80 EEV. GEORGE PATTERSON ON 



grand things, while, in others of his writings, the student reader meets with " full many 

 a gem of purest ray serene."' 



Perhaps, however, the matter of deepest interest connected with his literary life was 

 his metrical version of the Psalms of David. King James, ambitious of literary fame, had 

 set himself to compose a version which should supersede those in use in the churches both 

 of England and Scotland ; but at the time of his death his work had extended over only 

 thirty-one psalms. Sir William, who had previously been consulted by the King, now re- 

 solved to complete the translation and assign it to his deceased sovereign. He also revised 

 those already prepared, probably had a hand in their authorship. At all events, at the close 

 of the year 1627, the work was completed, and, by arrangement with King Charles, it was 

 issued under the name of his royal father The influence of the King was also vigorously 

 exerted to have it adopted in the public services of the churches of the three kingdoms, 

 but without success. In particular, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland 

 issued "Eeasons" for rejecting it, mentioning among them that it contained expressions 

 more adapted for secular than sacred verse, as where the moon was styled " pale lady of 

 the night," and the sun was apostrophized as "the lord of light." It may be mentioned, 

 however, that when that body afterwards appointed a committee to prepare a revised 

 version. Sir William's was one of the versions they were instructed to use. The result of 

 their labours appears in the version still in use in the Scottish Presbyterian churches, but 

 how far Sir William's renderings are to be found in it does not appear. Dr. Beattie, 

 writing of it as the production of the King, says : " The work does honour to the 

 learned monarch. It is not free from the northern idiom, but the style seems to me to be 

 superior to every other Scotch writer of the age, Drummond excepted. There are in it many 

 good stanzas, most of which have been adopted by the compilers of the version now 

 authorized in Scotland. Nay, those compilers have not always equalled the royal versifier 

 where they intended, no doubt, to excel him." He gives as an example the third verse of 

 the fiftieth psalm, which stands in the Assembly's version thus : 



" Our God shall come, and shall no more 

 Keep silence, but speak out. 

 Before him fire shall waste ; 

 Great storms shall compass him about." 



Alexander's, he considers as having the advantage both in the arrangement of tha 

 words and harmony, as follows : 



" Our God shall come, and shall not then 

 Keep silence any more, 

 A fire before him shall consume ; 

 Great storms about him roar." 



At the same time, however, that he was engaged in literary work, his attention was 

 taken up with public affairs. As early as 1609 he was knighted. In 1626 he was 

 appointed Secretary of State for Scotland. In 1630 he was created a peer as Lord 

 Alexander of Tullibody and Viscount Stirling. At the same time he was appointed 



' His writings were generally recommended by Addison, who was consulted about them by A. Johnson, who 

 in 1720 began to edit a collected edition of them, wliich he did not complete. The whole were collected and 

 published in 1870-2 in three volumes, by Messrs. Ogle, of Glasgow. 



