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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B06553	A sober reply to Mr Robert Steed's epistle concerning singing. Wherein all his objections against that way he calls the common and popular way of singing psalms, &c. are impartially examined, and in the spirit of meekness, fully answered. Recommended to the consideration of all the saints and churches of Christ, by divers elders and ministers of baptized congregations. Who desire their brethren who are against such singing, without prejudice to read these lines, and consider them.	Whinnell, Thomas, fl. 1699.	1691 (1691)	Wing W1667; ESTC R186465	46,288	68

A SOBER REPLY TO Mr Robert Steed's EPISTLE Concerning SINGING WHEREIN All his Objections against that Way he calls the Common and Popular Way of Singing Psalms c. are Impartially Examined and in the Spirit of Meekness fully Answered Recommended to the consideration of all the Saints and Churches of Christ by divers Elders and Ministers of Baptized Congregations Who desire their Brethren who are against such Singing without prejudice to read these Lines and consider them LONDON Printed in the Year 1691. To all the Saints and Churches of Christ who are not Convinced that 't is their Duty to Sing the Praises of God Beloved Brethren IT is matter of great Grief and Trouble to us to see any of our People much more so many lying short for want of Light of this great Christian Duty of Singing Psalms Hymns and spiritual Songs which as the Churches are enjoyned in the New Testament to do so we find it was always practised by the Lords People generally in their publick Assemblies in Gods Worship both in Time of the Law and Gospel But more especially to find some amongst us so resolute in Opposing of it and others to make Divisions upon the Practice thereof and yet find so little Argument against it Mr. Steed as it seems to us hath not so fairly stated the Question as he should which ought to have been this Viz. Whether Singing the Praises of God by the whole Church in their publick Assemblies be a Gospel Duty or not However we have read and considered this ensuing Answer to his Epistle and finding it so fully and soberly done think it necessary to recommend it to all your Considerations hoping it may tend to enlighten many of your Souls who as yet have doubts about it which that it may we shall commit it to the Blessing of the great God and remain Yours in the Work of the Gospel Joseph Masters William Collins Richard Adams James Jones Hercules Collins J. Warner Richard Mariot Abednego Smith Leonard Harrison Benjamin Dennis Joseph Wright Benjamin Keach Jo. Hammond William Groome R. Allen Samuel Bagwell John Christopher To the Elders Minisiters and Members of the Baptized Churches throughout England and Wales Beloved in our Lord THat common Proverb used amongst us viz. That Custom is a second Nature we find true in things Natural and Religious Old Customs tho never so bad are hardly left Jer. 13.23 and long neglected Duties we come up slowly to And that which makes Reformation in any thing the more difficult is that Opposition it usually meets with many times from those whose Duty and Office doth in a special manner Oblige them to restore every Trdth of God that 's fallen in our Streets And such hath been our case tho much to be lamented that when it pleased God to open the Eyes of many amongst us into that holy Ordinance of Singing his Praise both in Private and Publick and from the clear Evidence of his Word made us sensible that this part of Divine Worship so frequently commanded and commended in Holy Writt both to Jews and Gentiles is as Ancient as the World and will continue when Time shall be swallowed up in Eternity We had then no Mind to have published our thoughts to the World nor to have troubled the Churches with any Dissertations about it But endeavoured to have a Friendly Debate with our Brethren who were conven'd to consult the Churches Welfare But our Endeavours theretn being obstructed by the Opposers of this Truth Soon after some of them from an imprudent Zeal to maintain their own mistaken Sentiments openly opposed this holy Truth of God and took unto themselves a kind of lawless Liberty not only to calumniate those who endeavoured the restoration of this Ordinance but also to Reproach the Truth of God in this particular by calling it Will-Worship Formal Carnal Invented c. which put us upon a necessity unless we would betray the Truth of Christ by a sinful silence to discover their great Mistakes and unaccountable Absurdities and Prevarications herein to all that desire to wait upon God in the way of Holiness and to remove the Stumbling-blocks that busie men have endeavoured to trouble those Churches with who desire to live in peace This hath occasioned the publishing of this little Treatise now in thine hand which