^ FROM THE LIBRARY OF REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON, D. D. BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO THE LIBRARY OF PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY b i Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from Calvin College http://www.archive.org/details/sweetpsalmistofiOOwalt ft %/fflt ]V(f. Walters . SERMON O N Regular Singing. Vv + •« The [met Pjalmifi /^Ifrael. s _ ('IFF — Lm ■ SERMON Preach'd at the Lefture held in Boston, by the Society for promoting Regular & Good Singing, And for Reforming the Depravations and Debafem§nt6 OUR PSALMODY labours under, In order to introduce the proper and true Old Way of SINGING. Now pubiilhed at the Defire of Several Ministers that heard it, and at the Requeft of the Society aforefaid. V V By Thomas Walter, M A. Minifter of a Church in Roxbury. Pial. T(50. i. Come before his Frefence vtith Singing. Pfal. 147. 1. JPraifs ye the Lord$ for it is good *o Jtng Jtrai. fi.s to our Gad ? for if ispleaf ant^ and Praife is comely. BOSTON: Printed by J. Franklin, for S. Gerrifc near the Brick Meeting- Houte in Cor?ibitt t ijzz. ■j*^.j » . 7* T<---^ ».' -^-i l aJ =;:?s .Xu < ^u.^ x x - ,; i ,,^< !« r -^ — J- - ' i^>i.'j .■.."?; .. I — ■ ,1 ,_ '!■ ", ■ ;.' I - jj ,. ■ M To the Honourable Paul Dudley, Efq; One of His Majefty's COUNCIL for the Province of the Maffacbujetts*Bay in New-England^ and One of the Ju- ftices of the Superiour Court, SIR, H E Frequency and the Flat- tery of Dedications, have rendred them naufeous to the prefent nice and carping Age, when almoft every one (one time or other) Hands ia the Capacity of a Patron, or even he who is fittelt for it, is overloaded with Praifes. This gives a ready Difguft to the Reader 3 while he enter- tains The Dedication; tains the Prejudice, either of their being too Common, or too Fulfome : And which Circum- ftance carries in it the greateft Odium, is not eafy to be decided. But this (hall never hinder me" from making a Dedication, till fuch time as the World can prove, that the Abufe oj any Thing forbids the Ufe of it. 4 Must not Merit be owned and applauded where we find it, becaufe the molt undeferving have had their Elogies? And muft Gratitude ne- ver be made Public, becaufe fome have given Thanks, where they have fcarce received > But this is not fo much the Defign of this Dedication, as to requeft the Favour of your leading ufual C (tho' I tv ill fee and fo i-acter* over the following Sheets with your andor, and to accept them as a Mirror, confefs but a dimm one) in which you fomething ofthefweet ifalmiji of Ifrael, far, an eminent Part of your own Cha- S I R, This Sermon (with refpeft to its Publication ) is the Frrfi'Pr'uits or' your Young Minifler, whq claims a PaflomlCire from you, tho' of a diffe- rent Kind % and who thought it his Duty to make you the Prefent of his firft Productions. The The Dedication: The Society for promoting regular Singing are to. be applauded for their good and generous Defign : God will honour them, and I hope our jChurches will not fail to do fo too. I am glad *to hear of the Attempts made in another Coun- ty in profecution of the fame noble Defign, and that the Reverend Nlr. Brown of Reading has ju- ttified and put Refpecl upon their Undertaking, by preaching a Sermon at a Singing Lefture there. I would fain hope it will not be long e'er the Ignorant will be convinced, that they have miftaken Novelty for Antiquity, and will be brought to own, that the prefent Depravations of our Tunes i which they now fo pertinaciouily adhere to, and unreafonably infill upon, can lay no manner of Claim to their beloved Title and Denomination of, THE GOOD OLD WAY, Now, Sir, I hope, that the prefixing your Name to this Difcourfe, will add Authority to the weight of Argument there laid down, and be of no fmall Advantage to the foremen- tioned Defign, which I am confident will yield you fome Satisfaction. May the God of Ifrael increafe your Ex- cellent Gifts and Parts, efpecially the divine Skill of finging the Songs of Zion^ and fliay this be a bleffed Preparative to your joining. the fweet and everl#ing Choirs above ! May you The DEDICATION; jrou improve in that glorious Exercife in the Church on Earth, which fhall never have an End in Heaven! This is the hearty Prayer and Pefire of him who is, Honoured S I R> Tour mofi Humble r Jhid Obedient Servant 3 Tho.' Walter." The fweet Ffalmift of Ifrael. 2 Sam. XXIII. i. 'The fweet Pfalmifi of IfraeL Must humbly make my Apology for afcending the Desk at this time, and entring upon a Service, which I know would be much better per- formed by many of my Fathers and Brethren in the Miniftry, in this Place. And this not only for my felf, but for thofe, who have, as it were, broken thro' Order and Superiority, and defcended to fo low a Choice, as that of the Perfon now addreffing this worthy Audience, Their Excufe and mine is this, That not the Character of a Divine, fo much as that of a Pfalmifi is under our present Confideration : Not the Preacher, but the Sivgey carried the Vote, which laid him under Obligations to comply with their Requeft. WHEREFORE that Juffcice in fome meafure may be done to the Divine Science of Mufic and Ferfe, I lhall have done with Prefaces and Apologies,-and as In my poor Man- ner Wm ^Ij^fe^^lk 1 C^^^^mW0 JS^^^^^^^^M^f fl t The fweet Tfalmlfl of Ifrael. ner I am able, illuftrate, confirm and improve the Text under Confideration. THE laft and dying Words of Men ufe to be of Weight and Importance with the Survivors; and by them are wont to be efleemed awful and full of Authority. How regard- lefs foever we have been of the Sayings of wife and good Men, while they have been with us; yet that very Cir- cumilance of their leaving this World, gives Solemnity and Authority to what they deliver at their Departure out of it. Who knows not, that a Man a dying is able to make a greater and deeper Impreflion upon us, than any of the Living ? For as Time is drawing to a clofe with them, fo do they