I find it interesting that the Puritans denied the invention of Psalms by human authors. John Cotton stated, "First because every good minister hath not a gift of spirituall poetry to compose extemporary psalms as he hath of prayer. Secondly. Suppose he had, yet seeing psalmses are to be sung by a joynt consent and harmony of all the Church in hear and voyce (as wee shall prove) this cannot be done except he that composeth a psalme, bringeth into the Church set formes of psalmes of his owne ordinary invention; for which wee finde no warrant or president in any ordinary officers of the Church throughout the scriptures." (85)
I could be mistaken (after all, I was a little bogged down with this English style of writing), but it seems that Cotton does not believe church laity or officers should write hymns. He states that there is no example of "ordinary officers of the Church" composing hymns in the Bible. If there is no account of "ordinary officers of the Church" writing hymns, does that forbid them to do so?? Does Paul's command to sing "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" refer only to psalms or directly quoted songs in the Bible? I don't believe so. Of course, if the hymn is not Biblical then it shouldn't be accepted into the church, but I don't believe that's what Cotton means. If so many believers accepted Cotton's ideas, does it hold water?
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