is hereby recommended to thy diligent and candid perusal and whoever thou mayest be that readest I have onely these few things to desire of thee Make the Word of GOD thy Rule in Judging lay by all Prejudice weigh what thou findest in the Ballance of the Sanctuary and do not judge before thou hast read what is said for this holy Ordinance And remember that every Truth of God hath some Adversaries and if thou wilt not receive Truth untill its Adversaries have nothing to say thou must receive no Truth at all untill the Devil is bound and all the Nations of the World undeceived Wait at the Throne of Grace in a humble Spirit for Light in this particular if thou art yet in the Dark concerning this holy Institution And whether thou dost own and practise this Ordinance or not see that thou put on Charity towards those that are otherwise minded and if you cannot all agree to sing the Praises of God together here on Earth I am sure all the Children of God will harmonize in this Work in Heaven Now that the Lord might bless this little Treatise to thy Establishment in the Truth of Singing Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs to his own Glory and thy Souls and others Comfort and Edification is the Desire and shall be the Prayer of thine in the Lord Thomas Whinnel A Sober Reply to Mr. Robert Steed's Epistle SIR HAD you wrote private Letters to your own people about your sentiments concerning singing the praises of God to obstruct the restoration of that blessed Gospel Ordinance and not have published it to the World we might have seen no such Cause as now we do to answer your Epistle When we heard you were a writing we expected it would have contained an answer to what hath lately been published in vindication thereof by Reverend Mr. Knowles Mr. Keach Dr. Wright Mr. Whinnel c. but we now see no such thing attempted but contrarywise only a heap of words being little elfe than the substance of what Mr. Marlow hath troubled the World and Churches with And it seems as if the Sermon you formerly preached against this Holy Truth of Christ was the muddy Fountain from whence his lines proceeded and that it was you those worthy Persons in the dark contended with which was hinted to some of us some time since But truly Sir this way of yours seems new as well as strange Hath any controversible Truth met with such usage you at once give up the cause provided those weighty Treatises so full of Scripture Arguments are not answer'd for all men may see all that you have said fully answered before your Epistle was printed

Truth but not till then can we believe you nor regard what you say on this account If there had been no Scripture Psalms c. in being nor known to the Churches when the Holy Ghost enjoyned them to sing Psalms Or if the ordinary Gifts of the Spirit might not serve and enable us as well to put a Psalm or Hymn in order to be sung as a Doctrine in order to be preached Then you might say the Church was to wait for some extraordinary effusion of the Spirit or some miraculous Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs before they could perform that Duty nor could that Duty be performed longer than such gifts abode in the Church And if so you had said something but now we see you have said nothing that has weight in it but more of this anon You say With a whole Congregation every one together without exception lifting up their Voices together that is in singing Reply Must this way of Singing be exploded as an invention of men God forbid for then Moses and the whole Congregation were guilty of an invention of men and Deborah and Barak David and all Israel and which is worse Christ and his Apostles Paul and Silas nay and an invention of men is enjoyned on the Church for they all are enjoyned thus to be Sung together every one of them not one excepted take two or three Arguments further to make it appear the Churches were thus required to sing 1. That way Christ and his Disciples sung the Churches were to sing because Christ and his Disciples set the direct Pattern But Christ and his Disciples sung all together as is fully proved in the late Treatises Ergo. 2. If the Churches are enjoyned to sing and not one Member is exempted or excepted then they are all to sing and to sing together according to the Pattern given by Christ and his Disciples but the Churches are enjoyned to sing and not one Member exempted or excepted Ergo They all are to sing and to sing together according to the Pattern given by Christ and his Disciples Mat. 26 30 Mark 14.26 3. If singing Gods Praises were under the Law with Voices lift up together and the Saints are in the New Testament required to sing and no other way is prescribed or laid down how they should sing Then the Saints in the New Testament ought to sing as they sang under the old But such was the Singing of Gods People under the Law and