,transcriber's note3     ,this essay was
 included at the end of the first       
printing of    ,isaac ,watts 7#agjg7    
,hymns and ,spiritual ,songs but was    
omitted      was transcribed4     ,the  
original #agjg page numbers are retained
 within curly brackets4     ,the        
spelling and punctuation of the #agjg   
printing are also    retained2 so are   
any inconsistencies and errors 7e4g4    
,excercise    on p4 #bfe7 except that a 
mistake at the bottom of page #bdf1 as  
noted in the publisher's concluding     
,errata1 has been corrected4     ,the   
long 's' has been replaced by its modern
 equivalent4     ,words broken off and  
hyphenated at the ends of lines have    
been    joined up and the hyphens       
deleted4     ,italics in the original   
are indicated by underscores around the 
text4 ,watts uses italics for proper    
nouns and quotations2 when    proper    
nouns occur within quotations their     
italics are removed4     ,greek letters 
have been transliterated 7e4g4          

,psalmos74      ,a ,short ,essay ,toward
 the ,improvement of ,psalmody3  ,or1   
,an ,enquiry how the ,psalms of ,david  
ought to be translated into ,christian  
,songs1 and how lawful and necessary it 
is to compose other ,hymns according to 
the clearer ,revelations of the ,gospel1
 for the ,use of the ,christian ,church4
  by  ,isaac ,watts        #bcc ,a      
,short ,essay ,toward the ,improvement  
of ,psalmody3 ,or1 ,an ,enquiry how the 
,psalms of ,david ought to be translated
 into ,christian ,songs1 and how lawful 
and necessary it is to compose other    
,hymns according to the clearer         
,revelations of the ,gospel1 for the    
,use of the ,christian ,church4  ,to    
speak the ,glories of ,god in a         
religious ,song1 or to breath out the   
,joys of our own ,spirits to ,god with  
the ,melody of our ,voice is an exalted 
,part of ,divine ,worship4 ,but so many 
are the ,imperfections in the ,practice 
of this ,duty1 that the greatest ,part  
of ,christians find but little          

,edification or ,comfort in it4 ,there  
are some ,churches that utterly disallow
 ,singing2 and ,i'm perswaded1 that the 
poor ,performance of it in the best     
,societies1 #bcd with the mistaken      
,rules to which it is confined is one   
great ,reason of their intire ,neglect2 
for we are left at a loss 7say they7    
what is the ,matter and ,manner of this 
,duty2 and therefore they utterly       
refuse3 ,whereas if this glorious ,piece
 of ,worship were but seen in its       
,original ,beauty1 and one that believes
 not this ,ordinance1 or is unlearned in
 this ,part of ,christianity should come
 into such an ,assembly1 he would be    
convinced of all2 he would be judged of 
all1 he would fall down on his ,face1   
and report that ,god was in the ,midst  
of it of a ,truth2 #a ,cor4 #ad4 #bd1   
#be4  ,in order to trace out the ,matter
 or ,subject of religious ,singing1 let 
us collect into one ,view the chief     
,texts of the ,new ,testament where this
 ,worship is mention'd1 and afterwards  

see what ,arguments may be deduced from 
thence1 to prove1 that 'tis proper to   
use ,spiritual ,songs of humane         
,composure1 as well as the ,psalms of   
,david or the ,words of other ,songs    
recorded in ,scripture4  ,the most      
considerable ,texts are these2 ,mat4    
#bf4 #cj4  ,mark #ad4 #bf4 relate1 that 
our blessed ,lord and his ,disciples    
sung an ,hymn4 ,acts #af4 #be4 ,paul and
 ,silas prayed and sung ,praises unto   
,god4 #a ,cor4 #ad4 #ae4 ,i will sing   
with the ,spirit1 and ,i will sing with 
the ,understanding also4 ,ver4 #bf4     
,every one of you hath a ,psalm4 ,eph4  
#e4 #ai1 #bj4 ,speaking to your selves  
in ,psalms and ,hymns1 and ,spiritual   
,songs2 singing and making ,melody in   
your ,hearts to the ,lord1 giving       
,thanks always for all things to ,god   
and the ,father1 in the ,name of #bce   
our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4  ,col #c4 #af1
 #ag4  ,let the ,word of ,christ dwell  
in you richly1 in all ,wisdom teaching  
and admonishing one another in ,psalms  

and ,hymns1 and ,spiritual ,songs2      
singing with ,grace in your ,hearts to  
the ,lord3 ,and whatsoever ye do in     
,word or in ,deed1 do all in the ,name  
of the ,lord ,jesus1 giving ,thanks to  
,god and the ,father by him4 ,jam4 #e4  
#ac4 ,is any among you afflicted1 let   
him pray3 ,is any merry1 let him sing   
,psalms4 ,rev4 #e4 #i4 ,and they sing a 
new ,song1 saying1 ,thou art worthy to  
take the ,book and to open the ,seals   
thereof1 for thou wast slain and hast   
redeemed us to ,god by thy ,blood4 ,rev4
 #ad4 #c4 ,and they sung as it were a   
new ,song before the ,throne4 ,rev4 #ae4
 #c4 ,and they sing the ,song of ,moses1
 the ,servant of ,god1 and the ,song of 
the ,lamb1 saying1 ,great and marvellous
 are thy ,works1 c4 ,to all these ,i    
might add ,acts #d4 #bd1 c4 ,where it is
 suppos'd the ,disciples met together   
and sung2 for they lift up their ,voice 
to ,god with one accord1 and said1      
,lord6 thou art our ,god1 which hast    
made ,heaven and ,earth1 and the ,sea1  

and all that in them is3 ,who by the    
,mouth of thy ,servant ,david hast said1
 ,why did the ,heathen rage1 and the    
,people imagine a vain thing4 ,the      
,kings of the ,earth stood up1 and the  
,rulers were gathered together against  
the ,lord1 and against his ,christ4 ,for
 of a ,truth1 against thy holy ,child   
,jesus whom thou hast anointed1 both    
,herod and ,pontius ,pilate1 with the   
,gentiles and the ,people of ,israel1   
were gathered together for to do        
whatsoever thy ,hand and thy ,counsel   
determined before to be done1 c4  #bcf  
,if we turn over the ,new ,testament1   
and search out all the ,songs that are  
there written1 we shall find the ,matter
 or ,subject of them as various as the  
,occasions upon which they were sung or 
spoken3 ,such are the ,song of the      
,virgin ,mary1 ,luke #a4 #df1 ,c4 ,they 
,song of ,zecharias1 ver4 #fg4 ,the     
,song of the ,angels1 ,luke #b4 #ac4    
,and of ,simeon1 ver4 #bi4 ,besides many
 others in the ,book of the             

,revelations4 ,the three chief ,words   
used to express the ,matter of ,singing1
 are ,psalmoi1 ,humnoi kai ,odai3       
,psalms1 ,hymns and ,songs1 as the three
 ,verbs from which these are derived are
 generally used to express the ,act of  
,singing1 psallo1 humneo1 i ado4 ,now if
 it were lawful after so many learned   
,contentions about these ,words1 ,i     
would give my ,sense of them thus3  #a4 
,i think no ,man hath better explain'd  
the original ,meaning of these ,words   
than ,zanchy4 ,a ,psalm1 ,psalmos1 is   
such a ,song as usually is sung with    
other ,instruments besides the ,tongue4 
,hymns1 ,humnoi1 such as are made only  
to express the ,praises1 and set out the
 ,excellencies of ,god4 ,songs1 ,odai1  
such as contain not only ,praises1 but  
,exhortations1 ,prophesies1             
,thanksgivings2 and these only sung with
 the ,voice4  #b4 ,the ,scripture doth  
not always confine it self to the       
original ,meaning of all these ,words2  
for ,psalmos a ,psalm1 and the ,word    

psallo1 are used1 #a ,cor4 #ad4 and in  
other ,places of the ,new ,testament1   
where we can never suppose the primitive
 ,church in those ,days #bcg had        
,instruments of ,music4 ,and the ,word  
,ode a ,song1 is used several times in  
the ,book of ,revelations1 where ,harps 
are join'd with ,voices in the          
,emblematical ,prophesy4  #c4 ,the      
,sense therefore of these ,words in the 
,new ,testament seems to be thus        
distinguish'd4 ,a ,psalm is a general   
,name for any thing that is sung in     
,divine ,worship1 whatsoever be the     
particular ,theme or ,matter2 and the   
,verb psallo is design'd to express the 
,melody it self rather than to          
distinguish the ,matter of the ,song1 or
 ,manner whereby the ,melody or ,music  
is performed2 and therefore in ,eph4 #e4
 #ai4 our ,translators have well rendred
 adontes kai psallontes1 ,singing and   
making ,melody2 and it should be thus   
rendred1 ,jam4 #e4 #ac4  ,is any merry1 
let him make ,melody4 ,i confess in the 

,new ,testament the ,noun ,psalmos      
refers generally to the ,book of        
,psalms1 and without ,doubt there are   
many of the ,palms of ,david and ,asaph1
 and other ,songs among the ,books of   
the ,old ,testament which may be        
prudently chosen and sung by            
,christians1 and may be well accomodated
 to the ,lips and ,hearts of the ,church
 under the ,gospel4 ,yet this ,word is  
once used in another ,sense1 as ,i shall
 show afterwards4  ,an ,hymn1 whether   
imply'd in the ,verb humneo1 or exprest 
in the ,noun ,humnos1 doth always retain
 its original ,signification1 and intend
 a ,song whose ,matter or ,design is    
,praise3 ,nor is there any thing in the 
,nature or ,use of the ,word either in  
,scripture or other #bch ,authors1 that 
determines it to signify an immediate   
,inspiration1 or humane ,composure4  ,a 
,song1 ,ode1 denotes any ,theme or      
,subject compos'd into a ,form fit for  
,singing1 and seems to intend somewhat  
suited to the ,gospel-,state1 rather    

than any ,jewish ,psalms or ,songs in   
all the five ,verses in the ,new        
,testament where it is used4  ,eph4 #e4 
#ai4  ,col4 #c4 #af4 ',tis join'd with  
the word ,spiritual2 and that seems to  
be used by the ,apostle in all his      
,epistles1 as a very distinguishing     
,word between the ,law and ,gospel1 the 
,jewish and the ,christian ,worship4    
,the ,jews had carnal ,ordinances1 and  
carnal ,commandments1 and their ,state  
and ,dispensation is often called       
,flesh1 but the ,church under the       
,gospel is a spiritual ,house1 blessed  
with spiritual ,blessings1 endow'd with 
spiritual ,gifts1 to worship ,god in    
,spirit and in ,truth1 to offer         
spiritual ,sacrifices1 and to sing      
spiritual ,songs4  ,col4 #c4 #af4       
,confirms this ,sense1 for the ,word of 
,christ must dwell richly in us in      
,psalms and ,hymns1 and spiritual       
,songs4 ,now tho the ,books of the ,old 
,testament may in some ,sense be called 
the ,word of ,christ1 because the same  

