Page images
PDF
EPUB

is ours.

"fhall be found therein, thanksgiving "and the voice of melody." Bleffed be God for these favors now bestowed upon the church of England. This prophecy Adored for ever be his love. He is now with us of a truth, and he has turned our wilderness into the garden of the Lord. We do not triumph for this in ourselves. We do not look down with contempt upon others. No, no. We acknowlege it to be the Lord's doing, to the praife of the glory of his own grace; and to him we look for the continuance of this ineftinable bleffing. O that he would bestow it abundantly upon those congregations, who have the form without the power. This is the fervent prayer of my heart. I am fure our joy will encrease by their fharing with us. May the good Lord revive his work in all his churches, and may the life and power vouchsafed to fome be found in all.

What can any unprejudiced perfon infer from hence? Is not the cafe plain? Where is the presence of God most to be found? Among the fingers of poems, or the fingers of pfalms? What fays matter of fact? It speaks to the point, and determines in favor of God's word. The holy Spirit does not put honor upon mans poems, when fet up in the church in op

F 2

pofition

[ocr errors]

pofition to his divine hymns. Yea, he difgraces them. He pours contempt upon them, as it might be expected he would: For he leaves the fingers to themfelves, and then their performance is without life and power. It keeps up nò communion with God. It adminifters no holy joy. It is not the means of grace, but degenerates into a mere entertainment, and is the fame thing in the church, that mufic is in the play-house.

How can that be, fays one, I am a witnefs to the contrary: I have found profit in finging hymns, and I am fure I have received pleasure. You may fancy fo, but perhaps it is only fancy: For your practice confutes your profeffion. God has revealed the pfalms for the ufe of the church, he has commanded them to be fung in it, and has promised to meet his rejoicing people, and in finging to make their joy abound: But you defpife the command, and therefore you can have no title to the promise. You cannot have the end without the means: While you flight the ordinance, how can you poffibly receive the bleffing promised to it? For the holy Ghost will not vouchsafe his joy to them, who seek it in oppofition to his fovereign will: So that you might be pleased, but profited you could not. The profit is God's bleff

ing

.

ing upon the use of his own means, but you did not use the means, nay you def pifed his, and followed your own felfwill. What profit could fuch finging bring you? What fellowship could you have with God in it, or what joy in God increased by it? You may bring your poems into the church, and may be vaftly delighted with performing them. So is the vaineft creature alive at the opera. The pleasure in both cafes arifes from the fame cause. The ear is pleafed with the harmony, fome animal joy is excited, a fine tune, well played, well fung, a very agreeable entertainment; but there could be no more fpiritual edification in one than in the other: Because neither of thent was the ordinance of God.

What! fay fome, is it unlawful to fing human compofitions in the church? How can that be? Why, they fing them at fuch a place, and fuch a place: Great men, and good men, ay, and lively minifters too fing them: Will you set up your judgment against theirs?

It is an odious thing to speak of one's felf, except it be to magnify the grace of God What is my private judgment? I fet it up against no body in indifferent things I would wish to yield to every man's infirmity: For I want the fame inF 3 dulgence

dulgence myself. But in the present cafe the fcripture, which is our only rule of judgment, has not left the matter indifferent. God has given us a large collection of hymns, has commanded them to be fung in the church, and has promised his bleffing to the finging of them. No respect here must be paid to names or authorities, although they be the greatest on earth: Because no one can difpenfe with the command of God, and no one can by his wit compose hymns to be compared with the pfalms of God. I want a name for that man, who fhould pretend that he could make better hymns, than the holy Ghoft. His collection is large enough: It wants no addition. It is perfect, as its author, and not capable of any improvement. Why in fuch a cafe would any man in the world take it into his head to fit down to write hymns for the use of the church? It is just the fame as if he was to write a new bible, not only better than the old, but fo much better, that the old may be thrown afide. What a blafphemous attempt! And yet our hymn-mongers, inadvertently I hope, have come very near to this blafphemy: For they shut out the pfalms, introduce their own verfes into the church, fing them with great delight, and as they fan

cy

[ocr errors]

cy with great profit; although the whole practice be in direct oppofition to the command of God, and therefore cannot poffibly be accompanied with the bleffing of God.

I

If any one be offended at my freedom of speech, I am forry for it. I thought I had liberty to give mine opinion, efpecially in a matter, wherein the honor of God and of his word required me to speak -openly. Let this be mine apology. If you are not convinced, if you will ftill fing human compofitions in preference to divine; pray do not quarrel with me. am a man of peace. Go on your way, and let me go on mine. Let me fing God's pfalms, and you may fing any body's hymns. I have borne my teftimony. Forgive me this once, and after I have clofed up the evidence with a very good witnefs, against whom the admirers of hymns can have no objection, I promise herein to offend you no more. He is no lefs a person than the great Dr. Watts himself. He speaks full to the point, and gives his teftimony very diftinctly. He never intended he fays to thrust the pfalms of God out of the church. His words in the preface to his hymns are thefe Far be it from my thoughts to lay afide the book of pfalms in public F 4

-66

66 wor

« PreviousContinue »