standing of the things he prays for. The understanding of man is naturally dark, as to divine and spiritual things. The Holy Ghoft is the spirit of wifdom and revelation in the knowledge of Chrift, who enlightens the eyes of our understanding, to see our loft state and condition by nature, the exceeding finfulness of fin, the impurity of our hearts, the imperfection of our obedience, the infufficiency of our righteousness, the need of Chrift, and falvation by him, and the aboundings of God's grace and mercy, ftreaming through the Mediator's perfon. Such who are thus enlightened, are able to pray with the understanding alfo: they know who they pray unto, whilst others worship they know not what; they can come to God as their God and Father, as the God of all grace and mercy; they know the way of access to him, and are fenfible of their need of the Spirit to influence and affift them, by whom they know what to pray for, as they ought, and are well affured of the readiness of God to hear and anfwer them for Chrift's fake: And, fays the apoftle", If we know not that be bears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we defired of bim. These are the perfons who pray with the Spirit, and with the understanding alfo; these find their account in this work, and it is a delight to them.

I fhall conclude this difcourfe with a few words, by way of encouragement to this part of divine worship. It is good for the faints to draw near to God it is not only good because it is their duty, but becaufe it yields their fouls at fpiritual pleasure; and it is alfo of great profit and advantage to them: It is often an ordinance of God, and which he owns for the quickening the graces of his spirit, for the restraining and fubduing the corruptions of our hearts, and for the bringing of our fouls into nearer communion and fellowship with himself. Satan has often felt the force and power of this piece of our fpiritual armour; and it is, indeed, the last which the believer is directed to make ufe of. Praying fouls are profitable in families, neighbourhoods, churches, and common-wealths, when prayerless ones are in a great measure useless. The believer has the utmost encouragement to this work he can defire; he may come to God, not as on a feat of juftice, but as on a throne of grace. Christ is the Mediator between God and him, his way of accefs to God, and his Advocate with the Father; the Spirit is his Guide, Director, and Affifter; he has many exceeding great and precious promises to plead with God; nor need he doubt of a kind reception, a gracious audience, and a proper answer, though never fo mean and unworthy in himself; fince the Lord will regard the prayer of the deftitute, and not defpife his prayer.

I COR. xiv. 15. latter Part.

I will fing with the Spirit, and I will fing with the understanding also.

N this day, in the last year, you were pleased to call me to preach to you from the former part of this verse; which led me to discourse concerning the work and duty of prayer, which, at your request, was published to the world; and now, at your fresh instances, I am defired to infift upon the latter part of it, which regards the duty of finging; and, fince the text and context were opened, fo far as was neceffary, in my former difcourfe, I shall immediately attend to the confideration of the fubject before me; which I shall handle in the following method:

I. I fhall endeavour to fhew you what is finging, and the nature of it, as an ordinance of God.

II. Prove that it is an ordinance not confined to the Old Teftamentdifpenfation.

III. Enquire into the subject-matter of finging, or what that is which is to be fung.

IV. Point out to you the perfons who are to fing. And,

V. Observe the manner in which this ordinance should be performed.

I. I am to fhew you what is finging, or what is the common idea we have, or can have of it. Singing may be considered either in a proper, or in an improper sense; when it is used improperly, it is afcribed to inanimate creatures: fo the heavens, the earth, mountains, forefts, the trees of the wood, the pastures clothed with flocks, and the vallies covered with corn, are faid to fing and fhout for joy, or are exhorted to it: And it is also in this improper sense that the heart is faid to fing; as when Job fays, I caufed the widows heart to

* Ifa. xliv. 23. and xlix. 13. 1 Chron. xvi. 33. Pfal. lxv. 13.

b Job. xxix. 13.

fing

fing for joy; that is, greatly to rejoice; finging for joy being put there for great joy, which is the caufe of it. Singing, taken in a strict and proper sense, and as a natural act, is an act of the tongue, or voice; though not every action of the tongue, or found of the voice, is to be called finging. Speech is an action of the tongue; but all kind of speaking, or faying, is not finging. Singing is fpeaking mufically, or with the modulation of the voice: These two founds, fpeaking, or faying, and finging, have not the fame idea. When I am told, as it is commonly expreffed, that fuch an one said grace be fore and after meat, I readily understand, that he afked a bleffing of God upon his food before eating, and returned thanks for it afterwards, according to the common ufe of fpeech in prayer to God, and in converfation with men: But if it fhould be told me, that he fung grace before or after meat, I fhould not be able to form any other idea of it in my mind, but that he expressed all this in a tonical, mufical way, with a modulation of the voice. Likewise it is not any clamour of the tongue, or every found of the voice, that is to be accounted finging, but an harmonious, melodious and musical found of it; otherwife, why fhould the tuneful and warbling notes and strains of birds be called finging, any more than the grunting of a hog, the braying of an ass, the neighing of a horfe, the barking of a dog, or the roaring

of a lion?

Let us now confider this action of the tongue, or voice, as performed religiously, and we shall find, that finging of God's praise is speaking out his praise mufically; or it is an expreffion of it, with the modulation of the voice; and fo is an ordinance diftinct from prayer, praise, giving of thanks, and inward fpiritual joy.