,spirit which was afterwards given to   
,christ the ,mediator did inspire them2 
yet this seems to have a peculiar       
reference to the ,doctrine and          
,discoveries of ,christ under the       
,gospel1 which might be compos'd into   
spiritual ,songs for the greater ,ease  
of ,memory in learning1 teaching and    
admonishing one another4  #bci ,rev4 #e4
 #i4  #ad4 #c4  ,there is mention of a  
,new ,song1 and that is pure            
,evangelical ,language1 suited to the   
,new ,testament1 the ,new ,covenant1 the
 new and living ,way-4of ,access to     
,god1 and to the new ,commandment of him
 who sits upon the ,throne1 and behold1 
he makes all things new4 ,the words of  
this ,song are1 ,worthy is the ,lamb1   
for thou wast slain1 and hast redeemed  
us to ,god by thy ,blood1 c4 and none   
could learn it but those who follow the 
,lamb1 who were redeemed from among     
,men1 c4 ,and it must be noted here1    
that this ,book of the ,revelations     
describes the ,worship of the           

,gospel-,church on ,earth1 as is agreed 
by all ,interpreters1 tho it borrows    
some of its ,emblems from the ,things of
 ,heaven1 and some from the ,jewish     
,state4 ,i might here remark also1 that 
when a new ,song is mention'd in the    
,old ,testament1 it refers to the ,times
 of the ,messiah1 and is prophetical of 
the ,kingdom of ,christ1 or at least it 
is a ,song indited upon a new ,occasion 
publick or personal1 and the ,words of  
it are accomodated to some new ,tokens  
of ,divine ,mercy4  ,rev4 #ae4 #c4 ,they
 sing the ,song of ,moses1 the ,servant 
of ,god1 and the ,song of the ,lamb2    
that is1 a ,song for temporal and for   
spiritual ,deliverances2 or1 a ,song for
 all antient or all later ,salvations of
 the ,church4 ,as ,moses was a ,redeemer
 from the ,house of ,bondage1 and a     
,teacher of ,divine ,worship with ,harps
 and ,ceremonies2 so the ,lamb is a     
,redeemer from ,babylon and spiritual   
,slavery1 and he #bdj is the great      
,prophet to teach his ,church the       

spiritual ,worship of the ,gospel4 ,the 
,church now1 under the ,salvations and  
,instructions of the ,lamb1 sings with  
the ,voice to the ,glory of the         
,vengeance and the ,grace of ,god1 as   
,israel  under the ,conduct of ,moses   
sung with ,harps2 for we must observe1  
that these ,visions of the ,apostle     
,john often represent ,divine ,things in
 a ,gospel-,church1 in ,imitation of the
 ,ranks and ,orders of the ,jewish ,camp
 and ,tribes1 and by the ,rites and     
,figures used in the time of ,moses2 and
 it would be as unreasonable to prove   
from this ,text1 that we must sing the  
very words of the #aeth of ,exodus in a 
,christian ,church1 as to prove from    
this ,book of the ,revelations that we  
must use ,harps and ,altars1 ,censers1  
,fire and ,incense4 ,but 'tis plain that
 the #aeth of ,exodus cannot be here    
intended1 because the ,words of the     
,song are mention'd just after1 7viz47  
,great1 and marvellous are thy ,works1  
,lord ,god ,almighty1 just and true are 

thy ,ways1 thou ,king of ,saints4 ,yet  
after all1 if it could be proved1 that  
the very ,song which ,moses sung is here
 design'd1 still it must be confest that
 the ,song of the ,lamb is also to be   
sung2 and if the following ,words in    
this ,text are not to be esteem'd the   
,song of ,moses1 then neither are they  
to be esteem'd the ,song of the ,lamb2  
because there is not any express mention
 of the ,lamb1 or his ,death1 or        
,resurrection1 or ,redemption2 nor is   
there any other ,song in ,scripture that
 bears that title and consequently it   
must signifie a ,song compos'd #bda to  
the praise of ,god for our deliverance  
by the ,lamb1 in imitation of the ,joy  
composed for deliverance by the ,hand of
 ,moses3 ,and thus at least we are to   
suit part of our ,psalmody to the       
,gospel-,state as well as borrow part   
from the ,old ,testament1 which is the  
chief point ,i designed to prove4  ,the 
next ,enquiry then proceeds thus3 ,how  
must the ,psalms of ,david and other    

,songs borrowed from ,scripture1 be     
translated in order to be sung in       
,christian ,worship8 ,surely1 it will be
 granted1 that to prepare them for      
,psalmody under the ,gospel1 requires   
another sort of ,management in the      
,translation1 than to prepare them      
merely for ,reading as the ,word of ,god
 in our ,language1 and that upon these  
two accounts3  ,first1 ,if it be the    
duty of the ,churches to sing ,psalms1  
they must necessarily be turned into    
such a sort of ,verse and ,metre as will
 best fit them for the whole ,church to 
join in the ,worship3 ,now this will be 
very different from a ,translation of   
the original ,language word for word2   
for the ,lines must be confined to a    
certain number of ,syllables1 and the   
,stanza or ,verse to a certain number of
 ,lines1 that so the ,tune being short  
the people may be acquainted with it1   
and be ready to sing without much       
difficulty2 whereas if the ,words were  
merely translated out of the ,hebrew as 

they are for reading1 every ,psalm must 
be set through to music1 and every      
,syllable in it must have a particular  
musical ,note belonging to itself1 as in
 ,anthems #bdb that are sung in         
,cathedrals3 ,but this would be so      
exceeding difficult to practise1 that it
 would utterly exclude the greatest part
 of every ,congregation from a ,capacity
 of obeying ,god's ,command to sing4    
,now1 in reducing a ,hebrew or a ,greek 
,song to a ,form tolerably fit to be    
sung by an ,english ,congregation1 here 
and there a ,word of the ,original must 
be omitted1 now and then a ,word or two 
superadded1 and frequently a ,sentence  
or an ,expression a little alter'd and  
chang'd into another that is something  
a-kin to it3 ,and yet greater           
,alterations must the ,psalm suffer if  
we will have any thing to do with       
,rhime2 those that have labour'd with   
utmost ,toil to keep very close to the  
,hebrew have found it impossible2 and   
when they have attain'd it most1 have   

made but very poor ,music for a         
,christian ,church4 ,for it will often  
happen1 that one of the most            
affectionate and most ,spiritual ,words 
in the ,prose will not submit to its due
 ,place in the ,metre1 or does not end  
with a proper ,sound1 and then it must  
be secluded1 and another of less proper 
,sense be put in the ,room of it3       
,hereby some of the chief ,beauties and 
,excellencies of ,david's ,poetry will  
be omitted and lost1 which if not       
reviv'd again1 or recompenc'd by some   
lively or pathetic ,expression in the   
,english1 will necessarily debase the   
,divine ,song into ,dullness and        
,contempt3 ,and hereby also it becomes  
so far different from the inspired      
,words in the ,original ,languages1 that
 it is very hard for any ,man to say1   
#bdc that the ,version of ,hopkins and  
,sternhold1 the ,new-,england or the    
,scots ,psalms1 are in a strict ,sense  
the ,word of ,god4 ,those ,persons      
therefore that will allow nothing to be 

sung but the words of inspiration or    
,scripture ought to learn the ,hebrew   
,music1 and sing in the ,jewish         
,language2 or at least ,i can find no   
,congregation with which they can       
heartily join according to their own    
,principles1 but the ,congregation of   
,choristers in ,cathedral ,churches1 who
 are the only ,levites that sing ,praise
 unto the ,lord with the ,words of      
,david and ,asaph the ,seer1 #b ,chron4 
#bi4 #cj4  ,secondly1 ,another ,reason  
why the ,psalms ought not to be         
translated for ,singing just in the same
 manner as they are for ,reading1 is    
this1 that the ,design of these two     
,duties is very different3 ,by ,reading 
we learn what ,god speaks to us in his  
,word2 but when we sing1 especially unto
 ,god1 our chief ,design is1 or should  
be1 to speak our own ,hearts and our    
,words to ,god4 ,by ,reading we are     
instructed what have been the ,dealings 
of ,god with ,men in all ,ages1 and how 
their ,hearts have been exercis'd in    

their ,wandrings from ,god1 and         
,temptations1 or in their ,returns and  
,breathings towards ,god again2 but     
,songs are generally ,expressions of our
 own ,experiences1 or of his ,glories2  
we acquaint him what ,sense we have of  
his ,greatness and ,goodness1 and that  
chiefly in those ,instances which have  
some ,relation to us3 ,we breath out our
 ,souls towards him1 and make #bdd      
,addresses of ,praise and               
,acknowledgment to him4 ,tho ,i will not
 assert it unlawful to sing to ,god the 
,words of other ,men which we have no   
,concern in1 and which1 are very        
contrary to our ,circumstances and the  
,frame of our ,spirits2 yet it must be  
confest abundantly more proper1 when we 
address ,god in a ,song1 to use such    
,words as we can for the most part      
assume as our own3 ,i own that 'tis not 
always necessary our ,songs should be   
direct ,addresses to ,god2 some of them 
may be mere ,meditations of the ,history
 of ,divine ,providences1 or the        

