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truth_n	apostle_n	church_n	spirit_n	3,973	5	5.1707	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47361	An answer to Mr. Marlow's Appendix Wherein his arguments to prove that singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, was performed in the primitive church by a special or an extraordinary gift, and therefore not to be practised in these days, are examined, and clearly detected. Also some reflections on what he speaks on the word hymnos, hymnos: and on his undue quotations of divers learned men. By a learned hand. By B. Keach.	Keach, Benjamin, 1640-1704.	1691 (1691)	Wing K43A; ESTC R223737	27,870	57

AN ANSWER TO Mr. Marlow's Appendix Wherein his Arguments to prove that Singing of Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs was performed in the Primitive Church by a Special or an Extraordinary Gift and therefore not to be practised in these Days Are Examined and clearly Detected Also some Reflections on what he speaks on the word ὑμνοσ Hymnos And on his undue Quotations of divers Learned Men. By a Learned Hand Psal 119. 141. I am small and despised yet do not I forget thy Precepts 1 Cor. 14. 22. Wherefore Tongues are for a Sign not to them that believe but to them that believe not but Prophesying serveth not for them that believe not but for them that believe By B. KEACH London Printed for the Author and sold by John Hancock in Castle-Alley on the West side of the Royal-Exchange and by the Author at his House near Horselydown in Southwark 1691. To all the Saints and Churches of Jesus Christ Christian Salutation Honoured and Beloved IT grieves me I have further occasion to trouble you after this manner I know not what should move Mr. Marlow to write his Appendix just at a time when he was told I was writing an Answer to his first Discourse he might have had a little Patience and have staid till my Treatise was published whereby he might the better have perceived whether what he wrote the last Year would abide the Test or Trial of God's Word or not This is therefore his second Attempt in publick against God's holy Ordinance of singing of Psalms Hymns c. before any body appeared visibly to oppose or put a stop to his undue Proceedings For what Call he had to begin this Controversy at such an unseasonable time I know not but since he has done it certainly none can see any just cause to blame me for standing up in the Defence of that Truth of Jesus Christ which I am so well satisfied about and established in and that too as it is practised by the Church to whom I am related as an unworthy Member and above twenty Baptized Congregations besides in this Nation Tho before I went about it I offered my Brethren him or any other a sober and friendly Conference in the Spirit of Meekness which I could not obtain tho I did not give such a publick Challenge as my Brother intimates in that strange Epistle he hath wrote to me but upon the coming forth of his Book I was troubled and would have had it been discoursed in the General Assembly but that was not consented to and then I told my honoured and Reverend Brethren my purpose was to give an Answer to his Book but did not enter upon it till I was urged by several and particularly by Mr. Marlow himself before divers Witnesses in such kind of words as these i. e. Answer me like a Man Whether he is answered like a Man or but like a Child is left to your Consideration 't is done according to that Light and Ability God hath been pleased to bestow upon me But if he or any of his Helpers do see cause to reply they must answer such Persons who have wrote upon this Truth like Men and Men too of great Parts Learning and Piety or let them not trouble me nor the World any more As touching his Epistle to the Churches I shall take but little notice of it nor of that he hath writ to my self sith in my Judgment neither of them signify much you are Men of greater Wisdom than to be frightn̄ed out of an Ordinance or deterred from seeking after the Knowledg of it with these scurrilous Names of Error Apostacy Human Tradition prelimited Forms mischievous Error Carnal Forms Carnal Worship c. These are hard Words and do not bespeak a trembling Heart nor a humble Spirit and better becomes a Man that pretends to Infallibility But what some Men want of sound Arguments they think to make up by hard Words and Confidence but this will never do with you How hath our Practice of baptizing Believers c. been branded with the reproachful Name of Error and 't is very observable how some Men of far greater Parts and Ability than my Brothers or mine either have cried out against the Reign of Christ Conversion of the Gentiles and calling of the Jews as a gross Error as witness Mr. Richard Baxter particularly of late 'T is Arguments I know you look for and if you find those of Mr. Marlow's to prevail against what I have said do not regard what I have wrote in the least for I would have your Faith as the Apostle speaks to stand in the Power of God and not in the Wisdom of