take away all Iniquity, and receive us graciously, &c. Now who is there that esteems himself confin'd to use no other Prayer but scriptural Forms? In other Places, where these Duties are injoin'd, we are bid to pray, or to praise, or to sing; and why should we not be as much at Liberty to suit the Words and the Sense to our present Circumstances in Singing as well as Praying, or in praising with Verse as well as praising in Pros?

Object. 2. The examples of Scripture direct us to inspired Matter for Singing: Deut. 31. 21. Mosses wrote this Song the same Day, and taught it the Children of Israel. I Chron. 16. 7. David delivered first this Song, to thank the Lord, into the Hand of Asaph and {268} his Brethren. Now in his dying Words, the sweet Psalmist of Israel tells us, 2 Sam. 23. 1, 2. The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his Word was in my Tongue. And in the Days of Hezekiah, which was some Ages after David: 2 Chron. 29. 27, 28, 29, 30. Hezekia commanded to offer the Burnt-Offering upon the Altar; and when the Burnt-Offering began, the Song of the Lord began also with the Trumpets and with the Instruments ordained by David King of Israel, &c.. Moreover Hezekiah the King and the Princes commanded the Levites to sing Praise to the Lord, with the Words of David and of Asaph the Seer.

Answ. There are nothing but Examples of Jewish, and very ceremonious Worship; Nor do they effectually prove, that the Jews themselves were forbid upon all Occasions whatsoever to use more private Composures in their Synagogues, tho in the Temple 'tis probable that for the most part they sung inspired Psalms. But it must be remembred, that these Psalms are all suited to their Dispensation, and yet without doubt they chose such out of them from time to time as best fitted their present Case; and so will we Christians take as many of the Psalms of David and other Scripture-Songs, as are suited to our Dispensation and our Circumstances; but there will be but very few in Comparison of what the antient Levites might use, especially if we must sing the very words of David and Asaph the Seer without Omission or Paraphrase.

Object. 3. We cannot pretend to make better spiritual Songs than the Spirit of God himself has made, therefore if we should neglect these, and sing humane Composures, we should incur the Censure of the prophet Malachy, Chap. 1. v. 13, 14. Ye brought that which was torn, and the Lame, and the Sick, thus ye brought an Offering, saith the Lord, should I accept this of your Hands?

Ans. 1. Can we pretend to make better Prayers {269} than the Spirit of God has made and scatter'd up and down thro' all the Old and New Testament? Can we compose better Sermons than Moses or Solomon? Better than our Saviour and his Apostles preach'd, and the Spirit of God hath recorded? Why then should not we use Scripture Forms of praying and preaching, as well as of Singing? And tho we may hope for the ordinary Assistance of the Spirit in our Prayers and Sermons, yet how can we expect that these shall be as good as those which were compos'd by his extraordinary Inspiration?

Ans. 2. Divine Wisdom accommodates its Inspirations, its Gifts, its Revelations, and its Writings, to the particular Cases and Seasons in which he finds a Saint or a Church. Now tho we cannot pretend to make a better Prayer than that of Ezra or Daniel, or our Lord, for the Day and Design for which they were prepared; yet a Song, a Sermon, or a Prayer that expresses my Wants, my Duties or my Mercies, tho it be compos'd by a humane Gift, is much better for me than to tie myself to any inspired Words in any part of Worship which do not reach my Case; and consequently can never be proper to assist the Exercise of my Graces or raise my Devotion.

Ans. 3. I believe that Phrases and Sentences used by inspired Writers are very proper to express our Thoughts in Prayer, Preaching or Praise; and God has frequently given Witness in the Hearts of Christians how much he approves the Language of Scripture; but 'tis always with a Proviso that those Phrases be clear, and expressive of our present Sense, and proper to our present Purpose: Yet we are not to dress up our Prayers, Sermons or Songs in the Language of Judaism when we design to express the Doctrines of the Gospel: This would but darken Divine Counsel by Words without Knowledge; it would amuse and confound the more ignorant Worshipers, 'twould disgust the more Considerate, and give neither {270} the one nor the other Light or Comfort: And I think it may be as proper in our Churches to read a Sermon of Moses or Isaiah instead of preaching the Gospel, as to sing a Psalm of David whose Expressions chiefly refer to David the Shepherd, the King, the Fugitive, the Captain, the Musician and the Jew. In short the Prayers, Sermons and Songs in Scripture are rather Patterns by which we should frame our Worship and adjust it to our present Case, than Forms of Worship to which we should precisely and unchangeably confine our selves. And as Sermons which are conformable to the Holy Scripture in a large Sense may be called the Word of God and the Word of Christ, and are usally and justly so called if they are agreeable to the Scripture and drawn from thence; so Hymns of Humane Composure according to the Spirit and Doctrines of the Gospel may be as well termed the Word of Christ, which is the proper Matter for Christian Psalmody. Col. 3. 16. whereas in the strictest and most limited Sense of the Word nothing deserves that Title but the Hebrew and Greek Originals.

Object. 4. In the New Testament there are Promises of Divine Assistance to Ministers and private Christians in preaching the Gospel and in Prayer; But we have no Promise of the Spirit of God to help us to compose Psalms or Hymns for our private Use or for the Use of the Churches; and how can we practise in the Worship of God what we have no Promise of the holy Spirit to encourage and assist us in?

Ans. 1. There are many general Promises of the Presence of Christ with his Ministers, and the Supply of his Spirit in the Discharge of all their Duties for the Edification of the Church: Now there are several Performances which are necessary for the Churches Edification, to which there is no peculiar Promise made of the Assistance of the Spirit in express Words: Such are, Translating the Bible into {271} our Mother-Tongue, Composing our Sermons or at least the Substance and Scheme of them before preaching, Writing pious and useful Treatises upon divine Subjects, and Diligent Reading and study of Books so written; nor is there any more express Encouragement to expect the Presence of the Spirit in turning the Psalms of David into Rhime and Metre, than in composing new Spiritual Songs: And yet Ministers that are fitted for such Performances may pray and hope for Divine Assistance in them all, and trust in the general Promises for Help in particular Services.

Ans. 2. There is no need of these Gifts of Criticism or of Poesy for all Christians nor all Ministers, tho it seems necessary that some should be furnish'd with them. A few Persons in an Age or a Nation may translate the Scriptures into the National Language, and may compose a sufficient Number of Hymns to answer the chief Designs and Wants of the Church for that Day for publick Worship. Where there happen Occasions very particular, the Ministers of the Gospel are not or should not be so utterly destitute of common Ingenuity, as to be unable to compose or at least to collect a few tolerable Verses proper for such a Season.

Object. 5. We find no Instances in Scripture of humane Composures sung by the People of God; and 'tis not good to practise such