the Churches are enjoyned to sing Psalms in the New Testament and no other way prescribed or laid down how they should sing Ergo. The Churches are now to sing in the times of the Gospel as Gods People under the Lqw But you say the former that is Singing with Voices together was unanimously concluded by the most part if not all the Baptized Churches to be Will-worship 1. Reply Suppose it was so concluded to be by them then might they not be mistaken Had they attained to a perfection of Knowledge in the whole Will of God or were those Churches appointed by the Lord to be our Pattern further than they followed Christ and the Primitive Church 2. We ask you whether or no generally the same Baptized Churches in those times did not as unanimously conclude and declare it too that for a Gospel Minister to have a Yearly Allowance or a competent Maintenance was an humane Invention and Antichristian We speak in part upon our own Knowledge and by good Information we have had from others that both those Gospel Duties and Ordinances were equally decryed and we suppose you are not Ignorant of it nay and we hear some Churches or members of those Churches are of the same Opinion still How now Dear Brother are you for building what was destroyed if not we are no more guilty in the one than you are in the other and to our grief since it was so concluded then we find it comes to be so hard a thing to bring our Churches to embrace the one or the other as they ought 3. What if through a hot and an unaccountable Zeal our Churches in the beginning of the last Reformation did throw away some pure Gold with much Antichristian dross ought they not now God hath graciously been pleased to open their Eyes to labour to recover the Gold again we mean both those great Gospel Duties viz. Singing of Scripture Psalms and the Ministers maintenance Honoured Brother The path of the Just is as a shining light that shines more and more to the perfect day Prov. 4.18 God doth not discover all his whole Mind and Will to his people at once but some at one time and some at another And blessed be God there are some risen up of whom Mr. Steed is one who affirms That the Ministers of the Gospel ought to have a competent maintenance so that they may comfortably live of it and some others are risen up who do not only affirm that but also that the Churches ought to sing the praises of God and prove it too by undeniable Arguments and in that common way that was used by the Church of Israel under the Law and by the Lord Jesus and his Church and Churches under the Times of the Gospel And as it is now commonly used in most Churches of Christ in our days viz. with Voices lifted up together and hereby we do build what was wanting and restore an Ordinance too long neglected by some of the Churches of Christ Others contemn our way of preaching and call it a common Artificial acquired attainment as you contemn and call our Singing But how dare you so rashly affirm or intimate That this way of Singing is brought into some Churches by the guile and policy of Satan and compare it with Common Prayer have you an infallible Spirit Men may in some cases be bold in their assertions when they speak of some Truths that the whole Body of the Godly are established in But thus to speak against an Ordinance which almost all the Faithful people of God and Churches now and in every Age have received as an undoubted Truth of Christ is hard Especially considering how weak your Arguments seem to be or how little you have to say against it Sir this way of singing of Scripture Psalms is as certainly an Ordinance of Christ as Preaching Prayer c. are such and so it will appear one day say you what you please who affirm singing to be an Ordinance in the Church and yet sing not properly at all in any manner of way but wholly live in the neglect of this great Duty But you in Page 2. affirm you are for singing These are your words viz. The outcry is you are against singing in the Church if Persons in Judgment and Conscience testifie against common singing as that which ought not to be used in a Church of Christ which say you is false and as vile a Slander as the former for they are for singing that is for praising of God

