and fears of Asaph and David? Why must Christians be forbid all other melody, bnt what arises from the victories and deliverances of the Jews?David would have thought it very hard to have been confined to the words of Moses, and sung nothing else, on all his rejoicing-days, but the drowning of Pharoah in the fifteenth of Exodus. He might have supposed it a little unreasonable, when be had peculiar occasions of mournful music, if he had been forced to keep close to Moses's prayer in the ninetieth psalm, and always sung over the shortness of human life, especially if he were not permitted the liberty of a paraphrase : And yet the special concerns of David and Moses were much more a-kin to each other, than ours are to either of them? and they were both of the same religion, but ours is very different.

It is true, that David has left us a richer variety of holy songs, than all that went before him: but, rich as it is, it is still far short of the glorious things that we Christians have to sing before the Lord. We, and our churches have our own special affairs as well as they: Now if by a little turn of their words, or by the change of a short sentence, we may express our own meditations, joys, and desires in the verse of those ancient psalmists, why should we forbid this sweet privilege? Why should we under the Christian dispensation be tied up to forms more then the Jews themselves were, and such as are much more improper for our age and state too: Let us remember, that the very power of singing was given to human nature chiefly for this purpose, that our own warmest affections of soul might break out into natural or divine melody, and that the tongue of the worshipper might express his own beart.

I confess it is not unlawful, nor absurd for a person of knowledge and skill in divine things, to sing any part of the Jewish psalm book, and consider it merely as the word of God; from which, by wise meditation, he may draw some pious inferences for his own use: For instruction is allowed to be one end of psalmody. But where the words are obscure hebraisms, or where the poet personates a Jew, a soldier, or a king, speaking to himself, or to God, this mode of instruction in a song seems not so natural or easy even te the most skilful Christian, and it is almost impracticable to the greatest part of mankind: And both the wise and the weak must confess this, that it does by no means raise their own devotion so well, as if they were speaking in their own persons, and expressing their own sense: Besides that the weaker Christian is ready to chime in with the words he sings, and use them as his own, though they are never so foreign to his purpose.

Now though it cannot be, that a large book of lively devotions should be so framed, as to have every line perfectly suited to all the circumstances of every worshipper; but, after the writer's utmost care, there will still be room for christian wisdom to exercise the thoughts aright in singing, when the words seem improper to our particular case: Yet, as far as possible, every difficulty of this kind should be removed, and such sentences should by no means be chosen, which can scarce be used, in their proper sense, by any that are present.

I could never persuade myself, that the best way to raise a devout frame in plain Christians, was to bring a king, or a captain, into their churches, and let him lead and dictate the worship in his own style of royalty, or in the language of a field of battle. Does every menial servant in the assembly know how to use these words devoutly? namely, When I receive the congregation I will judge uprightly; Ps. lxxv. 2. A bow of steel is broken by mine urms.— As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me; Psal. xviii. 34, 44. Would I encourage a parish clerk to stand up in the midst of a country church, and bid all the people join with his words, and say, I will praise thee upon the psaltery; or, I will open wy dark saying upon the harp: When even our cathedrals sing only to the sound of an organ, most of the meaner

churches can have no music but the voice, and others will have none besides? Why then must all who will sing a psalm at church, use such words, as if they were to play upon harp and psaltery, when thousands never saw such instrument, and know nothing of the art?

You will tell me, perhaps, that when you take these expressions upon your lips, you mean only, that you will worship God according to his ag pointment now, even as David worshipped him in his day, according to God's appointment then. But why will you confine yourselves to speak one thing, and mean another? Why must we bound up to such words, as can never be addressed to God in their own sense? And since the heart of a Christian cannot join herein with his lips, why may not his lips be led to speak his heart? Experience itself has often shewn, that it interrupts the holy melody, and spoils the devction of many a sincere good man or woman, when, in the midst of the song, some speeches of David have beeu almost imposed upon their tongues, where he relates his own troubles, his banishment, or peculiar deliverances; where he speaks like a Jewish prince, a musician, or a prophet; or where the sense is so obscure, that it cannot be understood without a learned commentator.