fpeak with a more than humane Emphafs, aricj difcover fuch an experimental Air, as cannot fail to touch the Hearers with the moft lively and affecting Senfe of what they would communicate to them. As their Mi- nutes are then contracted and grow very precious, fo their Difcourfe to the Living grows malfy and full, it even fills up Time it felf, admitting no Vacancy of Moments unre- pienifhed with a Treafure. THE fourVerfes following my Text are worthy to be tranfcribed as fuch, and may ferve as a glorious Introdu- ction to our Difcourfe upon the Sweet Pfalmift of Ifrael ; viz. David*s Character as a fweet Singer, the Honour done him by God in the Record hereof, and the blelTed End a Servant of God, famous for this Skill, may be able to make. THIS fweet Pfalmift of Ifrael /aid with a more than mortal Eloquence The Spirit of the Lord fpake by me % and hjs Word was in my Tongue. The God of Ifrael faid t the Rock of Ifrael fpake to me: He that ruleth over Men viujl he jusl, ruling in the Fear of God ; and he pall he as the light of the Morning, when the Sun rifeth, even a Morn' ing without t/ouds ; as the tender Graft fpringvig out of the Birth by tle/tt Jhinnig after Rain* Althn? my Houfe be not fo with God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting Covenant, ordered in all things and fure : For this is all my Salvation and all my Defirc % althv he make it not to grow* JTl-yl y The fixe et Tfaimijl of Ifrael. $ HERE we have verified the Fable, of the expiring Swan finging her own Elegy ; but with this Difference, that our dying PCalmift tunes his Voice to Notes of Joy and Triumph, and not to the Keys of Mourning and Sadnefs. Thefe are David's laft Words, this his dying Song, which better than a Monument of Brafs, will confecrate his deathlefs Fame to all Pofterity. BUT who and what was he, that compofed and fung this divine Song?— «• It was David the Son of Jeffe, and the Man who was t at fed up on high}, the anointed of the Qod of Jacob. Even 'the Son of a common and inferior Man in Iftael, but exalted to the Regal Dignity and Charge over that great and holy Nation, by the anoint- ing of the God of Jacob. The laft Words of fo great a Man, and fo diftinguiihed in the Honours conferred upon him by Heaven, mult command in us the moil: ferious Attention and the higheft Regard imaginable. They are the rich Legacy of a dying Prince, and to be received and laid up as an ineftimable Treafure. BUT this is not all of the noble Character of David ^ which does thus extort from us a Regard and Reverence to this his concluding Speech and Song, He that fpake it, was not only a Godlike Prince, preferred by God him- felf before all the great Perfonages of Ifrael to the Inheri- tance of the Kingly Power and Honours ; but he was THE sweet Psalmist of Israel. THIS Part of his Character comes under our prefent Confideration. Here therefore two Things are to be fpo- ken to, which will comprife the whole of our prefent Difcourfe. I. THE Charaftcr of holy David. II. THE Honour done him in the Record of it. I. THE CharaBer of holy David : The fvett PfahniB of Ifrael. He was a PJalmfft, which Title contains in it two things, namely, Fuji, That as a Divine Pot?, he compofed Sacred Songs, and Hymns. Our Pf alter is the g;ea! eft Prut of it, made up of Divine Pieces of P oefy written by this JIanofQod, w ho derived his fnfpraiion not from Par- v«3 f The fweet Tfalmift of Ifrael. fiajfus, but from Zion the Mount of God. Not the fanci- ed Mufes of the Heathen, but the Holy Ghoft dilated his Song ; nor needed he a Draught from the muddy Source of Hdicon, who had drank fo plentifully of the ftill and pure Stream (as the almoft Divine Milton expreiTes it) flow tug fife-by the Oracle of God. Nor were the Subjects of his Verfe lefs Divine, than his Infpration. Not forry Tri- fles and empty Fables, but the glorious Themes of divine Love, and Wifdom, and Power, and Majefty ; not the im- pure and carnal Conceits of the profane Greeks and Romans, but the blelTed and holy Oracles of Jehovah, and the cse- leftial Loves of Chrift and his Church, were fung by him in his immortal Strain. Finally, the Dejign and End of his Pfalms were confecrate and pious, even to the great and good Intentions of the Glory of God, and the Iniiru- clion and Benefit of Men. BUT then, Secondly, The Title of Pfahnisl carries in it not only that of a P%st x but of a Mvfician alfo. Not only the Pfalms, but the Tunes to which they were to be fet and fung, were his. And the beft both of Jewiih and Chri- fHan Interpreters and Expofitors do give Countenance to this Conjecture. But be this as it will, that his Skill both in Vocal and Inilrumental Mufic was famous, is al- lowed upon all Hands. Whether or no he compofed the Tunes, as well as the Pfalms, which he frequently fent to the Pr¢or ox Chief Mufician, with his Orders for hav<- ing them fung or played, may admit of fome Difpute. But that he had a thorough Understanding of this lweet and divine Science is a matter pail: all doubt. The Syriac and Arabic Verfions do favour our firft Conjecture, and do intimate the Improvements he made in this Part of the Divine Service. They render the Words, Jgjii fuaves red- didit Cantus Ifraelis \ Who made the Songs of Ifrael fweet. He raifed them to a greater Perfection and Sweetnefs, than Jiad ever been in Ifrael before. But to put this beyond all Difpute, we are in the Sacred Oracles informed, that David did invent Inftruments of Mufic, which were pro- fanely imitated, and proftituted to the Defigns of De- bauchery, by the wanton Ifraelites, in the .Days of the Pro- The fweet TfalmlU of Ifrael, i Prophet Amos, Chap, 6. Verfe $. T/jey /wiwif fo them/elves Inftruments of Mitfic like David. We alfo read, that he fe- parated or fet apart to the Services of Vocal and Instru- mental Mufic, the Sons of Afapib, Heman and Jeduthun , appointing to every fingle Muficiaa and to each Quire their Parts in the joint Performance of the Melodies and Anthems of the Temple! Whether for the Voice, or for Inftruments, fuch as the Cymbal, Pfaltery, Harp, the loud founding or Treble Horn; their Difpofition and Appoint- ment was by the King's Order, i Chron- z$. r, 2, 6. And this he did, not meerly by Virtue of his Kingly Au- thority, but as he was the Chief Majler of the Temple- Mufic, his fuperiour Skill therein rendring him the fitteft Perfon in all Ifrael for that Office. But of this enough. DAVID was the Pfalmisi of Ifrael 5 that is of the Church of God, which wears this Name and Title, with which tile Patriarch Jacob was dignified, when he had wreftled with the Angel of God in Prayer, and overcame : in this glorious Inftance becoming the Head and Reprefentative of them th&tfcek the Face of God, Plal. 24. 