praying in the Holy Ghost does confine that Text to be understood of teaching or edifying one another in a disorderly way speaking all together or that from those words your selves praying in the Holy Ghost spoken in general unto the Saints they are commanded to pray all vocally together Moreover if any say that the following words ver 20. Giving Thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ are explanatory of the former Verse and being in such general terms cannot exclude a vocal Singing and Thanksgiving to God of the Church all together from being understood therein I do make reply That though speaking to your selves in Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs ver 19. and Giving Thanks always for all things ver 20. are from the Fillings of the holy Spirit yet I make a difference between them for the one is limited to your selves and making Melody in your Heart to private Edifications Praises and Thanksgivings but the other is in such general Words as may comprehend all Thanksgiving both vocal and mental in the Heart So that the Apostle Paul is here pressing the Saints of Ephesus to endeavour after a plentiful measure of the holy Spirit of Christ and to put forth his Gifts and Graces both in mental and vocal in private and more publick Praising and Thanksgiving to God according to the different occasions and circumstances that might attend them 2dly Coloss 3.16 I confess that vocal Singing is here to be understood otherwise it could not be teaching and admonishing to others in Word and Deed ver 17. but yet herein is nothing to prove a vocal Singing together by all the Church For teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms c. is meant of the ministring Brethren whose Work and Office it was to teach and admonish the other Members according to the Gift of the Holy Spirit they had received And none can prove any more by these words one another than what must be understood from Heb. 3.13 But exhort one another daily while it is called To day c. And therefore as the Word of Exhortation is not used in the Service of God in the Church but in an orderly ministerial Way by one at once so teaching and admonishing one another c. must be used also according to Gospel-Rule 1 Cor. 14.30 31. 3. Nor can 1 Cor. 14.26 How is it then Brethren when you come together every one of you hath a Psalm hath a Doctrine c. be understood of a vocal singing all together for I think none will say that those words Every one of you hath c. were spoken of their all having of all those spiritual Gifts which cannot be thought of every Minister in that Church ver 28. and much less of all the Members therefore it follows that as all the ministring Brethren were not supposed to have all those Gifts but every one of them had one or more of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit so there is no Conclusion can be made that all the Ministry had the Gift of Singing or that there was any distinction of its Universality in Delivery more than of other Gifts in the same Text besides the Context from ver 27 to 32. speaks of single Persons that must exercise in the Church and therefore those words Every one of you can't be meant of all together That Spiritual and Vocal Singing was used in the Primitive and Apostolical Church of Christ is undeniable and that such spiritual Singing is you allowed is freely granted but the Question is Whether David's Psalms or any humane prescribed or precomposed Matter may or ought not to be vocally sung by all the Church together as part of the publick constant and ordinary Worship of God instituted in his Gospel-Church To demonstrate which I shall treat of these six Particulars I. Of the Essence or Being of Singing II. Of David's Psalms III. Of prescribed or precomposed Songs and Hymns IV. Of Womens Singing V. Of the Order of Singing VI. Of Scriptural and other Objections I. Of the Essence of Singing Though intelligible Singing for teaching and admonishing others cannot be without the use of the Organical Instruments of the Voice yet the Essence or Being of Singing consists in an inward spiritual Exercise of the Soul or Mind of Man And this must be granted for we all do own that true Prayer may be made in our Hearts to God without the use of our Voice otherwise we deny all worshipping of God in the Church save only what is done by the Minister and exclude the Members of it from adding to joining with or having any share in Divine Worship and consequently that nothing can be properly called Sin that is only in the inward exercise of the Spirit but that which is so manifested by Words or Deeds And as I think that none will deny either the Principal or its contrary Consequences so the Scriptures do clearly witness that the Essence of Prayer and Praises and of Sin do all consist in an inward Exercise of the Soul or Spirit First The Essence of Sin is in the Spirit for Paul saith Rom. 7.7 That he had not known the Sin of Lust except the Law had said Thou shalt not covet Psal 94.11 And the Lord knoweth the Thoughts of Man that they are Vanity And that every Imagination of the Thoughts of his Heart are only evil continually Gen. 6.5 And Christ saith That whosoever looketh on a Woman to lust after her Mat. 5.28 hath committed Adultery