Here I may with courage address myself to the heart and conscience of many pious and observing Christians, and ask them, whether they have not found a most divine pleasure in singing, when the words of the psalm have bappily expressed their frame of soul? Have you not felt a new joy spring within you, when you could speak your own desires and hopes, your own faith, love, and zeal in the language of the holy psalmist? Have not your spirits taken wing and mounted up near to God and glory, with the song of David on your tongue? But on a sudden the clerk has proposed the next line to your lips, with dark sayings and prophecies, with burnt-offerings or hyssop, with new-moons, and trumpets, and timbrels in it, with confession of sins which you never committed, with complaints and sorrow such as you never felt, cursing such enemies as you never had, giving thanks for sucia victories as you never obtained, or leading you to speak, in your own persons of things, places, and actions, that you never knew. And how have all your souls been discomposed at once, and the strings of harmony all untuned! You could not proceed in the song with your hearts, and your lips have sunk their joy, and faultered in the tune; you have been balked and ashamed, and knew not whether it were better to be silent, or to follow on with the clerk and the multitude, and sing with cold devotion, and perhaps in darkness too, without thought or meaning.

Let it be replied here, That to prevent this inconvenience, such psalms and sentences may be always omitted by him that leads the song, or may have a more useful turn given in the mind of those that sing. But I answer, Since such psalms and sentences are not to be sung, they may be as well omitted by the translator, or may have a more useful turn given in the verse than it is possible for all the singers to give on a sudden in their minds. And this is all that I contend for.

I come therefore to the third thing I proposed, and that is to explain my own design, which in short is this, namely, to accommodate the book of psalms to christian worship. And in order to this, it is necessary to divest David and Asaph, &c. of every other character but that of a psalmist and a saint, and to make them always speak the common sense of a christian.

Attempting the work with this view, I have entirely omitted some whole psalms, and large pieces of many others: and have chosen out of all of them, such parts only, as might easily and naturally be accommodated to the various occasions of the christian life, or at least might afford us some beautiful allusion to christian affairs: These I have copied and explained in the general stylk of the gospel; nor have I confiued my expressions to any particular party or opinion; that in words, prepared for public worship, and for the lips of inui

titudes, there might not be a syllable offensive to sincere Christians, whose judgments may differ in the lesser matters of religion.

Where the psalmist uses sharp invectives against his personal enemies, I have endeavoured to turn the edge of them against our spiritual adversaries, sin, satan, and temptation. Where the flights of his faith and love are sublime, I have often sunk the expressions within the reach of an ordinary Christian: Where the words imply some peculiar wants or distresses, joys or blessings, I have used words of greater latitude and comprehension, suited to the general circumstances of men.

Where the original runs in the form of prophecy concerning Christ and his salvation, I have given an historical turn to the sense: There is no necessity that we should always sing in the obscure and doubtful style of prediction, when the things foretold are brought into open light by a full accomplishment. Where the writers of the New Testament have cited or alluded to any part of the psalms, I have often indulged the liberty of paraphrase, according to the words of Christ, or his apostles. And surely this may be esteemed the word of God still, though borrowed from several parts of the holy scripture. Where the psalmist describes religion by the fear of God, I have often joined faith and love to it: Where he speaks of the pardon of sin, through the mercies of God, I have added the blood or merits of a Saviour: Where he talks of sacrificing goats or bullocks, I rather choose to mention the sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb of God: When he attends the ark with shouting into Zion, I sing the ascension of my Saviour into heaven, or his presence in his church on earth; where he promises abundance of wealth, honour, and long life, I have changed some of these typical blessings for grace, glory, and life eternal, which are brought to light by the gospel, and promised in the New Testament: And I am fully satisfied, that more honour is done to our blessed Saviour, by speaking his name, his graces, and actions, in his own language, according to the brighter discoveries he hath now made, than by going back again to the Jewish forms of worship, and the language of types and figures.

