“To the early French Protestants the Psalm book was a unit—the Word of God in the personal possession of the humblest, the symbol as well as the vehicle of their new privilege of personal communion with God. To know the Psalms became a primary duty; and the singing of Psalms became the Reformed cultus, the characteristic note distinguishing its worship from that of the Roman Catholic Church. The familiar use of Psalms in worship only emphasized the power of their appeal to the individual experience, and made Psalmody as much a part of the daily life as of public worship. The family in the home, men and women at their daily tasks, were recognized as Huguenots because they were heard singing Psalms. The Psalter became to them the manual of the spiritual life. It ingrained its own characteristics deep in the Huguenot character, and had a great part in making it what it was. A character nourished and fed by Old Testament ideals must inevitably have the defects of its qualities. But to the Huguenot, called to fight and suffer for his principles, the habit of Psalm singing was a providential preparation. The Psalms were his confidence and strength in quiet and solitude, his refuge from oppression; in the wars of religion they became the songs of the camp and the march, the inspiration of the battle and the consolation in death, whether on the field or at the martyr’s stake. It is not possible to conceive of the history of the Reformation in France in such a way that Psalm singing should not have a great place in it.”^[1]

 “in spite of continued legislation, penalty, persecution and death visited upon the singers by the church authorities, the new Psalmody covered France, spread from country to country, and was transplanted into the new world as an established institute of Reformed worship.”^[2]

 “As French Protestantism gradually lowered its aggressive ideal of winning France to that of establishing itself within effective lines of defense against outside interference, so the tone of its worship also was lowered, and it had to be defended against that spirit of indifference lurking at the gate of every church. This indifference, naturally, was especially conspicuous in the Psalmody, because congregational song depends upon the good will of the greatest number of people.”^[3]

 During this time of fervent devotion to the Psalms, the French church grew with extraordinary speed. In 1555 there were five underground churches in France. By 1559 the number had jumped to more than one hundred. By 1562 there were estimated to be more than 2,150 churches established in France with approximately three million attending.^[4] Witvliet maintains that “metrical Psalm singing was a maker of the Reformation.”^[5] It popularized Reformed piety, “opening up the Scriptures to the laity,”^[6] says Miriam Chrisman, joining the sermon and catechism, says Witvliet, “as the chief means of spiritual formation.”^[7]
       The completion of the Genevan Psalms in 1562 proved to be a providential provision for the French Protestants, as attempts at reconciliation with Rome and the French crown failed, and civil war broke out that year. “They found in it,” Benson says, “a well opened in the desert, from which they drew consolation under persecution, strength to resist valiantly the enemies of their faith; with the assured conviction that God was fighting for them, and also (it must be added) would be revenged against their foes.”^[8] “To know the Psalms,” says Benson, “became a primary duty” for the Huguenots, as French Protestants became known.^[9] The powerful appeal of the Psalms sung “made Psalmody as much a part of the daily life as of public worship.”^[10] Families at home, men and women in the workplace or engaged in daily tasks, were recognized as French Protestants because they were overheard singing psalms. “The Psalter became to them the manual of the spiritual life.”^[11] Moreover, the Psalter “ingrained its own characteristics deep in the Huguenot character, and had a great part in making it what it was,” says Benson.^[12] For the Huguenot, “called to fight and suffer for his principles, the habit of Psalm singing was a providential preparation.”^[13] Benson elaborates: “The Psalms were his confidence and strength in quiet and solitude, his refuge from oppression; in the wars of religion they became the songs of the camp and the march, the inspiration of the battle and the consolation in death, whether on the field or at the martyrs’ stake. It is not possible to conceive of the history of the Reformation in France in such a way that Psalm singing should not have a great place in it.”^{[14] [15]}

1. Benson, Louis Fitzgerald. “John Calvin and the Psalmody of the Reformed Churches.” Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Calvin College. Web. January 16, 2016.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. The author’s footnote: Frank A. James, III, “Calvin the Evangelist” in RTS: Reformed Quarterly, Fall 2001, 8; ed. W. Sanford Reid, John Calvin: His Influence in the Western World (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1982), 77.
5. The author’s footnote: Witvliet, “Spirituality of the Psalter,” 296.
6. The author’s footnote: Cited in Witvliet, “Spirituality of the Psalter,” 297.
7. The author’s footnote: Witvliet, “Spirituality of the Psalter,” 296.
8. The author’s footnote: Benson, “John Calvin and Psalmody,” 77, 78.
9. The author’s footnote: Ibid., 73.
10. The author’s footnote: Ibid.
11. The author’s footnote: Ibid.
12. The author’s footnote: Ibid.
13. The author’s footnote: Ibid.
14. The author’s footnote: Ibid.
15. Johnson, Terry. “The History of Psalm Singing in the Christian Church.” Sing a New Song: Recovering Psalm Singing for the Twenty-First Century. Edited by Joel R. Beeke and Anthony T. Selvaggio. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Reformation Heritage Books, 2010, pages 51-52.