Hallelujahs in the oratorio of the Meffiah. Our very good church people think so: For if they fit down at the pfalm, they are fure to ftand up at the gloria patri. It is indeed highly becoming the majesty of the great king of heaven and earth, and it is also expreffive of our readiness to join our brethren in praifing his holy. name. As fuch I would recommend it. The venerable practice of antiquity has fomething more to enforce it, than mere propriety: At least it calls upon me to try to keep up an uniformity with the church of Chrift in this particular. But if you think otherwife, and prefer fitting, lolling, or any lazy indolent pofture, I will not unchriftian you. We may differ, and not quarrel: Nay, I will not quarrel with you, if you will but let me obferve, when I fee any perfon irreverently fitting down, after he has been called upon to fing to the praise and glory of God, and after a fuitable pfalm has been given out, it feems to me, as if he faid-Indeed his behaviour speaks louder than any words can-" You may fing, but I wont-I will exercise no

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grace-I want no more grace-I have "no melody in my heart, and therefore "I will make none with my mouth"I'll take myself away while you are

finging, and I'll fit down to shew that "I have no part with you in this ordi"nance."

The abuses here complained of are not to be easily remedied. I know they are not; but I have done my duty. Some of them are of long standing, not foon to be rooted out. Some are the confequences of mere profeffion, which renders all ordinances ineffectual: for they are only bleffed to any one, as he observes them in true faith. Others are not looked upon to be prophanations of the ordinance, but refinements of it; against fuch I only deliver my fentiments, not from the chair, as a pope; but I beg leave to give my opinion, and if I could, I would do it without offence. If any one be offended, I am forry for it. I would not hurt a worm. However, we are all agreed I hope in one thing, and let us improve that. It is our joint defire to please God in finging his praises. If this be pursued, it will tend to reform every abuse relating to this ordinance. His glory fhould be aimed at with a fingle eye. When this is the ruling principle, the heart would. enter into the fervice, and then it would foon influence the outward man. There would be no neglect, no contempt, no mifbehaviour, if gratitude to God in

Chrift

Christ inspired our fongs. We fhould love to present such praises and in such a manner, as would best express our thankfulness, and we fhould ftudy to avoid every thing which would render them unprofitable to ourselves or others, or difhonorable to him.

Let me intreat you, men and brethren,, never to forget this point. Set God always before you, whenever you are going to fing pfalms. Do it as in his presence and to his glory. If you think it your bounden duty to fing with your voices to be heard of one another, take heed that you fing with your hearts unto the Lord. Let it be the fervice of every faculty, and each exerted to the utmoft. Praise your bleffed Immanuel with your warmeft gratitude. Give him the beft you have. He richly deserves it. And remember you thereby pay him nothing again: You only give him his own. Your gratitude is the gift of his grace, and by it you only make acknowlegement of your vaft obligations to him. O beg of him then to enable you to praise him with a growing fense of your debt, and of his increafing favors. And may you so praise him, as to find frefh reafon to continue your praifes from day to day, and for evermore.

Who

Whoever is in this humble happy frame will be kept from a temptation, into which most of our hymn-fingers have fallen. I have heard several of them, who would by no means be thought common rate understandings, object to Sternhold and Hopkins. They wonder I would make use of this verfion, which they think is poor flat ftuff, the poetry is miferable, and the language low and bafe. To which I answer: They had a scrupulous regard for the very words of fcripture, and to thofe they adhered closely and ftrictly fo much as to render the verfification not equal to Mr. Pope. I grant, it is not always fmooth: It is only here and there brilliant. But what is a thousand times more valuable, it is generally the fentiment of the holy Spirit. That is very rarely loft. And this should filence every objection-It is the word of God. Moreover the verfion comes nearer to the original, than any I have ever seen, except the Scotch, which I have made ufe of, when it appeared to me better expreffed than the English. You may find fault with the manner of ekeing out a verse for the fake of rhyme; but what of that? Here is every thing great, and noble, and divine, although not in Dr. Watts way or ftile. It is not, like his,

fine found and florid verfe; as good old Mr. Hall used to call it, Watts jingle. I do not match thofe pfalms with what is now admired in poetry; although time was, when no lefs a man than the Rev. T.Bradbury in his fober judgment thought fo meanly of Watts hymns as commonly to term them Watts whyms. And indeed compared to the fcripture they are like a little taper to the fun: As for his pfalms they are so far from the mind of the Spirit, that I am sure if David was to read them, he would not know any one of them to be his.

Befides you are offended at the Scripture ftyle, and Dr. Watts must mend it. This is owing to a very falfe taft. For the fcripture wants no mending; nay it is always worse for 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 plainness of speech. They disclaim all painted language and oratorical colouring. One of them fpeaking for the rest says "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 "God; which things alfo we speak, not

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