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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	scripture_n	spirit_n	word_n	12,728	5	4.8461	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

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

't is not only acceptable but very acceptable it pleases God better than shadowy Ordinances or the Offering of an Ox or Bullock The●● few things Brethren I thought good to add at the Close that you may stick close to this Heavenly Ordinance and not be removed by the subtil opposition of any Men whatsoever Remember there is no Truth of Christ but has met with its Opposers but though we can't as yet agree to sing the Praises of God together yet let us love one another and let not the practising or non-practising of this Duty for want of Light break our Communion one with another nor make a Breach in our Affections Let us walk as we have attained If any be otherwise minded God may reveal it to them Phil. 3. 15. Let us live holy Lives and not sing God's Praises and soon forget his Works that so though we can't all sing together on Earth yet may so walk to the Praise of his Glory that we may sing his Praises together in Heaven FINIS Some Reflections on Mr. Marlow's undue Citations of several Learned Men shewing the genuine and proper Signification of the word Hymnos By another Hand THE Foundation of Singing Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs in the Publick Assembly of the Saints is too firmly laid in Scripture and in the Judgment and Practice of Christians in general to be shaken by the New Notions of some few amongst us whom I hope the Lord in his time will lead into the knowledge of this Truth and make them sensible of their injurous Attempts to overthrow and remove it particularly Mr. Marlow in his late Book and Appendix which are answered in the preceding Tract and no more is intended in these few Pages but some short Remarks on the two first Sections of the Appendix In the first whereof he would not have Praising God confined to Songs of Praise or Vocal and Melodious Singing For my part I know not where he will find an Antagonist in this Point for without Controversy it will be generally granted that all Creatures according to their Natures and Capacities are obliged to praise their great and bountiful Creatour and the allowance hereof doth not in the least injure the Duty which he strenuously pleads against As for his long Citation out of the Learned Dr. Owen on Heb. 2. 12. to me seems very little for his purpose for the Doctor after he had made some Reflections on the Translation of the former part of the Verse saith in the rest of the words viz. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. in the midst of the Church I will sing Praise unto thee the Original Heb. Psal 22. 24. is expresly render'd for though 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be render'd simply to Praise yet it s most frequent use when it respects God as its Object is to praise by Hymns or Psalms as the Apostle here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sibi hymnos canam I will sing Hymnes unto thee or te hymnis celebrabo I will praise thee with Hymns which was the principal way of setting forth God's Praise under the Old Testament Here the Doctor shews the genuine and proper signification of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and although the Doctor in his Exposition of this place extends the sense of the word to its utmost latitude that it might include all ways whereby our blessed Mediator was to Praise the Father yet certainly he never intended to exclude that particular way principally pointed at both in the Hebrew and Greek word which we find in the evangelical History so directly and expresly accomplished Mat. 26. 30. Mark 14. 26. as were also all other things prophesied concerning him yet I grant that the Prophecy had not its full and compleat accomplishment therein for the Design of Christ in the whole Administration of his Mediatorial Kingdom is to set forth the Praise and Glory of his Father and every Member of his Mystical Body should concur with him in this Work in all the Modes wherein it can possibly be performed because God is to be served with all our strength and might Moreover it is evident that the Doctor never intended to undermine or overthrow the Duty of Singing for herein he would have opposed his own Judgment which he hath published to the World in the account he gives of the several parts of Gospel-Worship where he makes Singing one though he terms it a fond Imagination for any to think that God cannot be praised in the Church without it and I doubt not but that all sober Christians agree with the Doctor therein I shall now pass to ●he second Section and consider some parts of it which I was desired to take notice of Mr. Marlow begins with the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which whatever he pretends concerning the generality of its signification most properly denotes a Song of Praise And what he cites out of the Learned Ainsworth on Psal 3. to favour his Purpose will not serve it at all for he there intends nothing less than a Song of Praise which is fitly composed to be sung as will appear to any one who considers the whole Paragraph without Prejudice and this import of the word is agreeable to the common sense of Learned Men notwithstanding what is cited to the contrary His first Citation is out of Constantin's Lexicon whence he tells us that Hymenaeus is a Nuptial Song And what if it be it is altogether impertinent in the present Enquiry for this is a word of another Family and descends from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a word well known amongst Learned Anatomists And if he consults any of them he may soon know the full meaning of it and also the reason why Hymenaeus is used for a Nuptial Song This word being thus dismist as foreign to our present Purpose we may consider 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which according to Constantine as cited by him primarily and chiefly signify an Hymn or Copy of Verses made to Praise and to sing such an Hymn or Verse And as for the latter word he says also it is used for saying or pronouncing such an Hymn and the reason may be because saying or pronouncing is necessarily included in Singing for Singing is but a particular Mode of saying or pronouncing And if it was not thus I might say it is the common fate of all Words to be stretched beyond their prime and most proper Signification and who can help it seeing that the Wit and Fancy of Men are such luxuriant things that will make bold sometimes not only with Words but Persons too The Object of an Hymn and Hymning according to their usage in prophane Authors hath been extended with the like liberty both to Men and Things though the primary Object was their Gods Now I shall pass by two or three lines of unintelligible stuff Viz. Hymno etiam Kateuphemismon pro conqueror i. e. hymno also Kateuphemismon is put for Conqueror to complain