistic worship, that is, worship regulated according to Scripture alone (Heidelberg Catechism Q 96; Belgic Confession article 32), has fostered and cultivated a unique form of piety in the Reformed church in the past. Many examples and testimonies of this distinct form of piety could be cited, but in this new series, I propose the MARTIAL ETHOS produced by Psalm-singing, which characterized militant Calvinism in the 16^th and 17^th centuries, for consideration. The research I will use to discuss the martial ethos produced by Psalm-singing among the Reformed churches of this period has been generated and published by W. Standford Reid in an article entitled, “The Battle Hymns of the Lord: Calvinist Psalmody of the Sixteenth Century.” Dr. Reid was a professor of history at the University of Guelph and the research presented in this particular essay is found a volume of essays published in 1970 in Sixteenth Century Essays and Studies, edited by C.S. Meyer. In the subsequent posts based upon this essay, I propose to examine the following five areas for examination: 1) Psalm singing strengthened the Calvinists to fight, 2) A brief history of Geneva Psalter’s construction –including its distribution in several languages, 3) Reasons why the psalter strengthened the Calvinists, 4) The Roman Catholic opposition to the Psalter and the Calvinist Psalm-singers and, 5) Use of the Psalter of various Calvinistic military campaigns of the 16^th and 17^th century. As we consider the evidence set forth and make the connection between the singing of psalms and the martial ethos of historical Calvinism, I challenge contemporary Reformed churches to recommit to the exclusive singing of the Psalms and inspired canonical psalms in order that they may reclaim the Calvinistic heritage of fulfilling the Biblical mandate to embrace the roll of the church militant in this age, which it has been shamefully distracted away from through its conscious choice to adorn Reformed worship with the accoutrements of breezy evangelical revivalism and to follow its form of feminine piety.

Dr. Reid begins his essay by claiming that certain types of music have power to stimulate to action, even the power to incite hands to war and fingers to fight. A moment’s reflection upon various kinds of music will easily verify the adequacy of this assertion. Ask yourself, “which performer or group would tend to motivate a soldier for battle more, Barry Manilow or Metallica?” I don’t think anyone who wants to be taken seriously would propose that Barry Manilow is the more obvious selection.  It is obvious that a particular kind of ethos corresponds to these styles of music: Manilow’s music is characterized by a syrupy emotionalism and is thus fitting for cultivating and evoking that response where such moods are desired, and of course, a sort of robust, manly, courageous aggressiveness has characterized the music of James Hetfield and Metallica from their earliest beginnings, and that music is well suited to cultivate and strike similar chords in the hearts of its listeners. That simple exercise then provides common sense confirmation of the assertion made by Reid that certain types of music stimulate certain actions, even martial action.

Next, Dr. Reid points out an obvious fact which is that the Calvinists had to fight their way to Reformation in the 16^th and 17^th centuries. To verify the point, one only needs to think for a brief moment about the Huguenot’s, the Dutch, the Scottish Covenanters, Cromwell’s Roundheads, or the “Reformes of the Cevennes,” all who valiantly engaged in battle to defend and promote their deeply held Calvinistic and Reformed convictions. Helpfully, Reid gives at least a brief explanation for why the Calvinists were so often found marching out to battle, and it was not because they happened to be blood-thirsty, maladjusted thugs. It was rather because Calvinists, unlike the Lutherans, were never afforded the same political and religious protections from Rome and its allies, as the Lutheran’s received under the settlement of the 1555 Peace of Augsburg. On account of that lack of protection the Reformed were often savagely persecuted for their faith, and were left with no other option but to resist and fight back.

Interestingly, what Reid points out as characteristic of these Reformed armies who trudged out to the battlefield in the defense of polis and ecclesia is that as they went out to battle “the psalmists’s words seem to have come almost automatically to their lips” (p.36). Beyond that, think for a moment about Reid’s claim which is that it was the Psalms that tipped the balance in the favor of the Reformed as they engaged in battle. It is true, as Reid points out that Reformed forces were often led by a militant aristocracy and funded generously by a wealthy bourgeoisie, but those factors alone cannot account for their military success. Instead of finding the secret of their success in the quality of their leadership or the adequacy of their financial partners, Reid digs down into the hearts of the soldiers themselves, and having peeled back the layers he finds the Psalms there and argues that it was the Psalms which both built up and maintained the morale of the soldiers as they fought (p.37). See that? Calvinist worship, as historically conceived of and practiced by the Reformed churches of the 16th century, led to Kingdom advancement!

As we bring this article to conclusion, it is best to give Reid the last word so we can hear his bold and decisive claims about the all significant role of the Psalms in the 16^th and 17^th century battles for religious and political freedom from Rome and her allies:

The things that really grabbed the common man, the ordinary Calvinistic soldier, was something much more mundane: his catechetical training and congregational singing of the psalms. More than all the fine theological training, both the catechism and the Psalter entered into the very warp and weft of the humblest members’ lives (p.37).

Well, there we have the main thought Reid proposes for consideration, which is that the Psalms, when repeatedly sung in the congregation, have the power to fashion a certain kind of piety and theological conviction in the heart such that it creates a vast reservoir of motivation and resolve which may be tapped repeatedly and used as fuel to energize “hands to war and fingers to fight” in order that Christ’s kingdom may be defended and advanced for the glory of His name.

Now, let me conclude with a question for my Reformed readers (and I ask this as gently as I can), whose churches long ago sold the precious birthright of Psalm-singing for the pottage of revivalistic hymns and praise songs, are your songs tending to motivate and strengthen you to fight and to defend and to advance the kingdom of God, or do they tend to keep your hands clean from such actions and concerns and focused instead on your prayer closet and personal piety? Of course having spent much of my life in Reformed churches which rejected the Calvinistic and Reformed heritage of Psalm-singing in favor of Watt’s paraphrases, hymns of the Wesley brothers, and Fanny Crosby’s ditties, I am satisfied that I know the answer, but I would like you to consider Reid’s assertion for yourself: certain types of music stimulate to action, even to inciting hands to war and fingers to fight. Try to answer honestly!

Next time we will give a brief history of the Geneva Psalter’s construction –including its distribution in several languages.