Men. The smallness of the Number of our Churches who are in the Practice of this Ordinance I also know will signify nothing with you provided it be proved to be a Truth of Jesus Christ What tho there was not one of our Churches that had Light in it it would certainly the more concern them to enquire after it And tho he hath so coursly saluted me c. yet I am not concerned at it further than to bewail his Confidence and Ignorance to say no worse I know no Men in any Age who appeared first to vindicate a Truth which others call an Error but have met with the same Usage I meet withal from our Brother who I hope is a good Man and means well yet is he strangely beclouded As I have been a Preacher up of Spiritual Worship as he says and that too more than thirty Years tho a poor and unworthy one so through the Grace of God I hope shall continue to do unto the end of my days and 't is only Spiritual Worship you may perceive I plead for in contending for singing of Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs none of which three can be without their special and particular form But must they needs be therefore carnal and humane Forms which appertain unto them I see 't is time to stand up for the Form of Ordinances for the Form of Doctrine and for the Form of sound Words for if we must part with singing of Psalms Hymns c. from his pretended Arguments about Forms all external Ordinances must go as well as that of Singing In a word we must give up our whole visible Profession and wait for those extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit that were in the Primitive Time if we must not sing till we have that extraordinary Gift to do it which some had in the Apostles Days and the like in discharge of every Gospel-Ordinance which were to abide in the Church to the end of the World He may as well therefore say I do but counterfeit that excellent Gift in Preaching when I preach which was in the Primitive Gospel-Church as thus to charge me in the case of our singing by the ordinary Gifts of the Spirit Read his Epistle to me Append. p. 15. It seems to me as if my Brother does not understand the nature of Moral

filling their Hearts with Joy and Gladness or else it flows from those special and internal Blessings which only concern the Saints viz. Union with God Communion with God Faith Love c. Tongues were for a Sign not for them who believe but for them who believe not 1 Cor. 14. 22. Extraordinary Gifts were to convince Unbelievers of the Truth and not for the Joy and Comfort of such who did believe Men that have the Gift of Tongues may be graceless and so without Christ and perish eternally in Hell therefore the extraordinary Gift of the Spirit fits not tunes not the Heart nor Tongue to sing the Praises of God You may as well deny the Saints may not ought not in these our Days rejoice in God nay not praise him in any other manner of ways as well as not sing from this Argument you make use of here on this account Therefore it follows that you strangely mistake pag. 15. Appendix in intimating when Paul exhorts the Saints to covet after the best Gifts he means the extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit for certainly those are the best Gifts that most tend to the edification of the Church which Tongues could not be said to do And in the very next words he speaks of a more excellent way viz. that of Charity or Love which refers to the Graces of the Spirit And of so little use were those special or extraordinary Gifts to the Church that if there were no Interpreter they were to be silent and not use them in the Church at all who were that way gifted 2. You confound Tongues which did appertain to all sorts of Gifts with Prophecy and Singing He that had a Doctrine might have the Gift of Tongues to bring it forth so might he that had the Gift of Prophecy and he also that had the Gift to Interpret and so might he also that had the extraordinary Gift to bring forth a Psalm And pray why must ordinary praising of God be now admitted and Preaching Prophesying and Interpreting the Scripture by the ordinary Gifts of the Spirit be still allowed and yet Singing by the same ordinary Gifts must not be admitted What Reason do you give for this Is not this to darken Counsel with words without Knowledg I have demonstrated that the End of those extraordinary Gifts that were then in the Church in the Administration of every Duty and Ordinance was to confirm the ordinary practice of all those Ordinances and so to continue them in the Church to the end of the World And God hath equally honoured and confirmed Singing of Psalms c. to continue and the practice thereof to abide as of any other Ordinance You need not therefore spend your time to prove the Apostles Prayed Preached Prophesied and also Sung by an extraordinary Gift we acknowledg it but say this is no more against our Singing than against our Praying c. who have not now those special Gifts 2. He that had a Psalm of David might bring it forth in an unknown Tongue as well as he that had a Doctrine and so not to the Edification of the Church For if he brought out a Psalm of David in an unknown Tongue who could sing with him But if he had been to sing alone the Melody might have refreshed those who sung not as some say they have been in hearing the French Protestants sing who understand not their Language But to prevent this the Apostle Paul resolved when he sung he would sing with the Spirit and with the Understanding also because 't is the Matter sung that is fruitful to the Understanding and what is the Melody without that Your third Reason or Argument is taken from that in Ephes 5. 