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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47407	The breach repaired in God's worship, or, Singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, proved to be an holy ordinance of Jesus Christ with an answer to all objections : as also, an examination of Mr. Isaac Marlow's two papers, one called, A discourse against singing, &c., the other, An appendix : wherein his arguments and cavils are detected and refuted / by Benjamin Keach ...	Keach, Benjamin, 1640-1704.	1641 (1641)	Wing K50; ESTC R21273	133,739	273

Time this Prophecy did refer to which you may soon see if you read the Context How beautiful upon the Mountains are the feet of them that bring good Tydings c. Which the Apostle absolutely applies to the Time of the Gospel and to Gospel-Ministers Rom. 10. 15. And the Prophet doth not only say The Watchmen shall lift up their Voice and with the Voice together sing but also calls upon the desolate and waste places to sing together which can refer to none but the Lord's People who in Gospel-Days shall be made a Praise to him who had been as a poor barren and waste Wilderness For saith the Prophet in the next words The Lord hath made his Arm bare in the Eyes of all Nations and the ends of the Earth shall see the Salvation of God Vers 10. Now this place directly declares the manner how we ought to Sing that is with Voices together And thus I find a most Reverend and Learned Man speak upon the place David's Psalms saith he were Sung together in Heart and Voice by the twenty four Orders of the Musicians who typed out the twenty four Elders which our Annotators and others say signify the Church and Ministers of Christ and so saith this Author viz. All the Members of Christian Churches Rev. 5. 8. who are made Kings and Priests to God to praise him as they did for if there had been any other Order of Singing besides the Body of the People to succeed those formerly used the Lord would doubtless have given directions how or what it was Not Moses only but all Israel sang and the Women as well as the Men also intimateth that that Song John speaks of Rev. 15. 3. which saith he the Protestant Churches getting Victory over the Beast with Harps in their hands and Singing the Song of Moses refers to that Song and manner of Singing Exod. 15. 1 2. And there is no doubt of it but it doth Moreover saith he Isaiah foretells in the days of the New Testament that God's Watchmen and dissolates lost Souls signified by desolate and waste places should with their Voice Sing together Isa 52. 8 9. The Song of the Lamb saith he was with many together Rev. 7. 9 10. And the Apostles expresly command the Singing of Psalms Hymns and spiritual Songs not to any select Christians but to the whole Church Ephes 5. 19. Col. 3. 16. Paul and Silas sang together in Prison Act. 16. 25. and must the Publick hear only one Man Sang I must say it would be a strange sight to see and hear and without any Warrant from God's Word or Practice of any Church of Christ To all these saith he we may add the Practice of the Primitive Churches the testimony of the ancient and holy Basil is instead of many Epist 63. When one of us saith he hath begun a Psalm the rest of us set in to sing with him all of us with one Heart and with one Voice and this saith he is the common practice speaking of Basil of the Churches of Egypt Lybia Thebes Palestina Syria To the same purpose Eusebius gives witness Eccles Hist lib. 2. cap. 17. The Objections saith he made against this do most of them plead against joying to Sing in Heart as well as in Voice as that by this means others out of the Church will sing as also that we are not always in a suitable Estate to the matter Sung and likewise that all cannot Sing with understanding and are not all therefore who have understanding to join in Heart and Voice together Are not all the Creatures in Heaven Earth Seas Men Beasts Fishes Fowles c. commanded to praise the Lord and yet none of these but Men and Godly ly Men too can do it spiritually and with understanding The third Scripture Prophecy is Hos 2. 15. which clearly alludes to the Gospel-days 〈◊〉 Expositors shew viz. when God should make a New Covenant with his People and betr●●● them to himself for ever vers 19. I will all●●● her and bring her into the Wilderness and speak comfortably unto ber Vers 14. And 〈◊〉 give her Vineyards from thence and the Valey of Achor for a Door of Hope and she shal● sing as in the days of her Youth and as in the day when she came up out of the Land of Egypt which is clear has respect to that of Exod. 15. see our Annotators on this Text for it fully confirms Singing under the Gospel and such a Singing as was of Old I shall close this with what Dr. Roberts saith in his Key to the Holy Bible pag. 175. Finally that passage in the Prophet Thy Watchmen shall lift up the Voice with the Voice together shall they Sing is saith he prophetically spoken of the Times when the Feet of the Messengers of glad-tidings shall be beautiful who shall say unto Sion Thy God reigneth This is interpreted by the Apostle Paul of the gospel-Gospel-times under the New Testament I rather chuse to give my Understanding of this glorious Truth in the words of other Men such worthy and renouned Men as these than in my own thinking some may more readily incline to receive the Truth from them than from such a poor Nothing-creature as I am yet did not I verily believe as they did in this matter I should not have cited a word from their Pens Besides some of their Works ●ie in great Folio's that very few may meet ●ith and what they say which they prove from God's Word we ought carefully to receive though in some things they differ from us Therefore if any Answer me they must also answer them in what I have cited out of their Writings or I shall conclude I have no Answer at all CHAP. XII Proving 'tis our Duty to sing the Praises of God with united Voices from the great Noise such are said to make when they sing THis appears by that in Exod. 32. 