tinuance in well doing, and to give diligence for the full affurance of hope to the end."

The joy, which comes in a way diverfe from this, is not joy in the Holy Ghoft, but the joy of the hypocrite. They who walk in the comforts of the Holy Ghoft, are fuch as walk in the fear of God.

SERMON XLI.

EPHESIANS v. 19.

Speaking to yourselves in pfalms and hymns, and fpiritual fongs, finging and making melody in your hearts

to the Lord,

THE Heathens, in their drunken feftivals to the god of wine, ufed to celebrate his bounty in impure and wanton fongs. The Ephe fans just converted from Paganism, the Apostle in ftructs in a more rational and excellent devotion. He teaches them to fing, not impure but fpiritual Longs; to direct their devotion, not to the imaginary god of wine, but to the Lord of nature and giver of all things; to fing, not with wild and wanton airs, but with the melody of the heart; and fo to conduct this branch of worship, that they may not corrupt, but comfort and edify one another.

Similar to our text is the Apoftle's inftruction te the Coloffians. "Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful. Let the word of Chrift dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in pfalms, hymns and fpiritual fongs, finging with grace in your hearts to the Lord."

I. The finging of pfalms is here enjoined as a fa cred branch of focial worship.

[SERM. XLI. We are to glorify God in our bodies and in our fpirits. To him we are to confecrate the use of all our powers. And there is the fame reason why the mufical, as any other faculty, fhould be employed in his fervice. We are wonderfully made; and the capacity of uttering a tuneful variety of founds, is not the fmalleft wonder in our formation. To him by whose wisdom we are thus curiously or ganized our praise fhould be directed. "I will fing," fays David, "and give praise with my glory." The faculty of speech, next to reason, is the glory of man.

Praise is the moft excellent part of divine worfhip. As charity is greater than faith and hope, because in heaven thefe will cease, but that will never fail; fo praife is fuperior to humiliation and prayer, because these belong only to the prefent itate, but that is the devotion of heaven. There our fins and temptations will no more moleft us; our fouls will be purified from prefent corruptions; our defires will be fatisfied and our wants fupplied; and all our mournful petitions will be changed into fongs of joy.

That pfalmody was an inftituted part of worship in the Jewish church is evident from the many de vout fongs and pfalms composed by divine infpiration for religious ufes, fome of which were fung, not only by particular perfons in their private wor fhip, but also by the whole affembly of Ifrael.

From the days of David, when the order of di vine worship was more regularly fettled, than it had been before, there was a felect number of fing. ers, inftructed and supported at the public expense, whose office it was to fet forward and prefide over this branch of worship.

In the book of Pfalms, frequent exhortations to fing praises to God are addreffed to all nations of the earth, as well as to the congregation of Ifrael. Hence it appears, that this was not a ceremony pe

culiar to the Mofaic dispensation, but an ordinance defigned for univerfal and perpetual ufe. This is distinguished from ceremonial rites by special marks of fuperiority. "I will praife the name of God with a fong, and magnify him with thanksgiving. This alfo fhall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock, that hath horns and hoofs."

In the New Teftament we find the fame evidence that pfalmody is an ordinance of Chrift, as we find in the Old Teftament, that it was an ordinance of Moses. When Jefus with his train was defcending from the mount of Olives to attend the paffover at Jerufalem, the whole multitude of his difciples praised God with a loud voice, faying, "Bleffed be the king that cometh in the name of the Lord, Hofanna in the highest." After the celebration of the holy fupper, our Lord with his difciples “fung an hymn." Paul and Silas, confined in prifon, "fung praises to God at midnight." The Apoftle exhorts the churches to maintain this branch of wo ship, and gives them inftructions for the decent and edi fying performance of it. This was continued in Christian affemblies after the apoftolic age. The early fathers exhort those who fing in divine wor◄ hip, "to make melody in their hearts, rather than with their voices." Some Heathen writers fay, "It was a custom among the Chriftians to affemble on a certain day, and fing hymns unto Chrift, as unto God."

We may add, The church in heaven is repre fented as worshipping God with this exercise. "The living creatures and the elders fall down be fore the Lamb, and fing a new song."

The feveral paffions of the foul have each its peculiar language, and give fome diftinguishing notes to the voice. Thefe different notes excite in the mind the paffions which they reprefent. There is fuch a connexion between founds and paffions,that they become by turns the caufes of each other.

*

There are certain inftrumental founds, which in fpire with ardor and resolution; and other's which melt and diffolve. Much greater effects may be produced by the living found of human voices, harmoniously combined in finging thofe facred fongs, which are filled with fentiments of piety and devotion. The power of mufic to tranfport the foul we have all experienced; and its effect is strongly expreffed by the prophet, when, defcribing the heavenly inhabitants as finging their changes in divine worship and crying one to another, "Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty," he fays, "The pofts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke."I proceed,

II. To confider the matter or fubject of our finging. This the Apoftle expreffes by pfalms, hymns and fpiritual fongs.

By pfalms is doubtlefs intended that collection of facred poems, which paffes under this name, and is one of the canonical books of fcripture. By hymns may be defigned other poetical compofitions of fcripture, as the fongs of Mofes, Hannah, Zachariah, Simeon and others. By fpiritual fongs may be meant those pious and devout fongs, which in that age were compofed by prophets and holy men in the church, under the immediate influence of the Spirit. That there was such a spiritual gift in the apoftolic age is evident from feveral paffages in the 14th chapter of First Epiftle to the Corinthians"I will pray with the Spirit, and I will pray with the understanding alfo: I will fing with the Spirit, and I will fing with the understanding alfo.".

"When ye come together, every one of you hath à pfalm, hath a doctrine,ohath a tongue, hath a reve lation."

Under the Mofaic difpenfation, there were certain fongs or pfalms, ftatedly used in the temple worship. On fpecial occafions new fongs were