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B04474
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Prelimited forms of praising God, vocally sung by all the church together, proved to be no gospel ordinance. In a sober discourse concerning singing. With a large appendix thereunto added, containing several things not treated of before; and wherein the case of singing is more fully opened and discussed in divers principal branches of it: greatly tending to the clearing and confirmation of the truth discoursed of in the former part. / By Isaac Marlow.
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Marlow, Isaac.
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1691
(1691)
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Wing M693A; ESTC R233424
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61,658
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128
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in cold Weather so is he that singeth Songs to an heavy Heart And sometimes it was unseasonable while it was yet an Institution Psal 137.1 2 3 c. By the Rivers of Babylon there we sat down we hanged our Harps upon the Willows They that carried us Captive required of us to sing one of the Songs of Sion How shall we sing the Lord's Song in a strange Land Is any afflicted Jam. 5.1 let him pray Is any merry let him sing Psalms So then if Singing be the expressing of Joy Gladness and Mirth of Spirit and the Church of Christ be now in a Wilderness Mourning Sackcloth-State why should we imagine that Christ should appoint such an Ordinance for her constant universal Practice while she is in such Estate that is so improper and contrary to her State and Spirit but that the Typical Glory of the Jewish Church in Solomon's time shall be compleatly answered in the external and spiritual Glory of the Church of Christ in her Kingdom-State Secondly The Singing of David's Psalms were suitable to all the rest of the Levitical Ceremonial and external instituted Worship of God in the Old-Testament-Church in its most perfect splendant State in David's and Solomon's Days consisting of a wordly Temple Heb. 9.9 10 23. ch 7.12 ch 8.13 ch 10.1 for if the Sanctuary was worldly the Temple was also worldly and of carnal Ordinances which was a Figure for the time then present and Pattern of Heavenly things and Shadow of good things to come but not the very Image of the things and were imposed on them until the time of Reformation and change of the Priesthood Law Temple and Service or Worship of God which things being all removed by Christ the Body and Substance of them Acts 15.10.28 Rom. 7.6 who hath taken off that Yoak and delivered us from the Law that we should serve in Newness of Spirit and not in the Oldness of the Letter 2 Cor. 3.6 to bring in any part of the Levitical Ceremonial Institutions into Gospel-Worship for that is a mingling of Letter and Spirit of Law and Gospel together Thirdly David's Psalms were instituted appointed and appropriated not only to vocal Singing but to divers kinds of musical Instruments which are all named 1 Chron. 15.16 to 25. See Dutch Annot. on Psal 9. Psal 22. Psal 16. 1 Chron. 15.20 21. 1 Chron. 13. ch 14. ch 28.12 13. viz. Cymbals Harps Psalteries and Trumpets together with vocal Singing and limited by the Spirit as divers are of opinion to certain Tunes or Parts of Musick ordained and commanded by the Spirit of God and of as great Force as Singing was And therefore to follow the Old-Testament-Institution of David's Psalms there will be a Necessity of having David's Instruments of Musick and Tunes or Parts and of the Courses and several Orders of the Levites which Antichrist somewhat imitates mixing together the Christian Jewish and Pagan Religion instead of conforming to the true Apostolical Institutions and Pattern of Divine Worship Fourthly The matter of David's Psalms and of other Holy Mens contained in the same Book suited to the Levitical Service and not to Gospel-Worship for many of them were suited to particular Occasions and Experiences and Accidents of that Day as you may see by divers of their Titles others were general of Israel's Deliverance out of Egypt and from divers other Enemies Some were clear Prophecies of the Sufferings of Christ which to sing now were to deny that Christ is come in the Flesh and of his Church and the Glory that should follow under the Types and Names of David and Solomon and many legal things in which Gospel-Mysteries are wrapped up some of which are hard to be understood by the greatest Proficients of our Day and therefore improper to be sung by all the Church who can't sing them with Understanding and others of them being Prayers and miserable Complainings may as well justify the singing Prayers as finging Praises Fifthly The Psalms of David were limited to Persons viz. the Levites who were the Ministers of the Songs 2 Chron. 