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indeed, that he hath left no compositions of this kind 1662-9. behind him, which maketh it reasonable to suppose, that in his closet he gave the desires of his soul a freer vent, and that when he conversed with God alone, he presented him with the natural language of the heart, which He chiefly regards; and how well he was fitted and qualified to perform this after an excellent manner, hath been already declared. And after all, he had so lively a sense of his own inability to discharge the important duties of his holy function, and so great a zeal to promote the salvation of those souls which were committed to his charge, that it is not to be wondered if he was very earnest with God in private for the continual supplies of his grace to strengthen and invigorate his best endeavours, and that all his flock might be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that they might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. It is a true observation of that judicious prelate, bishop Sanderson, ""That the kingdom of God must suffer "violence, and that the people will not ordinarily "be brought into it without some force: but let me "tell you," saith that great divine, "it is not so "much the violence of the pulpit that doth the deed, as the violence of the closet." For though Paul planteth, and Apollos watereth, it is God that giveth the increase. So that in order to make the spiritual building perfect, the wise pastor must be as instant with God to secure his flock, as he is importunate with them to work out their own salvation; he must without ceasing pray for them as well as instruct

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1662-9. them, whereby his labours will bring more comfort to himself, as well as more profit to his hearers.

The pious frame and

his mind.

The constant frame and temper of his mind was temper of So truly devout, that he would frequently in the daytime, as occasion offered, use short prayers and ejaculations, the natural breathings of pious souls; and when he was sitting in silence in his family, and they, as he thought, intent upon other matters, he would often, with an inexpressible air of great seriousness, lift up his hands and eyes to heaven, and sometimes drop tears. And as a farther evidence of this true Christian frame of spirit, he took great delight in discoursing of the things of God, particularly of His love and mercy in the daily instances of His, watchful providence over mankind, and the right use that ought to be made of it. He would often recount to those he conversed with, the wonders of divine goodness already vouchsafed to himself and his friends; their happy and amazing escapes out of several sorts of dangers, their unexpected good success, not without rejoicing in the Lord; and invite others to tell what God had done for them; of which he would make a noble use by way of religious inference and exhortation, till he made the hearts of his hearers burn within them. And indeed they who can pass all the hours of their conversation, which take up so great a part of their lives, without making any reflections of this nature, for fear of the lash of some scoffing wits, who are apt to call it canting, appear to me to want that sense of a Deity upon their minds, which is necessary to make them serious. I am sure, in all other cases, where our heads and hearts are engaged, we naturally discover it by our tongues; for out of the abun

dance of the heart the mouth speaketh; and it is 1662-9. difficult not to run into such discourse as is ready' prepared for us by the constant application of our thoughts. And therefore I think we may safely conclude, that whoever maketh religion his main business, and loveth God above all, cannot be better entertained in conversation than by such topics, which tend to cultivate and promote piety, and every thing that is praiseworthy; neither will such an one readily omit any reasonable occasion that offers itself to advance and instil the sense of religion into the minds of others.

of psalms in

devotions.

Before I quit this head of his private devotions, I His singing must beg leave to observe, that singing the praises his private of God made a part of his spiritual exercises in his retirement, which he chose to celebrate in the words of the royal Psalmist, as translated into metre for that purpose. A duty recommended by St. Paul in several of his Epistles; and yet how few can be prevailed upon to join in psalmody, when it is made a part of the public service of the church! And still there are fewer who perform it with that intenseness of mind, and application of thought, and reverence of posture, as such a solemn part of worship requireth from us; where the great Majesty of heaven and earth is the object we address to, and where the acknowledgment of His infinite perfections, and thankfulness for the mercies we receive, is the worship we design to pay. It is very fit indeed, that this part of the public service should have all the advantage imaginable of agreeable harmony, consisting both in voices and musical instruments, because we ought to offer to God that which is most excellent in its kind. But however it must be re

1662-9. membered, that these are only to be used as helps to raise our souls to a higher pitch of devotion, and are of no value in the sight of God, any farther than they express the gratitude of our hearts; for if we permit ourselves to dwell too much upon the skill of the performance, and suffer our minds by the pleasure of the ear to be carried away from a serious attention to the matter, the religious worship of it will begin to sink; and though there may be melody in the composition, yet by this means there will be none in the heart, which God chiefly regards. But the generality of those who do not join in the singing of psalms, and who are otherwise very serious, excuse themselves from the bad poetry of the old version, wherein there are several old words used which are now out of date, and several odd phrases that give them great offence. Now though this objection doth affect only some parts of the version, if it should be allowed to have its full weight, yet certainly it is no great argument of a devout mind, to be diverted by little things from a duty substantially good in itself.

The singing psalms of

But notwithstanding these objections, the excelthe old ver-lent bishop Beveridge hath defended the old version sion defend- in a particular discourse upon that subject; and Beveridge. after having impartially weighed it and compared it

ed by bishop

with the new, giveth it by much the preference; as keeping closer to the sense of the original text, and by being composed in a plain and low style, lying more level to the capacities of the common people,

* A Defence of the Book of Psalms, collected into English metre by Thomas Sternhold, John Hopkins, and others, with critical Observations on the New Version compared with the Old. Printed for R. Smith, 1710.

who are far the greatest part of the kingdom. That 1662-9. as to the old words, they are few, and easily explained, and purely English; whereas the style of the new version is much more unintelligible to the vulgar, by a great mixture of words derived from the Latin, French, and Greek, and often rather a paraphrase upon the text, than the text itself. And I wish the authority of this great man may prevail as much now he is dead, as his example did while he was alive, in this matter which we are now considering; for I have with pleasure beheld the conformity of the whole congregation to his own devout practice, who constantly stood with reverence while he sung the praises of God; and when he went into the pulpit, he neither altered his posture, nor forbore to join with the congregation till the psalm was finished.

ter of his

And now I have named this great and good man, The characI cannot forbear acknowledging the favourable dis-sermons. pensation of Providence to the age in which we live, in blessing it with so many of those pious discourses, which this truly primitive prelate delivered from the pulpit; and I the rather take the liberty to call it a favourable dispensation of Providence, because he gave no orders himself that they should be printed; but humbly neglected them, as not being composed for the press. But this circumstance is so far from abating the worth of the sermons, or diminishing the character of the author, that to me it seemeth to raise the excellency of both; because it sheweth at once the true nature of a popular discourse, and the great talent this prelate had that way. For to improve the generality of hearers, they must be taught all the mysteries of Christianity, and the holy institutions belonging to it; since it is upon

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