but in them. This ordinance agrees in several respects with the reading and preaching of the word, for the book of Psalms contains a great variety of necessary cautions and admonitions, which the pious worshippers in the act of singing direct to each other. In this manner divine grace enables them to enkindle in each other's heart a flame of love; reciprocally they enliven their zeal, and stir up one another to glorify God.*

Thirdly, That singing praise to God is his ordinance in the New Testament church as well as it was in the Jewish. This ordinance seems evident from the very light of nature, and hence it was performed by heathens to their deities. Such heathens will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, who refuse this piece of adoration to the Lord. This ordinance belonged not to the ceremonial law, for it was cel ebrated by Moses and the Israelites at their Red Sea deliverance, (Exod. xv,) before the promulgation of this law; and it was esteemed more excellent than any of the ritual institutions; hence saith the Psalmist, "I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs." (Psal. Ixix. 30, 31.) By this ordinance we profess our love to, and confidence in God, yea we acknowledge him as worthy of all adoration; these are duties of the moral law, and therefore must have a place in the Christian church as well as in the Jewish. Much is said in the New Testament to warrant this duty; Christ vindicated the multitude in praising God with a loud voice at his triumphant entry into Jerusalem; (Luke xix. 37, 39,) he and his disciples sang an hymn at the celebration of the last passover; (Mark xiv. 26.) "Paul and Silas, at midnight, prayed and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them." (Acts xvi. 25.) Add to all, that we have sundry precepts which expressly require it: "Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." (Ephes. v. 19.) Instead of excess in jollity the apostle James directs us to praise God, "Is any among you afflicted? let him pray: is any among you merry? let him sing psalms." James v. 13.)

* The breath of praise mutually fans one another's souls, kindles a divine heat, and blows it up into a flame; and so every one contributes something to another's good, and receives some help from every other.-Harris on the Excellency of Singing.

+ Plutarch says, that singing and music amongst the ancient Greeks, were wholly employed in the worship of their gods; and laments their profanation and abuse in latter times, when they were brought into the theatre.

It is trifling in the matters of God to allege as some do, that this duty is recommended only to them who are merry; for then it would follow that prayer is a duty pointed out only to them who are afflicted. It is no less absurd in others to insist that singing the praises of God in christian worship should be as well laid aside as musical instruments. The reason is plain, because the former is a duty of the moral law, whose obligation can never be cancelled, the latter of the ceremonial, which is now abrogated. Neither does it appear that these instruments of music were used in the synagogue, which resembled the manner of worship performed in christian assemblies much more than the temple service did. Moreover, it might as well be alleged, that the exercise of prayer should be laid aside in New Testament worship since we offer not incense which accompanied it in the temple. (Luke i. 10.) But finally, it is a mere sophistical objection against this duty-That in prayer we confess ourselves guilty of some of these sins which we were praising God for pardoning immediately before. Surely we may sing what does not immediately belong to our case, and may praise God for redeeming others from the sins under which we yet groan; this may strengthen our faith in the redemption from our sins also, and excite us highly to esteem this glorious privilege. But objections of this kind do not properly fall under our consideration in this discourse; we therefore proceed to observe,

Fourthly, That the psalms, hymns and spiritual songs which are contained in the book of Psalms, were all wrote under the influences of the Holy Ghost, as a spirit of inspiration. They are a stream flowing from the same fountain of goodness, with the other parts of divine revelation.-A stream which for many ages has been running for the refreshment of the Lord's vineyard. They bear the same signatures of divine revelation which are stamped on all the parts of sacred scripture. Yea, though all the parts of God's word are so very illustrious, like the rays of the sun, that it would be dangerous to attempt drawing a line of distinction between them; yet such excellency and sweetness has the book of Psalms,* that Luther used to call it "The little Bible and summary of the Old Testament." How excellent and sweet is this book which draws us from converse with men and things, by directing us to communion with God in his sanctuary, and to solace our souls in himself! This is to be in the mount with God, and we do not understand ourselves aright if we do not say with the disci

Licet omnis Scriptura divina Dei gratiam spiret; precipue tamen dulcis psalmorum liber.-Ambrose.

ples, "Lord it is good for us to be here." (Matt. xvii. 4.) No book of Scripture is more helpful to the devotion of saints than this; it has been so in all ages since ever it was written, and the several parts of it are addressed to the chief musician for the service of the church. Instead of excluding any part of David's Psalms from the worship of God, we should rather with pleasure reflect, that in singing them, we offer to God the same praises which were offered to him in the days of David and other godly kings of Judah. Yea, such perfection is in these sacred poems, that they never will turn thread-bare; and so replete are they with comfort, that they can never be exhausted.*

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Fifthly, That in singing the Psalms of David, it was never intended we should apply every passage of them to ourselves. If this observation is not attended to, we cannot sing with understanding, yea, many places we cannot sing at all; and the Jewish church could not otherwise have sung with propriety. Sometimes the passage may not suit our age; as I have been young and now am old," &c. (Psalm xxxvii. 25.) In other places frames opposite to ours may be expressed, as when one rejoicing in the Lord sings, "Thy wrath lieth hard upon me. While I suffer thy terrors I am distracted." (Psalm xxxviii. 7. 15.) Nor can we in the literal sense apply these passages which respect the Mosaic institutions: "Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar." (Psalm cxviii. 27.) The rule to guide us in singing many of David's Psalms is: That we sing them with the same frame of mind in which we ought to read them, and express these acts of faith which are agreeable to the gospel dispensation. Sometimes we are to consider the subject matter of them, as containing an account of these providences, which we are liable to, rather than these we are presently under; and to improve them so as to excite those graces which ought to be exercised in like circumstances, when it shall please God to place us in them. And indeed if this rule is not admitted, many of the psalms must be excluded from being read as well as from being sung in the worship of God; for the same devout affections are necessary for the one which are for the other.