29.25 c. to 31. 1 Chron. 16.4 to 8. ver 36. ch 25. 1 to 8. ver 36 41. Psal 106.48 both by Voice and Musical Instruments for the People did not sing together with the Levites but only bowed the Head and worshipped and concluded with Amen and praised the Lord with Amen Hallelujah or Amen Praise ye the Lord. Therefore from this Davidical Institution there is no Ground Pattern or Example for the Gospel-Churich to sing together Sixthly Such singing the Psalms of David is no where instituted ordained or practised either by Christ or his Holy Apostles there is no Instance can be given in the New Testament that any of David's Psalms were ever sung by any Persons or Churches or that Christ or his Holy Apostles did ever use them but as they did other Scriptures or that the Holy Apostles when ever they had occasion to translate any one Text out of the Hebrew into the Greek Tongue did ever turn them into Metre and therefore finding no Institution nor Example we have no Warrant for the Singing of them III. Of prescribed and precomposed Songs and Hymns First If the Essence of Singing as before is shewed consisteth in an inward spiritual Exercise of the Soul or Mind of Man and that as I shall farther demonstrate both the Matter and the Melody of it proceedeth from the inward Graces and Operations of the Holy Spirit with the Word then surely no humane prescribed or precomposed form of Singing can be accepted of God but that which proceedeth from the Word of God by the Dictates and Teachings of the Holy Spirit which is manifest from those two Texts Ephes 5.18 19. Col. 3.16 saith the Apostle Be filled with the Spirit Let the Word of Christ dwell richly in you in all Wisdom c. Here is the Fountain of Gospel-Worship viz. the Word and Spirit of Christ not the Word alone for that cannot inrich the Soul in all Wisdom without the Spirit of Wisdom to understand it for to have the Word in the Head only is but a poor thing but we must have it to dwell richly in our Hearts by the Holy Spirit to sing with the Understanding and with Grace in our Hearts to the Lord. And as the Word in the Head only cannot create Melody in the Heart without a Fullness of the Spirit so the Spirit works not without the Word but fills us with matter from the Word and is witnessed to by the Word otherwise we know not the Spirit of Truth from the Spirit of Error Now the Essence of Singing consisteth of these two Parts viz. Matter from the Word and Melody by the Spirit so that neither the Word nor the Holy Spirit can be wanting and therefore whatsoever Forms are used which proceed not from within us out of a Fulness and Enrichings of the Word and Spirit cannot be spiritual Gospel-Singing
glorified and thanked I can see no reason to confine his Praises to Songs of Praise only which the Learned Dr. Owen strongly opposes in his Exposition of Heb. 2.12 notwithstanding the word in the Greek that is there put for Praise is Hymneso se I will hymn thee viz. I will praise thee his Words are these It is declared farther 1. What Christ will moreover do He will sing Praises unto God and 2. where he will do it in the midst of the Congregation The Expression of both these is accommodated unto the Declaration of God's Name and praising of him in the Temple The Singing of Hymns of Praise unto God in the great Congregation was then a principal Part of his Worship And in the first Expression two Things are observable 1. What Christ undertakes to do and that is to praise God Now this is only Exegetical of what went before He would praise God by declaring his Name There is no way whereby the Praise of God may be celebrated like that of declaring his Grace Goodness and Love unto Men whereby they may be won to believe and trust in him whence Glory redounds unto him 2. The Chearfulness and Alacrity of the Spirit of Christ in this Work he would do it as with Joy and Singing with such a frame of Heart as was required in them who were to sing the Praises of God in the great Assembly in the Temple 3. Where would he do this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the midst of the Congregation the great Congregation as he calls it ver 25. that is the great Assemblies of the People in the Temple And this was a Type of the whole Church of the Elect under the New-Testament The Lord Christ in his own Person by his Spirit in his Apostles and his Word by all his Messengers unto the end of the World setting forth the Love Grace Goodness and Mercy of God in him the Mediator sets forth the