with her already in his Heart So that the Essence of Sin consists in the corrupt and evil Thoughts and Imaginations of the Hearts and Minds of the Sons of Men tho not expressed by Words or Actions Secondly The Essence of Prayer is in the Heart or Spirit Neh. 2.4 for Nehemiah while he was in the King's Presence made his Prayer to God which most rationally must be taken for secret Ejaculations and Heart-Prayer And Hannah in the bitterness of her Soul prayed and spake in her Heart 1 Sam. 1.13 c. only her Lips moved but her Voice was not heard And for the sighing of the Needy now will I arise Psal 12.5 Psal 79.11 Ps 102.20 saith the Lord. Let the Sighings of the Prisoners come before thee And the Lord heareth their Groanings And this kind of Prayer our Lord himself used for looking up to Heaven Mar. 7.34 he sighed when he was opening the deaf Ears Rom. 8.26 And these are the Prayers that the Apostle calls unutterable for many times there is more in our inward Sighings Groanings Longings Pantings Breathings and Supplications of Heart and Spirit than can be expressed by our Tongues and God looketh on the Heart more than on the outward Appearance 1 Sam. 16.7 for he being a Spirit seeketh spiritual Worshippers And they that worship him John 4.23 24. must worship him in Spirit and in Truth And herein lies the
they were under the Law is explained and answered Page 44 12. Precomposed Forms of Preaching is no ground for using such Forms of Singing Page 46 The CONTENTS of the APPENDIX Sect. 1. SHeweth that God was and is otherwise praised than by singing only Page 2 Sect. 2. That the Word Hymnos a Hymn signifieth simply a Praise Page 6 A Discourse of Christ's Hymning or Praising at his Institution of the Supper Page 12 Sect. 3. Of the Nature of the Command or rather the Exhortation to sing and that the Singing used in the Primitive Church was from a special Gift of the Holy Spirit and also further proof that by Old-Testament-Names to New-Testament-Things are intended different Things than in the Old c. Page 13 14 20 24 Sect. 4. Of praising God as a Moral Duty and from Moral Qualifications only opened and clearly answered Page 27 Sect. 5. Womens Singing is more fully discussed and confuted Page 32 Sect. 6. A General Answer to those Prophetical Places of Scripture of All the Earths singing unto the Lord Page 38 Sect. 7. Premeditated stinted Forms for Prayer or Singing unlawful to be used Page 38 Sect. 8. Object That prestinted Forms of Singing are Spiritual Worship if their matter are agreeable to the Word of God and if sung with Grace in our Hearts opened and answered Page 43 Advertisement THere is no Alteration here made in the former Part or Brief Discourse before published except a larger Exposition of Ephes 5.19 See pag. 5. ERRATA In Appendix Page 10. Line 26 27. add to laudes dixerunt they said Praises Pag. 21. line 3 and 9. to singing add together A BRIEF DISCOURSE CONCERNING SINGING IN THE Publick Worship of GOD IN THE GOSPEL-CHURCH By J. M. LONDON Printed for the Author MDCXC Concerning SINGING in the Worship of God SEeing it hath pleased the Almighty God by his special Providence to deliver his poor afflicted People in this Nation out of the Hands of their greatest Enemies to serve him without fear what then is expected from us but that in all things we should serve him with one Consent in Holiness and Righteousness all the Days of our Lives To which end he hath given us his blessed and holy Word as a Rule for our Faith and Practice But that which is most unhappy to many Saints who sincerely labour for and long after the perfect Union of the Church of Christ is That we cannot all attain to one and the same Conception of the Mind and Will of God revealed to us in the holy Scriptures And though there are divers Things of lesser moment in which we differ yet there are others of greater Consequence that ought to be duly weighed in the Ballance of the Sanctuary lest through the Imbecillity or Weakness of some Christians and by the seeming plausible Arguments of others there should be a falling away from the Truth so clearly manifested to us by the Holy Scriptures and witnessed to by the Sufferings of the purest Churches in our Age who have born a lively Testimony not only against the humane prescribed and precomposed Forms of Prayers but of singing of David's Psalms and other Hymns or Songs precomposed by Man as they are frequently used as part of the constant and ordinary Worship of God instituted in his Gospel-Church This being the Subject of the following Discourse I shall proceed to treat of it with as much Brevity and Clearness as I can to convince the Judgment of the mistaken Readers and to confirm and prevent others from the practice of so great an Error as will lead them to Apostacy or Backsliding who in this matter have less to say for themselves than others have who are for a Form of Prayer Ephes 5.18 19. And be not drunk with Wine wherein is Excess but be filled with the Spirit Speaking * Gr. In. See Pool's Annotations to your selves in Psalms and Hymns and spiritual Songs singing and making Melody in your Heart to the Lord. Col. 3.16 Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all Wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and Hymns and