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A59892 A sermon preach'd at St. Paul's Cathedral, November 22, 1699 being the anniversary meeting of the Lovers of Musick / by W. Sherlock ... Sherlock, William, 1641?-1707. 1699 (1699) Wing S3363; ESTC R4275 10,370 31

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or like Ringing the Changes which how Entertaining soever it be when we have nothing to do but to attend to Sounds is yet very Nauseous and Offensive to Devout Minds in Religious Worship I thank God the Ordinary Service of our Church is very Grave and Solemn and well fitted to Devotion And as for more Modern Compositions the Governors of Churches ought to take care to receive nothing into the Worship of God but what is fitted to serve Devotion and this would Effectually Answer the greatest Objections against Church-Musick Secondly As for those who are Employed in Singing the Church-Service and Anthems to assist the Devotions of the Congregation it certainly becomes them to behave themselves very Devoutly in it Musical Instruments which have no Life and Sense may Minister to our Devotions though they are capable of none themselves but it gives great Offence and Scandal to see those who are daily Employed in the Singing Praises to God to shew no Signs of Devotion in themselves much more by an irreverent Behaviour to betray great Symptoms of want of Devotion I thank God we have no great reason to make this Complaint in this Church and I hope shall every day have less but this is a good occasion to mind all such Persons how Devout they ought to be if Musick be a help to Devotion who have this Advantage from Art and Nature first to Excite their own Devotions and then to Assist the Devotions of others which last must be a very tasteless uneasy Employment if they have no Devotion of their own And a great Reproach also to their Art when they themselves are Witnesses how little Devotion it Teaches But there is one thing which I believe is not so well considered which yet is just matter of Scandal for those who Sing Divine Hymns and Anthems at Church and whose Profession it is to do so to Sing Wanton and Amorous Lewd Atheistical Songs out of it Men who have enter'd themselves into the Service of the Church have Consecrated their Voices to God not so as never to Sing any thing else but Hymns and Anthems but yet so as never to Sing any thing to the Reproach of God Religion or Virtue This unbecomes any Man who calls himself a Christian much more those whose peculiar Employment it is to Sing the Praises of God Thirdly As for Hearers they ought also to consider That their business at Church is not meerly to be Entertained with Musick but to Exercise their Devotions which is the true End of Church-Musick to Praise God with the more fervent Passions It is a Contempt of Religion and of the House of God to come only to please our Ears to hear Better Voices and more Curious Compositions and more Artful Singing than we can meet with in other places This I have reason to fear is the Case of very many who Resort hither who especially on the Lord's-Day Crowd into the Church to hear the Anthem and when that is over to the great Disturbance of the Worship of God and the Scandal of all good Christians Crowd as fast out again Though there is this good in it that they make Room for Devouter People who immediately fill up their Places to attend the Instructions of God's Word But I hope this will not be charged upon the Service of our Church that Men who have no Devotion come only for Musick For Church-Musick can't Create Devotion tho' it may improve it where it is But indeed we ought all to be aware that the Musick does not Emply our Thoughts more than our Devotions which it can never do if as Common Sense Teaches us it ought to be our Minds be in the first place fixt and intent upon the Praises of God which are Express'd in the Hymn or Anthem which when conveyed unto us in Musical Sounds will give Life and Quickness to our Devotions not first fixed on the Musick which most probably will leave the Devotion of the Anthem behind it Those who find that Musick does not Assist but Stifle their Devotion and many such there may be had much better keep to their Parish-Churches and prefer Devotion before Musick For to come to Church without any intention to Worship God in his own House or to pretend to Worship him without Devotion are great Affronts to the Divine Majesty In a word Those who profess themselves Lovers of Musick ought to consider What the true End of Musick is and to improve it to the Noblest purposes The meer Harmony of Sounds is a very pleasant and innocent Entertainment Of all the Delights of Sense this is in it self the least sensual when it is not abused to recommend Vice and to convey impure Images to our Minds But yet meerly to be delighted with Charming and Musical Aires does not Answer the true Character of a Lover of Musick For it is the least thing in Musick to please the Ear its proper natural Use and the great Advantage and Pleasure of it relates to our Passions To Compose Soften to Inflame them and the Diviner Passions it inspires us with the more it is to be admired and valued and then Musick must attain its greatest Glory and Perfection in true Devotion That the Lovers of Musick ought to be very Devout Men if they love Musick for that which is most valuable in it and its last and noblest End To Conclude It concerns the Lovers of Musick to vindicate it from all Prophane Abuses not to suffer so Divine a thing to be prostituted to Mens Lusts To discountenance all Lewd Prophane Atheistical Songs how admirable soever the Composition be To preserve Musick in its Virgin Modesty and without confining her always to the Temple make the Praises of God her Chief Employment as it is her greatest Glory Thus I have spoke my mind very freely showed you the Use and the Abuses of Musick which was one great Inducement to me to comply with the desires of those Honourable and Worthy Persons who imposed this Office on me that I might have an Opportunity of saying that which I thought fit should be said at one time or other and for saying of which there could not be a more proper Occasion than this And I hope this may plead my Excuse with all good Christians if it have drawn my Sermon out to too great a Length and given too long an Interruption to the Entertainment of those the least part of whose business it was to hear a Sermon To God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Ghost be Honour Glory and Power Now and Ever Amen FINIS Books Published by the Reverend Dr. Sherlock Dean of St. Paul ' s Master of the Temple and Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty Printed for W. Rogers AN Answer to a Discourse entituled Papists protesting ●gainst Protestant Popery 2d Edit Quarto An Answer to the Amic●ble Accommodation of the Differences between the Representer and the Answerer Quarto Thirteen Sermons preach'd on several Occasions Quarto A Vindication of some Protestant Principles of Church Unity and Catholick Communion from the Charge of Agreement with the Church of Rome Quarto A Preservative against Popery in Two Parts with the Vindication in Answer to the Cavils of Lewis Sabran Jesuit Quarto A Discourse of the Nature Unity and Communion of the Catholick Church First Part. Quarto Case of Allegi●nce due to Sovereign Powers Stated and Resolved according to Scripture and Reason and the Principles of the Church of England Quarto A Vindication of the Case of Allegiance due to Sovereign Powers 4 to A Discourse concerning the Divine Providence Quarto Second Edition Price 5 s. A Vindication of the Doctrine of the Trinity 3d Edit 4 to A Modest Examination of the Authority and Reasons of the late Decree of the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford and some Heads of Colleges and Halls concerning the Heresy of Three Distinct Infinite Minds in the Holy and Ever Blessed Trinity Apology for Writing against Socinians Quarto A Vindication of the Sermon of the Danger of corrupting the Faith by Philosophy in Answer to some Socinian Remarks Quarto A Defence of Dr. Sherlock's Notion of the Trinity Quarto The Distinction between the Real and Nominal Trinitarians examined in Answer to a Socinian Pamphlet Quarto A Practical Discourse concerning Death In Octavo Tenth Edition Price 3 s. A Practical Discourse concerning a Future Judgment The Fifth Edition Octavo Price 3 s. 6 d. The Present State of the Socinian Controversy and the Doctrine of the Catholick Fathers concerning a Trinity in Unity 4 to Price 5 s. An Answer to the Animadversions on the Dean of St. Paul's Vindication of the Trinity By I. B. A. M. Quarto A Defence of the Dean of St. Paul's Apology for Writing against Socinians Quarto