AN ESSAY. Qj cúmstances in singing as well as praying, or in praising with verse as well as praising in prose ? Object. 2. The examples of scripture direct us to inspired matter for singing : Dent. xxxi. 21. " Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel." 1 Chron. xvi. 7. " David delivered first this song, to thank the Lord, into the hand of Asaph and his brethren." Now in his dying words, the sweet Psalmist of Israel tells us ; 2 Sam. xxiii. 1, 2. " The spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue." And in the days of Hezekiah, which was some ages. after David ; 2 Chron. xxix. 27, 28, 29, 30. " Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt - offering upon the altar : and when the burnt-offering be- gan, the song ofthe Lord began also, with the trumpets and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel, &c. Moreover I- Iezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise to the Lord, with the words of David and. of Asaph the seer." Answer. These are nothing but examples of Jewish, and very ceremonious worship : nor do they effectually prove, that the Jews theihselves were forbid upon all occasions whatsoever to lise more private composures in their synagogues, though in the temple it is probable that for the most part they sung inspired psalms. But it must be remembered, that these psalms are all suited to their dispensation; and yet without doubt they chose such out of them from time to time as best fitted their present case ; and so will we christians take as many of the psalms of David and other scripture- songs, as are suited to our dispensation and our circumstances ; but these will be but very few in comparison of what the ancient Levites might use, especially if we must sing the very words of David and Asaph the seer without omission or paraphrase. Object. 3. We cannot pretend to make better spiritual songs than the Spirit of God himself has made, therefore if we should neglect these, and sing human composures, we should incur the censure of the prophet Malachi, chap. i. ver. 13, 14. " Ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick, thus ye brought an offering, saith the Lord, should I accept this of your hands ?" Answer 1. Can we pretend to make better prayers than the Spirit of God has made and scattered up and down through all the Old and New Testament ? Can we suppose better sermons than Moses or Solomon? Better than our Saviour and his apos- tles preached, and the Spirit of God bath recorded ? Why then should not we use scripture -forms of praying and preaching, as well as of singing ? And though we may hope for the ordinary assistance of the Spirit in our prayers and sermons, yet how can we expect that these shall be as good as those which were com- posed by his extraordinary inspiration ? 113 3
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