18. Be ye filled with the Spirit speaking to your selves c. Answ Doth not the Apostle pray that God would fill all the Saints with Joy and Peace Rom. 15. 13. And pray that they might be filled with the Fruits of Righteousness Now singing flows from that Joy that all the Saints ought to labour after and also from the Fruits of Righteousness we have an equal need to be filled with the Spirit to pray to meditate to praise God and to preach and hear the Word as well as to sing Psalms and Hymns c. But you say pag. 18. That the Gifts of the Holy Spirit were not given alike to every Member of the Church Answ 'T is granted But doth it follow because some had the extraordinary Gift of the Spirit to pray must not the others who had not those Gifts no more than we have them now not pray at all Brother I am grieved to see how you are deceived and would ●eceive others But as they who had not the extraordinary Gift of the Spirit to pray were notwithstanding to pray so they who had not the extraordinary or special Gift to sing were nevertheless to sing the Praises of God What you speak pag. 18. about the diversity of Gifts but the same Spirit from 1 Cor. 12. is rather more against the performance of those other Duties and Ordinances than Singing because Singing is not there mentioned But all that you say there has been answered already so is what you infer from Col. 3. 16. Ephes 5. 19. For to think the Apostle refers to the special Gift of Singing in those places is of a pernicious tendency for you may as well say the same of all other Precepts enjoined on the Churches and so free us from all Gospel-Obedience for want of such Gifts Why must not Spiritual Songs be allowed as well as Psalms and Hymns What do you mean in pag. 23 Brother you were better be silent till you can distinguish better between Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs and the manner of the bringing of them forth by a special Gift A Doctrine may be as Spiritual that is precomposed as that which was brought forth by a special Gift so may an Hymn or Spiritual Song though 't is by the ordinary Gifts or Help of the Spirit precomposed there cannot be an Hymn nor Spiritual Song without its Form but if it be a Spiritual Song it has a Spiritual Form The very word may convince yo● of your Error if the Song be taken out of Christ's Spiritual and Sacred Word the Form is Spiritual and if it be sung with a gracious Heart and Tongue 't is doubtless Spiritual Worship and acceptable to God I shall conclude this Section of yours with one honest and plain Argument That Assertion or Notion against Singing the Praises of God that hath a natural tendency in it to overthrow the practice of all Gospel-Ordinances as well as singing the Praises of God is a vile and pernicious Assertion or Notion But for a Man to assert the Saints and People of God now in these days ought not to sing Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs because we have not that special or extraordinary Gift of the Spirit to do it hath a natural tendency in it to overthrow the practice

in answer to what we say That our Psalms and Hymns are Spiritual though precomposed you say 1. That such Forms are not Spiritual Worship because Singing in the Primitive Gospel-Times was from the special Gift of the Spirit 2. Though say you the Matter of precomposed Forms of Singing be Spiritual yet the Heart must be Spiritual too or Grace and Melody must be in exercise in performing of them The Grace of Joy must be raised in the Soul to the heighth of Melody and so break forth Or to that purpose you speak pag. 44 45. Answ 1. We need no more the special Gift in Singing to render our Singing Spiritual than those special Gifts in Preaching to render our Sermons Spiritual 2. As to have Grace in our Hearts not only in the Habit but also in the Exercise in Singing we acknowledg it is necessary to a right performance of it And so 't is in Prayer Preaching and all other Spiritual Duties of Religion And let me tell you we need no greater assistance of the Spirit in Singing than in Praying or Rejoicing therefore what signifies that which you say pag. 45. Viz. The least exercise of true Grace in our Hearts in Prayer gives Essence or Being to Prayer so the least exercise of gracious melodious Joy gives Essence to inward Singing And say you as we ought not vocally to pray in the Publick Worship of God in the Church without a sufficient Gift of the Spirit so also