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in our old verfion, which remained in ufe in its original ftate, until it was revised, and very much corrected foon after the restoration of Charles the fecond. In its present form,

3. It is as good as moft others, and has been and may be used with very great profit. The compilers feem to have had a fcrupulous regard for the words of feripture, and to these they adhered closely and ftrictly, fo much as to prefer the fenfe to the verfification. I grant, this is not always smooth. It is only here

and there brilliant. But what is a thou fand times more valuable, it is generally the fentiment of the holy Spirit. And this fhould filence every objection-It has the ftamp of divine authority. Moreover this verfion comes nearer the fenfe of the original, than any I have yet feen, except the Scotch, which I have now and then taken the liberty to make use of, when it appeared to me better expreffed, than the English. You may, if you please, find fault with the manner of ekeing out a verse for the fake of the rhyme, but what of that? Here is every thing great and noble, yea divine, although not in modern ftile or drefs: For

4. Here is Chrift-His glory is treated of, his praifes are fung. He exalts the compofition, and ennobles the verse:

Especially

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Efpecially if we confider the author of thofe hymns. They come to us from the inspiration of the Spirit of wifdom; all whose words and works are truly divine. What he has revealed concerning the perfon of Immanuel, and concerning his praises to be fung in the church, are indeed the word of God. His person is the wonder of heaven, as well as of earth: His praises are beyond the reach of angels and faints. O with what reverence fhould we read of his matchlefs glory! with what thankfulness fhould we fing of his infinite goodness to the children of men! And we fhall endeavor to read and fing with growing faith and increasing love, if we confider

5. That our very tranflation has been fung for two hundred years by as great and as good men, as ever lived, under the influence of the holy Spirit. He has made. the finging of pfalms what the scripture promises it fhould be. He has rendered it the means of keeping up lively communion with the Father and the Son. He has put grace into the heart; and there has been fweet melody unto the Lord. He has bestowed joy in believing, and has increased it in finging. He has revealed the loveliness of Jefus to the foul, and has inflamed the affections with gratitude to him, while his lovelinefs was celebrated

celebrated in a pfalm of praife. This he has promised to do, and he does it. He has living witnesses of his faithfulness to' his word. Singing has ftill every bleffing in the church which it ever had. It glorifies God, edifies believers, and keeps up holy and ardent defires in the heart after Jefus. Since thefe are the happy effects of finging pfalms, even in our prefent verfion, why thould any one wifh for another, if all the good that can come by finging be received by this?

But you are offended at the ftyle: You think, it might be tolerable two centuries ago, but now it is very, very bad, and Dr. Watts muft mend it. Examine your heart carefully, and perhaps you may fee, that you are led by a very falfe tafte. For the fcripture wants no mending; nay it is always worfe for our mending. It is plain in majefty. God has not written it to please the imagination, but to convert the heart, and to comfort and to edify the foul; therefore the infpired writers have used great plainnefs of fpeech. They difclaim all painted language and oratorical colouring. One of them speaking for the reft fays" We have received not the fpirit of the world, but the Spirit which "is of God, that we might know the things which are freely given to us of

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"God

"God; which things also we speak, not "in the words which man's wifdom "teacheth, but which the holy Ghost "teacheth." To his words the understanding should bow, and with reverence. receive them: Because they are his. Curiofity should be dumb. It should make no enquiry: "Are they fine words, poeti"cal,dreft up with flowers and metaphors, "brilliant as Cowley, fmooth as Pope.' No, they are not; but they are revealed to make the man of God wife unto falvation, and they do. As fuch, the finest poetry of man is no more to be compared with them, than man is to be compared with God. His word is the great inftru ment of falvation. It is the ordinance of God for every faving purpose. He works in it and by it, and therefore it is plain and fimple, that the glory may not be given to the means themselves, but to his almighty grace, which makes them effectual. How unlikely is the word preached fo to change a finner's heart, that he fhall be as much a new creature, as if a devil was made an angel; and yet this effect is daily produced, and by plainpreaching too. Thus the most successful preacher that ever was, declares" My fpeech and my preaching was not with ❝enticing words of man's wisdom, but

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"in demonstration of the Spirit and of power; that your faith fhould not stand "in the wisdom of man, but in the power "of God." And his power is promifed, and is also experienced to this very day in the use of the means of grace. God does give his bleffing to them. What more fimple than the facraments? Yet through. Chrift working mightily in them, they do anfwer the end of their inftitution? What? fo unlikely as prayer to obtain all needful bleffings? and yet it is certain matter of fact, that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. So the pfalms, not trimmed up with human embellishments, but in the fimple dress of feripture, do communicate holy joy in the Lord. He bleffes the means, because they are his own means, and when used in faith, he never fails to render them effectual. Here then let us look, not at fine words, but at God's word. Let us not be offended at its fimplicity: For it is purposely fo. It is written for profit, and not for amusement. As an inftrument, it has not the virtue in itself, that the excellency of the power exerted by it may be of God. He would have all the glory. Our own joy in finging and, our neighbor's edification, fhall not arife from fine poetry, but from his effectual grace.

How

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