All men will confess this is just and necessary in preaching and praying; and I cannot find a reason why we should not sing praises also in a manner agreeable to the present and more glorious dispensation. No man can be persuaded, that to read a sermon of the royal preacher out of the book of Ecclesiastes, or a prayer out of Ezra or Daniel, is so edifying to a christian church, though they were inspired, as a well composed prayer or sermon delivered in the usual Janguage of the gospel of Christ. And why shonld the very words of the sweet-singer of Israel be esteemed so necessary to christian psalmody, and the Jewish style so much preferable to the evangelical, in our religious songs of praise?

Now since it appears so plain, that the Hebrew psalter is very improper to be the precise matter and style of our songs in a christian church; and since there is very good reason to believe that it is left us, not only as a most valuable part of the word of God, for our faith and practice, but as an admirable and divine pattern of spiritual songs and hymns under the gospel ; I have chosen rather to imitate than to translate; and thus to compose a psalm-book for Christians after the manner of the Jewish psalter.

If I could be persuaded, that nothing ought to be sung in worship, but what was of immediate inspiration from God, surely i would recommend anthems only; namely, the psalms themselves. as we read them in the bible, set to music as they are sung by the choristers in our cathedral churches: for these are nearest to the words of'inspiration, and we must depart far from those words, if we turn them into rhymne and metre of any sort. Aud upon the foot of this argument, even the Scotch version, which has been so much commended for its approach to the original, would be unlawful, as well as others.'

But since I believe that any divine sentence, or christian verse, agreea

ble to scripture may be sung, though it be composed by men uninspired; I have not been so curious and exact in striving every where to express the ancient sense and meaning of David; but have rather expressed myself, as 1 may suppose David would have done,had he lived in the days of Christianity. And by this means, perhaps, I have sometimes hit upon the true intent of the Spirit of God in those verses, farther and clearer than David himself could ever discover, as St. Peter encourages me to hope, 1 Pet. i. 11, 12. where he acknowledges that the ancient prophets who foretold of the grace that should come to us, were in some measure ignorant of this great salvation; for though they testified of the sufferings of Christ and his glory, yet they were forced to search and enquire after the meaning of what they spake or wrote. In several other places I hope my reader will find a natural exposition of many a dark and doubtful text, and some new beauties and connections of thought discovered in the Jewish poet, though not in the language of a Jew. In all places I have kept my grand design in view, and that is, to teach my author to speak like a Christian. For why should I now address God my Saviour in a song, with burnt-sacrifices of fallings, and with the incense of rams? Why should I pray to be sprinkled with hyssop, or recur to the blood of bullocks and goats? Why should I bind my sacrifice with cords to the horns of an altar, or sing the praises of God to highsounding cymbals, when the gospel has shewn me a nobler atonement for Bin, and appointed a purer and more spiritual worship? Why must I join with David in his legal or prophetic language, to curse my enemies, when my Saviour, in his sermons, has taught me to love and bless them? Why may not a Christian omit all those passages of the Jewish psalmist, that tend to fill the mind with overwhelming sorrows, despairing thoughts, or bitter personal resentments, none of which are well suited to the spirit of Christianity, which is a dispensation of hope, and joy, and love? What need is there that I should wrap up the shining honours of my Redeemer in the dark and shadowy language of a religion that is now for ever abolished; especially when Christians are so vehemently warned, in the epistles of St. Paul, against a judaizing spirit, in their worship as well as doctrine? And what fault can there be in enlarging a little on the more useful subjects in the style of the gospel, where the psalm gives any occasion, since the whole religion of the Jews is censured often in the New Testament as a defective and imperfect thing?

Though I have aimed to provide for a variety of affairs in the Christian life, by the different metres, paraphrases, and divisions of the psalms, of which I shall speak particularly; yet, after all, there are a great many circumstances that attend common Christians, which cannot be agreeably expressed by any paraphrase on the words of David; and for these I have endeavoured to provide in my book of hymns, that Christians might have something to sing in divine worship, answerable to most or all their occasions. In the preface to that book I have shewn the insufficiency of the common versions of the psalms, and given further reasons for my present attempt.