,experiences of former ,saints2 but even
 then1 if those ,providences or         
,experiences cannot be assum'd by us as 
parallel to our own1 nor spoken in our  
own ,names2 yet still there ought to be 
some ,turns of ,expression that may make
 it look at least like our own present  
,meditation1 and that may represent it  
as a ,history which we our selves are at
 that time recollecting4 ,i know not one
 ,instance in ,scripture1 of any later  
,saint singing any part of a ,composure 
of former ,ages1 that is not proper for 
his own ,time1 without force            
,expressions that tend to accommodate or
 apply it4 ,but there are a multitude of
 ,examples amongst all the ,scriptural  
,songs1 that introduce the ,affairs of  
preceding ,ages in the ,method ,i have  
described4 ,psal4 #dd4 #a1 c4 ,when     
,david is recounting the ,wonders of    
,god in planting the ,children of       
,israel in the ,land of ,canaan1 he     
begins his ,song thus1 ,we have heard   
with our ,ears ,o ,god1 our ,fathers    

have told us #bde what ,works thou didst
 in their ,days1 in times of old1 how   
thou didst drive ,out the ,heathen with 
thy ,hand1 and plantedst them1 how thou 
didst afflict ,the ,people1 and cast    
them out4 ,psal4 #gh4 #b1 c4 ,i will    
open my ,mouth in a ,parable1 ,i will   
utter dark ,sayings of old which we have
 heard and known1 and our ,fathers have 
told us1 we will not hide them from     
their ,children1 shewing to the         
,generation to come the ,praises of the 
,lord4 ,so he relates the ,converse and 
,covenant of ,god with ,abraham1 ,isaac 
and ,israel1 as a ,narration of former  
,providences and ,experiences1 ,psal4   
#aje4 #h1 #i1 #aj1 c4 ,so in the ,virgin
 ,mary's ,song1 and the ,song of        
,zecharia4 ,and ,i know not any thing   
can be objected here1 but that a        
,prophet perhaps in some instances may  
assume the ,words of ,christ or the     
,saints in following ,ages2 but it      
should be observed that this is almost  
always in such ,respects wherein        

,persons or ,circumstances present were 
typical of what is future1 and so their 
,cases become parallel4  ,by these      
,considerations we are easily led into  
the true ,method of translating ancient 
,songs into ,christian ,worship4 ,psalms
 that are purely ,doctrinal1 or meerly  
,historical1 are ,subjects for our      
,meditation1 and may be translated for  
our present ,use with no ,variation1 if 
it were possible2 and in general1 all   
those ,songs of ,scripture which the    
,saints of following ,ages may assume   
for their own3 ,such are the #ast1 the  
#hth1 the #aith1 and many others4 ,some 
,psalms may be apply'd to our ,use by   
the ,alteration of a ,pronoun1 putting  
#bdf ,they in the place of ,we1 and     
changing some ,expressions which are not
 suited to our ,case into a ,narration  
or ,rehearsal of ,god's ,dealings with  
others3 ,there are other ,divine ,songs 
which cannot properly be accommodated to
 our ,use1 and much less be assum'd as  
our own without very great ,alterations1

 7viz47 such as are filled with some    
very particular ,troubles or ,enemies of
 a ,person1 some ,places of ,journeying 
or ,residence1 some uncommon            
,circumstances of a ,society1 to which  
there is scarce any thing parallel in   
our ,day or ,case3 ,such are many of the
 ,songs of ,david1 whose ,persecutions  
and ,deliverances were very             
extraordinary3 ,again1 such as express  
the ,worship paid unto ,god by carnal   
,ordinances and ,utensils of the        
,tabernacle and ,temple4 ,now if these  
be converted into ,christian ,songs in  
our ,nation1 ,i think the ,names of     
,ammon and ,moab may be as properly     
chang'd into the ,names of the chief    
,enemies of the ,gospel1 so far as may  
be without publick ,offence3 ,judah and 
,israel may be called ,england and      
,scotland1 and the ,land of ,canaan may 
be translated into ,great ,britain2 ,the
 cloudy and typical ,expressions of the 
legal ,dispensation should be turned    
into ,evangelical ,language1 according  

to the ,explications of the ,new        
,testament3 ,and when a ,christian      
,psalmist1 among the ,characters of a   
,saint1 ,psal4 #ae4 #e4 meets with the  
,man that puts not out his ,money to    
,usury1 he ought to exchange one that is
 no ,oppressor for an ,oppressor or     
,extortioner1 since ,usury #bdg is not  
utterly forbidden to ,christians1 as it 
was by the ,jewish ,law2 and wheresoever
 he finds the ,person or ,offices of our
 ,lord ,jesus ,christ in ,prophecy1 they
 ought rather to be translated in a way 
of ,history1 and those ,evangelical     
,truths should be stript of their ,vail 
of ,darkness1 and drest in such         
,expressions that ,christ may appear in 
'em to all that sing4 ,when he comes to 
,psal4 #dj4 #f4 and reads there ,words1 
,mine ,ears hast thou opened1 he should 
learn from the ,apostle to say1 ,a ,body
 hast thou prepared for me1 ,heb4 #aj4  
#e4 ,instead of binding the ,sacrifice  
with ,cords to the ,horns of the ,altar1
 ,psal4 #aah4 #bg4 we should offer up   

,spiritual ,sacrifices 7that is the     
,prayer and ,praise of the ,heart and   
,tongue7 acceptable to ,god by ,jesus   
,christ1 #a ,pet4 #b4 #e4 ,where there  
are any dark ,expressions1 and difficult
 to be understood in the ,hebrew ,songs1
 these should be left out in our        
,psalmody1 or at least made very plain  
by a ,paraphrase4 ,where there are      
,sentences1 or whole ,psalms1 that can  
very difficultly be accommodated to our 
,times1 they may be utterly omitted4    
,such is ,psal4 #aej4 part of the #ch1  
#de1 #fj1 #fh1 #ha1 #ajh4 and some      
others1 as well as a great part of the  
,song of ,solomon4  ,perhaps 'twill be  
objected here1 that the ,book of ,psalms
 would hereby be rendred very imperfect1
 and some weak ,persons might imagine   
this ,attempt to fall under the ,censure
 of ,rev4 #bb4 #ah1 #ai4 that is1 of    
taking away from1 or adding to the      
,words of the ,book #bdh of ,god4 ,but  
'tis not difficult to reply that though 
the whole ,book3 of ,psalms was given to

 be read by us as ,god's ,word for our  
,use and ,instruction1 yet it will never
 follow from thence that the whole was  
written as a ,psalter for the ,christian
 ,church to use in ,singing4 ,for if    
this were the ,design of it1 then every 
,psalm1 and every ,line of it might be  
at one time or another proper to be sung
 by ,christians3 ,but there are many    
hundred ,verses in that ,book which a   
,christian cannot properly assume in    
singing without a considerable          
,alteration of the ,words1 or at least  
without putting a very different        
,meaning upon them1 from what ,david had
 when he wrote them2 and therefore there
 is no necessity of translating always  
intire ,psalms1 nor of preparing the    
whole ,book for ,english ,psalmody4 ,i  
might here add also ,dr4 ,patrick's     
,apology in his ,century of ,psalms     
first publish'd1 that he took but the   
same ,liberty which is allow'd to every 
,parish-,clerk1 to chuse what ,psalm and
 what ,verses of it he would propose to 

the ,people to sing4  ,give me leave    
here to mention several ,passages which 
were hardly made for ,christian ,lips to
 assume without some ,alteration3 ,psal4
 #fh4 #ac1 #ad1 #ae1 #af4 ,tho ye have  
lain among the ,pots1 yet shall ye be as
 the ,wings of a ,dove cover'd with     
,silver1 and her ,feathers with yellow  
,gold3 ,when the ,almighty scatter'd    
,kings in it1 it was white as ,snow in  
,salmon4 ,the ,hill of ,god is as the   
,hill of ,bashan1 c4 ,why leap ye1 ye   
,hills1 c2 ver4 #be4 #bdi ,the ,singers 
went before1 the ,players on            
,instruments followed after1 amongst    
them were the ,damsels playing with     
,timbrels3 ,bless ye ,god in the        
,congregation1 even the ,lord from the  
,fountain of ,israel3 ,there is little  
,benjamin with their ,ruler1 the        
,princes of ,judah and their ,council1  
the ,princes of ,zebulun1 and the       
,princes of ,naphtali4 ,because of thy  
,temple at ,jerusalem ,kings shall bring
 ,presents unto thee4 ,rebuke the       

,company of ,spearmen1 the ,multitude of
 ,bulls1 with the ,calves of the        
,people1 till every one submit himself  
with ,pieces of ,silver4 ,psal4 #ga4 #b1
 #c1 c4 ,take a ,psalm1 and bring hither
 the ,timbrel1 the pleasant ,harp with  
the ,psaltery1 blow up the ,trumpet in  
the ,new ,moon1 in the ,time appointed  
on our solemn ,feast-,day1 c4 ,psal4    
#hd4 #c1 #f4 ,the ,sparrow hath found an
 ,house1 and the ,swallow a ,nest for   
her self1 where she may lay her ,young1 
even thine ,altars1 ,o ,lord of ,hosts1 
c4 ,blessed is the ,man whose ,strength 
is in thee1 in whose ,heart are the     
,ways of them1 who passing thro the     
,valley of ,bacha make it a ,well1 the  
,rain also filleth the ,pools4 ,psal3   
#ajh4 #b1 #g1 #h1 #i4 ,awake ,psaltery  
and ,harp1 ,i my self will awake early4 
,god hath spoken in his ,holiness2 ,i   
will rejoyce1 ,i will divide ,shechem1  
and mete out the ,vally of ,succoth2    
,gilead is mine1 ,manasseh is mine1     
,ephraim also is the ,strength of mine  

,head1 ,judah is my ,lawgiver1 ,moab is 
my ,washpot1 over ,edom will ,i cast out
 my ,shoe1 over ,philistia will ,i      
triumph2 ,who will bring me into the    
strong ,city1 who will lead me into     
,edom ,psal4 #fi1 #h  #aji4 are so full 
of ,cursings #bej that they hardly      
become the ,tongue of a ,follower of the
 blessed ,jesus1 who dying pray'd for   
his own ,enemies2 ,father forgive them1 
for they know not what they do4 ,psal4  
#acd4 is suited to the ,temple or       
,tabernacle-,worship2 the ,title is1 ,a 
,song of ,degrees1 that is1 as          
,interpreters believe1 to be sung as the
 ,kings of ,israel went up by ,steps or 
,degrees to the ,house of ,god2 ,in the 
two first ,verses the ,king calls upon  
the ,levites1 which by ,night stand in  
the ,house of the ,lord1 to lift up     
their ,hands in the ,sanctuary1 and to  
bless the ,lord2 the #c;d ,verse is an  
,antiphona or ,reply of the ,levites to 
the ,king2 the ,lord that made ,heaven  
and ,earth bless thee out of ,zion4     

