VII. Another thing that some have found fault with, is abounding
so much in singing in religious meetings.
Objecting against such a thing as this, seems to arise from a suspicion
already established of this work. They doubt of the pretended extraordinary
love and joys that attend this work, and so find fault with the manifestations
of them. If they thought persons were truly the subjects of an extraordinary
degree of divine love, and heavenly rejoicing in God, I suppose they would
not wonder at their having a disposition to be much in praise. They object
not against the saints and angels in heaven singing praises and hallelujahs
to God, without ceasing day or night; and therefore doubtless will allow
that the more the saints on earth are like them in their dispositions,
the more they will be disposed to do like them. They will readily own
that the generality of Christians have great reason to be ashamed that
they have so little thankfulness, and are no more in praising God, and
manifesting a delight in that heavenly exercise? To complain of this,
is to be too much like the Pharisees, who were disgusted when the multitude
of the disciples began to rejoice, and with loud voices to praise God,
and cry, Hosanna, when Christ was entering into Jerusalem. There
are many things in Scripture, that seem to intimate that praising God,
both in speeches and songs, will be what the church of God will very much
abound in, in the approaching glorious day. So on the seventh day of compassing
the walls of Jericho, when the priests blew with the trumpets in an extraordinary
manner, the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall of the city
fell down flat. So the ark was brought back from its banishment, with
extraordinary shouting and singing of the whole congregation of Israel.
And the places in the prophecies of Scripture, signifying that the church
of God, in the glorious Jubilee that is foretold, shall greatly abound
in singing and shouting forth the praises of God, are too many to be mentioned.
And there will be cause enough for it: I believe it will be a time wherein
both heaven and earth will be much more full of joy and praise than ever
they were before. But what is more especially found fault with, in
the singing that is now practised, is making use of hymns of human composure.
I am far from thinking that the book of Psalms should be thrown by in
our public worship, but that it should always be used in the Christian
church to the end of the world: but I know of no obligation we are under
to confine ourselves to it. I can find no command or rule of God's word,
that does any more confine us to the words of the Scripture in our singing,
than it does in our praying; we speak to God in both. And I can see no
reason why we should limit ourselves to such particular forms of words,
that we find in the Bible, in speaking to him by way of praise, in metre,
and with music, than when we speak to him in prose, by way of prayer and
supplication. And it is really needful that we should have some other
songs besides the Psalms of David. It is unreasonable to suppose that
the Christian church should for ever, and even in times of her greatest
light, in her praises of God and the Lamb, be confined only to the words
of the Old Testament, wherein all the greatest and most glorious things
of the gospel, that are infinitely the greatest subjects of her praise,
are spoken of under a veil, and not so much as the name of our glorious
Redeemer ever mentioned, but in some dark figure, or as hid under the
name of some type. And as to our making use of the words of others, and
not those that are conceived by ourselves, it is no more than we do in
all our public prayers; the whole worshipping assembly, excepting one
only, makes use of the words that are conceived by him who speaks for
the rest. |