Sixthly, That the "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs", which the Holy Ghost has indited, and not human composures, should alone be the subject matter of our praises. This being the leading truth we proposed to establish by this discourse, we crave your patience while we offer the following things for its illustration.

* See Mr. Henry's Preface to his Commentary on the Book of Psalms.

1. There are various passages in the book of Psalms, which seem to show that it was intended by the Spirit for New Testament times. Hence the Psalmist saith, "I will praise thee forever, because thou hast done it." (Psal. lii. 9.) "But I will declare forever, I wil! sing praises to the God of Jacob." (Psal. lxxv. 9.) "We will show forth thy praises to all generations." (Psal. lxxix. 13.) "I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever, with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations." (Psal. lxxxix. 1.) "This shall be written for the generation to come; and the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord." (Psal. cii. 18.) "I will extol thee, my God, O King, and I will bless thy name for ever and ever."* Not only so, but there are psalms which seem to have been penned with a direct view to the times of the Messiah, as when his life, (Psal. lxix,) death, (Psal. xxii,) resurrection, (Psal. xvi. 10,) and ascension, (Psal. xlvii. 5, and lxviii. 18.) are spoken of as events already past. One of the Psalms is almost repeated in the New Testament,† another is quoted and applied to the state of the Christian church at that time, and the prophets spake of songs of praise being offered to the Lord by the Gentiles when brought into a church state. "From the uttermorst parts of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous." (Isa. xxiv. 16.) "Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit; Let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the Islands," (Isa. xlii. 11, 12.)

2. We have no command in the New Testament for altering the Psalms of David, under the pretence of making them more suitable to Christian worship; or to compose others to be put in their place. To turn the Psalms into metre is not altering their meaning more than a just translation of the Old and New Testament is a new Bible. In the light of divine revelation, we may presume to say, that had Christ the alone King and head of his church deemed the Psalms of David unsuitable for that worship which he has instituted in her, he would have directed his apostles to accommodate these unto her spiritual nature, or inspired those men to write in their

* Psal. cxlv. 1. (Here the judicious Mr. Henry thus comments): "I will bless thee for ever and ever." This intimates, 1. That he resolved to continue in the work to the end of his life, throughout his ever in this world. 2. That the Psalms he penned should be made use of in praising God by the church to the end of time. (2 Chron. xxix. 30.)

t Viz. Psal. xcv. repeated in Heb. iii. and iv. chapters. Psal. xliv. 22. cited Rom. viii. 36.

stead other psalms which breathe more of the spirit of the gospel; and they in writing so much against retaining ritual observances would have hinted something about the impropriety of singing these Psalms. But so far is it from any of these being the case, that we find the Apostles highly esteemed and frequently quoted the Psalms as the oracles of God. And nothing is to be admitted into his worship but what has the sanction of his divine authority. "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." (Mat. xv. 7.) "As Moses was admonished of God, when he was about to make the tabernacle. For see, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount." (Heb. viii. 5.)

3. We have no example in the New Testament, to authorize that alteration in the Psalms of David which is contended for. We must allow, that Scripture examples carry with them sometimes the weight of a command: Hence our grand authority for observing the Sabbath on the first day of the week, is derived from the practice of the Apostles, and first Christians who statedly met together for public worship on that day: But no such example can be produced for altering the Psalms. We have already attempted to show that the hymn which Christ and his Apostles sang at celebrating the Passover and the Lord's Supper, was part of David's Psalms; and that these are only intended by the psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, which are mentioned in the epistles of Paul.

*The sentiments of the laborious Mr. Baxter are so much to our purpose we cannot pass them by: they are so convincing that they must have weight with all; and we would hope that they will have great authority with those who are agreed with him in his latitudinarian notions of church-communion and his doctrines of the gospel being a new law, requiring faith and repentance as the conditions of it: In his Ecclesiastical Cases of Conscience, Quest. 124 is proposed thus: "Is it lawful to use David's Psalms in our Assemblies?

"Ans. Yes. 1. Christ used them at his last supper, as is most probable; and he ordinarily joined with the Jews that used them, and so did the Apostles. "2. It is lawful to read or say them, therefore also to sing them, for saying and singing difference not the main end.

3. They are suitable to our case, and were the liturgy of the Jewish church, not on a ceremonial account, but for that fitness which is common to us with them. "4. We are commanded in the New Testament to sing psalms; and we are not commanded to compose new ones; nor can every person make psalms who is commanded to sing psalms. And if it be lawful to sing psalms of our own or our neighbor's making, much more of God's making by his Spirit in his Prophets. Object. They are not suitable to all our cases, nor to all the Assembly. "Ans. 1. We may use them in that measure of suitableness to our cases which they have. You may join with a man in prayer, who expresses half of your wants, though he expresses not all. Else you must join with no man in the world.

"2. If ungodly men are present when the faithful speak to God, must we not speak our proper case because they are present? The minister in church administrations speaketh principally in the name of the faithful, and not of hypocrites.