AN ESSAY. 25 C. 39. Origen, who flourished in the middle of the third cen- tury, speaks " of singing hymns of praise to The Father in or by Christ in good rhyme, tune, metre and harmony." Origen de orat. sect. 6. Eusebius, B. 7. C. 19. quotes Dionysius writing against Nepos, thus, " Although I heartily love Nepos for his faith, his study of knowledge and the holy scriptures, as well as for various psalms and hymns composed by him, which are used to this day by some brethren, yet, &c." In the acts of the council of Antioch mentioned by Eusebius, B. 7. C. 30. it was one of the accusations of Paulus Samosatenus, the heretic Bishop of Antioch, that C0 he abolished those psalms which were wont to be sung to the honour of the Lord Jesus Christ as novel and composed by modern authors, and that he appointed women on Easter -day in the middle of the church to sing psalms in his praise." And in the fragment of an anonymous author extant in Eusebius, we find the heresy of Artemon, who denied the divinity of Christ, confuted not only by the scriptures and the writings of the precedent fathers, but also by the psalms and hymns of the brethren which were formerly composed by them, wherein they sung praises to the word of God, declaring Christ to be God. Such a private composed hymn was that which Clemens Alexandrinus mentions as one commonly known among the christians in his days, beginning xaip, ges, or, hail light. Spanheim in his sixth chapter of the fourth century of his Chris- tian History, speaks thus, °" Besides hymns and songs, and private psalms, of which there was a great number in their so- lemn assemblies, the psalm-book of David was brought into the western church in this age, in the time of Damasus and Am- brose ; but in the eastern church the singing of David's psalter by antiphonas or responses was brought in by Flavius Antiochc- nus. The use of psalms composed by private persons seems not to be forbidden in the church till the council of Laodicea in the fourth century. CONCLUSION. TIIUs have I drawn together my thoughts upon this subject, at the request of several ministers and private christians who practise psalmody in this method themselves, and sing the songs of the Lamb as well as the psalms of David, in their public and private worship, and especially at the celebration of the Lord's - supper. I had designed and almost prepared a larger discourse, wherein the duty of singing and the manner of performance would have been considered. But this essay has already swelled beyond the bulk proposed : There are many that would rejoice to.see evangelic songs more universally encouraged to the honour of their Lord Jesus, and to the joy and consola- tion of their fellow - saints. If the Spirit of God shall make any of these arguments I have used, successful to attain this glorious end, I shall take pleasure in the release of their souls from that
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=