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PREFACE.

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N the fervice of the church of Eng

land there is great ufe made of the pfalms. They are read in every day's fervice, both at morning and evening prayer, and are conftantly fung in public worship. It is much to be wished they were better understood, that the daily reading and finging of them might be the means of grace. Very few, it is to be feared, receive the profit from them, which as an ordinance of God they were intended to adminifter. I have long feen the defign of them greatly mistaken, and have long lamented the contempt put upon them. At last I have been perfuaded to try to make the subject of these divine hymns plain and clear, and to reftore the finging of them in the congregation to their primitive usefulness. This is my present attempt. Succefs in it depends on help from God. He revealed the book of pfalms, and he alone can A 2 make

make the finging of them profitable. I hope he will. May he accompany my well-meant performance with his prefence, and profper it with his grace. If it

bring any honor to his holy name and word, thanks be to him. If any body reads it, and is ftirred up to fing more and better, if our public finging of pfalms be reformed, and become in the leaft like the great concert of faints and angels, this will be altogether his doing; may he have all his praife. I deferve none, being only in his church and fervice what he is pleafed to make me. Through his grace I wish to live to his glory, and to be useful in my day to his cause and intereft. Help me, reader, to exalt him in life and death. May it be thy happiness to do the fame: for which thou haft the hearty prayer of thy servant in him.

W. R.

AN

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WE

E are the creatures of God, dependent on him for being and for well being. He gives us all our faculties both of mind and body, and he requires us to use them in his fervice and to his glory. This is our bounden duty. It is the peculiar dignity of man, who never acts more nobly, than when he employs the powers bestowed upon him to the praife of the giver. None of them fhould be useless, but each fhould be exerted, whenever an opportunity offers of glorifying God.

In the common actions of life this may, and fhould be done: The rule is, "Whether ye eat or drink, or WHATSOEVER 46 ye do, do all to the glory of God," but it is far more needful in fpiritual matters, which have an immediate relation to God and his worship. These he has appointed to be the means of fhewing forth his praife. Among them finging of pfalms is not the leaft. It is frequently commanded, and with a promife-faithful is he who hath promised - he will render the means effectual to answer the end. When believers employ the faculties of foul and body in finging of his goodness and greatness, he does accept the fervice, and teftifies his acceptance. He does indeed communicate to them by his Spirit joy and peace, and he renders finging to the Lord with melody in the heart the means of increasing the melody and joy.

But where is fuch finging? in what church? among what people? There are fome. May their number increase. It is worth while to try to increase them, efpecially as this ordinance is so much neglected. The holy affections, which should be ftirred up by fo heavenly an exercise, are generally damped by it. When it is performed with coldness and indifference, how can it produce fenfations fuitable to

fuch

fuch exalted means of grace? Or when contempt is put upon it, how can it convey any of the promised bleffings?

Many things have contributed to the prefent neglect and abuse of this ordinance, and I have been led to the following reflections in order to try to bring it again into repute. Happy indeed fhall I think myself, if the Lord fhould be pleased to make use of them, as any way conducive to the finging of his praises with the understanding. I fhall pray and labor for it: May he give his abundant bleffing.

One of the first and greateft caufes of neglecting the finging of pfalms feems to have arisen from not attending to

CHAP. I.

The fubject of the book of Pfalms.

THE teftimony of Jefus is the fpirit

of prophecy: For to him give all the prophets witness. With one voice they fpeak of his wonderful person, of his di vine undertakings, and of his complete and eternal falvation. It is the spirit of their writings to reveal and to teach the good knowlege of the Lord. Whoever understands them perfectly will find the prophets

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