',twould be endless to give an ,account 
of all the ,paragraphs of ancient       
,songs1 which can scarce ever be        
accommodated to ,gospel-,worship4  ,the 
,patrons of another ,opinion will say we
 must sing the ,words of ,david1 and    
apply them in our ,meditation to the    
things of the ,new ,testament3 ,but can 
we believe this to be the best ,method  
of worshiping ,god1 to sing one thing   
and mean another8 besides that the very 
literal ,sense of many of many of these 
,expressions is exceeding deep and      
difficult1 and not one in twenty of a   
religious ,assembly can possibly        
understand them at this ,distance from  
the ,jewish ,days2 therefore to keep    
close to the ,language of ,david1 we    
must break the ,commands of ,god by     
,david1 who requires that we sing his   
,praises with ,understanding1 ,psal4    
#dg4g4 ,and ,i am #bea perswaded1 that  
,st4 ,paul if he lived in our ,age and  
,nation1 would no more advise us to sing
 unintelligible ,sentences in ,london1  

than himself would sing in an unknown   
,tongue at ,corinth1 #a ,cor4 #ad4 #ae1 
#ai4 ,after all1 if the literal ,sense  
were known1 yet the ,application of many
 ,verses of ,david to our ,state and    
,circumstances was never design'd1 and  
is utterly impossible2 and even where it
 is possible1 yet 'tis so exceeding     
difficult that very few ,persons in an  
,assembly are capable of it2 and when   
they attempt it1 if their ,thoughts     
should be enquir'd one by one1 you would
 find very various1 wretched1 and       
contradictory ,meanings put upon the    
,words of the ,hebrew ,psalmist1 and all
 for want of an ,evangelical            
,translation of him4 ',tis very obvious 
and common to observe that ,persons of  
,seriousness and ,judgment that consider
 what they sing1 are often forced to    
break off in the midst1 to omit whole   
,lines and ,verses1 even where the best 
of our present ,translations at used2   
and thus the ,tune1 and the ,sense1 and 
their ,devotion is interrupted at once1 

because they dare not sing without      
understanding1 and almost against their 
,consciences4 ,whereas the more         
unthinking ,multitude go on singing in  
chearful ,ignorance wheresoever the     
,clerk guides them1 a-cross the ,river  
,jordan1 thro' the ,land of ,gebal1     
,ammon and ,amalek2 ,he leads 'em into  
the strong ,city1 he brings them into   
,edom2 ,anon they follow him thro' the  
,valley of ,bacha1 till they come up to 
,jerusalem2 they wait upon him into #beb
 the ,court of ,burnt-,offerings1 and   
bind their ,sacrifice with ,cords to the
 ,horns of the ,altar2 they enter so far
 into the ,temple1 till they join their 
,song in ,consort with the high sounding
 ,cymbals1 their ,thoughts are          
be-darkened with the ,smoke of ,incense1
 and cover'd with ,jewish ,veils4 ,such 
,expressions as these are the beauties  
and ,perfections of a ,hebrew ,song1    
they paint every thing to the ,life3    
,such ,language was suited by ,infinite 
,wisdom to raise the ,affections of the 

,saints of that ,day3 ,but ,i fear they 
do but sink our ,devotion1 and hurt our 
,worship4   ,i esteem the ,book of      
,psalms the most valuable ,part of the  
,old ,testament upon many ,accounts3 ,i 
advise the ,reading and ,meditation of  
it more frequently than any single ,book
 of ,scripture2 and what ,i advise ,i   
practise4 ,nothing is more proper to    
furnish our ,souls with devout          
,thoughts1 and lead us into a ,world of 
,spiritual ,experiences3 ,the           
,expressions of it that are not ,jewish 
or peculiar1 give us constant           
,assistance in ,prayer and in ,praise3  
,but yet if we would prepare ,david's   
,psalms to be sung by ,christian ,lips1 
we should1 observe these two plain      
,rules4  ,first1 ,they ought to be      
translated its such a ,manner as we have
 reason to believe ,david would have    
compos'd 'em if he had lived in our     
,day3 ,and therefore his ,poems are     
given as a ,pattern to be imitated in   
our ,composures1 rather than as the     

precise and invariable ,matter of our   
,psalmody4 ',tis one of the             
,excellencies of ,scripture-,songs1 that
 they #bec are exactly suited to the    
very ,purpose and ,design for which they
 were written1 and that both in the     
,matter1 in the ,stile1 and in all their
 ,ornaments3 ,this gives ,life and      
,strength to the ,expression1 it        
presents ,objects to the ,ears and to   
the ,eyes1 and touches the ,heart in the
 most affecting ,manner4 ,david's       
,language is adapted to his own         
,devotion1 and to the ,worship of the   
,jewish ,church2 he mentions the very   
,places of his ,journies1 or            
,retirements1 of his ,sorrows1 or his   
,successes2 ,he names the ,nations that 
were ,enemies of the ,church1 or that   
shall be its ,friends and tho for the   
most part he leaves the single ,persons 
of his ,time nameless in the ,body of   
his ,psalm1 yet he describes them there 
with great ,particularity1 and often    
names them in the ,title4 ,this gives us

 abundant ,ground to infer1 that should 
the ,sweet-,singer of ,israel return    
from the ,dead into our ,age1 he would  
not sing the ,words of his own ,psalms  
without considerable ,alteration2 and   
were he now to transcribe them1 he would
 make them speak the present            
,circumstances of the ,church1 and that 
in the ,language of the ,new ,testament3
 ,he would see frequent ,occasion to    
insert the ,cross of ,christ in his     
,song1 and often interline the          
,confessions of his ,sins with the      
,blood of the ,lamb2 often would he     
describe the ,glories and the ,triumphs 
of our blessed ,lord in long and flowing
 ,verse1 even as ,st4 ,paul1 when he    
mentions the ,name and ,honours of      
,christ can hardly part his ,lips from  
'em again3 #bed ,his ,expressions would 
run ever bright and clear2 such as here 
and there we find in a single ,verse of 
his old ,composures1 when he is         
transported beyond himself1 and carried 
far away from ,jewish ,shadows by the   

,spirit of ,prophecy and the ,gospel4   
,we have the more abundant ,reason to   
believe this1 if we observe1 that all   
along the sacred ,history as the        
,revelations of ,god and his ,grace were
 made plainer1 so the ,songs of the     
,saints express'd that ,grace and those 
,revelations according to the ,measure  
of their ,clearness and ,increase4 ,let 
us begin at the ,song of ,moses1 ,exod4 
#ae4 and proceed to ,david and ,solomon1
 to the ,song of the ,virgin ,mary1 of  
,zecharias1 ,simeon1 and the ,angels1   
the ,hosanna of the young ,children1 the
 ,praises paid to ,god by the ,disciples
 in the ,acts1 the ,doxologies of ,paul1
 and the ,songs of the ,christian       
,church in the ,book of the             
,revelations3 ,every ,beam of new ,light
 that broke into the ,world gave        
occasion of fresh joy to the ,saints1   
and they were taught to sing of         
,salvation in all the ,degrees of its   
advancing ,glory4  ,secondly1 ,in the   
,translation of ,jewish ,songs for      

,gospel-,worship1 if ,scripture affords 
us any ,example1 we should be ready to  
follow it1 and the ,management thereof  
should be a ,pattern for us4 ,now tho   
the ,disciples and primitive ,christians
 had so many and so vast ,occasions for 
,praise1 yet ,i know but two ,pieces of 
,songs they borrow'd from the ,book of  
,psalms4 ,one is mention'd in ,luke     
#ai4ch4  #bee ,where the ,disciples     
assume a ,part of a ,verse from the     
#aahth ,psalm1 but sing it with         
,alterations and ,additions to the      
,words of ,david4  ,the other is the    
,beginning of the second ,palm1 sung by 
,peter and ,john and their ,company1    
,acts #d4 #bc1 #bd1 c4 ,you find there  
an ,addition of ,praise in the          
,beginning1 ,lord thou art ,god which   
hast made ,heaven and ,earth1 and the   
,sea1 and all that in them is4 ,then    
there is a ,narration of what ,david    
spoke1 who by the ,mouth of thy servant 
,david hast said1 c4 ,next follow the   
two first ,verses of that ,psalm1 but   

not in the very ,words of the ,psalmist3
 ,afterwards an ,explication of the     
,heathen and the ,people1 7viz47 the    
,gentiles and ,israel3 ,the ,kings and  
the ,rulers1 7viz47 ,herod and ,pontius 
,pilate1 and the ,holy ,child ,jesus1 is
 ,god's anointed4 ,then there is an     
,enlargement of the ,matter of ,fact by 
a ,consideration of the ,hand of ,god in
 it1 and the ,song concludes with the   
breathing of their ,desires towards ,god
 for ,mercies most precisely suited to  
their ,day and ,duty2 and you find when 
they had sung1 they went to ,prayer in  
the ,assembly1 and then they preached   
the ,word of ,god by the holy ,ghost1   
and with amazing ,success4 ,o may ,i    
live to see ,psalmody perform'd in these
 evangelick ,beauties of ,holiness6 ,may
 these ,ears of mine be entertain'd with
 such ,devotion in ,publick1 such       
,prayer1 such ,preaching1 and such      
,praise6 ,may these ,eyes behold such   
returning ,glory in the ,churches6 ,then
 my ,soul shall be all ,admiration1 my  