6. He became thenceforward the Father of the Generation of wreftlers in Prayer, the Prince of them that prevail with the Al- mighty God of Jacob. Ifrael is a molt proper and juffc Ap- pellation of the Church Militant on Earth, who thro' holy Violence, irrong Faith, and ardent Importunity, maugre ali the Oppoiltion of Hell and Earth, take the Kingdom of Heaven hy Force. Math. n. 12. O that in this fweet Ex- ercife or Singing, as well as the more laborious one of Prayer, we might make fuch Improvements and Progrefs, as to deferve the honourable Name of Ifraelites indeed ! FOR the Ufe and Benefit of the Church then did David compofe his pfabns, with Tunes adapted to the Subject Matter of them. It is a very profitable and good Note of Peter Martyr upon our Text, £$uic$v.id Pii Dottrina ha~ hent,id intelhgunt no?: fuum, fed Ecelefix ejfe. A good Man calls the Gifts &nd Talents Heaven endows him with, not his own, hut the Churches. With whatsoever Skill the Father of Lights inltru&s us, it is not defigned by God, nor ftiould it be laid out by us, for our private Ufe, Profit of 6 The fcoeet Tfdtmijl of Iff aeL ' or Glory ; but for God and his Church, And d faithful Servant of God beholds all his Accornplimments, whether Natural, Moral or Divine, under no other Notion or View* than that of fo many Confecrations to God, or Talents for the Improvement of which he is accountable to him. The Glory and Honour of God, the Good and Edification of the Church, is that to which they are to be ultimately and at all Times referred. And this is here recorded to the everlafting Honour of King David, with refpeft to his religious Improvement of his extraordinary Poetical and Mufical Abilities. Which hints a fevere Reproof of the Licentious Poefy and Mufic of the prefent Age. FINALLY, He was a SWEET Pfalmisl ; in both the former Refpe&s, even of his Mufic and his Poefy. And this is what muft come under a more large and diftinft Con- fideration. We are now therefore to difcourfe of Divine Mufic, and Divine Poefy ; The latter relates to the Sub" jctt matter of the Song, the former to the Manner and Form ©f the Tune, to which it is to be fet or lung. Wherefore I. MUSIC confidered alone and in it felf, is a fweet and fleafant Science. The Charms of Mufic are a molt cele- brated Subject among the bell Writers. And they are fo various and fo fweet, that it is equally impoffible to num- ber them, and fufficiently to admire them. There is fcarce any thing in the whole Creation of God, fo wonderful and aftoniihing, as the Doftrine of Sounds and Harmony. We fhall attempt a Ditcourfe of the Sweetnefs of Mufic undei the two following Heads. t. MUSIC is in its own Nature fweet and plea faiit. z. IT is fweet and pleafant in the various Effetls it pQ» duces in the Souls of Men. I. MUSIC is in its own Nature fweet and plea f ant. There is a twofold Sweetnefs and PleaLancy of Sounds and Mu- fical Notes, according to the belt. Writers. There is, in thej£r# Place, a Natural or Phyfical Sweetnefs in the Notes of Mufic. When zfingle Voice or String of an Inlhument fo equally and juitly vibrates the Air, as to give forth a Sound agreeable to the Organ of the Ear, Being free frofti The fixeet TfnlmlB of Ifrael. f From all Jarr or Afperity, it ftrikes the Auditory Nerves in fuch Manner as one V'nifon String percufs'd or ftrook, caufes the other to fhake and tremble. When the external Air is thus vibrated, the fame or a like Vibration is effe- cted in the internal Air lepofited in the Cavity of the Or- gan, and this communicates its even and juft Motion to the Nerves aforefaid. In this Senfe, even the unaffected chirping Notes and fmooth Warbles of the very Birds of Heaven, thofe * Idle Muficians of the Springs who are by their Creator, the Author of all Mufic, infpired with an harmonious Inftinci; I fay, in this Senfe, even their art- lefs Lays do ferve to pleafe and recreate us. BUT then Secondly \ There is a Mathematical Sweettiefs and Pleafancy in Sounds. This is no other than the Doc- trine of Concords, to which there are required more Sounds than one, fo proportioned and diftanced in certain Inter- vals, as to create a pleafant Harmony and Agreement. The Pleafure arifing from this Mathematical Sweetjiefs or A- greement of Sounds, is a more Intellectual Pleafure ; that from the Phyfical Sweetnefs, a more Senfual. Hence not only all Men, but the very Brutes too are capable of re- ceiving a Delight in a fingle pleafant Sound or Voice, but none of the Brutal Race, nor all of the Humane are capa- ble of relifhing the Melody arifing from the harmonious Agreement of a Diverfity of Sounds. This requires a tuneful Soul, as well as a good Ear. As a late Anony- mous Poet well exprefles it— — ^ For Man may ]u3ly tuneful Strains admire 9 Mis SOUL is Mufic, and his Breafi a Lyre* Mufic the mighty Artift, Man can rule, So long as that has Numbers^ he a SOUL* HERE let it be obferved, that the Lovtnsfs and ths Height of Sounds in the Gamut or Scale of Mufic, is not cauCed by the Strength and Force, but the Frequency Of the Percuffions, Strokes, or Tremors of the Air- And <— — i — wag— w— — — i, — — ii ■— m— Bmii ii <■ ' * J,oi4 Rofeommoris 148 Pfalm, S The fwect TfalmiU of Ifrael; And when the Numbers of Tremors or Percuflions of the Air caufed by two Sounds, are