we ought not vocally to sing in the Church unless it be by a sufficient Gift of the Spirit And seeing we have not such a Gift we are not capable of vocal Spiritual Singing And so we must be contented as you intimate in pag. 46. with the Essence of it in our Spirits only Answ By this way of arguing you may lay Godly Christians under Temptations about Prayer especially in the Church because they may plead they have not the Gift whereas the Grace of Prayer viz. a broken Heart is that which God chiefly looks at and so should we too This makes no more against Singing than it doth against Praying And thus I must argue upon you If I have not the special Gift of Singing I must content my self with the Essence of it in my Heart and yet as I have shewed the essence of it is not in the Heart as it is in the Voice and so since if I have not the special Gift of Prayer I must be contented with the Essence of Prayer only Heart-Prayer and not pray vocally at all But you intimate that none ought to sing but such who are in the full assurance of the Love of God But you might as well say none ought to rejoice in the Lord nor to praise him but such only as well as to say what you do here against their Singing who want that assurance But you hint in pag. 46. as if we must be satisfied with your Essence of Singing viz. inward joy in the Heart till we come to the primitive perfection of Divine Worship c. Answ We doubt not through Grace but we are come to such perfection of Divine Worship as to know what Gospel-Worship is and also that we ought not to neglect one Ordinance more than another because we are not arrived to the height of Perfection I am sure the way you would lead poor Souls in is not to bring them forward towards perfection in Worship but to keep them back and hinder them in pressing on to that which some have not yet attained unto Moreover your folly appears too much in calling our Singing an Irregular way of Worship unless you had more strength of Argument to convince your Reader what you say is true May be if you had Truth on your side you might have answered like a Man But I am satisfied all wise Men will say there appears nothing less than Argument In both parts of your Book there are many words indeed but little else as I can see If what I have said have no more strength of Argument and Scripture and good Sense in it for Singing of Psalms c. than appears in your Book against it I do intreat my Reader to reject what I have said and esteem it as worth nothing but if it be otherwise viz. upright even words of Truth O then ye Saints receive this Ordinance and let what I have said by the assistance of God's Spirit be as Goards and as Nails fastened by the Master of Assemblies which are given from one Shepherd Prov. 12. 10 13. One word more to those Texts in Paul's Epistles Ephes 5. 19. Col. 3. 16. where he enjoins those Churches to admonish one another in Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs c. Can any Man suppose in these words the Apostle exhorts Ministers to preach and so sing in Preaching or to admonish one another to pray and so to sing in Prayer How absurd would it be to affirm either Why then say I he can mean nothing else but this Ordinance of Singing c. Object But say some Did not the Lord's People of Old in their Captivity say How can we sing one of the Lord's Songs in a strange Land Psal 137. 4. Answ 1. Under that Dispensation the Lord's People had a special and peculiar Right to Temporal Blessings and when they were deprived of them and in Exile they might not see they had that cause to sing the Praises of God But our Promises and Privileges are better and more inward and Spiritual And therefore under the Gospel-Days we find the Saints sung in the midst of their greatest Sufferings for as our Sufferings do abound in us so our Consolation also aboundeth by Christ 2 Cor. 1. 5. 2. I know not but we nevertheless might see cause to refuse as they did to sing the Lord's Song at the taunting and reproachful Requests of an insulting Enemy the Lord's People are not to do the Lord's Work at the Devil's Instigation 3. But blessed be God we are not in Exile we are delivered like Men that dreamed our Liberty and Mercies are great if we do not sin them away In the last place consider how acceptable and well-pleasing to God his Praises are in a Song read Psal 69. 30. I will praise the Name of God with a Song and will magnify him with Thanksgiving Vers 31. This also shall please the Lord better than an Ox or Bullock that hath Horns and Hoofs Two things you may observe from hence 1. That to sing God's Praises is acceptable to him 2. That 't is no Ceremonial Rite but in it self a Moral Duty Sacrifices appertained to the Ceremonial Law and though acceptable to God in their Nature and Design yet Moral Duties have always had the preference He hath shewed thee O Man what is good i. e. that excells that which God most delights in to do justly love Mercy c. Mic. 6. 8. And this of praising God in a Song seems from hence to be a Duty of the same Nature