,tongue #bef shall humbly attempt to    
mingle in the ,worship1 and assist the  
,harmony and the ,joy4  ,after we have  
found the true ,method of translating   
,jewish ,songs for the ,use of the      
,christian ,church1 let us enquire also 
how lawful and necessary 'tis to compose
 ,spiritual ,songs of a more evangelic  
,frame for the ,use of ,divine ,worship 
under the ,gospel4  ,the ,first         
,argument ,i shall borrow from all the  
foregoing ,discourse concerning the     
,translation of the ,psalms of ,david3  
,for by that time they are fitted for   
,christian ,psalmody1 and have all the  
,particularities of ,circumstance that  
related to ,david's ,person1 and ,times 
alter'd and suited to our present ,case2
 and the ,language of ,judaism is       
chang'd into the ,stile of the ,gospel2 
the ,form and ,composure of the ,psalm  
can hardly be called inspired or        
,divine3 only the ,materials or the     
,sense contain'd therein may in a large 
,sense be called the ,word of ,god1 as  

it is borrowed from that ,word4 ,why    
then may it not be esteemed as lawful to
 take some ,divine ,sense and ,materials
 agreeable to the ,word of ,god1 and    
suited to the present ,case and         
,experience of ,christians1 and compose 
them into a ,spiritual ,song8           
,especially when we cannot find one     
ready pen'd in the ,bible1 whose        
,subject is near a-kin to our present   
,condition1 or whose ,form is adapted to
 our present ,purpose4  ,the ,second    
,argument shall be drawn from the       
several ,ends and ,designs of ,singing1 
which can never be sufficiently attain'd
 by #beg confining ourselves to ,david's
 ,psalms1 or the ,words of any ,songs in
 ,scripture4 ,the first and chief intent
 of this part of ,worship1 is to express
 unto ,god what ,sense and              
,apprehensions we have of his ,essential
 ,glories2 and what notice we take of   
his ,works of ,wisdom and ,power1       
,vengeance and ,mercy2 'tis to vent the 
inward ,devotion of our ,spirits in     

,words of ,melody1 to speak our own     
,experience of divine ,things1          
especially our religious ,joy2 'twould  
be tiresom to recount the endless       
,instances out of the ,book of ,psalms  
and other divine ,songs1 where this is  
made the chief ,business of them4 ,in   
the ,texts of the ,new ,testament where 
,singing is requir'd1 the same ,designs 
are propos'd2 when the ,ephesians are   
filled with the ,spirit1 the ,enlightner
 and ,comforter1 they are charged to    
indulge those ,divine ,sensations1 and  
let them break out into a ,spiritual    
,song1 ,eph4 #e4ai4 ,when any is merry  
or chearful1 the ,apostle ,james bids   
him express it by ,singing4 ,giving     
,thanks unto ,god1 is the ,command of   
,st4 ,paul to the ,saints while he      
injoins ,psalmody on them2 ,and speaking
 the ,wonders of his ,power1 ,justice   
and ,grace1 is the ,practice of the     
,church constantly in the ,visions of   
,st4 ,john4 ,to teach and admonish one  
another1 is mention'd by ,st4 ,paul as  

another ,design of ,singing2 the        
,improvement of our ,meditations1 and   
the kindling ,divine ,affections ,within
 our selves1 is one of the ,purposes    
also of religious ,melody1 if ,eph4 #e4 
#ai4 be rightly translated4 ,now1 #beh  
how is it possible all these ,ends      
should be attain'd by a ,christian1 if  
he confines his ,meditations1 his ,joys1
 and his ,praises1 to the ,hebrew ,book 
of ,psalms8 ,have we nothing more of the
 ,nature of ,god revealed to us than    
,david had8 ,is not the ,mystery of the 
ever-blessed ,trinity brought out of    
,darkness into open ,light8 ,where can  
you find a ,psalm that speaks the       
,miracles of ,wisdom and ,power as they 
are discover'd in a crucify'd ,christ8  
,and how do we rob ,god the ,son of the 
,glory of his dying ,love1 if we speak  
of it only in the gloomy ,language of   
,smoke and ,sacrifices1 ,bullocks and   
,goats1 and the ,fat of ,lambs8 ,is not 
the ,ascent of ,christ into ,heaven1 and
 his ,triumph over ,principalities and  

,powers of ,darkness a nobler           
,entertainment for our tuneful          
,meditations than the removing of the   
,ark up to the ,city of ,david1 to the  
,hill of ,god1 which is high as the     
,hill of ,bashan8 ,is not our ,heart    
often warm'd with holy ,delight in the  
,contemplation of the ,son of ,god our  
dear ,redeemer whose ,love was stronger 
than ,death8 ,are not our ,souls        
possess'd with a ,variety of ,divine    
,affections1 when we behold him who is  
our chief ,beloved hanging on the cursed
 ,tree1 with the ,load of all our ,sins 
upon him1 and giving up his ,soul to the
 ,sword of ,divine ,justice in the stead
 of ,rebels and ,enemies8 ,and must     
these ,affections be confin'd only to   
our own ,bosoms1 or never break forth   
but in ,jewish ,language1 and ,words    
which were not made to express the #bei 
,devotion of the ,gospel8 ,the ,heaven  
and the ,hell that we are acquainted    
with by the ,discovery of ,god our      
,saviour1 give us amore distinct        

,knowledge of the future and eternal    
,state1 than all the former ,revelations
 of ,god to ,men3 ,life and ,immortality
 is brought to light by the ,gospel2 we 
are taught to look far into the         
invisible ,world1 and take a ,prospect  
of the last awful ,scene of ,things3 ,we
 see the ,graves opening1 and the ,dead 
arising at the ,voice of the ,archangel1
 and the ,sounding of the ,trump of     
,god2 ,we behold the judge on his       
,tribunal1 and we hear the dreadful and 
the delightful ,sentences of ,decision  
that shall pass on all the ,sons and    
,daughters of ,adam2 we are assur'd1    
that the ,saints shall arise to meet the
 ,lord in the ,air1 and so shall we be  
for ever with the ,lord3 ,the ,apostle  
bids us1 ,exhort or comfort one another 
with these ,words1 #a ,thess4 #d4 #ag1  
#ah4 ,now when the same ,apostle        
requires that the ,word of ,christ must 
dwell richly in us in all ,wisdom1      
teaching and admonishing one another in 
,psalms and spiritual ,songs2 can we    

think he restrains us only to the       
,psalms of ,david1 which speak very     
little of all these ,glories or         
,terrors1 and that in very obscure      
,terms and dark ,hints of ,prophecy8 ,or
 shall it be suppos'd1 that we must     
admonish one another of the old ,jewish 
,affairs and ,ceremonies in ,verse1 and 
make ,melody with those weak and        
beggarly ,elements1 and the ,yoke of    
,bondage1 and yet never dare to speak of
 the ,wonders of new ,discovery except  
in the plain and simple ,language of    
,prose8  #bfj ,perhaps 'twill be replied
 here1 that there are some ,scriptural  
,hymns in the ,book of ,revelations that
 describe the ,affairs of the ,new      
,testament1 the ,death and ,kingdom of  
our ,lord ,jesus1 and these are lawful  
to be sung in a ,christian ,church2 ,i  
am glad that our ,friends of a different
 ,opinion will submit to sing any thing 
that belongs to the ,gospel2 ,i rejoice 
that the ,bible hath any such ,pieces of
 ,christian ,psalmody in it2 lest       

everything that is ,evangelical should  
utterly be excluded from this ,worship1 
by those who will sing nothing but what 
is inspired2 but how seldom are these   
,gospel-,songs used among our ,churches8
 how little respect is paid to 'em in   
comparison of the ,jewish ,psalms8 how  
little mention would ever be made of    
them1 if it were not to defend the      
,patrons of ,jewish ,psalmody from the  
gross ,absurdity of an entire ,return to
 ,judaism in this ,part of ,worship8    
,but give me leave also to add1 that    
these ,christian ,hymns are but very    
short1 and very few2 nor do they contain
 a hundredth ,part of those glorious    
,revelations that are made to us by     
,christ ,jesus and his ,apostles2 nor   
can we suppose ,god excludes all other  
,parts of the ,gospel from ,verse and   
,singing4  ,most express words of       
,scripture furnish me with a ,third     
,argument1 ,eph4 #e4 #ai1 #bj4  ,col4   
#c4 #af1 #ag4 ,which are the two chief  
,commands of the ,new ,testament for    

,singing2 both bid us make ,melody1 and 
give ,thanks to ,god the ,father1 in the
 ,name of our #bfa ,lord ,jesus ,christ4
 ,this is one of the ,glories of        
,gospel-,worship1 that all must be      
offer'd to the ,father in his ,name4 ,so
 very particular is our ,lord ,jesus in 
this ,command1 that his last ,sermon to 
his ,disciples mentions it four times1  
,john #ad4 #ac1 #ad4  #af4 #bc1 #bd4    
,nov why should we make ,conscience of  
praying in the ,name of ,christ always1 
and offer up our ,praises in his ,name  
when we speak in ,prose8 ,and yet when  
we give ,thanks in ,verse1 we almost    
bind our selves to take no more notice  
of the ,name of ,christ than ,david or  
,moses did4 ,why should every part of   
,divine ,worship under the ,gospel be   
express'd in ,language suited to that   
,gospel 7viz47 ,praying1 ,preaching1    
,baptism and the ,lord's ,supper2 and   
yet when we perform that part of        
,worship which brings us nearest to the 
heavenly ,state1 we must run back again 

to the ,law to borrow ,materials for    
this ,service8 ,and when we are employ'd
 in the ,work of ,angels1 we talk the   
,language of the ,infant-,church1 and   
speak in ,types and ,shadows8 ,while we 
bind our selves to the ,words of ,david 
when he inclines his ,ear to a ,parable1
 and opens his dark saying upon the     
,harp1 ,psal4 #di4 #d4 we have given too
 great ,countenance to those who still  
continue the use of the ,harp while they
 open the dark saying4  ,the ,fourth    
,argument may be thus drawn up4 ,there  
is almost an infinite ,number of        
different ,occasions for ,praise and    
,thanksgivings2 as well as for ,prayer1 
in the ,life of a #bfb ,christian2 and  
there is not a ,set of ,psalms already  
prepared that can answer all the        
,varieties of the ,providence and the   
,grace of ,god4 ,now if ,god will be    
prais'd for all his ,mercies1 and       
,singing be one ,method of ,praise1 we  
have some ,reason to believe that ,god  
doth not utterly confine us even to the 

