# Question for my Presbyterian friends



## Blueridge Believer (Oct 28, 2008)

Which Presbyterian denomination was the first to have instrumental music and songs other than Psalms and when was it?


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Oct 28, 2008)

On the question of musical instruments, see my previous research here:

If We Should Not Use Instruments: Then Why Does 95% of the Church Use Them?


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Oct 28, 2008)

On the question of the introduction of uninspired hymns into the worship of Presbyterian denominations, setting aside the question of whether uninspired hymns were sung in Geneva, I think the Presbyterian church in New York City may have been the first to introduce hymns (the hymns of Isaac Watts who published his hymnal in 1719) in the 1750's. Julius Melton discusses this in _Presbyterian Worship in America: Changing Patterns Since 1787_, pp. 11-12. Michael Bushell discusses the introduction of hymns generally in _The Songs of Zion_, pp. 198-200.

Reformed Worship | We Used to Sing Only Psalms -- What Happened?
http://www.puritanboard.com/f18/psalter-what-31958/


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## yeutter (Oct 29, 2008)

There are two questions really. 
When did Presbyterian Kirks sing biblical canticles, the ten commandments and the creed in addition to the psalms? This may have been a carryover from previous Anglican practice. 
When did Presbyterian kirks begin singing hymns that were of purely human authorship?
The Presbyterian Church in NewYork City seems to have been an early innovator in the singing of hymns


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