spiritual Songs singing with Grace in your Hearts to the Lord. That which is needful before we come to take notice of the several Heads to be treated of is to consider of those three Texts which are made a Foundation for a vocal Singing together in the constant Worship of God in the Gospel-Church tho some things therein I leave to discourse hereafter 1st Ephes 5.19 Speaking to your selves in Psalms and Hymns and spiritual Songs 1. From these words there is not any Necessity for a vocal Speaking to be here understood but otherwise of speaking to your own Heart as it 's said 1 Cor. 14.28 But if there be no Interpreter let him keep silence in the Church and let him speak to himself and to God So that speaking to your selves may be taken as that is expresly said to be of keeping silence in the Church and is not limited to a vocal Speaking 2. This is farther confirmed as the aforesaid Mr. Pool in his Annotations read it Gr. in Speaking in your selves in Psalms and Hymns and spiritual Songs singing and making Melody in your Heart to the Lord. 3. That both the speaking and the Melody in this Text cannot be limited to be vocally understood but is inwardly in the Heart is manifest from the preceding part of this Chapter wherein the holy Apostle naming of divers gross Sins and Enormities exhorteth the Church of Ephesus to flee from them and to have no Fellowship with the unfruitful works of Darkness but rather reprove them and not to be drunk with Wine wherein is excess but to be filled with the Spirit Whereby it appears that this Exhortation to the Church of Ephesus to speak to themselves in Psalms and Hymns and spiritual Songs and to be giving Thanks always Ver. 20. c. was principally designed that instead of Filthiness and foolish Talking and Jesting which are mentioned in the former part of the Chapter they should rather be giving of Thanks Ver. 4. as it is expresly said and instead of having Fellowship with the unfruitful Works of Darkness and being filled with excess of Wine to be filled with the Spirit and to exercise themselves in private Devotions towards God in Psalms and Hymns and spiritual Songs singing and making Melody in their Heart to the Lord. So that from the main design of the Apostle's Discourse relating to the Text both the Speaking and the Melody here intended is to themselves in their Heart and whether you read the Text speaking to or speaking in your selves it cannot necessitate a vocal Singing together but a speaking inwardly in their Hearts 4. Neither can this Text be taken as some would have it for a vocal Singing together from the words to your selves as if that did limit the Text to prove a Singing together any more than building up your selves on your most holy Faith â—ude 20.
Old-Testament-Names given to New-Testament-Singing do no more prove either the matter or manner to be the same nor establish Old-Testament-Singing in the Gospel-Church than the other Old-Testament Names do those Old-Testament-Things in Gospel-Times 2dly As those three Words are before proved to be indifferently applied to one and the same thing in the Old Testament so there is less Reason that they should have different Significations in the New for you may find that several Old-Testament Names are given to one Gospel-Thing 1 Pet. 2.5 Eph. 2.21 22. Rom. 2.29 Heb. 4.14 ch 9.26 ch 13.10 1 Cor. 5.7 as the Saints are called a spiritual House and Temple an Holy Priesthood and Jews and Christ is called an High Priest a Sacrifice an Altar and Temple and therefore it being usual to call Gospel-Things by divers Names of different Natures in the Old Testament there is no Reason that those three Names Psalms Hymns and spiritual Songs John 2.19 21. See Pool 's Annot on Col. 3.16 which as Pool confesseth were promiscuously used and which are here demonstrated to intend but one thing in the Old Testament should be understood of any more than of one thing or sort of Gospel-spiritual-Singing respecting its Composure and Delivery Eighth Objection It is a moral Duty for wicked Men to pray and sing Praises to God which they are not able to do without a Form and therefore Forms are lawful Answ 1. Prov. 21.4 27. ch 15.8 The Scriptures say that the plowing of the Wicked is Sin and that the Sacrifice of the Wicked is an Abomination to the Lord and wherefore but because whatsoever Good he doth or desireth it is not for good Ends to serve and glorify God but to consume his Mercies upon his Lusts he turneth all into Sin Jam. 4.3 and therefore all he doth is but Sin if he prays for Grace he doth but play the Hypocrite with God for as he knoweth not what it is so he doth not desire it for he loves his own Sins and Lusts more than Grace and therefore his Prayers cannot be pleasing to the Lord whilst he remaineth a hardned Sinner 2. All Men ought not only to pray and praise God as their Creator but to keep the whole Law in the perfect State of Innocency in which they were created in Adam but now they have no power in themselves to perform the inward spiritual Works of the Law to love the Lord their God with all their Hearts c. and to pray and sing Praises to him they can do neither of these sincerely in their Hearts Rom. 7.14 for the Law is spiritual and requires spiritual Obedience but they are