,forms of his own composing4 ,this is   
thought a very sufficient ,reason to    
resist the ,imposition of any ,book of  
,prayers2 and ,i grant that no ,number  
of ,prayers of humane ,composure cam    
express every new ,difficulty or future 
,want of a ,christian2 scarce can we    
suppose a ,divine ,volume should do it1 
except it be equal to many ,folio's4    
,however ,i can see no thing in the     
inspired ,book of ,praises that should  
perswade me that the ,spirit of ,god    
design'd it as a universal ,psalm-book2 
nor that he intended these to include or
 provide for all the ,occasions of      
,thanksgiving that ever ,could befal    
,jews or ,christians in a single or     
social ,capacity4 ,we find in the       
,history of ,scripture1 that new        
,favours receiv'd from ,god were        
continually the ,subject of new ,songs1 
and the very minute ,circumstances of   
the present ,providence are describ'd in
 the ,verse4 ,the ,destruction of       
,pharoah in the ,red-,sea2 the ,victory 

of ,barak over ,sisera2 the various     
,deliverances1 ,escapes and ,successes  
of the ,son of ,jesse are described in  
the ,songs of ,moses1 ,deborah and      
,david4 ,the ,jews in a ,land of        
,captivity sat by the ,rivers of        
,babylon1 and remembred ,sion2 they     
could find none of the antient ,songs   
#bfc of ,sion fit to express their      
present ,sorrow and ,devotion1 tho some 
of them are mournful enough2 then was   
that admirable and artful ,ode written1 
the #acgth ,psalm1 which even in the    
,judgment of the greatest humane        
,criticks1 is not inferiour to the      
finest ,heathen ,poems4 ',tis a more    
dull1 and obscure1 and unaffecting      
,method of ,worship to preach1 or pray1 
or praise always in ,generals3 ,it doth 
not reach the ,heart1 nor touch the     
,passions2 ,god did not think any of his
 own inspired ,hymns clear and full and 
special enough to express the ,praise   
that was his due of new ,blessings of   
,grace and ,providence2 and therefore he

 put a new ,song into the ,mouths of    
,mary1 ,zecharias and ,simeon2 and 'tis 
but according to his own ,requirement1  
that the ,british-,islands should make  
their present ,mercies under the ,gospel
 the ,subject of fresh ,praises2 ,isa4  
#db4 #i1 #aj4 ,behold the former things 
are come to pass1 and new things do ,i  
declare2 before they spring forth ,i    
tell you of them2 ,sing unto the ,lord a
 new ,song1 and his ,praise from the    
,end of the ,earth2 ,ye that go down to 
the ,sea1 and all that is therein2 the  
,isles and the ,inhabitants thereof4 ,as
 for the new ,songs in the ,revelations1
 the occasions of some of them are very 
particular1 and relate to the ,fall of  
,anti-,christ2 ,it can never be imagin'd
 that there are a compleat ,collection  
of ,psalms to suit all the ,cases of a  
,christian ,church3 ,they are rather    
given to us as small ,originals1 by     
,imitation whereof the ,churches should 
be furnished with ,matter #bfd for      
,psalmody1 by those who are capable of  

composing spiritual ,songs according to 
the various or ,special ,occasions of   
,saints or ,churches4 ,now1 shall we    
suppose the ,duty of ,singing to be so  
constantly provided for when there was  
any fresh ,occasion under the ,old      
,testament1 and just in the very        
,beginning of the ,new1 and yet that    
there is no manner of ,provision made   
ever since by ordinary or extraordinary 
,gifts for the ,expression of our       
particular joys and ,thanksgivings8     
,this would be to sink the ,gospel1     
which is a ,dispensation of the ,spirit1
 of ,liberty1 of ,joy1 and of ,glory1   
beneath the ,level of ,judaism1 when the
 ,saints were kept in hard ,bondage1 and
 had not half so much ,occasion for     
,praise4  ,the ,fifth ,argument may be  
borrow'd from the extraordinary ,gift of
 the ,spirit to compose or sing         
spiritual ,songs in the primitive       
,church1 express'd in #a;,cor4 #ad4 #ae1
 #bf4 ,the several ,parts of ,divine    
,worship1 ,praying1 ,preaching and      

,singing1 were performed by immediate   
,inspirations of the holy ,spirit in    
that ,day1 for there two ,reasons4 7#a47
 ,that there might be a ,discovery of   
,divine ,power in them1 and the ,seal of
 a ,miracle set to the several ,parts of
 ,christian ,worship1 to convince the   
,world1 and to confirm the ,church4     
7#b47 ,because there was not time to    
acquire a ,capacity of ,preaching1      
,praying1 and composing ,spiritual      
,songs by ,diligence and ,study1        
together with the ordinary ,assistance  
of ,grace and ,blessing of #bfe         
,providence1 which would have taken up  
many ,years before the ,gospel could    
have been universally preached4 ,but    
even in those ,times of ,inspiration1 as
 ,timothy himself was not to neglect the
 ,gift that was in him given by         
,imposition of ,hands1 so he was charg'd
 to give ,attendance to ,reading1 to    
,exhortation1 to ,doctrine1 to meditate 
upon these things1 to give himself      
wholly to them1 that his profiting might

 appear unto all1 #a ,tim4 #d1 #ad1 #ae4
 ,and it is granted by all1 that the    
,ministers of the ,gospel in our ,day   
are to acquire and improve the ,gifts of
 ,knowledge1 ,prayer and ,preaching1 by 
,reading1 ,meditation and frequent      
,exercise1 together with earnest        
,requests to ,god for the ordinary      
,assistance of his ,spirit1 and1 a      
,blessing on their ,studies2 ,why then  
should it be esteem'd sinful1 to acquire
 a ,capacity of composing a spiritual   
,song8 ,or why is it unlawful to put    
this ,gift in ,excercise1 for the ,use  
of ,singing in the ,christian ,church1  
since 'tis one of those three standing  
,parts of ,worship which were at first  
practis'd and confirm'd by ,inspiration 
and ,miracle8  ,some may object here1   
that the words psallo and ,psalmos1     
which the ,apostle useth in this        
,chapter1 intend the ,psalms of ,david1 
and not any new ,song3 ,but if we       
consult the whole ,frame and ,design of 
that ,chapter1 it appears that their    

worship was all performed by            
extraordinary ,gifts3 ,now1 'twas no    
very1 extraordinary thing to bring      
forth1 one of ,david's ,psalms2 nor     
would it have been proper to have       
hindered the inspsired ,worship with    
such an ,interposition of the ordinary  
,service of an antient ,jewish ,song2   
'tis very credible therefore that the   
,word ,psalm in this ,place signifies a 
new spiritual ,song1 and 'tis so used   
frequently in the ,writings of the      
,primitive ,fathers1 as appears in the  
,citations1 pag4 #bgd4  ,to close this  
,rank of ,arguments1 ,i might mention   
the ,divine ,delight that many pious    
,souls have found in the ,use of        
spiritual1 ,songs1 suited to their #bff 
own ,circumstances1 and to1 the         
,revelations of the ,new ,testament4 ,if
 the spiritual ,joy and ,consolation    
that particular ,persons have tasted in 
the general ,duty or ,singing1 be       
esteem'd a tolerable ,argument to       
encourage the ,duty and confirm the     

,institution1 ,i am well assured that   
the ,argument would grow strong apace1  
and seal this ,ordinance beyond         
,contradiction1 if we would but stand   
fast in the ,liberty of the ,gospel1 and
 not tie our ,consciences up to meer    
,forms of the ,old ,testament4 ,the     
,faith1 the ,hope1 the ,love1 and the   
heavenly ,pleasure that many ,christians
 have profess'd while they have been    
singing evangelical ,hymns2 would       
probably be multiply'd and diffus'd     
amongst the ,churches1 if they would but
 breath out their ,devotion in the      
,songs of the ,lamb as well as in the   
,song of ,moses4  ,thus far have we     
proceeded in a way of ,argument drawn   
from ,scripture and the ,reason of      
,things4 ,many ,objections have been    
prevented1 or sufficient ,hints given   
for the ,removal of them4 ,those that   
remain and seem to have any considerable
 ,strength1 shall be propos'd with an   
,attempt to answer them2 for ,i would   
not have ,christians venture upon the   

,practice of any thing in ,divine       
,worship without due ,knowledge and     
,conviction4  ,object4 #a4 ,the         
,directions given for ,psalmody in some 
,parts of the ,old ,testament1 lead us  
to the ,use of those ,songs which are   
inspired1 ,deut4 #ca4 #af1 #ai1 c4 ,and 
the ,lord said unto ,moses1 write ye    
this ,song for you1 and teach it the    
,children of ,israel1 put it in their   
,mouths1 that this ,song may be a       
,witness for me against the ,children of
 ,israel2 for when ,i shall have brought
 them into the ,land which ,i sware unto
 their ,fathers1 which floweth with     
,milk and ,hony1 c4 ,then they will turn
 unto other ,gods4 ,and in ,psal4 #ha4  
#a1 #b1 #c1 #d4 ,where we are required  
to worship ,god by ,singing1 we are not 
commanded to make a new ,psalm1 but to  
make one that is already made1 for the  
words run #bfg thus1 ,sing aloud unto   
,god our ,strength1 make a joyful ,noise
 to the ,god of ,jacob2 ,take a ,psalm  
and bring hither the ,tymbrel1 the      

pleasant ,harp with the ,psaltery1 blow 
up the ,trumpet in the ,new ,moon1 in   
the ,time appointed1 on our solemn      
,feast-,day1 for this was a ,statute for
 ,israel1 and a ,law of the ,god of     
,jacob4  ,ans4 #a4 ,i have cited these  
,texts at large wherein the ,objection  
lies1 that an ,answer might appear plain
 in the ,text to every ,reader4 ,how    
peculiarly do these ,commands refer to  
the ,israelites8 ,the very ,words of the
 ,precept confine it to the ,jews1 to   
the ,men that dwelt in ,canaan1 to the  
,worship that is paid with ,tymbrels and
 ,trumpets1 to the ,days of the ,new    
,moon1 and solemn ,jewish ,festivals2   
and if we will insist upon there        
,scriptures as precise ,rules of our    
present ,duty and ,worship1 the ,men    
that use ,musical ,instruments in a     
,christian ,church will take the same   
,liberty of returning to ,jewish        
ordinances1 and use then same ,text to  
defend them4  ,ans4 #b ,but if we should
 grant our selves under the ,gospel     

still obliged by these ,commands1 yet   
they do not bind us up intirely to      
inspired ,forms of ,singing1 since the  
same sort of ,expression is used        
concerning ,prayer2 ,hos4 #ad4 #b4 ,take
 with you ,words1 and say unto the      
,lord1 take away all ,iniquity1 and     
receive us graciously1 c4 ,now who is   
there that esteems himself confin'd to  
use no other ,prayer but scriptural     
,forms8 ,in other ,places1 where these  
,duties are injoin'd1 we are bid to     
pray1 or to praise1 or to sing2 and why 
should we not be as much at ,liberty to 
suit the ,words and the ,sense to our   
present ,circumstances in ,singing as   
well as ,praying1 or in praising with   
,verse as well as praising in ,pros8    
,object4 #b4 ,the examples of ,scripture
 direct us to inspired ,matter for      
,singing3 ,deut4 #ca4 #ba4 ,mosses wrote
 this ,song the same ,day1 and taught it
 the ,children of ,israel4 ,i ,chron4   
#af4 #g4 ,david delivered first this    
,song1 to thank the ,lord1 into the     

