"in' me, blefs his holy name: While I "live will I praise the Lord, I will fing "praifes unto my God while I have my being: I will extol thee my God, O "king, and I will blefs thy name for ever "and ever."

We have abundant authorities in the lives of believers to prove, that finging of pfalms was very early in the church. Mofes compofed a pfalm, which he and the whole congregation fang to the glory of their almighty deliverer from Egyptian bondage. On the victory obtained over Sifera the captain of Jabin's hoft, Deborah and Barak fang a hymn of thanksgiving recorded in the book of the wars of the Lord. David was the fweet finger of Ifrael raised up of God to indite the praises of the glorious Immanuel: The book of pfalms, which he spake by the holy Ghost, has been in ufe in the church ever fince his time. They made part of every days fervice in the temple. They were fung by Chrift, and by his apoftles. Paul and Silas in prison, with their feet in the stocks, and at midnight, had liberty in their hearts to fing a pfalm unto the Lord. We know for certain from facred history, confirmed by profane authors, that when the whole church was come together into one place it was part of the public fervice to fing pfalms ::

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pfalms for which there were rules laid down both in the old testament and in the

new.

The principal rule was about the end propofed in finging. Why did God en join it in his fervice? And with what view did he require it to be performed by his people? He has herein clearly revealed. his will. He intended to teach them to acknowlege his infinite love in Jefus, through whom all their bleffings flow, and to praise him and to thank him with joyful hearts and lips. Singing was the outward expreffion of their inward joy, and therefore it was accompanied with inftruments of all kinds to proclaim in the grandeft manner their joy in the Lord. While the daily facrifices were burning on the altar, they celebrated with believing hearts the atonement of the lamb of God, and expreffed their triumphing in it with all the powers of vocal and instrumental mufic. Thus they were commanded, Num. x. 10." In the day of your glad"nefs, and in your folemn days, and in "the beginning of your months, ye fhall "blow with the trumpets over your burnt "offerings, and over the facrifices of your peace offerings, that they may be to you for a memorial before the Lord your God: I am the Lord your God."

46

י

This commandment Hezekiah obferved. After he had cleansed the temple from the pollutions of his profane predeceffor, "He fet the Levites in the house of the "Lord with cymbals, with pfalteries, and "with harps, according to the command"ment of David, and of Gad the king's “feer, and Nathan the prophet: For fo

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was the commandment of the Lord by "his prophets: And the Levites stood with the inftruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets: And Heze"kiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar, and when the burnt offering began, THE SONG OF THE "LORD BEGAN alfo with the trumpets, and "with the inftruments ordained by David "king of Ifrael: And all the congrega"tion worshipped, and the fingers fang, "and the trumpeters founded, and all this "continued until the burnt offering was "finished." 2 Chron. xxix. 25, &c. Their mufic was not merely to please; it was expreffive. For it was a memorial. It was to call to mind the facrifice of Immanuel, and the joy flowing from it, the greatest joy that poffibly can be: For all the facrifices pointed to him, and were inftituted to keep up faith and hope in him. He was the lamb who verily was fore-ordained before the foundation of the - world,

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For

world, who was flain in type from the foundation of the world, and who in the fulness of time appeared to put away fin by the facrifice of himfelf. The apoftle has proved at large in the epiftle to the Hebrews, that all the facrifices under the law were types and figures of the facrifice of Chrift, and that the benefits ascribed to them were to fignify the graces which flow to his redeemed from his facrifice through this alone juftice was fatisfied, wrath appeased, atonement made, the confcience purged from guilt, the finner freely pardoned, fully justified, yea fanctified and perfected for ever: So that by his one offering he faves believers from all fins and all miferies, and gives them enjoyment now of all bleffings, and will fecure to them eternal enjoyment. Here is the fountain of all joy. From hence flows peace with God, and love to God with every bleffing of his love. All comes through the bleeding lamb, and is the fruit of his crofs and paffion. This is the glorious fubject treated of in the pfalms, and the finging and the mufic of the old tefta⚫ment were entirely in praise of this. While the burnt offering was confuming on the fire of the altar, all that found could poffibly do with voices and instruments was exerted to rouse the attention, and to in

འ

flame

1

flame the affections. The full concert was to excite the higheft fentiments of thankfulness in the view of that one offering, which was to bear the fire of the Father's wrath, and thereby was to become an odor of a fweet fmell, a facrifice acceptable, well pleafing to God. No bleffing is beyond this. No joy is to be compared with the joy of this. If any one had been prefent who did not know the occafion of this wonderful rejoicing, and had afked good Hezekiah what they meant by this mufic, which made the very earth ring again, he would have graciously informed the enquirer

We are now triumphing in ftedfast faith of the fulfilling of the promife, that God will be incarnate, and will come to take away fin by his facrifice: Therefore we enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praife. We rejoice in our hearts in the future offering of the lamb of God. Although we have divine words, in which to express our joy, yet our prefent fenfe of it is only according to our faith. When this is lively our joy is unfpeakable and full of glory: For it brings a foretaft of that fulness of joy, which we shall have, when we fhall receive the end of our faith, even the eternal falvation of our fouls. Then

all