proportionable, there is an harmonious Agreement of thofe two Sounds ; but if difproportionate, a Difcord is produced. Thus an Oc tave or Eighth to a graver Sound, gives the Air two Percuflions or Tremors to the others one. So they coincide every other Tremor ; and one to two is propor- tionate. The like may be faid of all other Chords, A Unifon, or two Notes on a Pitch, is when two Sounds give the Air an equal Number of Pulfes or Strokes, and therefore fo coincide in every Pulfe, as to become but one and the fame Sound. » So that the Proportions that pleafe the Eye in any Vifible Objefts, are found to pleafe the Ear in Audible Objects. And when two Concordant Notes of different Heights are Sounding, were the Sight of our Eyes fo ilrengthened and rendred fo acute, as that we could accurately infpect and difcern the Particles of vibrated Air, we fnould fee the Tremors, or Vibrations of the Air proportionate in Arithmetical Numbers-' But while I am thus wading in the depths of Philofophy, I had almoft forgot the chief Thing I firil aimed at, when I mentioned the mathematical Swcetnefs of Sounds, and that is as follows. THE Mufic of the Temple, as it was under the Ma- nagement and Diredion of our Swat Pfahnift of Ifrael, was a. Chorus of Parts. The Singers and the Players upon Inftruments, were divided into THREE Sets or Quires. One for the Bafs, another for the Mcdms or inner Parts; the third for the Trebles or Altush. Mr. Ford, in his Preface to his Expofition on the Pfalms 9 has done to my Hand, what I might have attempted ; even to prove that Mufic in Parts (in lpight of popular Ignorance,) is as An- cient as the Times of holy David. I lhall tranilate in- to this Sermon, what he lays upon this Head. THE Modulation (fays he) of the Voice only, or upon an Inftrument only, or both together, (Pfal.ji. zx> and 98.5. and 33. 2, 5. and 147. 7. and 149. 3. and 57.8,9-) vas generally and for the molt part performed in three Parts, § ••■. The /met Pfalmijl of Ifraei; $ Tarts, according to the Number of Concords in the Oftavs* For a Tone oifSound is either i. Low, which is Grave, and is called the Baft, Or 2. Middle, which is commonly called the Medtut, of Tenor. Or 3. High, which is called the Alt* THESE with their O&aves and Variations, comprife the whole of all Mufic, and all of them were found in theis Worfhip. [Shemhnth] A Noun Adjedive Feminine, fignify- ing [an Eighth] is ufed to defign or fignify the Eigbtb Voice, or Eighth Tone inMufie,or Eighth Modulation of the Voice, which in defcending may be called the lowcjl Tone. Therefore Tremdlms and Junius render [ hhal haffbtminith\ 1 Cbron. 15. *i- Pfal 6* u By thefe Words, [To a grave and low Symphony] that is, to a Bafs Note and Key. And be- caufe in 1 Chron. 15.21. \lecinomlj\ or [with Harps'] is added, We may gather thus much, that Ethan oxjeduthum lead upon the Bafs, or had the Regulation of the lower Parts, and that the Bafs was play'd upon that Inftrument. And therefore he was the Mailer and Moderator of that Part, which we call the Bafs, or at leaft of fomething analogous to it. 2. [Hhalmah] A Noun fignifying the Age of Virginity is ufed in the Plural Number for a Mufical Tone orSoun J at the Heighth of a Female Voice, which is an 08av& above that of a Man* Wherefore [Hhal hhalamoth]i Chron* 15. 20. VfaU 46. I. [With Pfalteries on Alamo th.} Junius and TremeUius render [To an acute Symphony] or to- the AU^ Now, fince thefe Tunes upon Alamoth were play'd upon* the Pfaltery, and fince it is as certain, that this Part & atfigned to the Sons of Corah, it may be concluded, that: Neman was the Mailer and Moderator of the Jltus or high- eft Part. * 3. Afaph * I know not why the Opinion of Pythagoras being the firft y tha8 in Oppofition to Ari/texenus, reduced the Scale of Mufie to the >ieafure of Us Qttay^ may not fcosxi hense be sefwsd^ and £ " " .7 Why ii The facet Pfalmijl of Ifrael; 5. JfapJj therefore was the Mailer of the Medius or mid- dle Quire, and the Inftrument ufed by them was that of the Cymbal. . UPON the whole, this Author gives us a general Rule of judging to what Part and Keys every Pfalm was defign- ed, from the Name of the Matter of Mufic, from the In- ftrument on which it was to be plaid, or the initial Words of fome other well known Divine Song in ufe at that Time ; which the Reader may learn, if tie diligently observes the Infcriptions, &c. of the Pfalms, and compares them with what has been faid above. BUT it is Time to pafs on to the Second Particular, which is, z. MUSIC u fweet and plea f ant, if we confider the vari- ous EffeBs it is capable of producing in us. There is fome- thing in Mufic, which is congenial to the Soul, and which for this ReaCon makes a ready PalTage into its in- anoft ReceiTes. It has a Power to ftrike it after the moft agreeable Manner, and to affect it with the Senfe of a ifrange and admirable Pleafure. There is a certain fecret Sympathy between the Soul and Harmony, which made a Philofopher mentioned in the Margin, define it, An Har- mony % Verily, the Joy arifing henc« is truly refined and fublime / The ingenious Cowley, well espreffes the Power Muficians may exercife over Men : Thus they our Souls, thus they on? "Bodies win, Not by their Force, but Party • that's within* So when two Brethren Strings are fet alike, To move them both, hit onz of them we ftrike. BUT why we may not fuppofe, that, fince learned Men have fully prov- ed the Derivation and Stealth of all Arts and Sciences from the Jews to the Gentile Fhilofiphers, this among other Pieces of Learn* itg, came to Pythagoras the fame Way. And without doubt the Bivine Mufic performed to Jehoyab in his Temple, was in a great Mtafure by Divine Infpiration, as well as the Architecture of the Tabernacle (initfelfa more Mechanical Par l) was in Model an4 Idea given to Aboliab and Bezaleel. Exod. 31. 