Praise of God in the midst of the Congregation I shall only add saith he that whereas Singing of Hymns unto God was an essential Part of the instituted Worship under the Old Testament to whose use these Expressions are accommodated it is evident that the Lord Christ hath eminently set forth this Praise of God in his Institution of Worship under the New-Testament wherein God will ever be glorified and praised And he farther saith That he viz. Christ no sooner was delivered from his Sufferings but as he lands upon the Shore from that Tempest wherein he was tossed in his Passion he cries out I will declare thy Name unto my Brethren in the midst of the Congregation will I sing praise unto thee And thus we find that upon his Resurrection he did not immediately ascend into Glory but first declared the Name of God unto his Apostles and Disciples and then took order that by them it should be declared and published to all the World This was upon his Spirit and he entred not into his glorious Rest until he had performed it The Words themselves also do evidence it in that Expression of celebrating God's Name with Hymns with Singing It was a Joy of heart unto him to be engaged in this work Singing is the frame 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 James 5.13 of them that are in a glad free rejoycing Condition So was the Lord Christ in this Work Moreover Psal 258. the Lord Christ by declaring that he will set forth the Praise of God in the Church manifests what is the duty of the Church it self namely to praise God This is indeed the very end of gathering the Church and of all the Duties that are performed therein and thereby This is the end of the Institution of all Ordinances of Worship in the Church Eph. 3.8 9 10. and in them do they set forth the Praises of God unto Men and Angels This is the tendency of Prayer the word of Faith the fruit of Obedience It is a fond Imagination which some have fallen upon that God is not praised in the Church for the work of Redemption unless it be done by Words and Hymns particularly expressing it All Praying all Preaching all Administration of Ordinances all our Faith all our Obedience if ordered aright are nothing but giving Glory to God for his Love and Grace in Christ Jesus in a due and acceptable manner So that it is manifested from the aforesaid Premises that praising of God is not limited to Songs of Praise SECT II. Of the word Hymnos a Hymn THat the word Hymnos signifieth Praise and is of such a general Signification as that it is not to be confined only to Songs of Praise is shewed briefly in my former Discourse Par. 1. p. 29 33. wherein I cited Ainsworth on Psalm 3. who translates it Praise and the Dutch Annotations which do not limit it to Songs but do also admit of it to signify saying Thanks to God to which former Testimony I shall add some farther Evidence for the confirmation thereof And first in Constantine's Greek Lexicon though it tells us that Hymenaeus is a Nuptial Song and Hymnos Hymnus Laus Deorum the Praise of the Gods c. Yet he also confesseth hymneo dico hymnum I say an Hymn as well as hymnos canto I sing Hymns cano vel dico laudes I sing or say Praises Neque solum de Diis ut quidam tradunt dicitur sed etiam de hominibus aliis rebus Neither is it spoken only of the Gods as some say but also of Men and other Things Hymno etiam Kateuphemismon pro conqueror that is Hymno also Kateuphemismon is put for conqueror to complain convicior to accuse or reproach Hymnein for lamentari to lament So in the English Greek and Latin Lexicon by Andrew Symson Minister it is Hymnus Ephes 5.19 Coloss 3.16 a Song containing Praises to God yet he also saith Hymnum cano Hymnum dicto to sing an Hymn to say an Hymn Mat. 26.30 Mar. 14.26 to praise to give Thanks unto God This word viz. Hymnus saith he signifieth also to complain which is a more foreign Signification And though these Lexicon-Writers do apply the use of the word to Songs of Praise and Nuptial Songs yet we see they do also admit of its simple signification to praise without Songs But that which chiefly concerns us is to consider the use that is made of it in the Holy Scriptures And 1. The LXXII learned Translators of the Old Testament out of the Hebrew into the Greek Tongue were not so well acquainted with it as such a proper limited word to signify Marriage-Praise or Songs of Praise for if they had then surely they would have used the word Hymnos in Psal 78.63 And their Maidens were not given to Marriage in the margent it is Heb. praised lo hullalu shall not be praised which the Septuagint translate Epenthesan and use not the word Hymnos for Marriage-Praise 2. In Mr. Leigh's Critica Sacra on Matth. 26.30 Mark