ifles of the fea*. Accordingly St. Paul, not only himself with Silas, even in prison, sang praises unto God+: but appoints, that all Chriftians should speak to themselves, and admonish one another, in pfalms, and hymns, and fpiritual fongs, making melody, with grace in their hearts, to the Lord 1. And St. James prefcribes, Is any one merry? in a joyful frame on account of bleffings received (for the word mirth comprehended anciently the most ferious kinds of gladness) let him fing pfalms §. In pursuance of these rules, the firft Chriftians made finging a conftant part of their worship: as, befides the ecclefiaftical writers, even a Heathen informs us ||. And the whole congregation joined in it. Afterwards indeed the fingers by profeffion, who had been prudently appointed to lead and direct them, by degrees ufurped the whole performance ¶. But at the reformation the people were reftored to their rights: and it made a much quicker progress for the pleasure and comfort which they found in this practice; a circumstance that ought to endear it to confiderate perfons not a little. And as the only way of finging known in common parochial churches, is by the metre pfalms, unless we join in that, we' intirely omit this branch of our duty. : It is very true, the verse translation of the pfalms generally ufed, is void of ornament; and hath expreffions often low and flat, fometimes obfolete and I wish a better were fubftituted in its place. But ftill, in many other cafes, ancient folemn forms of words are thought venerable, when they are far from elegant not to fay, that the language of our forefathers, even where it may feem very uncouth at prefent, had in its time frequently full as much propriety and beauty as ours. And feveral words of it have been, for that reafon, revived by fome of our beft modern authors. But at leaft the matter, comprised in the words of which I am speaking, is fo highly refpectable, that the mind which is affected only by the phrase, and not by the sense, must be a light one indeed. Again, it is true alfo, that the tunes to which these pfalms are fung, are most of them plain and flow; and the voices of many in the affembly unharmonious, and apt to be ill ma naged. Ha xxiv. 14, 15. § James v. 13. † Acts xvi. 23, 24, 25. Eph. v. 19. Col. iii. 16. BINGHAM il 7, 20 naged. But tunes, defigned for the multitude to join in, who have never been regularly inftructed, must be plain and flow, and fuch as they have been accustomed to: for which purpofe the number fhould be moderate. Ours are many of them recommended, and as it were confecrated, by long ufage. Confeffors for the Proteftant caufe have compofed them. Martyrs for it have yielded up their dying breath in them. And several of them are thought, by competent judges, no way deficient in real melody. Amongst a variety of people, part of them with bad ears, and most of them with untaught voices, there will be fome that had better totally abftain; only attending to the fenfe, as well as the found, of what is uttered by the rest and others that should moderate themselves to a prudent degree of lownefs, till they have learnt how to exert themselves more properly. But all who are, or can be qualified, and there are few who cannot, fhould bear fuch a part as they are able. It may be done, without in the least difordering the more kilful fingers, who perform the very useful office of raifing and fnpporting the tune. This, in many congregations, is done by the organ, the charity children, or both. But then the organ fhould exprefs the tunes plainly and distinctly, and make very moderate intervals between the lines; the children fhould be taught to fing in exact time and concert with it; and the whole congregation fhould accompany them fervently, yet with prudence. Taking this care, though there should still happen to be fome little difcords, they would be intirely loft in the general chorus: the effect of which would be noble and elevating, if we took rightly into our thoughts the whole of the matter, inftead of cavilling at minute particulars. Confider the nature of a wild multitude, in its original favage ftate, met together at the call of fome vehement ungoverned paffion; how alarming the concourfe, how frightful and horrid the confused and hideous cries of it must be. Then confider the fame multitude, foftened and cultivated by the gentle influences of religion, and unanimoufly affembling at stated seasons, to fing forth the praises of the wife and good Parent of all, and echo to each other the precepts of a rational, and mild, and beneficent life here, as the means of obtaining eternal felicity hereafter. Can there be a happier change of fcene, fcene, a fweeter and more pleafing view? And suppose the harmony made by them were ever so little better than shouting unto God with the voice of triumph, as the scripture expreffes it, and making a joyful noife unto the Rock of their Salvation yet what worthy, and humane, and pious heart is there, that would not be charmed with the found, and zealously join in it? We are difpofed thus on other occafions. Amongst our ancestors, who judged of propriety as discreetly as ourselves (to fay no more), the very highest joined humbly and cheerfully with the lowest of their fellow Christians, in the duty of pfalmody, however artlessly performed. And I intreat you to reflect what it is, either to disdain, or be afhamed, or be too indolent, to lift up our voices to the honour of our Maker, when we come into his houfe profeffedly to worship him, and he hath commanded that one part of his worship shall be this. But if we will not employ our lips in the fervice, we may ftill fix our minds upon