-28. which is fo contrary to the New Commandment of loving our Enemies ; and even urder the Old Testament is beft accounted for, by referring it to the Spirit of Prophetic Vengeance. Some Sentences of the Pfalmift, that are expreffive of the Temper of our Hearts, and the Circumftances of our Lives, may compofe our Spiits to Seriousnefs, and allure us to a sweet Retirement within ourfelves; 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 Song in the midft; and our Confciences are affrighted, least we should speak a falfhood unto God: Thus the Powers of our Souls are fhocked on a fudden, and our Spirits ruffled, before we have Time to reflect that this may be fung only as a Hiftory of ancient Saints; and, perhaps, in fome Inftances, that Salvo is hardly fufficient neither: Befides, it almost always fpoils the Devotion, by breaking the uniform Thread 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 Song, and then the Harmony and the Worship grow dull of mere Neceffity.

'Many Minifters, and many private Christians, have long groaned under this Inconvenience, and have wished, rather than attempted, a Reforma

tion: At their importunate and repeated Requests, I have for fome Years paft devoted many Hours of Leifure to this Service. Far be it from my Thoughts to lay afide the Book of Pfalms in public Worship; few can pretend fo great a Valuefor them as myfelf: It is the most noble, most devotional and divine Collection of Poefy; and nothing can be fuppofed more proper to raise a pious Soul to Heaven, than fome Parts of that Book; never was a Piece of Experimental Divinity fo nobly written, and fo juftly reverenced and admired: 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 its own: There are alfo many Deficiencies of Light and Glory which our LORD JESUS and his Apoftles have fupplied in the Writings of the New Teftament: And with this Advantage I have compofed thefe SPIRITUAL SONGS, which arenow prefented to the World. Nor is the Attempt vainglorious or prefuming; for in refpect of clear Evangelical Knowledge, The least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than all the Jewish Prophets, Mat. xi. 11.

as

NOW let me give a fhort 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 Seafons either of private or public Worship. The most frequent Tempers and Changes of our Spirit, 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 Defire, our Sorrow, our Wonder and our joy, as they are refined into Devotion, and act under the Influence 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 JESUS CHRIST. To Him alfo, even to the Lamb that was flain and now lives, I have addreffed many a Song; for thus doth the Holy Scripture inftruct and teach us to worship, in the various fhort Patterns of Chriftian Pfalmody defcribed in the Revelation. I have avoided the more obfcure and controverted Points of Chriftianity, that we might all obey the Direction of the Word of God, and fing his Praifes with Underfanding, Pfal. xlvii. 7. The Contentions and diftinguishing Words of Sects and Parties are fecluded, that whole Affemblies might affist at the Harmony, and different Churches join in the fame Worship without Offence.

If any Expreffions 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 Sense, and may be used with a charitable Latitude. I think it is most agreeable, that what is provided for public Singing, fhould give to fincere Confciences as little Disturbance as poffible.

However, where any unpleafing Word is found, he that leads the Worship may fubftitute a better; for (bleffed be GoD) we are not confined to the Words of any Man in our public Solemnities.

THE whole Book is written in four Sorts of Metre, and tted to the moit common Tunes. I have feldom permitted a Stop 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 Singing, which cannot prefently be reformed. The Metaphors are generally funk to the Level of vulgar Capacities. I have aimed at Eafe of Numbers, and Smoothnefs of Sound, and endeavoured to make the Senfe plain and obvious. If the Verfe appears fo gentle and flowing as to incur the Cenfure of Feeblenefs, I may honeftly affirm, that fometimes it coft me Labour to make it fo. Some of the Beauties of Poefy are neglected, and fome wilfully defaced: I have thrown out the Lines that were too foncrous, and have given an Allay to the Verse, left a more exalted Turn of Thought or Language fhould darken or difturb the Devotion of the weakest Souls. But hence it comes to pass, 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 Speech that crouded themfelves into the Verfe, and a more unconfined Variety of Numbers, which I could not easily restrain.

Thefe, with many other Divine and Moral Compofures, are now printed in a Second Edition of the Poems intitled, Here Lyrica; for as in that Book

I have endeavoured to please and profit the politer part of Mankind, without offending the plainer fort of Chriftians, fo in this it has been my Labour to promote the pious Entertainment of Souls truly ferious, even of the meanest Capacity, and at the fame Time (if poffible) not to give Disgust to Perfons of richer Senfe and nicer Education; and I hope, in the prefent Volume, this End will appear to be pursued with much greater Happiness than in the first Impreffion 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 Sense and much of the Form of the SONG, from fome particular Portions of Scripture, and have paraphrased most of the Doxologies in the New Testament, 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 MESSIAH. In these I expect to be often cenfured for a too religious Obfervance of the Words of Scripture, whereby the Verfe is weakened and debased, açcording to the Judgment of the Critics: But as my whole Design was to aid the Devotion of Chriftians, fo more especially in this Part: and I am satisfied I shall hereby attain two Ends, namely, affift the Worship of all ferious Minds, to whom the Expreffions of Scripture are ever dear and delightful, and gratify the Tafte and Inclination of thofe who think nothing must be Sung unto God but the Tranflations of his own Word. Yet you will always find in this Paraphrafe dark Expreffions en