of the REV EL A T I 0 N. Thou haft redeemed 111 to God by thy Blood ; That tonccrns Us, though they fing r'\...A..r-) Prai!e too. Ch,,o, 2. ~ 1 . Learn we from hence to blefs God for his Mercy and Goodne!S to others : 'Uft r. We fee the Angels do fo for us, who yet. cannot fing as we~ with an lmerclf, and yet they praife God for our Redemptton; and thiS JS thctr lughelf Grace. 2. Learn we to ble!S God in~ fenle of our lnterelf: That will rai!e our Hearts a degree higher, as it was with the Church of Men in their Song here ; Verf9, IO. The Praifers who were of the Sons of Men, are defcribed. Tl',.rf 8, I. As having Harps. 2. Golden Vials: In allufion to the Levitical Service in the Temple, where they had Mufical Infiruments, and Incenfe tn Bowls or Vials; which Zecb. 14. 20. are called, the Bowls of the Altar. Not that Mufical Infiruments are to be in the Wor!hip of God now, neither Incenfe; which as it was the Type of Prayer and Praifes, Pfol. 141. 2. [Let my Prayer cowe up before thee as lncenfe J; fo thole Harps were of that Spiritual Melody (as the Apo• file calls it) which we make in our Hearts to God ; even of Spzritual Soms, Ephe( 5· r9· Therefore ]ohn himfelf interprets the Odours or Incenle here, ~o be the Prayers of the S,ints. And their Hearts are the Golden Vials, having Faith purer than Gold, (as Peter fpeaks) which is the fpring of all their Prayers. 1\nd their Harps alfo are their Hearts; [ Corda J and [Chord£] are near akin. And every one is faid to have Hr~rps ; for in publick Worfhip all fbould join ; the little Strings go to make up a Confort, as well as the grenr. Though thou hafibut little Grace, yet God's Wor!hip would not be compleat without thee, And whereas ']ohn calls thefeOdours the Praymof the Saints; it makes nothing for what the Papifis would hence collel.l: ; namdy,that the Saints in Heaven offer up the Prayers of the Saints on EMth. For, r. This Company are (as we faid before) the Church of Men on Earth. 2. Thefe here offer not the Prayers of others, but their own ; for both thcm– felves make the Song, and that a new one; and alfo the Benefit they praile God for in it, is their own, [Thou haft redeemed 111 to God by thy Blood]. Tho[c words therefore [the Pra)'ers of the Saints], are but the Interpremion which ]oh12 adds; and do imply only this, that thefe were Saints, and their Od01:rs were their Prayers. r. .Andthey jimg 4 [ne~ J Song]. You fhall find, in the Pfalnu, that when P.rf 9 , David had a new occafion, m a further degree, to pratle God ; He lays I rri!l jing a New Song ; now here there was a New Occafion given. ' 2. It is called New, in oppofition to the 0/d,Song under the Old Tcfbmcnt; as 1ohn 13. 34· I give yo11 a New Commandment; that is, of the Gofpel, called New, in oppofition to the Commandments of the Old Law. In the 4thChap– ter of this Book, thefe Elders had fung a Song for the Work of Creation, (vof. lafi); but here they fing for the Work of Redemption, (as verf. 9·) which is the eminent Work of the New Teilament, as Creation was of the Old : and therefore it is called a New Song. 3· There is a more fpecial Reafon, why they fhonld fing a New Son[(, for that the New Hier~tfa!em was in their Eye: Chrifl's Kingdom, and their King– dom, [we fha/1 raign on Earth J there all thi11gs Jha/1 be made New. And there– fore their Song is now a New Song, for the Infialment of their NCJv King. Thus Pfol. g6. I. (which is a Pfalm of this Kingdom of Chrilf, as appears by verj1o,and 13.) cloth therefore begin with thefewords. 0 jing unto t/;eLord aNewSong. r. Learn we from hence to frame New Matter of Praife, and to have frcil1 Vji 1, Affel.l:ions upon every New Occafion. 2. We are to blefs God,bcith for our Creation and our Redemption; and tO take in the mention of Old Bleffings, when we give thanks for New, As a I!,OOd
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