nacle, where he defigned to that fervice men of cunning 288. 1 Chron. ob. But Chrift and his Apoftles, and the primitive Church, 25.7. ́ had no fuch mufique in Churches. Sol. They had no Churches, but in their meetings, they fung Pfalmes, fo did Chrift and his Apoftles in the roome where he kept his laft Paffeover, and in the Emperour Trajanes time, which was before the death of St. John. Pliny wri- Mat.26.30 teth to the Emperour of the manner of the Chriftians: this one amongst the reft, that, They did meet together early in the morning, and fung Hymns to their Christ. But after Religion had found favour with Princes, and began to appear in peace, then came in Churches, and Church Ornaments, then were Liturgies devised, and ufed, then were inftruments of mufique intermixed with the fervice, and God glorified in all. St. Aug. Confeff. 9. Cap. 6. Quantum flevi in Hymnis & Canticis fuave fonantis Ecclefia tua, voces illa influebant auribus meis, & eliquabatur veritas tua in cor meum, & ex ea aftuebar, inde affectus pietatis & currebant lachryma, & benè mihi erat cum eis. In the next Chapter, hee tels how the Arrians attempted the taking of Ambrofe B. of Millain, whom they accused of herefie, and fuftina the Empreffe bearing them out in it, they meant him a mischief, he went to the chief Church, and much people followed him, ready to difpatch their holy Bifhop, St. Augustine and his Mother were amongst them, and there Aug. faith; Tunc inftitutum ut Hymni & Pfalmi canerentur more orientalium Ecclefiarum ne populus mæroris tadio contabefceret, quod ad hodiernum diem retentum eft, &c. The Hymns and Pfalmes were ordained to be fung, &c. ob. It is a means often to carry away our thoughts more with the tune then with the matter. St. Auguftine maketh it one of his Confeffions, that he was fo transported. Sol. And may not the fame happen in our finging of Pfalms? let us not lay our faults to the charge of the Church, what good fhall we go about, but we shall finde Satan Lufie to divert us from it. Ccc Ob. Obj. It is coftly to maintain Mufique in our Churches, and that mony were better bestowed on the poor, and other better uses. Sol What, better bestowed on the poor then upon God himself is the cheapest religion the beft? they had poor in the time of the Law, and yet that hindered not the magnificence of the Temple, and the Ornaments thereof, and the maintainance of Gods worship, alit pauperes 288. in Templo ut ante. The earth hath not the like glory now to fhew, as that of Gods Houfe: And fhal Aaron that vvas but for a time be thus glorious, and fhall Melchizedeck a Prieft for ever vvant ho nour. It is true, that it hath been policy in these later times, to keep the Church lean, and to strip it out of all outward pomp, and to transfer Gods inheritance into the hands of ftrangers. But remember the great Commandement, Thou must love God above all things; and fo doing he fhall have the best of all that thou art, the best of all that thou haft.... Our prayer is. Sicut in cœlo, as in heaven; and Chrift promifes is to the juft, that they thal be as the Angels of God in Reve.15.3. Heaven: there they fing the fong of Mofes the fervant of God, and David faith, P.a.87.15 Bleffed is the people that can rejoyce in thee we have more caufe to use both voices and inftruments in his praife, because he hath redeemed us from Satan, hath made us all Priefts of the high God, to offer to him the calves of our lips, and with fuch facrifices God is well pleased. Ver.2. O Lord, I have heard thy fpeech and was afraid: O Lord, revive thy work in the middeft of the years make known ; in wrath remember mercy. THis vvhole Pfalme as it is in the compofition of a mixt kind of verfe, fo in the matter of it mixt; for it confifteth; r Of 3 Of fupplication and petition, ver.2. Of celebration of the prayfes of God, 3 & 15. C4 Confolation in God. I Of the fupplication. O Lord, I have heard thy Speech; that is, all that thou haft faid in the former Chapter, in defence of thy juftice, and in propheticall revelation of thy holy will, both concerning thy Church how that shall be afflicted, and concerning the enemies of thy Church how they fhall be punished in the end. And I was afraid fear came upon me when I heard thee recompt thy judgements. O Lord revive thy work in the middeft of the years] here be three quæries; { î What he meaneth by the vvork. 2. What by the middeft of the years. 3 How this work fhould be revived. I Thy work]Lyranus faith, Opus tuum in punitione Chaldæorum,quod fiet virtute tua magis quam humana. 