It is diftinct from prayer, as is evident from my text; otherwife the apoftle must be guilty of a moft wretched tautology; which is by no means to be admitted of. The apostle James mentions Prayer, and finging of Pfalms, as two distinct things; to which he advifes different perfons, or perfons under different circumftances, when he fays, Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him fing Pfalms. Nor ought it to be objected to us, that we fometimes fing petitions, or what is prayer-wife, fince praying, or making petitions, is different from finging them: However, those who are of a different mind from us about finging, fhould not object this, fince the only way of finging, or at least, the moft principal one, they pretend to make ufe of, is in prayer, and that is praifing God in prayer. But,

James v. 13.

Singing

Singing of God's praife is diftinct from praifing him; though we do praise him in finging, yet all praising of God is not finging; finging is one way in which we praise God; but there are many ways in which we praise him, when we cannot be faid to fing: As for inftance, we praife God when we give thanks unto him for mercies fpiritual or temporal; when we fpeak well of his adorable perfections and glorious works, either in public or private; and we are capable of praifing him by our lives and actions, as well as by our tongues; in neither of which fenfes can we be faid to fing. If all praifing is finging, I fhould be glad to know what finging of praife is. For

That it is different from giving of thanks, appears from the institution of the Lord's fupper; in which, giving of thanks, and finging an hymn, or pfalm, as in the margin of your Bibles, or a song of praise to God, are mentioned as very diftinct things; but of this more hereafter: I fhall now only just observe, that the apostle Paul, in his epiftle to the Ephefians, when he exhorts them to fing Pfalms, hymns, and spiritual fongs, afterwards mentions giving of thanks to God in the name of Chrift, as another duty incumbent on them.

Nor is inward fpiritual joy, or heart-rejoicing, finging of God's praise. True fpiritual joy is wrought in the foul by the Holy Ghost, and takes its rife from views of the perfon, blood, righteoufnefs, facrifice, and atonement of Chrift; and is increased by the fhedding abroad of the love of God in the heart, and by discoveries of covenant-intereft in the Father and in the Son. Now when the foul is in fuch a comfortable fituation, it is in the most agreeable frame to fing the praises of God; hence fays James, is any merry? dupa TIG is any of a good mind, or in a good frame of foul? let him fing Pfalms: Not that these are the only perfons that are to fing Pfalms, or this the only time, any more than that afflicted perfons are the only ones that are to pray, and the time of affliction the only time of prayer: But as affliction more especi ally calls for prayer, fo fpiritual joy and rejoicing, for finging of Psalms; but then this spiritual joy is not finging, but the cause or reason of it, and what eminently fits a perfon for it.

Though there is fuch a thing as mental prayer, there is no fuch thing as mental finging, or finging in the heart without the voice; fpeaking or preach ing without a tongue or voice, are not greater contradictions, or rather impoffibilities, than finging without a tongue or voice is; fuch an hypothefis is fuited for no scheme but Quakerifm: And we may as well have our filent meetings, dumb preaching, and mute prayer, as filent finging. Singing

Eph. v. 19, 20.

and

and making melody in the heart, is no other than finging with or from the heart, or heartily; or, as it is expreffed in a parallel place, with grace in the heart; that is, either with gratitude and thankfulness, or with grace in exercife, together with the voice.

Singing of God's praifes is a vocal action, and should be performed in a focial way, in concert with others; with the voice together shall they fing; and not only with the voice, but with the modulation of it: It is not any noise of the tongue or voice, but an harmonious, melodious, joyful one. O come, let us fing unto the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our falvation : Let us come before his prefence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noife unto him with Pfalms. But,

II. I fhall endeavour to prove, that this ordinance of finging does not belong to the ceremonial law, or was confined to the Old Teftament-difpenfation; but is a part of natural religion, and moral worship, perpetually binding on all mankind; and so to be performed by believers in a spiritual and evangelic manner, under the gospel-difpenfation. And,

1. It will appear, from the practice of the heathens, that it was a part of natural and moral worship; who, though greatly in the dark, both about the object and manner of worship, yet, by the dim light of nature, groped after the knowledge of both, if haply they might find them; and as by this dim light they were directed to pray to a fuperior Being when in distress, as Jonah's mariners did; fo by the fame light, they were directed to fing praises to him when they received mercies; prayer and finging being alike parts of natural religion and moral worship. So that though the Gentiles had no pofitive laws nor fcheme of revelation to guide them in the worship of God, yet, in fome inftances, did by nature the things contained in the law; which shew the work of the law written on their hearts. I will just produce fome few inftances refpecting the prefent cafe. Clemens Alexandrinus intimates, that one part of the religious worship of the Egyptians, confifted of hymns to their gods; his words are thefe; "First a finger goes before, bringing forth fome one thing "of the fymbols of mufic; and they fay, that he ought to take two books "out of those of Hermes, the one containing the hymns of the gods, the other, "the method of a royal life." And a little after, he adds, "There are ten things which are fuitable to the honour of their gods, and contain the Egyp·

'

«tion

• Nufquam enim legimus aliquem fine voce cantaffe. Unde neceffe eft hic, in corde, ex corde intelligi: Scilicet ut non folum ore, fed etiam corde cantemus. Hieronym. in Col. iii. 16.