17 18. And when Joshua heard the noise of the People as they shouted he said to Moses There is War in the Camp vers 17. And he said It is not the Voice of them that shout for mastery neither is it the Voice of them that cry for being overcome but the noise of them that sing do I hear vers 18. Certainly one Man's Voice could not have made such a Noise nothing can be more clear but that they sung with united Voices together Obj. But here it is objected This was in praise of the Golden Calf and so no rule Answ 'T is no matter to whom they sung it was their Sin and horrid Wickedness to give that Divine Worship and Praise to a molten●mage that belonged to God only but there is no question but they sung now to this false God as they had done cap. 15. to the true God of Heaven and Earth and therein lay part of their wicked and horrid Deed. The second Scripture is Psal 81. 1 2. Sing aloud unto God make a joyful Noise which cannot be apply'd to

that Men should go about to restrain or withhold Praises from the Lord which are due to his holy Name and wherein we are said to glorify him Psal 50. 23. I am perswaded they will have but little Thanks from him one day for their thus doing And truly that want of God's Presence or liveliness of Spirit or that cause of Complainings that are in our Churches of which you speak may partly arise from hence i. e. from the general neglect of this great Duty in which God of old appeared amongst his People like a cloud to fill his House with his glorious Presence 2 Chron. 5. 13. owned also by God's gracious Testimony in giving his People 〈…〉 such eminent Victories over their Enemies 2 Chron. 20. 21 22. And when they had consulted with the People and appointed Singers unto the Lord that they should praise the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness they went out before the Army and to say Praise the Lord for 〈◊〉 Mercy endureth for ever And when they began to sing and to praise the Lord set Ambushments against the Children of Ammon Moab and Mount Seir which came against Judah and they were smitten Israel's Success saith Mr. Wells follows Israel's Singing If the Lord's People will be found in their Duty they shall not want God's Presence To this I might add that glorious witness of his Presence in delivering Paul and Silas out of Prison upon their Praying and Singing Praises to him Act. 16. There may 't is true be a natural Joy or false Rapture by an erring Spirit but that Joy and Presence of God we meet with in his own Way and Ordinance nay in the same Ordinance in which he met with his People of old we may be sure is to be prized and esteemed as no natural or counterfeit Joy say you what you please If in singing Psalms Hymns c. there is no other Rule or Directions given in the New Testament differing from the Practice of the Saints before the Law under the Law and in Gospel-days performed by Christ and his Disciples Then no Christian has cause in the least to doubt but so we are to sing since 't is a Duty and injoyned on the Churches in the New Testament Ephes 5. 19. Col. 3. 16. But this I have spoken largely to already likewise See Chap. 9. In Pag. 47. of your Book you say As to Forms of Prayer and Singing you have sufficiently treated of them before and that the sufficient Gifts of the Spirit shall continue for the Worship of God in the Gospel-Church to the end of the World and therefore your Business here you say is only to shew that the using a Form of Preaching is no Example for a Form of Singing Because say you there is reason for a Form of Preaching from God's Word 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 particular Forms yet it is lawful for them and required of them to compare Spiritual Things with Spiritual and to give themselves to reading and meditation and to hold fast the form of sound Words rightly dividing the Word of Truth So that where the Scripture gives us a liberty we may use it but it is our Sin to take it where it is forbidden as you say you have shewed in a form of Prayer and Singing Answ In vain is all this for all the Saints and Ministers of Christ in all the World know there is no one form of Preaching laid down in all the Scripture We have no direct Precept nor Example to preach in the form of taking a Text of Scripture and to raise a Doctrine from it and then Generals and Particulars with Application 't is left to the faithful Servants of God to make use of such a Form or Manner as the Spirit of God may help them to and the best Form or Method they ought and do make use of which they judg may most tend to the profit of the People That place you mention of our Saviour taking a Text and then preaching from it is scarcely true however 't is a greater proof for a Form of Reading the Scripture in our Publick Assemblies than for taking a Text to preach from it The Text saith He went into the Synagogue of the Jews on the Sabbath-day and stood up to read Aud there was delivered to him the Book of the Prophet Isaias and when he had opened the Book he found the place where it was written The Spirit of the Lord is upon me c. Luk. 4. 