3. / have fifed him xtith the Spirit of God, in Wifdom and in Under ft anting, were tumultuous, and various Paffions haunted his Breaftv while he was revolving in his Mind the Oppreffion of the Enemy, his Abfence from the Houfe of God, and othes afflictive and diftreffing Themes; he became hereupon •wholly unfit for religious Exercifes. So the Jews in the Balylomjb Captivity hung their neglected Harps upon the WiLows, when they remembred Zion, and their once glo- rious and happy State, amidft the Infults of their barba- rous Enemies. Say they, How Jball we fing the Lord? s Songs in a ftrange Land ? Pfal. 137. 4. Whieh is a fure Proof how driving Paffions, fuch as Anger, Grief, Hatred, Fear, £f<;. do ruffle the Soul, and wholly indifpofe it to the Exercifes of Religion and Devotion. Any further Proof* from Scripture are neediefs. All that I (hall Remark up- on thefe Inftances is this, when they were fo unfitted for Devotion, as that they had not the Inclination or Powes to play upon their Har$s> their very Harps, had they ufed them, would have been their Cure, and have allayed the very Paffions, which forbad them to play. LET us now confider the Charms of Mufic^ how do they fobthe the Soul to Reft, and reduce it to an heavenly Quietude and Temper! How do they allay the turbid Paffions, and chace the Difturbers out of our Breaft ! Mufie has a natural Tendency to this. For as it is capable o£ being fo ordered, as to raife and increafe tumultuous Paffi- ons in the Soul \ fo no lefs to allay and quiet thefe Dif- orders. The Story ofTimotheus, who with his Harp change ed the Temper of Alwrndtr, as often as he pleafed" to & change fa Wfbe /met Tfalmiji layed } that the Hand of the Lord came upon him. B l The r l4. The Jwcet Pfalmjl of Ifrael- i The Note of TremeUms and Junius * is very jufl: and good. By the help of this Mufic, the Soul of the Prophet, juft be- fore d/fcompo fed and roiled at the fight of the wicked King of Ifrael, was compofed and calmed , and fo prepared to de- liver the heavenly Oracle $ and they that heard it were hy its Sweetnefs better prepared for the Reception of it. And tbofe Words, The Hand of the Lord came upon him, the forementioned Expofitors, by a Metonymy, interpret of the Prophetic Energy and Rapture t into which the Prophets were caft, when the Spirit vifited and took Poffeffion of them; in a Word, the Gift of Prophecy. And here I can- not forbear tranfcribing the Words of Bifliop Beveridge upon this, Subject, of Mufic, which may at once illuftrate this and the following Head. Says he, § " Mufic exercifes " at once both my Body and my Soul, &c. it calls in my (t Spirits, compofes my Thoughts, delights my Ear, recre- *l ates my Mind, and fo not only fits me for after Bufinefs, •• but fills my Heart at the prefent with pure and ul'eful «' Thoughts; fo that when the Mufic Sounds fweetlieft ■«? in my Ears, Truth commonly flows the cleareft into my «' Mind. And hence it is, that I find my Soul is become ** more Harmonious, by being accuftomed io much to Hir- €i many, and fo averfe to all manner of Difcord, that the 6i leait jarring Sounds either in Notes or Words, feeiri ve- et ry harih and unpleafant to me. " THAT there is (fays he) fomething more than ordi- €t nary in Mufic, appears from David's making ufe of it, Cl for driving away the evil Spirit from Saul ^ and Elijba " for the bringing the good Spirit upon himfelf. From •* which I am induced to believe, that there is really a •' fort of fecret and charming Power in it, that naturally " difpels from the Mind, all or moft of thofe black Hu- " mours, which the evil Spirit ufes to brood upon, and * l by compofing it i:ito a more regular, fweet, and docible H Difpofition, renders it the fitter for the Holy Spirit to *' work upon, the more fufceptive of Divine Grace, and " the ?• Vid. Jun. gf Tremell. in Locum. § Private Thoughts* ■ P. 18a. iV. Eng, Edition. The fweet Tfalmifi of IfraeE 1 5 " more faithful MefTenger, whereby to convey Truth to " the Understanding, &c— — My Spirits are thereby made " the more nimble and a&ive, and by Confequence, the u fitter to wait upon my Soul, and be employed by her, " in whatsoever Bulinefs (he is engaged. THUS far he ; and this is not the only Inftance of the Ufe of Mufic in Prophefying^ ( which Word, by the Way, is not to be reftrained to what we call Predittioji, or the foretelling future Events by the Revelation of the Spirit of God, but comprifes alfo in its Meaning, the Power or Faculty of uttering any fort of Divine Dilcourfes, by vir- tue of an Impetus or immediate Power from the holy Spi- rit) I fay, this is not the only Inftance of the Ufe of Mu- fic in order to Prophefying. The forementioned Saul meet- ing a company of Prophets with their M u [\c in the pro- phetical Exercife, is a further Confirmation of the Argu- ment before us. i Sam. 10. 5, 6. After that, thou Jhalt corns to the Hill of God, where is the Garrifon of the Philiftines, and it JJjall come to pafs when thou art come thitherto the City, that thou Jhalt meet a company of Prophets coming down from the high Place, with a Pfaltery, and a Tabret, and. a Pipe, and a Harp before them, and they Jball Prophefy, And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou Jhalt Prophefy with them, and Jhalt he TURNED INTO ANOTHER MAN. BUT to have done with particular Inftances, let me add, that not only fingle Perfons have occasionally made ufa of Mufic, as a fit preparative for the Reception of the Spirit of God, but the fated Quires of the Church of Tfrael in their Ordinary Worjbip, propofed no lefs Benefit from this divine Science, according to the Appointment oE God. So the Sons ofjeduthun, Gedaliah, Zeri, See. under the Hands of their Father Jeduthun, prophsfied with an Harp to give Thanks and to Praife the Lord. 1 Chron. 2,5. 