,hand of ,asaph and #bfh his ,brethren4 
,now in his dying ,words1 the sweet     
,psalmist of ,israel tells us1 #b ,sam4 
#bc4 #a1 #b4 ,the ,spirit of the ,lord  
spake by me1 and his ,word was in my    
,tongue4 ,and in the ,days of ,hezekiah1
 which was some ,ages after ,david3 #b  
,chron4 #bi4 #bg1 #bh1 #bi1 #cj4        
,hezekia commanded to offer the         
,burnt-,offering upon the ,altar2 and   
when the ,burnt-,offering began1 the    
,song of the ,lord began also with the  
,trumpets and with the ,instruments     
ordained by ,david ,king of ,israel1 c44
 ,moreover ,hezekiah the ,king and the  
,princes commanded the ,levites to sing 
,praise to the ,lord1 with the ,words of
 ,david and of ,asaph the ,seer4  ,answ4
 ,there are nothing but ,examples of    
,jewish1 and very ceremonious ,worship2 
,nor do they effectually prove1 that the
 ,jews themselves were forbid upon all  
,occasions whatsoever to use more       
private ,composures in their            
,synagogues1 tho in the ,temple 'tis    

probable that for the most part they    
sung inspired ,psalms4 ,but it must be  
remembred1 that these ,psalms are all   
suited to their ,dispensation1 and yet  
without doubt they chose such out of    
them from time to time as best fitted   
their present ,case2 and so will we     
,christians take as many of the ,psalms 
of ,david and other ,scripture-,songs1  
as are suited to our ,dispensation and  
our ,circumstances2 but there will be   
but very few in ,comparison of what the 
antient ,levites might use1 especially  
if we must sing the very words of ,david
 and ,asaph the ,seer without ,omission 
or ,paraphrase4  ,object4 #c4 ,we cannot
 pretend to make better spiritual ,songs
 than the ,spirit of ,god himself has   
made1 therefore if we should neglect    
these1 and sing humane ,composures1 we  
should incur the ,censure of the prophet
 ,malachy1 ,chap4 #a4 v4 #ac1 #ad4 ,ye  
brought that which was torn1 and the    
,lame1 and the ,sick1 thus ye brought an
 ,offering1 saith the ,lord1 should ,i  

accept this of your ,hands8  ,ans4 #a4  
,can we pretend to make better ,prayers 
#bfi than the ,spirit of ,god has made  
and scatter'd up and down thro' all the 
,old and ,new ,testament8 ,can we       
compose better ,sermons than ,moses or  
,solomon8 ,better than our ,saviour and 
his ,apostles preach'd1 and the ,spirit 
of ,god hath recorded8 ,why then should 
not we use ,scripture ,forms of praying 
and preaching1 as well as of ,singing8  
,and tho we may hope for the ordinary   
,assistance of the ,spirit in our       
,prayers and ,sermons1 yet how can we   
expect that these shall be as good as   
those which were compos'd by his        
extraordinary ,inspiration8  ,ans4 #b4  
,divine ,wisdom accommodates its        
,inspirations1 its ,gifts1 its          
,revelations1 and its ,writings1 to the 
particular ,cases and ,seasons in which 
he finds a ,saint or a ,church4 ,now tho
 we cannot pretend to make a better     
,prayer than that of ,ezra or ,daniel1  
or our ,lord1 for the ,day and ,design  

for which they were prepared2 yet a     
,song1 a ,sermon1 or a ,prayer that     
expresses my ,wants1 my ,duties or my   
,mercies1 tho it be compos'd by a humane
 ,gift1 is much better for me than to   
tie myself to any inspired ,words in any
 part of ,worship which do not reach my 
,case2 and consequently can never be    
proper to assist the ,exercise of my    
,graces or raise my ,devotion4  ,ans4   
#c4 ,i believe that ,phrases and        
,sentences used by inspired ,writers are
 very proper to express our ,thoughts in
 ,prayer1 ,preaching or ,praise2 and    
,god has frequently given ,witness in   
the ,hearts of ,christians how much he  
approves the ,language of ,scripture2   
but 'tis always with a ,proviso that    
those ,phrases be clear1 and expressive 
of our present ,sense1 and proper to our
 present ,purpose3 ,yet we are not to   
dress up our ,prayers1 ,sermons or      
,songs in the ,language of ,judaism when
 we design to express the ,doctrines of 
the ,gospel3 ,this would but darken     

,divine ,counsel by ,words without      
,knowledge2 it would amuse and confound 
the more ignorant ,worshipers1 'twould  
disgust the more ,considerate1 and give 
neither #bgj the one nor the other      
,light or ,comfort3 ,and ,i think it may
 be as proper in our ,churches to read a
 ,sermon of ,moses or ,isaiah instead of
 preaching the ,gospel1 as to sing a    
,psalm of ,david whose ,expressions     
chiefly refer to ,david the ,shepherd1  
the ,king1 the ,fugitive1 the ,captain1 
the ,musician and the ,jew4 ,in short   
the ,prayers1 ,sermons and ,songs in    
,scripture are rather ,patterns by which
 we should frame our ,worship and adjust
 it to our present ,case1 than ,forms of
 ,worship to which we should precisely  
and unchangeably confine our selves4    
,and as ,sermons which are conformable  
to the ,holy ,scripture in a large      
,sense may be called the ,word of ,god  
and the ,word of ,christ1 and are usally
 and justly so called if they are       
agreeable to the ,scripture and drawn   

from thence2 so ,hymns of ,humane       
,composure according to the ,spirit and 
,doctrines of the ,gospel may be as well
 termed the ,word of ,christ1 which is  
the proper ,matter for ,christian       
,psalmody4 ,col4 #c4 #af4 whereas in the
 strictest and most limited ,sense of   
the ,word nothing deserves that ,title  
but the ,hebrew and ,greek ,originals4  
,object4 #d4 ,in the ,new ,testament    
there are ,promises of ,divine          
,assistance to ,ministers and private   
,christians in preaching the ,gospel and
 in ,prayer2 ,but we have no ,promise of
 the ,spirit of ,god to help us to      
compose ,psalms or ,hymns for our       
private ,use or for the ,use of the     
,churches2 and how can we practise in   
the ,worship of ,god what we have no    
,promise of the holy ,spirit to         
encourage and assist us in8  ,ans4 #a4  
,there are many general ,promises of the
 ,presence of ,christ with his          
,ministers1 and the ,supply of his      
,spirit in the ,discharge of all their  

,duties for the ,edification of the     
,church3 ,now there are several         
,performances which are necessary for   
the ,churches ,edification1 to which    
there is no peculiar ,promise made of   
the ,assistance of the ,spirit in       
express ,words3 ,such are1 ,translating 
the ,bible into #bga our                
,mother-,tongue1 ,composing our ,sermons
 or at least the ,substance and ,scheme 
of them before preaching1 ,writing pious
 and useful ,treatises upon divine      
,subjects1 and ,diligent ,reading and   
study of ,books so written2 nor is there
 any more express ,encouragement to     
expect the ,presence of the ,spirit in  
turning the ,psalms of ,david into      
,rhime and ,metre1 than in composing new
 ,spiritual ,songs3 ,and yet ,ministers 
that are fitted for such ,performances  
may pray and hope for ,divine           
,assistance in them all1 and trust in   
the general ,promises for ,help in      
particular ,services4  ,ans4 #b4 ,there 
is no need of these ,gifts of ,criticism

 or of ,poesy for all ,christians nor   
all ,ministers1 tho it seems necessary  
that some should be furnish'd with them4
 ,a few ,persons in an ,age or a ,nation
 may translate the ,scriptures into the 
,national ,language1 and may compose a  
sufficient ,number of ,hymns to answer  
the chief ,designs and ,wants of the    
,church for that ,day for publick       
,worship4 ,where there happen ,occasions
 very particular1 the ,ministers of the 
,gospel are not or should not be so     
utterly destitute of common ,ingenuity1 
as to be unable to compose or at least  
to collect a few tolerable ,verses      
proper for such a ,season4  ,object4 #e4
 ,we find no ,instances in ,scripture of
 humane ,composures sung by the ,people 
of ,god2 and 'tis not good to practise  
such pieces of ,worship without a       
,precedent4  ,ans4 ,whensoever there was
 just ,occasion for an ,hymn according  
to some new and special ,providence1 we 
almost every where find a new ,song     
recorded in ,scripture1 and we call it  

inspired1 nor do ,i know any just       
,reason to suspect or doubt of the      
,inspiration2 but if there had been any 
one which was not the ,effect of an     
extraordinary ,gift but only compos'd by
 a good ,man1 we should be ready to take
 it for inspired because mention'd in   
,scripture2 as we do too #bgb many      
,expressions of the ,saints in that     
divine ,history1 and make every thing   
that a good ,man saith ,heavenly and    
,divine3 ,however if there can be no    
,pretence made to such an ,example in   
,scripture1 yet so much ,reason1        
,argument and ,incouragement as hath    
been already drawn from ,scripture      
sufficiently justifies this ,practice1  
since we perform many ,circumstantials  
of ,worship under the ,influence of a   
general ,command without express and    
special ,examples4  ,object4 #f4 ,we    
ought to sing nothing to ,god but what  
is given us for this very ,end that it  
may be sung1 lest we indulge            
,will-worship and the ,inventions of    

