the mind towards God, attended with holy breath ings of foul, and a divine exercise of all the paffions and powers of the mind. These paffions the melody of founds ferves only to guide and elevate towards their proper object: thefe it first calls forth and encourages, and then gradually raises and inflames. This it does to all of them, as the matter of the hymns fung gives an occafion for the employing them; but the power of it is chiefly feen in advancing that most heavenly paffion of love, which reigns always in pious breafts, and is the fureft and moft infeparable mark of true devotion; which recommends what we do in virtue of it to God, and makes it relifhing to ourselves; and without which all our fpiritual offerings, our prayers and our praises, are both infipid and unacceptable. At this our religion begins, and at this it ends; it is the fweeteft companion and improvement of it here upon. earth, and the very earnest and foretaste of heaven: Of the pleasures of which nothing further: is revealed to us, than that they confift in the practice of holy mufic, and holy love; the joint" enjoyment of which (we are told) is to be the happy lot of all pious fouls to endlefs ages." And obfervable therefore it is, that that apoftle, in whofe breaft this divine quality feems moft to have abounded, has alfo fpoken the most advan→→ tageoufly of vocal and inftrumental harmony, and afforded us the best argument for the lawful ufe of it: For fuch I account the description, which he has given us of the devotions of angels: and bleffed fpirits performed by harps and hymns in the Apocalypfe. A defeription which, whether

real

real or metaphorical, yet, belonging to the evan gelical ftate, certainly implies thus much, that whatever is there faid to be made ufe of, may now, under the gospel, be warrantably and laudably employed.

And in his fteps trod the holy martyr Ignatius, who, probably, faw St. John in the flesh, and learnt that leffon of divine love from him, which, after his example, he inculcated every where in his epiftles, and together with it instils into the churches he writes to, a love of holy harmony, by frequent allufions and comparisons drawn from that science, which recur oftner in his writings. than in those of any other ancient whatever, and feem to intimate to us, that the devotions of the church were fet off with fome kind of melody, e ven in those early times, notwithstanding we ufual ly place the rife of the inftitution much lower.

Would we then have love at thefe affemblies? Would we have our fpirit foftened and enlarged, and made fit for the illapfes of the divine Spírit Let us, as often as we can, call in to our aid the affistances of mufic, to work us up into this hea tenly temper. All felfifhnefs and narrowness of mind, all rancour and peevishnefs, vanish from the heart, where the love of divine harmony dwells; as the evil spirit of Saul retired before the harp of David, 1 Sam. xvi. 23. The devotional, as well as the active part of religion is (we know) founded in good nature; and one of the best figns and caufes of good nature is, I am fure, to delight in fuch pious entertainments.

And now it naturally follows from hence (which was the laf advantage, from whence I proVOL. IV.

T

posed

pofed to recommend the ufe of church mufic) that it makes our duty a pleasure, and enables us, by that means, to perform it, with the utmost vigour and chearfulness. It is certain, that the more pleafing an action is to us, the more keenly and eagerly are we ufed to employ ourselves in it, the lefs liable are we, while it is going forward, to tire, and droop, and be dispirited. So that what ever contributes to make our devotion taking (within fuch a degree as not at the same time to diffipate and distract it) does, for that very reafon, contribute to our attention and holy warmth of mind in performing it. What we take delight in, we no longer look upon as a task, but return to always with defire, dwell upon with fatisfaction, and quit with uneafinefs. And this it was which made holy David express himself in so pathetical a manner concerning the fervice of the fanctuary; "As the hart panteth after the water-brooks” (fays he)" fo panteth my foul after thee, O God. My foul is athirft for God, yea even for the living God. When, O when fhall I come to appear before the prefence of God?" Pfal. xliii. 1, 2. Which paffionate with, as it certainly proceeded from the pleasure he took in reflecting on thofe holy offices, fo, I queftion not, but a good part of that pleasure arofe from the facred melody which accompanied them. For fo he himself inftructs us to think of him in many other paffages of the P/alms; particularly where he breaks out into this pious exultation: "It is well feen, O my God, how thou goeft, how thou my God and King goeft in the fanctuary: The fingers go before, the minstrels follow after; in the midft are

66x

the

the damfels playing with the timbrels,"" Pf. lxviii. 24, 250 And if the image of that holy quire, now only present to his memory, gave him fo much pleasure, what tranfports do we think he was under, when he himself affifted at the fervice, and his ears drank in their holy strains?

And the fame may we obferve to be the cafe,as to fome of the Fathers of the first rank, St. Chryfoftom, St. ftin and St. Bafil: As eloquent as they na«: turally were, yet they never appear fo eloquent, never put on fuch a variety of thought and expreffion, fuch an elevation of foul and style, as when they are difcourfing of the energy and power of church mufic. Could I produce to you the paffages from them to this purpose at length, you would fay, that men who fpake thus feelingly, and with fo much extafy, of the holy hymns and anthems of the church, when they were at a dif tance from them, must have an heaven almost in their breafts, when they partook of them. It therefore the praises of God, tunefully performed, be naturally attended with an holy pleasure, that pleasure, I fay, muft needs produce attention; actuate all the fprings, and enliven all the motions, of devout and heavenly, nay even of earthly and fluggish, minds. The ancients do fometimes ufe the metaphor of an army, when they are speaking of the joint devotions put up to God in the affembly of his faints: They fay, we there meet together in troops, to do violence to heaven; that we encompass, we besiege, the throne of God, and bring fuch an united torce, as is not to be withstood. And, I fuppofe, we may as innocently carry on the metaphor. as they have begun it,

and fay, that church mufic, when decently or dered, may have as great ufes in this army of fupplicants, as the found of the trumpet has a mong the hofts of the mighty men. It equally: roufes the courage, equally gives life, and vigour, and refolution, and unanimity, to those holy affailants..

Thus have I fhewn you, in how many several refpects vocal and inftrumental harmony may be ferviceable to awaken, fix, and inflame us in our public addreffes to God; and how far therefore: it recommends itfelf to the appprobation and ufet of all pious Chriftians, upon this fingle confidera❤ tion: So that, though the worship now under the gofpel be fpiritual, yet are we not debarred, on that account, from employing feveral means and inftruments of worfhip, which are not fo.. On: the contrary, from the fpiritual nature of our worship, it follows, that all fuch outward helps and expedients may and ought to be laid hold of, as do really affift and promote the inward worship of our fpirits. And for this reafon therefore, among others, the melodious harmony now practifed in our church ought to be continued.

"Till then our brethren of the feparation can prove, either that mufic has not that influence on the mind of man, as it has been reprefented to have; or that the minds of us Chriftians are not fo difpofed to receive its impreflions, as those of other men; that we have not the fame faculties to be wrought upon, the fame paffions to be regulat. ed, the fame dulnefs and diftraction of mind to be cured; 'till this can be made out by them, they must allow us to retain thofe modes of worship,

which