you call it more in the sight of God than a bare joyning the voice 't is exprest Eph. 5. in the Heart as well as with the Voice Pray consider this and blame us no more for pleading for singing in such a mixt multitude 2. Are none but such who are orderly added to the Church and qualified by the Gifts of the Holy Spirit allowed to worship God with the Church Then you are a grievous Offendor for we are sure you never worship God in his Church in any Gospel Ordinance save breaking of Bread but all in your Assemblies are allowed or suffered to worship God with you Is not hearing God's Word and Prayer spiritual Gospel Ordinances in the last you think you sing too and do not your Congregation when you perform these Duties consist of Church Members good and bad Men and Women and Children professors and prophane together and are not these Ordinances of our Lord Jesus 3. Why may we suffer others to pray and praise God with us and not suffer them to sing his praise with us 4. You betray your Gospel Simplicity we fear by this Objection since you do not allow of proper singing by the Church alone we should think you made a more honest scruple in the case if you were for the Churches singing alone but you are against the Saints singing apart as much as their singing with others 5. Where have we a Rule to put the Hearers out of our Assemblies when we are met to worship God or to command them not to joyn their Hearts in Prayer with us or their Voices and Hearts in singing Psalms c Sure if it had been unlawful we should have had some Directions in that matter 6. We do not joyn with them in prayer nor singing thô they joyn with us we will not suffer them to bring forth a Psalm or a Doctrine that are not godly no more than to make them our mouth in prayer 7. If they are enjoyned to pray and praise God and sing his praise too thô they cannot do it acceptably without holy habits and the exercise of Faith then it can be no fault in us to suffer and permit them so to do but the former you cannot deny therefore we cannot be faulty to permit them so to do 8. Singing of Psalms is full of Admonition and Spiritual Instruction and some we can assure you have been wrought upon by their singing such power it hath had upon their Souls and shall we debarr them of such a precious Ordinance that God has blessed to the Conversion of some Sinners Souls In page 7. you say This Common way of Singing is an invention suited to the humane Constituiion of a National Church where Believers and Unbelievers Light and Darkness Christ and Belial are put together c. 1 Answ If it be an Invention pray who invented it and in what Age of the World was it done certainly you must charge it upon Moses because he was the first we read of who put a mixt Congregation upon Singing the praises of God you forget your self we fear our dear Brother for you cannot deny but that Congregation did so sing yea and a mixt Congregation it was also 2. Thô in close Communion in breaking of Bread we are to separate our selves from Unbelievers and must have no fellowship with them Yet a Gospel Church is not to separate in time of other Gospel Duties and Ordinances from such nor do you call upon yours so to do pray Brother change your thoughts and do not fight against the Truth for you cannot stand before it 't is too strong to be overcome by fancies and fictions of Mens Minds But in pag. 7. you are bold again to affirm That Singing of composed Songs by all the Members of a Church both Men and Women lifting up their Voices together is not an Ordinance of our Lord Jesus Your further Reasons follow First You say Because there is no such thing appointed by him or recorded so to be in the Holy Scripture of the New Testament 1 Answ The Churches are commanded by the Holy Ghost to sing Scripture-psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs without exception And this is recorded Eph. 5. Col. 3. We argue that either the whole Church must sing all together or else only some of them or one single person only But since they are all enjoyned to sing or the Duty is required of the whole Church without exception and not tyed or limited to any person or persons in particular it follows they are all to Sing and so to Sing as the Lords People sung under the Old Testament and Christ and his Disciples who sung together had it been limited to the Elder or some gilted person we may be sure the Holy Ghost would have given directions in the case or hinted at such a thing Secondly In the second place you hint the whole Church with every Member had Communion together according to the Primitive Pattern and wherein they continued is expresly declared to be in the Apostles Doctrine and fellowship breaking of Bread and Prayer Acts 2.42 Here you say is not the least mention of their singing together which if it had been practised in those times as it is now by many would it not have bin expressed Reply Brother you confess Singing is an Ordinance that was practised in the primitive Church thô as you conceive by one single person only Now if so how comes it to pass this Argument of yours has any weight in it since there is no more mention of one single persons singing than of the whole Churches this is against any singing and so against yours as much as against that we contend for 2. Dear Brother you forget that Singing of Psalms was part of the Apostles Doctrine and that they taught the Churches so to sing we argue thus If the Apostle taught the whole Church to sing then such a singing was part of their Doctrine in