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a Gofpel Privilege. Having received grace, they fing with the spirit and with the understanding alfo; making melody in their hearts to the Lord: And they are as diligent in exciting others to fing with them, as the believers were of old, whofe cry was, Sing alsud unto God our frength: make a joyful noife, &c. Pfal. lxxxi. 1. Sing, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into finging, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy on his afflicted, Ifa. xlix. 13. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and will dwell in the midst of thee, faith the Lord, Zech. ii. 10. To this end, when they meet, they frequently lift up their voices together as the voice of one man; and as an infallible proof that God is well pleased, fometimes every foul that is present is melted with a flame of Divine Love; even the wicked are so melted down at the presence of the Lord, that they remain before him like wax before the fire, until they are fealed with the earnest of his Spirit. Thus the Lord is exalted in his own ftrength among his people, who, in this manner, fing aloud with gladness together.

From all these undeniable teftimonies the faithful are fufficiently justified in continuing the use of Vocal Mufic; yet many humble followers of the Lord are fo much afraid of following the bad example of formal lifelefs profefforst, who abuse this privilege, that they have got fo far into the oppofite extreme, as entirely to difuse it both in private and in public. But if this is admitted to be right, we may, by the fame rule, wholly fet afide all vocal praying and preaching, and fay we ought only to pray mentally, and to preach by our actions, &c. for there is ftill many Pharifees in the world, who, for a fhew, make long prayers,-which is an abomination to the Lord. And there is alfo many falfe prophets gone out into the world, which only preach for hire, and divine for money; whofe lives are fuch as to make the way of truth every where to be evil spoken off.

See the note, page 158.

Yet we are commanded to pray without ceafing 1 Thef. v. 17. and the true prophets are bid to preach the Gospel to every creature, Mar. xvi. 15. In like manner then let all the faithful of every denomination fing; for the redeemed of the Lord fhall return, and come with SINGING unto Zion, and everlafting joy hall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy, and forrow and mourning fhall flee away, Ifa.li. 11.

But fome reject Hymns and Spiritual Songs as being too formal; hence they will not fing them, because they are words that has been compofed by others. So far as this relates to the abufe of finging, it is certainly right not to ufe them: But there is no neceffity that the children of God fhould use words that does not fuit them; neither that they fhould abufe finging more than praying or any other gofpel privilege. And with refpect to the formality of Hymns, &c. we may obferve, that what our Lord fang with his difciples was a fet form of words, otherwife it could not have been properly called AN HYMN; and there is no kind of public devotion used whatever without fome fort of a form. For even in

heaven they fing the fong of Mofes, the fervant of God, and the fong of the Lamb, faying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are: thy ways, thou King of faints, &c. Rev. xv. 3, 4.

After thus taking a retrofpective view of a few of thofe examples given us by the Church, concerning vocal mufic, down as far as the prefent time, we may clearly fee that it is an appointment of JEHOVAH himfelf; and that it never was abolithed;-but, on the contrary, will remain as unchangeable as the Priesthood of Chrift. For, according to the vifion of St. John, that glorious period will come when all intelligences fhall be brought to delight in God, and those who are most averse to singing now, will then become fingers. All backwardness, all needlefs fears, all coldness and deadnefs will then be done away for ever. Every fpecies of the fall will gladly acknowledge the LION of the tribe of Judah, and heartily join in one grand chorus. From what follows we may learn that there will not be fo much as one diffenting

voice, or a filent perfon among them. And they fung new fong, fayings,

Thou art worthy to take the book,
And to open the feals thereof:
For thou waft fain,

And haft redeemed us to God by thy blood,
Out of every kindred,

And tongue, and people, and nation;
And haft made us unto our God kings and priests,
And we fhall reign on the earth.

And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beafts, and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; faying, with a loud voice,

Worthy is the Lamb that was flain
To receive power, and riches,
And wisdom,

And ftrength, and honour, and glory,
And bleffing.

And EVERY creature that is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and fuch as are in the fea, and ALL hat are in them, heard, I faying,

Bleffing, and honour,

And glory, and power,

Be unto him that fitteth upon the throne,

And unto the Lamb,

For ever and ever!

And the four beafts faid, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever, Rev. v. 9;---- 14.

See the tunes that were purpofely compofed, fuitable for this work, by JoHN JACKSON.

This fully proves (as I have before obferved) that every one will at laft become SINGERS; and alfo that Christ hath built his Church upon a Rock, which the gates of hell cannot prevail againft; therefore let the inhabitants of the Rock SING, Ifa. xlii. 11.

THE END.

ERRATA.

Page 38, hymn XLIII. verfe 3, read, Satan rages to devour. 59, laft line but three, read, doth make thee mad.

66, in the fixth line of the references, for CXXXIII. read, CXXX.

74, hymn LXXXIII. ver. 4, this mark+ should be after bride. 74, in the last line but one, read, from the mystical.

112, laft line but two, read, and be tormented.

115, hymn CXVIII. verfe 4, read, to heav'n to seek.
116, CXIX. verfe 3, read, weary burthen'd mind.

138, verfe 5, for heart, read hart.

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166, CLXIX. verfe 4, tranfpose the parenthesis thus,

Chrift, (the feed and root of David,)

184, hymn CXC. verse 3, read, not all that malice.

192, verfe 3, read, quite undifmayed.

211, verfe 6, this mark fhould be after bread

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