A few Presbyterian congregations of 'pure Scotch-Irish descent' continued using Rouse's Psalms exclusively

Context

This passage appears after Lathan’s discussion of the 1802 General Assembly decision to allow Watts’s hymns. He has just noted that “a few withdrew from the denomination, and others, although they remained in it, never approved of the measure.” He then describes a third response—congregations that stayed Presbyterian but maintained exclusive psalmody practice.

Extract

A few Presbyterian congregations, the membership of which pure Scotch-Irish descent, continued, until very recently, to use exclusively Rouse’s version of the psalms. In the great majority, however, of the congregations of the Presbyterian Church of the present day no one of the members ever heard sung one of the psalms in Rouse’s version.

Significance

This extract documents a third response to the psalmody change—neither withdrawing nor capitulating:

1. Holdout congregations: Some congregations maintained exclusive psalmody within the Presbyterian Church, showing that denominational transfer was not the only response to the Watts innovation.

2. Ethnic dimension: Lathan links psalmody practice to “pure Scotch-Irish descent”—suggesting exclusive psalmody was understood as an ethnic identity marker as well as a theological position.

3. “Until very recently”: Writing in 1882, Lathan notes these congregations persisted until recently—showing that exclusive psalmody holdouts existed within the Presbyterian Church for nearly a century after the 1802 decision.

4. Contrast with majority: The passage emphasizes how unusual these congregations had become—“the great majority” of Presbyterians had never even heard Rouse’s version sung.

5. Complicates the narrative: This shows that psalmody-driven denominational transfer was one option among several—some who objected stayed but maintained their practice locally.