17 18. And he closed the Book so do not we and gave it again to the Minister vers 20. And began to say unto them This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your Ears vers 21. We read of no more he spake unto them from that Scripture And as touching those general Directions you mention of comparing spiritual Things with Spiritual c. 1 Cor. 2. 13. the Apostle doth not prescribe a Form of Preaching but shews as our Annotators observe how they did disclaim those Orations of the Athenian Philosophers using a plain and spiritual Stile giving the naked Truths of God without any paint of gawdery Phrase speaking the Oracles of God as the Oracles of God fitting Spiritual Things to Spiritual Persons or opening one Scripture by another But certain it is they preached by an Immediate and extraordinary Spirit or Inspiration And so do not we but by an ordinary Spirit from the mediate Word and therefore must study and are left to use what Method we think may be as I said before most profitable for the Edification of the People so that although the Matter of our Sermons are God's Word and so Divine and Sacred yet the Form or Method you may as well call Formal and Human as so to call our Sacred Hymns c. God hath graciously owned nevertheless this form of Preaching and daily doth for the conversion of many Sinners and so he doth our way of Singing to the comforting and refreshing the Souls of many Saints We have matter to be sung plainly expressed viz. the Word of Christ in Psalms and they are well known and also Hymns and Spiritual Songs which are also easily known by such who are Spiritual whether they be the Sacred Word of Christ as to the Matter of them or not as it may be known that the Doctrine is so which we hear preached As touching David's Psalms they are formally God's Word as well as materially so and since we are exhorted to sing Hymns and Spiritual Songs I ask whether those Hymns and Spiritual Songs could be without a Form either immediately or mediately precomposed by the Spirit and whether the Spirit of God doth not may not assist God's Servants now in precomposed Hymns as he did of old Object But may be you will say They are not in Metre in the Scripture but other words are added to make them fit to be

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 frightned 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 M●n 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 Duties or natural Worship but mistakes and thinks natural or moral Worship must needs be carnal tho we never plead for the performance of any Duties that are moral naturally in themselves without the help and assstance of God's Spirit and the Graces thereof in our Hearts Is it not part of natural Religion and Worship to fear God to love God and trust in God and that too with all our Hearts and with all our Souls and with all our Strength and love our Neighbours as our selves c. These Duties appertain to natural Religion yet without the divine Help and Influences of the Spirit we can do none of them in a right manner no more say I can we pray nor sing the Praises of God which are Duties comprehended in our fearing honouring worshipping and loving of him And whereas Mr. Marlow reflects on me as if I singled out my self more than others in London in pushing on this practice of Singing I must tell him I have abundance of Peace in my Spirit in what I have done therein And if our People I mean the Church to whom I belong are one of the first Churches of our Perswasion in this City found in the practice of this Sacred Ordinance I am satisfied it will be to their great Honour and not to their Reproach and that not only in succeeding Ages but also in the Day of Jesus Christ But blessed be God the greatest number of our worthy London-Elders are as well satisfied in this Truth as my self and many of their People too and will generally I doubt not in a little time get into the practice of it Our Reverend Brother Knowllys 't is known is clear in it and has practised it for some Years though at present 't is not used in his Congregation He told me lately he is about to write in Vindication thereof which he intends to publish in a short time if the Lord please to spare his Life And whereas Mr. Marlow affirms as if I had brought Singing into our Congregation to the grief and trouble of many of our Members it is false for 't is known the Church hath been in this practice near twenty Years after Breaking of Bread and near 14 Years on Thanksgiving-days in a mixt Congregation And what was done of late in bringing it in after Sermon on the Lord's Days was done by a regular Act of the Church in a solemn manner And though some of our worthy Brethren and Sisters are at present somewhat dissatisfied with it yet I doubt not but will in a little time see their Mistakes if such busy Men as he do not in an undue manner blow up Coals of Contention amongst us Can any sober Christian think he hath done well to publish the Private Affairs of a Particular Church to the whole World It seems to some as if he has hopes there will be a Breach in the Church upon the Account of our Singing the Praises of God but I hope he will find our worthy Brethre●● understand themselves better than to go about to impose on the Church or Consciences of their Brethren or to