which they continued But the Apostles taught the whole Church to sing Ergo that was part of their Doctrine in which that Church continued Thirdly You object against the whole Church to sing because Women are plainly forbidden to speak in the Church that is say you to utter a Doctrine or a Psalm c. Answ We have shewed your mistake in this a Woman is only prohibited from teaching or preaching in the Church she must not exercise authority over the Man For to teach Authoritatively hath that contained in it they are not forbidden to sing because under the Law they were as we said before permitted so to do and they are not denyed any liberty in the Gospel Church which they had and might have under the Law in that case Fourthly You argue against such singing Because every Member of the Church you say is not capable to be exercised in that common way of Singing for some have you say not a tuneable Voice or natural Faculty of Singing some may not understand immediately that composed Song

tunably certainly all ●●●ural or moral duty and worship must be managed accord●●● to the directions of the great God as he hath revealed ●o us by our Lord Jesus and his Apostles in the New Te●●●ment to which you mention 1 Cor. 14.26 Reply We deny not you know well enough pray●● to be a moral Duty as well as singing the praises of 〈◊〉 is such but all men know for a whole Congre●●●ion to lift up their voices together in prayer would 〈◊〉 confusion but so it is not for a whole Congregati●● to lift up their voices together in singing and were 〈◊〉 so you must charge the Church of God under the ●●w and Christ and his Disciples Paul and Silas c. ●●th confusion under the Gospel as we said before ●●ose practice we say is our pattern in the managing ●●●t Duty as touching that Scripture 1 Cor. 14.26 〈◊〉 have answered your cloudy mistakes about that ●●xt tho the Prophets or Teachers are to speak one 〈◊〉 one to prevent confusion yet that is no direction 〈◊〉 singing Psalms Nor is there one presicent that in ●●ds ordinary and publick worship any one persôn ●●er sung alone tho' there are divers for social sing●●g or singing with united voices 2. If that Text referrs to ordinary Gifts as well as ●●traordinary as you grant it doth then why do you ●●t set upon the practice of your way of singing in the ●hurch pag. 14. We deny that any Christian Man or ●oman is without a tunable Voice thô not all to ●●at degree as some have through want of exercise ●ou sheak as if you was for Peace and Union in the Churches thô in this matter at present we are no● a mind would to God we had good proof of it 〈◊〉 why must not singing be admitted you give no ●●●son for it but because you say 't is an Invention an ●●novation c. But what must be done to them who resolvedly persist in such course our Lord declares you say and commands us to mark th●● and to have no fellow ship with them or to avoid them Rom. 15. ●● Reply Is this your love to your Brethren who are for Sing●●● and resolve to persist in promoting of it No Liberty of Con●●●ence will you allow to such it appears to walk according their light this shews how you are for Love and Union 〈◊〉 case 'T is well Reverend Kn●llys is dead Blessed be God th● Churches who are for singing have more Charity for their diss●●●ing Members they are willing to have communion with th●● tho they resolvedly oppose at present the singing the praise● 〈◊〉 God and refuse communion with the Churches for no other ●●●son and 't is to be feared you have been an ill Instrument in ●●● matter as what you say here sufficiently evinces In most Church in London there are some who sing in God's Worship and 〈◊〉 zealous for it what must they do with them The truth is 〈◊〉 such Members are to be mark'd c. who cause divisions in ●●● Church you have here taught such Churches All men may 〈◊〉 what their Duty is towards them who separate themselves u● this account the Lord in mercy open your eyes as well as the 〈◊〉 that so all Bitterness Pride Ignorance and Prejudice may be av●●●ed and Love Peace Charity and Concord maintained i● the Churches of the Saints To conclude we desire such Members to consider who s●●●rate themselves from any Church or Churches upon the acc●●●● before mentioned that they do as much as in them lies exc●●municate such Churches also we would know whether in 〈◊〉 Judgments singing of Psalms is a capital Error and that ●●sus Christ hath withdrawn himself from such a Church 〈◊〉 not let them consider what ground they have to ●●●●draw themselves and violate their solemn Covenant with su●● Church FINIS ADVERTISEMENT SVch who desire to have the whole that hath been said of lat● Dr. Wright Mr. Keach Mr. Knowls Mr. Whinnel for ●●●cial singing of Psalms may have them of Mr. John Harris at Harrow in the Poultrey bound up all together with this price 〈◊〉 or either if them single Dr. Wright's stitcht with Mr. Whinnel's is 6 d.