carnal sold under Sin and blinded in their Minds And as they have not a true sense of their Sins nor see their need of Christ so they know not that they have cause to sing his Praise for their Being And therefore for such to use a Form of Prayer or Singing when they have no Sense nor Understanding of what they pray for or that they have cause to sing is to mock God with their Lips with that which they have not in their Hearts Besides the putting of Persons on formal Worship is not the way to get the Spirit but to rest on formal Duties which hinder their coming to Jesus Christ 3. As Forms are many ways sinful and hurtful to the Souls of Men so there is no need of them as Crutches for Lame Men to bring them to Jesus Christ for where there is a true Conviction and sense of Sins that Soul can cry against them and if it be but with Lord be merciful to me a Sinner he shall as Christ saith be rather justified than with a formal Prayer without Convictions And when they are Sons God sendeth forth the Spirit of Adoption into their Hearts Gal. 4.6 Rom. 8.15 that crieth and teacheth them whereby they cry Abba Father without the help of humane Forms Ninth Objection All true Believers and sincere Christians have continual cause to rejoice in the Lord and magnify God in the highest Celebration of his Praise and therefore it is their Duty in his constant Worship to sing his Praise Answ Whatever Cause we have to rejoice in the Lord and to glorify God in the highest Celebration of his Praise for Redemption-Grace and those sure and everlasting Mercies confirmed to us in the Blood of Jesus Christ yet it doth not from thence follow that we should constantly sing to God in his publick Worship 1. Because that in this Life the Joys and Consolations of our Redemption-Grace is mixed with Sorrows for Sins Temptations Troubles and Afflictions which deprive us of the constant exercise of the Grace of Joy in our Souls And as Solomon saith To every thing there is a Season Eccles 3.1 4. and a Time to every Purpose under the Heaven A Time to weep and a Time to laugh a Time to mourn and a Time to dance And the Times of the Church of Christ are differently set forth Cant. 2.11 and compared by the Holy Spirit to Winter and Summer when the Flowers appear on the Earth and the Time of the singing of Birds is come And as I shewed before that the Jewish Church through Sin and Unbelief had her Wilderness and Tabernacle-State and Time of Trouble which called for Mourning and Humiliation more than Singing so the Gospel-Church hath her Wilderness and Sackcloth-State in which she must prophesy 1260 Days Now as Sackcloth Isa 22.12 which betokens Mourning and Singing are inconsistent with each other so we should not imagine that God requireth such Opposites in Nature both together For he hath appointed unto them that mourn in Zion to give unto them Beauty for Ashes Isa 61.3 the Oil of Joy for Mourning the Garment of Praise for the Spirit of Heaviness And as the Apostle saith Jam. 5.13 Is any among you afflicted let him pray Is any merry let him sing Psalms From which it is manifest that Affliction and Prayer and Rejoicing and Singing have their different Seasons and that until the one be taken away the other is not given But some may think that the two Sackcloth-Witnesses in Rev. 11. are not the Church of Christ but two particular Persons and eminent Witnesses that should arise But to me it is plain that they must be understood of the visible Church of Christ for if the three Days and an half of their lying dead as is generally owned and cannot be otherwise understood be the space of three Years and an half of Time then also by the same Rule the 1260 Days of their prophesying in Sackcloth must be taken for 1260 Years which is too long a time for one Age or two particular Persons to continue And therefore the two Sackcloth-Witnesses are the visible Church of Christ Rev. 13.7 which the Beast shall make War upon and overcome Ch. 12.14 And so also must the Woman in the Wilderness be understood of the Church of
may also be of the same Nature and intend the same thing as it did in the Legal Worship Answer It is true that private Prayer is a Duty of the same Nature under the Gospel as it was under the Law both with respect to the like Occasions Wants and Necessities of the Saints and to the same Spirit by which all true Believers do offer up spiritual and effectual Prayers to God But as to the Conveyance and Delivery of Prayer as an Ordinance in and for the publick ministerial and ordinary instituted Service of God in his Church there is a Difference in Gospel-Times to what it was under the Law for such publick Prayers were conveyed and delivered formerly with dark Shadows and carnal Ordinances by which means the Spirituality of spiritual Persons as David of whom it is said that he praised God by the Ministry of the Priests and Levites in the publick Worship of God was greatly vailed to what it now is 2 Chron. 7 6. 2 Cor. 3.13 14 15. 2 Chron. 29.25 to 31. Nehem. 