3. UPON the whole we may conclude, that Mufic is not only a Means provided by the God of Nature and the Au- thor of all Religion, to difpel and drive away the evil Influences of Satan, but alfo to prepare the Soul for the Reception of the Infpiration of the holy Spirit. Nor will B 4 th& ^6 The fvoeet Tfalmlfl of Ifrael. the Objection of any thing Typical or Extraordinary ifi thefe Matters take away the Ufe of that which then had a natural Subferviency and Tendency to produce thefe good ErTe&s, and prepare the Soul for the fublimeft Per- formances in Religion and Worihip. But 3. MUSIC happily ferves to fix the Mind upon religious Ohjctts, abStrafiing the Soul from every Diver/ion. It fweet- ly fixes the wandring Spirit, making us retire within our felves, and be wholly employed in the prefent holy and delightful Exer.cife, It reduces the Mind to fuch a i'wcet Compofure, as that all our Attention is fattened upon the Subjed of our Devotion. This Fixednefs of Soul is a ne- ceffary Preparation for our Entrance upon any Religious Employments, efpecialiy thofe of the Temple. So we find holy David addreffing himfelf to the Worfhip ofGod % PfaL 57. 7,8. My Heart is fixed, [or prepared ; a fixed Heart is a prepared Heart.] God, my Heart is fixed ; / willfing and give Praife. Awake my Glory, awake Pj falter y and Harp ; I my f elf will awake early. Divine Mufic, under the Con- duft and Influence of the bleffed Spirit, the Author of all inward and fpiritual I$armoqy, is an effe&ual Remedy for thofe defultory, loofe, and vagrant Frames of Spirit, which the moft devout Chriftians oftentimes experience, and as often bewail. It colleds the fcattered Powers of the Mind, and fo unites them, that the Soul with unwonted Vigour and Strength mounts as on the Wings of Eagles, purfuing the glorious Flight, till ihe is gotten beyond the View of mortal Things, and enters the holy of holies a- bove. Then is me rais'd and tranfported beyond the Limits of Time and Senfe, and is feared in the Lap of Eternity; where (he dwells upon everlafting Themes, and becomes a fharer in the fweet anci uninterrupted Blilfes of Angels and glorified Saints* 4. MUSIC is of good Ufe in Religims IVorJbip, to excite Mid imp-rove fyit/ible and proper Jjfeftions, according to the Diverfity of Subjefis, about which it is employed. The God of Mature has, befide the Intellectual and Vohtive Faculty, Implanted in the j3oul of Man, divers Affections and Paf- fjons. The J wet Pfalmijl *f Ifraet if fions. Thefe are fo many M nifters to the fuperior Powers of Understanding and Willing. Arid by Confequence, as thefe two are the prime Faculties of the Soul, which ought ever to be firfb in Exercife in our religious Approa- ches to the Divine Being, (the Intellect being the Power of fpiritual Apprehenfion, Knowledge and Faith, and the Will the Principle of Divine Love, and all Devotion, ) I fay, as thofe two Faculties are primarily and principally employed in all religious Exerciles ; fo thefe Affe&ions and Paffions be of fubordinate Ufe, and are fubfervient to the fame Defignsof Religion and Devotion. For it was a grofs Miftake in thofe Philofophers, who aiTerted them to be but the Foibles or WeakneiTes of Ph&Soul, and nktttm rally Sinful, No, they are naturally and phyficaliy Good, and when they have been endowed with the Sanctificatiori of the Holy Ghofr, they are of great and noble Ufe in Religion. This may ferve to illuitrate that of the Apoftle Paul, i ThelT. 5.13. where he prays, that the God of Peace would fanclify them wholly , and pre] 'ewe their whole Spirit^ Soul and $ody y &c. That is, not only the fuperior Powers pf the Mind, fuch as the Intellect and Will ; and the infe- rior and mechanic Powers of the Body; but alfo tht pajtor nate and affectionate Part, which is of a mixt Nature, part- ly Animal and partly Spiritual. Now when thefe are fanclified, they become capable of a moft excellent Ufe and Improvement in Religion, efpecially in all the devotionary Parts thereof. They are as it were the Wings of the Soul, ■whereby it is carried forth in all the A&s of holy Joy and Tranfport ; Contrition and Mourning ; Fervency and Zeal, and the like. But now what is more fuited and adapted to excite and preferve thefe Affections in their due and proper Exercife, than Mufic and Harmony ? Whether the religious Soul be wholly employed upon Subjects of Con- trition and Penitence, Sorrow and Mourning, Mufic can furnHh it with melancholy and graver Ayres ; Or, if it dwells upon Themes of Joy and Praife, the loud and fprightly Notes of the more chearful Keys (hall raife the Soul to GOD, the Author of all good, and the Object of all our high Praifcs* And fo of the reft. Wherefore we frequently fin4 the /west PfalmiH of Ifrael fending his Pialms l8 The Jweet Pfalmift of IfraeU Pfalms and Odes to the Chief Mufici an, to be fet to theftf or thofe Tunes then praclifed in the Church of IfratU And the Inscriptions and Titles of the Pfalms do hint to \is his Directions to the Mailer of Mufic in this Matter. Altho' the Tunes then in Ufe, and their Names and Keys are now to be reckoned among the Res deptrdits., loft in the Ruins of Antiquity. BUT now we hava been difcourfing of Mufic, as it is able to excite and prefer* e proper and fuitable Pajjions and Affections, and to aiiift the Soul in the due Exercife of them, agreeable to the Variety of Themes or Subjects about -which it is converfant ; we are by a natural Tranfition to pafs on to the Confideration of Mufic in its Conjunction with Divine Poefy. Wherefore, 2. AS MUSIC in it felf and feperately confidered k Sweet, fo much more does it deferve that Char after, when confidered in its Conjunction with DIVINE POESY. Mufic joined with Numbers is in a tranfeendent Degree Sweet* Kircher t in his Book intituled, The great Art of Concord, and Difcord, among the Four Things requisite to move and affecl: the Soul, reckons that as a principal one, viz* efficacious and pathetical Words joined with the Harmony or Mufic. Thus the Phrygian Mufic, of which fuch migh- ty and wonderful Effects were boafted by Antiquity, was a fort. of enthvfiajlic Harmony, or fpeaking Melody. Which tho' it is to be added to the Catalogue of the loft Sciences, yet is it in fome Meafure imitable, by fuiting and adapt- ing Tunes to the Subject Matter of the Song. HERE therefore in general a good Verfion of the Pfalms is to be pleaded for, where moving Words and moving Sounds go together *. Dr. Woodford's Words in his Preface to his Piraphraje on the Pfalms may be here recited, and if he i'peaks wrong, let his Fellow-Poets anfwer for him. " How miferably, fays he, have the greateft Part of " Tranllators been overfeen, whilft ail their Fains has been "be t Vid. Kircher. Ve Arte Magna Confoni & Dijfoni. * Vid. (juintilian Ihft. Qrat. Lib. 6. Cap. De Diyiftone af'ectnum & gwo- modo moyendi. The fmet Tfalmift of IfraeU ij ■ J9}» $hsw I 5* The J meet Tfalmiji of Ifrael; Name, and upon our Glory , (that is, our Voice) to awa!