it; at least we should not hinder others from doing either. And particularly we should abftain from giving the bad example, and the offence, of indecently holding converfation at that time; for which there cannot surely be so preffing an occafion, but that it may very fafely be deferred till after church, if not altogether omitted. In the finging of pfalms, different perfons use different poftures. The profe pfalms, I believe, are, and ever have been, repeated by all perfons every where ftanding. In the verse pfalms we all ftand at the doxology. And in what goes before, the reason for doing it is exactly the fame, and a very ftrong one; that the whole is fung to the glory of God, and often directly addreffed to God. Accordingly we read in the Old Teftament, that not only the Levites were to ftand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewife at even†, but that when they waited with inftruments of music to praise the Lord, all Ifrael flood; and again, that they said to the people, and up, and bless the Lord your God §. We read likewife, that in a vifion of St. John, in the book of Revelation, a great multitude, which no man could number, food before the throne, and cried cried with a loud voice, Salvation to our God*: and in another, that they who had gotten the victory over the beaft, flood and fang the Song of Mofes, and of the Lamb†. Standing, therefore, as it is plainly the fitteft pofture in itself, is the authorised one alfo and were it more uncommon than it is, would be far from a dishonourable fingularity. But ftill, as very many in moft congregations, either have, by long habit, been prejudiced in favour of fitting, or, though they difapprove the custom, feel a difficulty of quitting it, unless every one did; they should not be cenfured for a practice by which they mean nothing amifs; but kindly encouraged to an alteration in this point, which we may thus hope will gradually become general. And now I go on to the third morning office, which follows the pfalm, and is called the communion-fervice, and read at the Lord's table, where it can with convenience, because the holy communion makes part of it; though a part unhappily, now for many centuries, too often left out in almost all churches, which it never was originally in any but, however, the rest is very proper to be used by itself. Anciently, as well as now, they who did not ftay to receive the facrament, were allowed to join in the beginning of the office: and from the middle ages downwards, the beginning hath been used, even where there was no facrament, for a memorial, which might be useful, of the primitive practice. The first thing we do in it, is repeating the Lord's Prayer; which peculiarly fuits this most folemn act of Christian worfhip. Then we proceed, in a very old and excellent collect, to beg of Him, unto whom all hearts be open, so to cleanse the thoughts of ours, by the infpiration of his Holy Spirit, by breathing into us, with lafting efficacy, good inclinations and purposes, that we may, as perfectly as our present state admits, love him in our fouls, and magnify him in our words and lives. Purity of intention is both in general requifite for approaching God's altar, and more especially for going through the next part of the office aright: in which, after hearing the ten commandments rehearsed to us, we pray God to have mercy upon us, and pardon us, fo far as we have tranfgreffed either either the letter or the fpirit of them, as explained by our bleffed Redeemer, and incline our hearts to keep each of them better for the future. It doth not appear that this form of devotion was ever used in any liturgy before our own. But furely, taking the commandments with the gofpel interpretation of them, it is a very inftructive and edifying one. And they, who think the confeffion in the morning prayer not particular enough, have fufficient room here to fupply that imagined defect. Next follows a prayer for the king. The primitive Chriftians, in every public office, prefented a fupplication for their fovereign. Now in this office, unless it were put in the beginning, few in proportion would join in it when the facrament is administered, confidering how many return home without receiving. And therefore it is placed here, juft after the ten commandments, of which the authority of the magiftrate is one main fupport, as they are of that in return: and we pray the Almighty, that, in mercy to his church, he will fo rule the king's heart, whom, in the course of his providence, he hath chosen to reign over us, and to be his fervant and minifer to us for good *, that he may, above all things, seek his glory, by maintaining his laws above-mentioned: and will fo rule our hearts likewife, and those of all his fubjects, that we may faithfully and humbly obey him in God, that is, in the ftrength of his grace, and in fubordination, not contradiction to his fupreme will; and for God, not only for fear of man's wrath, but for confcience fake alfo †. Then we offer up the collect for the day, of which I have spoken already; and after it, read two portions of scripture, to which it hath frequently a reference. One of them is ufually taken from the epiftles, the other always from the gofpels. The epiftle hath been thus read certainly for 1300 years, but the gofpel much longer. And the very portions that we now use, were most of them ufed on the fame days 1200 years ago, and perhaps a great deal earlier. The annual course of them, and of the collects prefixed to them, began then, as it doth now, not with the civil year, or the entrance of the fun into this or that fign; but from the advent, the Rom. xiii. 4. + Ver. 5. |