,men4  ,ans4 #a4 ,to convert the ,verses
 of ,david into ,english ,lines1 to     
confine them to an exact ,number of     
,syllables1 and to make ,melody in      
particular ,tunes1 may as well be called
 the ,inventions of ,men and            
,will-,worship3 ,but these ,inventions  
are absolutely necessary for the        
,performance of ,divine ,commands1 and  
for the ,assistance of a whole          
,congregation to sing2 with any         
tolerable ,convenience1 ,order or       
,decency1 as the ,reverend ,mr4 ,boyse  
has well proved4  ,ans4 #b4 ,those that 
refuse to sing ,forms of humane         
,composure tho the ,sense be never so   
divine1 generally allow it lawful to    
take any ,parts of ,scripture and alter 
and transpose the ,words into a ,form   
fit for ,singing2 ,but to take a mere   
,parable or ,story out of the ,bible1   
and put ,some ,rhimes onto the ,end of  
every ,line of it1 without giving it a  
new and pathetic ,turn1 is but a dull   
way of making spiritual ,songs1 and     

without a precedent too4 ,david did not 
deal so with ,genesis and ,exodus1 tho  
he loved the ,words of the ,law as well 
as we pretend to value the ,words of the
 ,gospels and ,epistles4 ,the most part 
of the ,new ,testament as it stands in  
our ,bible was never given us for       
,psalms1 ,hymns and spiritual ,songs2   
but for divine ,instruction and         
,materials for this and other ,duties1  
that so we might borrow the ,doctrines  
and #bgc ,discoveries of the ,new       
,testament1 and compose ,sermons and    
,songs out of them3 ,but if we take     
,chapters and ,verses promiscuously out 
of the ,new ,testament1 and make them   
jingle and rhime1 and so sing them1 we  
are guilty of singing what ,god never   
commanded to be sung1 as much as if we  
compos'd spiritual ,songs by humane ,art
 agreeable to the ,sense of ,scripture  
and the ,christian ,faith4  ,if the     
,addition of humane ,testimony          
concerning the ,practice of ,churches in
 former or later ,ages might have any   

influence to establish the ,consciences 
of those who are doubtful in this       
,matter1 ,i might acquaint them that the
 ,churches of ,germany and the ,eastland
 ,churches1 use many ,divine ,hymns     
which are compos'd on several ,subjects 
of the ,christian ,religion1 without any
 ,pretence to extraordinary ,gifts4 ,the
 ,church of ,england approves this      
,practice1 as appears in those          
,spiritual ,songs at the ,end of the old
 ,translation of the ,psalm-,book1 and  
some ,churches among the ,dissenters4   
,the ,christians of the first ,ages were
 wont to meet together on a ,day        
appointed before it was ,light1 and to  
speak a ,song to ,christ as to ,god4    
,thus ,pliny the ,roman testifies in a  
,letter to ,trajan the ,emperour in the 
,beginning of the second ,century4      
,tertullian1 who flourish'd about the   
,beginning of the ,third ,century1      
relating the ,manner of ,administration 
of the ,lord's ,supper1 asserts ,that   
after they had eat and drank what was   

sufficient for those that must worship  
,god by ,night1 c4 ,every one was urged 
to sing unto ,god publickly either out  
of the holy ,scriptures1 or according to
 their own ,genius and ,ability1 ,apol4 
,c4 #ci4 ,origen1 who flourish'd in the 
,middle of the ,third ,century1 speaks  
of singing ,hymns or ,praise to the     
,father in or by ,christ in good ,rhime1
 ,tune1 ,metre and ,harmony4 ,origen de 
,orat4 ,sect4 #f4 ,eusebius1 ,b4 #g4 ,c4
 #ai4 quotes ,dionisius writing against 
,nepos thus1 ,altho ,i heartily love    
,nepos for his ,faith1 his ,study of    
,knowledge and the holy ,scriptures1 as 
well as #bgd for various ,psalms and    
,hymns composed by him1 which are used  
to this ,day by some ,brethren1 yet1 c4 
,in the ,acts of the ,council of        
,antioch mention'd by ,eusebius1 ,b4#g4 
,c4#cj4 ,it was one of the ,accusations 
of ,paulus ,samosatenus the ,heretick   
,bishop of ,antioch1 that he abolished  
those ,psalms which were wont to be sung
 to the ,honour of the ,lord ,jesus     

,christ as novel and compos'd by ,modern
 ,authors1 and that he appointed ,women 
on ,easter ,day in the ,middle of the   
,church to sing ,psalms in his ,praise4 
,and in the ,fragment of an anonymous   
,author extant in ,eusebius we find the 
,heresy of ,artemon1 who denied the     
,divinity of ,christ1 confuted not only 
by the ,scriptures and the ,writings of 
the precedent ,fathers1 but also by the 
,psalms and ,hymns of the ,brethren     
which were formerly compos'd by them1   
wherein they sung ,praises to the ,,word
 of ,god1 declaring ,christ to be ,god4 
,such a private composed ,hymn was that 
which ,clemens ,alexandrinus mentions as
 one commonly known among the           
,christians in his ,days1 beginning     
,kaire ,phos1 or ,hail ,light4 ,spanheim
 in his sixth ,chapter of the fourth    
,century of his ,christian ,history     
speaks thus1 ,besides ,hymns and ,songs1
 and private ,psalms1 of which there was
 a great ,number in their solemn        
,assemblies1 the ,psalm ,book of ,david 

was brought into the ,western ,church in
 this ,age in the ,time of ,damasus and 
,ambrose2 but in the ,eastern ,church   
the singing of ,david 's ,psalter by    
,antiphona's or ,responses was brought  
in by ,flavianus ,antiochenus4 ,the ,use
 of ,psalms compos'd by private ,persons
 seems not to be forbidden in the       
,church till the ,council of ,laodicea  
in the fourth ,century4  ,,conclusion4  
,,thus have ,i drawn together my        
,thoughts upon this ,subject at the     
,request of several ,ministers and      
private ,christians who practise        
,psalmody in this ,method themselves1   
and sing the ,songs of the #bge ,lamb as
 well as the ,psalms of ,david in their 
publick and private ,worship1 and       
especially at the ,celebration of the   
,lord's ,supper4 ,i had design'd and    
almost prepar'd a larger ,discourse1    
wherein the ,duty of ,singing and the   
,manner of ,performance would have been 
consider'd4 ,but this ,essay has already
 swell'd beyond the ,bulk propos'd3     

,there are many that would rejoice to   
see ,evangelic ,songs more universally  
encouraged to the ,honour of their ,lord
 ,jesus1 and to the ,joy and            
,consolation of their ,fellow-saints4   
,if the ,spirit of ,god shall make any  
of these ,arguments ,i have used        
successful to attain this glorious ,end1
 ,i shall take pleasure in the ,release 
of their ,souls from that part of       
,judaism which they have so long        
indulged4 ,i hope the ,difficulties that
 appear'd frightful and discouraging    
will be lost1 and vanish by a diligent  
and fair ,perusal of what is written2   
yet those that pay a sacred ,reverence  
to the ,inspired ,writings1 may still   
find it hard to yield to the            
,conviction2 ,scruples and ,reliques of 
an old ,opinion will perhaps hang about 
their ,consciences still3 ,a ,fear and  
,jealousy of admitting any ,forms humane
 ,composure in the ,worship of ,singing 
will scarce permit their ,lips to       
practise that to which their            

,understandings have given their        
,assent4 ,i would intreat such to give  
this ,discourse a thoughtful ,review2   
and tho they may not judge every        
,argument conclusive1 nor every         
,objection sufficiently remov'd1 yet if 
there be but one unanswerable ,reason it
 ought to be attended to2 and the whole 
put together may give such ,light and   
,satisfaction as may incourage the      
,practice of this ,duty4 ',tis very easy
 to make ,cavils and ,replies to the    
strongest ,reasonings2 but let us have a
 ,care lest we rob our ,souls and the   
,churches of those ,divine ,comforts of 
evangelic ,psalmody1 by a ,fondness of  
our old and preconceived ,opinions4 ,he 
that believeth may eat all ,things1 and 
should not be forbidden3 ,he may partake
 of ,flesh #bgf and drink ,wine2 he may 
tast of the various ,pleasure of the    
,gospel1 and sing the ,new ,song3       
,another who is weak eateth ,herbs1 and 
satisfies himself with ancient ,melody4 
,let not him that eateth despise him    

that eateth not1 and let not him which  
eateth not judge him which eateth1 for  
,god hath received him1 ,rom4 #ad4 #b4  
,if the ,hymns and spiritual ,songs     
which are here presented to the ,world  
are so unhappy as to discourage the     
,design of this ,essay1 ,i will censure 
and reprove them my self3 ,if they are  
condemned as being unsuitable to the    
,capacity or ,experience of plain       
,christians1 ,i will easily confess a   
,variety of ,faults in them2 'twas hard 
to restrain my ,verse always within the 
,bounds of my ,design2 ',twas hard to   
sink every ,line to the ,level of a     
whole ,congregation1 and yet to keep it 
above ,contempt4 ,however among so great
 a ,number of ,songs ,i hope there will 
be some found that speak the very       
,language1 and ,desires and ,sense of   
the meanest ,souls1 and will be an      
,assistance to their ,joy and ,worship4 
,the ,blemishes of the rest may serve to
 awaken some more pious and judicious   
,fancy to a more successful ,attempt2   

and whoever shall have the ,honour of   
such a ,performance1 ,i promise my self 
a large ,share in the ,pleasure4 ,but we
 must despair of hearing the ,new ,song 
of the ,lamb in its ,perfection and     
,glory1 till ,babylon the ,great is     
fallen1 and the ,kingdoms of this ,world
 are become the ,kingdoms of the ,lord  
and his ,christ1 till the ,new ,heavens 
and the ,new ,earth appear1 till all the
 former things are passed away1 and all 
things are made ,new4