The Bay Psalm Book and Roger Williams
I.
Notables
A. The Bay Psalm Book was the first book published in America (1640).
1. There were originally 1,700 copies printed.
2. Eleven of the originals still remain.
B. Puritans sang only the Psalms in their churches.
C. In order to get The Bay Psalm Book, the Massachusetts Puritans authorized thirty of their
ministers to translate the Psalms into English verse suitable for singing.
D. Monst of the stanzas can be sung to the tune of "Amazing Grace."
E. This hymnal was used nearly 150 years in New England churches.
II. General information
A. Each verse was generally represented with one stanza.
B. The translators preferred four line stanzas.
C. The Bay Psalm Book can best be described as simple.
D. Each verse was translated literally and without embellishment from the original Hebrew.
E. The only thing the translator did was add meter and rhyme for singing purposes.
F. Almost every line has either six or eight syllables.
* Common meter (CM)- lines of 8, 6, 8, 6 syllables- the psalms in your book
* Long meter (LM)- lines of 8, 8, 8, 8 syllables
* Short meter (SM)- lines of 6, 6, 8, 6 syllables
III. Theme/Application
A. The translator’s goal was a plain understandable translation of the Psalms
1. The stanzas are not always smooth or elegant.
2. The songs stick very close to the King James Version of the Bible.
3. “Let them consider that God’s altar needs not our polishing: . . . for we have respected
rather a plain translation, then to smooth our verse with the sweetness of any paraphrase,
and so have attended conscience rather than elegance, fidelity rather than poetry, in
translating the Hebrew words into English language" (preface to The Bay Psalm Book)
B. In your life God is not looking for the polish of a professional but rather the promise of a
sold out, sanctified, submitted heart.
1. Devotion to Him comes first.
2. Luke 10:27, "And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as
thyself."
Roger Williams
"The greatest crime in the world is not developing your potential. When
you do what you do best, you are helping not only yourself, but the
world.”
“By concord little things grow great, by discord the greatest come to
nothing.”
I.
His Life
A. "He gave the Bay Colony more trouble because of his ideas and actions that any other
person." (Anne Hutchinson)
B. He left Massachusetts Bay Colony and started a colony in present day Rhode Island.
C. He continued to preach to the Indians throughout his life.
D. Rhode Island was established upon the principles of religious liberty.
E. He started the first Baptist church in the new world, but later changed his beliefs to that of a
Seeker (BONUS!).
II. His Faith
A. His belief about separation of church and state is still influential among religious and
political conservatives.
B. In his works, both poetry and prose, he emphasizes that God primarily evaluates individuals
rather than the community.
1. Individual responsibility – You are accountable for your own actions.
2. When he died, he was respected even by his foes because of the sweetness of temper.
III. Letter to the Town of Providence, January 1655, on the Limits of Freedom
A. Notables
1. This letter was written to clear up a misunderstanding.
2. While the government cannot determine religious things, it can legislate against legal and
or civil transgression.
B. Plot/Description – It is a letter written after the manner of the Apostle Paul clearing up a
dispute based upon a misapplication of something that Roger Williams said.
C. Theme/Application
1. Religious freedom or conviction does not free a person from the normal obligations of
citizenship.
2. Commanders and governors cannot legislate religion.
IV. A Key into the Language of America
A. Notables
1. The purpose of this work was to introduce and Indian language to the Americans.
2. All three of Williams’s poems use stanzas of 4 lines
3. Williams’s poems come from his personal experience.
B. Plot/Description
1. These poems show a contrast between the Indian and the Englishman with the Indian
often ending up in a superior position.
2. The Courteous Pagan – This poem presents the Indian has more human and courteous
than the Englishman.
C. Theme/Application
1. Human beings are human beings.
* Act 17:26, "And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the
face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds
of their habitation."
2. Sometimes those claiming to be civilized are the ones that are the least civil.
Author Overview
1631 immigrated to Massachusetts Bay
1635 received a sentence of banishment from the Bay Colony
1636 founded Providence Plantation (Rhode Island)
1643 published a Key into the Language of America.
1643-52 engaged in a pamphlet controversy with John Cotton
1644 secured the first charter for Providence Plantation.
1654-57 was elected president of Rhode Island