more please the carnal ears of men, than the pure ears of the Lord, who abhors all lying and hypocrisy.” (Prop. XI, sect. 26.)

This difficulty has been felt by many sincere persons who were not members of our Society, and has prevented some of them from joining in such performances. John Spalding, while still a member of the established Church of England, was so convinced of its inconsistency, that he addressed a letter to those who met at the place of worship which he was accustomed to attend, in which he says:

“I appeal to the witness of God in every heart, considering the variety of conditions, the different subjects of praise, adoration, confession, petitioning, &c., contained in every collection of hymns, whether in the fear of the Lord any one, in whatever state or condition he may be at the time, can with propriety be ready to sing whatever may be given out.”

John Spalding further testifies as to the effect of formal singing in worship. “From my own experience I can say it has a tendency to divert the mind from solemn, serious reflections. I am now speaking more particularly concerning those, who have attained to a measure of the grace of God. Ask yourselves, is outward singing intended or calculated to please the carnal ears of men, or a holy God? Why such anxiety about tunes, voices, and music? Is the Lord to be pleased with such poor things? Oh, no, you cannot suppose it. Consider from what root it springs; from the old man or the new; and remember the axe is laid to the root to destroy all that is of the earth, of our fleshly nature. I have considered those passages in the New Testament where the subject is mentioned, and am confirmed by them in my opinion of the inconsistency of public singing. The apostle speaks of singing with grace in the heart; of making melody in the heart to the Lord, not making a noise with the tongue, unless that proceeds from the heart.”

In a Memorial concerning Edward Cobb of Maine, issued by Falmouth Monthly Meeting, there is preserved some account of his religious experience before he became a member of the Society of Friends, which took place in 1797. In this he states:

“When quite young, I learned the rules and was very fond of what is called sacred music, sparing no pains to attend schools for that purpose; and the prayer of my heart to be directed aright regarding worship, seemed to receive the first intelligible answer by the way of reproof in this exercise; and when, at the head of a choir of singers, words have occurred that, through the enlightening influence of heavenly goodness, (which had long been operating on my mind), appeared evidently inconsistent with my own state, I have often, to be unobserved by the company, kept the tune along; while I feared that taking the words into my mouth, and uttering them as worship to Him who requires worship of his creature man in spirit and in truth, could be nothing short of solemn mockery from that mind which had been so far enlightened as to believe that nothing could be acceptable worship to Almighty God but what came from Him, and, through the medium of his own Spirit, was breathed out to Him again as that Spirit should dictate, whether in prayer or in praises to his great name.”

In confirmation of the fact that those who were convinced of the principles of Friends, when they joined in membership, were constrained to lay aside their former practices of reading and singing in meetings for Divine worship, it may be mentioned, that although the writings of those who were mainly instrumental in gathering the Society at the time of its rise, contain many advices, cautions and encouragements to its members, as to the exercise of the ministry, and as to worship, yet they are almost totally silent as to these practices.

In expressing these views, our object is to