11.17 22. since all those Forms Ceremonial Shadows and carnal Ordinances are removed for while the Priests were offering the Sacrifices the Priests and Levites in Songs with Instruments of Musick delivered such Psalms of Prayers and Praises as were appointed for the publick Service of God So that publick Prayers in the ordinary and constant Worship of God in the Old-Testament-Church was ministred in a different manner to what it now is and ought to be under the Gospel and therefore whatsoever Singing hath been or still may be in Gospel-Times may as well differ from the Old-Testament-Temple-Singing But having before shewed that Temple-Singing was no Type of Singing in the Gospel-Tabernacle-Church-State there is the less need of any Reply to this Objection Twelfth Objection Since the extraordinary Gifts of the Holy Spirit are ceased we must now pray and preach by its ordinary Gifts and if we are allowed to use precomposed Forms of Preaching why not of they might say Prayer and Singing also Answ 1. I do acknowledg and assert that we should not neglect Prayer till we have an extraordinary Gift or Impulse of Spirit unto Prayer but we should constantly go to God as we can not only for Continuance of those Mercies we have but for further Supplies of our inward and outward Wants which are the chiefest part of Prayer But Singing proceeds from a Fulness of Injoyment and is called a Breaking forth Isa 52.9 and therefore requires a greater Measure of the Holy Spirit For we can pray for what we have not but we should break forth into Singing from what we have otherwise we mock God and draw nigh unto him with our Mouths Isa 29.13 and honour him with our Lips when our Hearts are far from him and our Fear towards him is taught by the Precepts of Men and therefore when I consider the present State and Frame of the Churches of Jesus Christ I much wonder that so many should be for Singing when their Hearts are so much below Prayer for if we should go from Saint to Saint we should find that this is the general Cry I have a dead and stony Heart saith one and another mourneth under the Strength and Power of Sins and Temptations and a third for the Light of God's Countenance and the great Complaint is I am dull and heavy and cannot profit in Ordinances and that which is worst of all I am shut up in my Spirit that I cannot pray I want the Spirit of Prayer and Supplications Now if thus it be then where is the Spirit of Singing Will you lie and express that with your Lips to God which you have not in your Hearts But some of these will say Singing will raise my Spirit I find Refreshment by it and therefore I am for Singing To this I answer That there may be a natural sensual Joy in the Heart when it is not from the Light and Influence of the Holy Spirit and therefore we must beware that we make not our Spirits a Standard for the Worship of God but that we try our Spirits by the Scriptures 2dly As to Forms of Prayer and Singing I have sufficiently treated of them before and that the sufficient Gifts of the Holy Spirit shall continue for the Worship of God in the Gospel-Church to the end of the World and therefore my Business here is only to shew that the using a Form of Preaching is no Example for a Form of Singing if it be why not of Prayer also which you deny because there is Reason for a Form of Preaching from the Word of God and Example of Christ himself who read a Text and then preached from it though as he was not so others are not limited to that or any other particular Forms yet it is lawful for them and required of them to compare spiritual things with spiritual to attend on Reading and Meditations 1 Cor. 2.13 1 Tim. 4.13 15. 2 Tim. 1.13 ch 2.15 1 Cor. 4.6 and to hold fast the Form of sound Words rightly dividing the Word of Truth as a Workman that needs not to be ashamed of his Work as Paul who saith These things Brethren I have in a Figure transferred to my self and to Apollos for your sakes So that where the Scriptures do give us Liberty we may use it but it is our Sin to take it where it is forbidden as I have shewed it is to use a Form of Prayer or Singing I could say more of the different Nature of Preaching to that of Prayer and Singing but I think it is needless here and therefore I shall conclude with my humble Request to all those that are for Singing of David's Psalms or any prescribed Forms of Singing as the Custom is that they would be pleased seriously to consider of these several things following 1. That the vocal Singing together either of David's Psalms or any humane precomposed Forms is a corrupting of the pure Worship of Jesus Christ in mingling of Law and Gospel or humane and divine things together 2. It will lead us to Apostacy to return from whence we came as a Dog to his Vomit and as a Sow that is washed to her wallowing in the Mire 3. Consider seriously you that are Leaders of the Lord's People and are for such formal Singing Whether the same Arguments you now urge to your Fellow-Brethren will be pleadable for your Practice at the Bar of Jesus Christ you may plead them here to us but will you not be ashamed to own them there The Lord give you a true Sight and Sense of the evil Consequences of this your Error that you may not cause his People to sin but may yet with sound Doctrine strengthen the weak Hands and confirm the feeble Knees and make straight Paths for your Feet Heb. 12.12 13. lest that which is lame be turned out of the way but let it rather be healed 4thly Consider that if you err from the Rule