(e and join in the eternal Confort ! O hew fweet, how fweet is Praife ! How fie af ant and ) comely to fing to our God 1 While I have Breath, Lord, my God and my Redeemer, I will employ it in celelrating xhy Hame and thy Praife ! BUT it is high Time to pafs to the Second Thing to be obferved in the Text, which I muft but juft touch upon, and which I wifh were to be enlarged upon by a better Pen. • II. LET us eonfider the Honour done to David the fweet Pfalmifl and King of Ifrael, in this Record concerning him. The Mention of him as \\iz fweet Pfalmifl of Ifrael, and the Tradition of this his Character to the lateft Ages of Time in the Hiflory of Scripture, is to be reckoned among none ©f the fmalleft Honours done to this Man of God. Here I. GOD himfelfhas put a great Honour upon him in this Record* And he is moil affuredly the bell Judge of Ho- nour \ yea, he is the Fountain from whence all true Ho- nour derives ; and his Approbation and Teftimony is the higheil Dignity that can be conferred upon Mortals. God himfelf has here made his Name, as a Jweet Singer, vene- rable and great, by allowing it a Place in his own Word and Oracles, which are the Regifler of the Worthies of Ifrael. BUT this is not all the Honour done to King David, and fo to all that have improved themfelves in this Divine Art of Mufic and Pfalmody, that he is there mentioned with Applaufe and Refpeft ; but the Manner of this Record is a very honourable Circumftance. This Part of his Cha- raft er f eems to be put upon a fort of Parity with his Re- gal Dignity and Imperial Glory. The Man who was raifed on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, THE SWEET PS •JL MIST OF ISRAEL I The fweet Pfalmifl of Ifrael, and the anointed of the God of Jacob, are not unworthy of one another. The great Services this Man of God per- formed for the Church in the Capacity of a Pfalmifl, are eileemed j PjaU 147. i» \ The fweet Tfatmif! of Ifrael; fi'f efteemed worthy to be enumerated with the Kingly Ho- nours conferred upon him by the God of Heaven, and the glorious Adminiflration of his Kingdom. Nor is King David the only Perfon to whom Heaven has done the Honour of a Record in the Lifts of Fame ; The Scriptures afford us fuch a Number of thefe Inftances, as the Time would fail us to mention. Even from Ju- hal the "Father of all fuch as handle the Harp and Organ, to || the hundred and forty four thoufand, who fung hefore the Throne a new Song, and could learn to play upon their Golden Harps. Mofes and Miriam, Jfaph and Haman 9 and a Multitude of thofe who excelled in this fweet and heavenly Skill, are honoured by God with a Record in his Word. But to conclude this Head, Not only in this World will God put all poffible Marks of Refpecl and Honour upon them ; but in the other he will ap- plaud and reward them before Men and Angels; exalt- ing them into the higheft Quires of them that fing the Praifes of God to all Eternity. 2. THE Church of Sahtts and Angels will honour them* The Saints revere them as Leaders of the J^iiire, and do not fail to make an honourable Mention of them, as Reftorers of the Worfhip of God, the Promotion and Perfection whereof lie very near their Hearts. Upon the Coniideration of thefe their Services to God and Religion, their Names are not only had in Refpecl: by the Churches of Chrift while they live, but ihall be had in Remembrance, and diffufe a fweet Odour, be as an Oyntment poured forth, to all Pofterity. The Churches frail blefs them after they are dead and gone, and re- member all their laudable ElTays to render their Worihip of God, fweet and beautiful, orderly and edifying. Then iftall it be faid of the Church, This and that Man was bom of her, who excelled in the heavenly Exercife of M ufic and offinging of Pfalms. Thefe were they who firft taught us to fing the Songs of Zion, and after the beft Manner to chant forth the Praifes of our God ! Thus do the Church* of \tmtm**l—*r II QeUt /§• »r &?* M< h h it 24 The fvoect Tfalmijl of Ifraei: of Saints honour them, as they are an Honour and Orna- ment to the Church. YEA the Church of Angels, who always rejoice in the good Improvements of the Church on Earth, conceive no Fmall Delight and Satisfaction in the EiTays of the Chil- dren of Men to imitate their Hallelujahs, and bring them as near as poffible to the fame heavenly Perfection. They being Witneifes of our Worlhip, and ever prefent in the AiTemblies of the Saints, are highly gratified to behold us ftriving to bear a Part in their Quire. They look up- on us with Honour and Refpect ; and as by the Gofpel we are brought to join * the innumerable Company of An- gels, that fiag the Praifes of God ; fo the Day is flatten- ing, when they fhall not difdain in the fulleft Confort to unite with us in founding forth the Songs and Melodies of the heavenly Zion : taking us into an everlafting Part- nerfhip in their caeleftial Muiic and Harmonies. FROM the whole we learn the Honour due to zfvreet Pfalmifi, and which God and Saints and Angels fhall pay them upon the fcore of fo fine and religious an Accom- plifhmeiit. Let me only obferve here, that as not only the greateft and moil worthy Ferfons mentioned in the Scripture Hiftory were fond of this Skill, and efteemed it none of the fmalleir. of their Acquifitions and Honours ; fo alfo great Men of all Ages have had this Science in Ve- neration. Among the Heathen, as Quinttlian informs us i f Men moll famous for Wifdom, yea and of the fevereft Mo- rals, did in no fmall Meafure cultivate this Divine Aru Such were Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, &c. Yea fays he, not only the greateft Philofophers and mfe Men, but Princes and great Captains did not difdain to play upon Mufjcai Inftruments, and fing to them with their Voices. Such were Lycurgus and others which he there mentions. But » Heb. ix. xx. f Vid. Quint Uftit. Orat. Lib. i. Cap. i*. De Mu* ka er ejus Laud'tbus, J\ ty, finiii maximm C fdibm & ?