2 Beza, by the work of God, here underftandeth the Church of God, the people of Ifrael. So do Tremelius and Junius, for they parellel this place with thofe vvords of God in the Prophet Ifa, Ask me of things to come concerning my fons, and concerning the work of my hands Ifa.45.11. command ye me. Where he calleth his Church opus manum, my work. Thus doth Mafter Calvin here underftand ftatum Ecclefia, the ftate of the Church, vvhich is called, The vvork of God, Eon, as being the moft excellenteft part of his work, wherein he is moft glorified. So David prayeth for the Church under that appellation: Pfa.138.8. Forfake not the works of thine own hands. So doth Ifaiah name them... Thy people alfo fhall be all righteous, they shall inherit the Ifa.66.21. Land, for ever, the branch of my planting: the work of my hands that I may be glorified. So in the next Chapter Chrift € 2 is Ifa.61.3. Ifa.61.3. is anointed for the good of his Church; that they may be called the trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord. 3 Novv there is such a correfpondence betvveen the head and the body, betvveen Chrift and his Church, that fometimes that vvhich is literally spoken of the Church, is mystically applyed to Chrift... 1: Lam.1.12. Jeremie expreffing the great mifery of the Church, bringeth her in thus complaining; Have ye no regard all ye that pass by the way, confider, and behold, if ever there were forrow like my forrow. Verfe 11.1 Yet this complaint of the body is fo fit for the head, the grief fo furmounting, that the uniform judgments of the Ancients of the Church have applyed them to Chrift, either in his Agony in the Garden, or on the Crofs, where alfo hee fed Davids bewailing and paffionate moan, My God, my God, why haft thou forfaken me ?? So the wonder of God in Hofea, fpoken of Ifrael literally, Ex Ægypto vocavi filium meum, that God by mighty hand brought Ifrael out of Egypt, are applyed and verified in him, Mat.2.15. by the Evangelift St. Matthew. From hence the myfticall fenfe of those words doth exprefs the head of this body of the Church, that is fefus Chrift, for his. Incarnation was the work of God. He was made of a woman, and vvas made under the Law. So that this is a to God to fend his Son into the world. prayer This agreeth vvell with the comfort before given to them, The just hall live by Faith. That faith is in the promifed Meffiah, and that is it to which the ancient Fathers do apply this place, as being the most excellent work of God, for the good and comfort of his Church. St. Augustine maketh this whole Pfalme a prophecy of Chrift. Confideravi opus tuum, faith he ; Revel.Dei, Quid hoc eft, nifi nova & recognita falutis hominum ineffabilis admiratio? Idem in Oratione contra Judeos Arrianos, & Paganos, Cap. 13. 18.32 St. Jerome paraphrafeth this petition thus. Depre Deprecor Domine,ut quod promififti expleas,& finito tempore reddas Chriftum tuum. Ribera, a learned Jefuite, faith, that this Expofition doth passe most currant with the ancients, he nameth Eufebius, Euthenius, Rupertus, Theophilact: all of reverend antiquity, and one faith, for the most part feniores, faniores, the elder, the founder. Arias Montanus, one that hath taken as much pains in the Bible, as ever any one man did in latter days, faith, this Note, this Song, doth begin at the name of God, which of all other in holy Scripture; Divinam naturam maximè fignificant, doth efpecially fignifie the divine nature. ; a note which God revealed unto Mofes, a name for the moft part used in the old Teftament, faith he, Ubi negotium Meffia agitur, where the bufineffe of the Meffiah is handled. 2 What is ment by in medio annorum, in the midst of years: here I must give you to understand, that the 70 Interpreters do render this part of the text in other words, and in another fenfe, yet agreeing well with the myftery of godlineffe, that is,the Incarnation of Chrift. They read, w Sie Zour groodhon. Saint Augustine doth receive that interpretation, fo do many more, for great is the authority of the 70. And we find often in the new Teftament, that their tranflation is cited by the Apostles, and not the originall in the old Teftament. I will not quite paffe over this reading of the 70, as neglecting it, though in the end, I do not mean to follow it, because many great judgments have embraced it. This is obferved in these Interpreters, that often in their tranflations, they do not ftrictly obferve the words of the originall, but rather expound the fenfe of the place: often they do adde fomething, efpecially in the prophecies, which they think do point at the Meffiah, whereby they declare, that that prophecy is to be referred to Chrift. So do they in this place, and to fhew that they understand this place of the Meffiah,they adde, iv μlow S♪io Záwy z voodúar. Which |