"About the year 1639, the New-English reformers, considering that their churches enjoyed the other ordinances of Heaven in their scriptural purity were willing that the 'The singing of Psalms' should be restored among them unto a share of that _purity_. Though they blessed God for the religious endeavours of them who translated the Psalms into the _meetre _usually annexed at the end of the Bible, yet they beheld in the translation so many _detractions _from, _additions _to, and _variations _of, not only the text, but the very _sense _of the psalmist, that it was an offense unto them. Resolving then upon a new translation, the chief divines in the country took each of them a portion to be translated; among whom were Mr. Welds and Mr. Eliot of Eoxbury, and Mr. Mather of Dorchester. These like the rest were so very different a _genius_ for their poetry that Mr. Shephard, of Cambridge, on the occasion addressed them to this purpose: You Roxb'ry poets keep clear of the crime Of missing to give us very good rhime. And you of Dorchester, your verses lengthen And with the text's own words, you will them strengthen. The Psalms thus turned into _meetre_ were printed at Cambridge, in the year 1640. But afterwards it was thought that a little more of art was to be employed upon them; and for that cause they were committed unto Mr. Dunster, who revised and refined this translation; and (with some assistance from Mr. Richard Lyon who being sent over by Sir Henry Mildmay as an attendant unto his, son, then a student at Harvard College, now resided in Mr. Dunster's house:) he brought it the condition wherein our churches have since used it. Now though I heartily join with those gentlemen who wish that the _poetry_ thereof were mended, yet I must confess, that the Psalms have never yet seen a _translation_ that I know of nearer to the Hebrew original; and I am willing to receive the excuse which our translators themselves do offer us when they say: 'If the verses are not always so elegant as some desire or expect, let them consider that God's altar needs not our pollishings; we have respected rather a plain translation, than to smooth our verses with the sweetness of any paraphrase. We have attended conscience rather than elegance, fidelity rather than ingenuity, that so we may sing in Zion the Lord's songs of praise, according unto his own will, until he bid us enter into our Master's joy to sing eternal hallelujahs.'"