*• jjj tteiriiJi** ibid. The fweet TfalmiS of Ifraet 25 BTJT what is more to our Purpofe, there have not been wanting (as Hiftory informs us) Inftances of fomeof the greatest Princes that have ever been in the Cbriftian World 9 as well as the Pagan, who had this Art in the higheft Efteem and Honour. Witnefs the great Names of Conftan- tine,Theodofius, and Jujlinian, Charles the Great, and others. Some of which have compofed Hymns of Praife toChrift, and all of them were famous for their Performances of Mufic in the Airemblies of the Chrifiians. Not to mention any of a more modern Date, who have not thought it beneath their Grandeur, but to be their trueft Glory, to be lifted and numbered among the Singers of Ifrael! THERE remains ftill One Exemple more of a Sweet Pfal- viiji, which is fo great and fo glorious, that it is impoffi- ble Mufic and Pfalmcdy ihould derive any further Honours from its ProfelTors and Admirers, than what it has from His Practice and Approbation thereof, and that is our blef- ted Lord and Saviour JESUS CHRIST. Of whom it is re- corded by fome of the Evangehfis, that at the Inftitution and Celebration of the Eucbarift or holy Suffer, He \\ fang tin Hymn with his Difciples. I have often thought how jrielodiouily and divinely Sweet, that bleiTed Man, who was niore than a Man, and who knew all the infinite Va- rieties, and even unfearchable Melodies, that lie hid in the Nature of Sounds, performed his Part in the Confort. And then how luddenly and infenfibly are we rapt and carried away in our Thoughts to Heaven, to behold him there at the Head of the immortal Quires of the Saints and An- gels above /■ But the Theme is too Sublime, the Thought too Vaft to be indulged by a mortal Quill, .and it is not lawful to utter freely upon it 5 deferving rather to be adored in profound Silence, than to fuffer thro* our rude and unhallowed Eflays to defcribe it! - All I mail add is this, Behold the Son of God as a fweet Pfalmft, and allow the Charader from henceforward to be truly great and honourable 1 C Eut • — ■ ■»— — fta Matt. z6. $0, Mark 14.-16, 26 , Tie fweet Tfalmifl of Ifrael. BUT we muft haften to make a brief Application of the Words. APPLICATION. USE I. WHAT a pity and what a flame is it to abufefo fweet and heavenly an Art to the bafe Ends and Defigns of Impiety, Vice and Debauchery! To commit fuch a Sacti- Jege, as to ptoftitute our Glory || to the Devil, and ferve the Interefts of Hell thro* the Means of this heavenly Science ! Verily, Such Mufic fhall finilh in everlafting Weeping, Wailing and Gnathing of Teeth I USE II. HOW ought we to labour after theCbarafter of holy David. I hope and truft, My Brethren, that your good Exemple will in this Regard, be of good Influence to the Churches of Chrift in this Land, that they may alfo ufe all poilible Endeavours to reftore banijhed Mufic to itt ancient Seat in the Temple of God. That they may be ftirred up and encouraged to come into this noble and pious Defign of ref cuing the divine Science of Pfalmody from all the Difadvantages and Encumbrances, it now la- bours under, and of reducing it to its primitive Form and ancient Perfection. All compleatly conducive to Decency and good Order, and in the End to the Glory of God. SIRS, CovfiJer God will honour and blefs you* For they "who honour God, he will honour them *. They who have been much employed in advancing the Glory of God, and the Edification of his Church, {hall never want Teftimo~ nies of RefpeCl and Honour from him. • AND the Churches of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and the Jngels above will honour you ; your Names fhall be pre- cious and fweet with them. And, as we faid before, we that are truly follicitous and careful to excel in the Per- formance 11 *j(W- 57-8. * i $am. %. 3. The fweet Tfalmijl of Ifrael. i> formance of our Part in the Songs of the Temple here on Earth, viz. to improve in the external and mechanical Skill of fweetly modulating the Voice, and the internal and fpt- ritual Skill of true Devotion of Soul, (hall not fail of an exalted Seat in the glorious Chin of Heaven* WHEREFORE, let us above all labour after the inward Kirmony of Piety and Devotion of Mind. Studying to make Melody to the Lord in out Hearts. In the harmo- nious Vehicle of our Voices fending up to Heaven the inward holy Sentiments and Difpolitions of out Souls. Such an Agreement of jj Heart and Voice is a fweet Sym- pho?iy in the Ears of God, and with fuch Sacrifices of Praifs he is well fleafed ! USE III. Lair. WE may from the Doftdnal Part of this Difcourfe infer the infinite Sweetnefs of the Songs of the heavenly World. The Ecfiajies that our hoarfer Har- mony here below is able to call us into, are well known ; but O the Perfection of the Songs above 1 O the ineffable Sweetnefs of the Anthems founded forth by Saints and Angels! What mortal Tongue can defcribe them ! Who in the prefent State of Imperfection can conceive the ra- v ifhing Echoes of their Mufic I THERE the Saints (hall bepofieiTed of Bodies, and hodily Organs, which {hall be perfectly fitted and adapted to all the Defigns of Harmony and Praife. This glorious Ad- vantage mall accrue to them from the RefurreStion of tte JuH. THERE alfo (hall they be endued with bright & enlarge ed Minds, to indite Words which it is not poflible for Man in our State of Darknefs and Mortality to utter, Myfteri- ous Themes / Incomprehenfible Mufic / THE \ s Non Vox, fed Votum $ non Mufic a, Chordula, fed Cor: Non s?ys^ -4fe W?