AN ESSAY. 19 divine power in them, and the seal of a miracle set to the several parts of christian worship, to convince the world, and to confirm the church. 2. Because there was not time to acquire a capacity of preaching, praying, and composing spiritual songs by diligence and study, together with the ordinary assistance of grace and blessing of providence, which would have taken up many years before the gospel could have been universally preached. But even in those times of inspiration, as Timothy himself " was not to neglect the gift that was in him, given by imposition of hands, so he was charged to give attendance to reading, to ex- hortation, to doctrine, to meditate upon these things, to give himself wholly to them, that his profiting might appear unto all ;" 1 Tim. iv. 14, 15. And it is granted by all, that the ministers of the gospel in our day are to acquire and improve the gifts of knowledge, prayer and preaching, by reading, meditation, and frequent exercise, together with earnest requests to God for the ordinary assistance of his Spirit, and a blessing on their studies. Why then should it be esteemed sinful, to acquire a capacity of composing a spiritual song? Or why is it unlawful to put this gift in exercise, for the use of singing in the christian church, since it is one of those three standing parts of worship which were at first practised and confirmed by inspiration and miracle? Some may object here, that the words ..«aaa and 4aatcag, which ,the apostle useth in this chapter, intend the psalms of David, and not any new song : But if we consult the whole frame and design of that chapter, it appears that their worship was all performed by extraordinary gifts : Now it was no very extraordinary thing to bring forth one of David's psalms ; nor would it have been proper to have hindered the inspired worship with such an interposition of the ordinary service of an ancient Jewish song ; it is very credible therefore that the word Psalm in this place signifies a new spiritual song, and it is so used fre- quently in the writings of the primitive fathers, as appears in the citations, page 289. To close this rank of arguments, I might mention the di- vine delight that many pious souls have found in the use of spiritual songs, suited to their own circumstances, and to the revelations of the New Testament. If the spiritual joy and consolation that particular persons have tasted in the general duty of singing, be esteemed a tolerable argument to encourage the duty and confirm the institution, I am well assured that the argument would grow strong apace, and seal this ordinance beyond contradiction, if we would but stand fast in the liberty of the gospel, and not tie our consciences up to mere forms of the Old Testament. The faith, the hope, the love, and the hea- venly pleasure that many christians have professed while they have been singing evangelical hymns, would probably be mul- tiplied and diffused amongst the churches, if they would but a 2
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