words to which we confine all our fongs. Some of them are almost opposite, to the spirit of the gofpel: many of them foreign to the ftate of the New Teftament, and widely different from the prefent circumftances of Chriftians. Hence it comes to pafs, that when spiritual affections are excited within us, and our fouls are raised a little above this earth in the beginning of a pfalm, we are checked on a fudden in our afcent toward heaven, by fome expreffions that are moft fuited to the days of carnal ordinances, and fit only to be fung in the wordly fanctuary. When we are just entering into an evangelic frame, by fome of the glories of the gospel, prefented in the brighteft figures of Judaifm, yet the very next line, perhaps, which the clerk parcels out unto us, hath fomething in it fo extremely Jewish and cloudy, that darkens our fight of GOD the Saviour. Thus, by keeping too close to David in the house of GOD, the vail of Mofes is thrown over our hearts. While we are kindling into divine love by the meditations of the "loving-kindness of GoD, and

the multitude of his tender mercies," within a few verfes fome dreadful curfe againft men is propofed to our lips, that " God would add iniquity unto their iniquity, nor let them come into his righteoufnefs, but blot them out of the book of the living," Pfal. Ixix. 26, 27, 28, which is fo contrary to the new commandment of loving our enemies; and even under the Old Teftament is best accounted for, by referring it to the spirit of prophetic vengeance. Some fentences of the Pfalmift, that are expreffive of the temper of our own hearts, and the circumstances of Our lives, may.compofe our fpirits to ferioufnefs

and allure us to a fweet retirement within ourselves; but we meet with a following line, which fo peculiarly belongs but to one action or hour of the life of David, or of Afaph, that breaks off our fong in the midft; our confciences are affrighted, least we should speak a falfehood unto God; thus the powers of our fouls are fhocked on a fudden, and our fpirits ruffled, before we have time to reflect, that this may be fung only as a history of ancient faints, and perhaps, in fome inftances, that falvo is hardly fufficient neither: befides, it almost always fpoils the devotion, by breaking the uniform threed of it; for while our lips and our hearts run on fweetly together, applying the words to our own cafe, there is fomething of divine delight in it; but at once we are forced to turn off the application abruptly, and our lips fpeak nothing but the heart of David. Thus our own hearts are, as it were, forbid the purfuit. of the fong, and then the harmony and the worfhip grow dull of mere neceffity..

Many minifters, and many private Chriftians, have long groaned under this inconvenience, and have wifhed, rather than attempted a reformation at their importunate and repeated requests: I have for fome years past, devoted many hours of leifure to this fervice. Far be it from my thoughts to lay afide the book of Pfalms in public worship; few can pretend fo great a value for them as myself; it is the moft artful, moft devotional, and divine collection of poefy; and no thing can be fuppofed more proper to raise a pi-ous foul to heaven, than fome parts of that book; never was a piece of experimental divinity fo no bly written, and fo juftly reverenced and admi

red: but it must be acknowledged ftill, that there are a thousand lines in it which were not made for a church in our days, to affume as its own: there are also many deficiences of light and glo ry, which our Lord Jefus and his apoftles have fupplied in the writings of the New Teftament; and with this advantage I have compofed these -fpiritual fongs, which are now prefented to the world. Nor is the attempt vain-glorious or prefuming; for in respect of clear evangelical knowledge, The least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than all the Jewish prophets, Matth. xi. 11. ; Now let me give a short account of the following compofures.

The greatest part of them are fuited to the general state of the gospel, and the most common. affairs of Chriftians. I hope there will be very few found, but what may properly be used in a religious affembly, and not one of them but may well be adapted to fome feasons either of private or of public worship. The most frequent tempers and changes of our fpirits, and conditions of our life, are here copied, and the breathings of our piety, expreffed according to the variety of our paffions, our love, our fear, our hope, our de fire, our forrow, our wonder, and our joy; as they are refined into devotion, and act under the in fluence and conduct of the bleffed Spirit; all converfing with God the Father, by the new and living way of accefs to the throne, even the perfon and the mediation of our Lord Jefus Chrift.. To him alfo, even to the Lamb that was flain, and now lives, I have addreffed many a fong; for thus doth the holy fcripture inftruct and teach us. to worship, in the various fhort patterns of Chrift

ian pfalmody described in the Revelation. I have avoided the more obfcure and controverted points: of Christianity, that we might all obey the direc tion of the word of God, and "fing his praises "with understanding," Pfal.xlvii. 7. The conten tions and diftinguishing words of fects and parties are fecluded, that whole affemblies might aflift. at the harmony, and different churches join in the fame worship without offence.

If any expreflions occur to the reader that favour of an opinion different from his own, yet he may obferve these are generally fuch as are capable of an extenfive fenfe, and may be used with a charitable latitude. I think it is most agreeable, that what is provided for public finging, fhould give to fincere confciences as little disturbance as poffible. However, where any unpleafing word is found, he that leads the worship may subftitute a better: for (bleffed be GoD) we are not confined to the words of any man in our public: folemnities.

The whole book is written in four forts of metre, and fitted to the most common tunes. I have feldom permitted a ftop in the middle of a line, and feldom left the end of a line without one, to comport a little with the unhappy mixture of reading and finging which cannot prefently be reformed. The metaphors are generally funk to the level of vulgar capacities. I have aimed at ease of numbers, and smoothness of found, and endeavoured to make the fenfe plain and obvious. If the verfe appears fo gentle and flowing as to incur the cenfure of feeblenefs, I may honestly affirm, that fometimes it coft me labour to make it fo; fome of the beauties of

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poefy are neglected, and some wilfully defaced; I have thrown out the lines that were too fonorous, and have given an allay to the verse, lest a more exalted turn of thought or language fhould darken or difturb the devotion of the weakeft fouls. But hence it comes to pafs, that I have been forced to lay afide many hymns after they were finished, and utterly exclude them from this volume, because of the bolder figures of fpeech that crouded themselves into the verfe, and a more unconfined variety of number, which I could not. eafily restrain.

Thefe, with many other divine and moral compofures, are now printed in a fecond edition of the poems, intitled, Hora Lyrica; for, as in that book I have endeavoured to please and profit the politer part of mankind without offending the plainer fort of Christians; so, in this, it has been my labour to promote the pious entertainments of fouls truly ferious, even of the meaneft capacity, and, at the fame time, if poffible, not to give difguft to perfons of richer fenfe, and nicer education; and I hope, in the present volume, this end will appear to be pursued with much greater happiness than in the first impression of it, though the world affures me the former has not much reason to complain.

The whole is divided into three books.

In the first, I have borrowed the fense and much of the form of the song, from fome particular portions of fcripture, and have paraphrafed moft of the doxologies in the New Teftament, that contain any thing in them peculiarly evangelical; and many parts of the Old Teftament, alfo, that have a reference to the times of the