I am not so vain as to expect, that the few short hints I have mentioned in that preface, or in this, should be sufficient to justify my performances in the judgment of all men, nor to convince and satisfy those who have long maintained different sentiments. All the favour therefore that I desire of my readers, is this, that they would not censure this work till they have read my discourse of psalmody, which I hope will shortly be published; but let them read it with serious attention, and bring with them a generous and sincere soul, ready to be convinced, and to receive truth wheresoever it can be found. In that treatise I have given a large and particular account how the psalms of Jewish composure ought to be translated for Christian worship, and justified the rules I lay down by such reasons, as seem to carry in them most plentiful evidence, and a fair conviction.

If I might presume so much, I would intreat them also to forget their younger prejudices for a season, so far as to make a few experiments of these songs, and try whether they are not suited, through divine grace, to kindle in them a fire of zeal and love, and to exalt the willing soul to an evangelic temper of joy and praise. And if they shall find, by sweet experience, any devout affections raised, and a holy frame of mind awakened within them by these attempts of Christian psalmistry; I persuade myself, that I shall receive their thanks, and be assisted by their prayers towards the recovery of my health, and my public labours in the church of Christ. Whatsoever sentiments they had formerly entertained, yet surely they will not suffer their old and doubtful opinions to prevail against their own inward sensations of piety and religious joy.

Before I conclude, I must add a few things concerning my division of the Psalms, and my manner of versifying.

Of the Division of the Psalms.

In many of these sacred songs it is evident, that the psalmist had several distinct cases in view at the same time: As Psalm lxv. the first four or five verses describe the temple worship of prayer and praise; the following verses represent the providence of God in the seasons of the year. So in Psalm lxviii. the first six verses declare the majesty and mercy of God, and from the seventh verse to the sixteenth, Israel is brought from Egypt, to fix divine worship at Jerusalem. The seventeenth and eighteenth are a prophecy of the ascension of Christ. Verse 24, &c. describes a religious procession, &c. The like may be observed in many other psalms, especially such as represent some complicated sorrows, or joys of the psalmist. Now it is not to be supposed that Christians should have all the same distinct occasions of meditation, complaint or praise, much less all at the same time to be mentioned before God; therefore I have divided many psalms into several parts, and disposed them into distinct hymns on those various subjects that may be proper matter for christian psalmody.

Besides, that excessive long tone of voice, that stretches out every syllable in our public singing, allows us neither time nor spirits to sing above six or eight stanzas at once, and sometimes we make use of but three or four: Therefore I have reduced almost all the work into hymns of such a length, as may suit the usual custom of the churches; that they may not sing broken fragments of sense, as is too often done, and spoil the beauty of this worship; but may finish a whole song and subject at once.

For this end I have been forced to transpose, or omit, some of the verses; and, by this means, some will object, that I have left out some useful and significant lines, Perhaps so: But if I had not, the clerk would have left them out, to save the time for other parts of worship; and I desire but the same liberty which he has to choose which verses shall be sung. Yet I think it will be seldom found that I have omitted any useful psalm, or verse, whose sense is not abundantly repeated in other parts of the book; and what I have left out in one metre I have often inserted in another.

When the occasion or subject are much the same throughout a long psalm, I have either abridged the verses, or divided the psalm by pauses, after the French manner, where the sense would admit an interruption, that the worship may not be

tiresome.

Of the Verse.

I resign to Sir John Denham the honour of the best poet, if he had given his genius but a just liberty; yet his work will ever shine brightest among those that have confined themselves to a mere translation. But that close confinement has often forbid the freedom and glory of verse, and by cramping his sense, has rendered it sometimes too obscure for a plain reader and the public worship, even though we lived in the days of David and Judaism. These inconveniences he bimself suspects, and fears in the preface.