After 1802 General Assembly allowed Watts's hymns, 'a few withdrew from the denomination'

Context

This passage appears in Lathan’s historical survey of the psalmody question in the Presbyterian Church. He has just described the 1802 General Assembly deliverance that officially allowed Watts’s hymns in Presbyterian worship. He then notes the response from those opposed.

Extract

This date marks at least the official introduction of the hymns of Dr. Watts into the Presbyterian Church of America. Previous to this, they were used by single individuals and single congregations, but not with the official sanction of the courts of the denomination.

The church was by no means a unit in its approbation of this step. Many individuals were dissatisfied. A few withdrew from the denomination, and others, although they remained in it, never approved of the measure.

Significance

This extract documents denominational withdrawal specifically triggered by the 1802 hymn decision:

1. Confirms the pattern: “A few withdrew from the denomination” over the psalmody change—exactly the phenomenon the book traces through individual cases like Rankin.

2. Dates the official trigger: 1802 marks “the official introduction of the hymns of Dr. Watts”—providing a watershed date for the book’s chronology.

3. Shows range of responses: Some withdrew, others “remained but never approved”—indicating the psalmody divide affected many more than just those who formally transferred.

4. Parallels Rankin’s case: Though Rankin’s conflict began earlier (over Watts’s psalms), this 1802 decision extended the same logic to hymns, creating additional pressure for exclusive psalmody advocates.

5. “By no means a unit”: This phrase confirms that the psalmody change was contested, not a smooth transition—supporting the book’s argument that psalmody was a genuinely divisive issue.