No ARP official 'ever dared to advocate' hymns; dissenters 'sought connections where they could practice' their views

Context

This passage appears after Lathan’s discussion of the Bishop-Rankin difficulty and the version controversy within the ARP. He is distinguishing between debates over which psalm version to use (a contested matter) versus whether to use hymns at all (which he claims was never publicly contested within the ARP).

Extract

It was the version that first agitated the church. This was as far as the psalmody question ever reached in the Associate Reformed Church. So far as is remembered, no man holding any official connection with the Associate Reformed Church has ever dared to advocate the introduction of hymns, the composition of which is merely human, into the worship of God. No doubt there were, at various periods, a number of individuals who did not hold the high ground which has ever been held by strict Seceders on this subject. These generally sought connections where they could practice in accordance with their views.

Significance

This extract provides key evidence for bidirectional denominational movement based on psalmody:

1. ARP as exclusive-psalmody stronghold: The claim that no official “ever dared to advocate” hymns shows the ARP maintained a virtually unanimous commitment to exclusive psalmody—making it an attractive destination for those opposed to Watts.

2. “Dared” language: The word “dared” suggests social/ecclesiastical pressure made advocating hymns unthinkable within the ARP—explaining why hymn-preference individuals would need to leave rather than reform from within.

3. Bidirectional movement documented: Those who “did not hold the high ground” on psalmody “sought connections where they could practice in accordance with their views”—this is explicit evidence that people left exclusive-psalmody bodies for hymn-using ones, not just vice versa.

4. Psalmody as sorting mechanism: The passage confirms that denominational affiliation tracked psalmody convictions in both directions—strict exclusive-psalmody advocates found their home in the ARP, while those with looser views departed for other connections.

5. Complements other cases: This generalizing statement supports the individual cases documented elsewhere (Rankin moving to ARP, Bishop leaving ARP for Presbyterians, Londonderry Presbytery leaving for the Presbyterian Synod of Albany).