of those Persons who admire them for their Antiquity. It has often given me Pain to see the most noble and exalted Part of divine Worship to much neglected, so ill performed, or the Words fo injudiciously chosen. For certainly we never so much resemble the Inhabitants of the heavenly World, as when we are joining together with one Heart and one Voice in singing the Praises of our Creator and our God. I bebeld, and I heard the Voice of many Angels round about the Throne, and the Beasts, and the Elders; and the Number of them was ten thousand Times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Jaying with a loud Voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was flain, to receive Power, and Riches, and Wif dom, and Strength, and Honour, and Glory, and Blessing. And every Creature which is in Heaven, and on the Earth, and under the Earth, and fuch as as are in the Sea, and all that are in them, heard I, saying, Blessing, and Honour, and Glory, and Power, be unto bim that fitteth upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. : Such is the happy Employment of the Saints in Light! Let us studioufly learn to emulate their elevated Strains. Our Debt of Duty and Gratitude is probably greater even than theirs. Let us then strive to sing with all our Might, with the Spirit, and with the Understanding also. Brisk, solemn, lively Tunes, are best adapted to awak. en holy Affections. Avoid therefore such as are light, frothy and fantastic; and let all the Congregation join together in one grand Chorus. Such Words, such Tunes, such Singing as leaves us dull, stupid, and languid, answer no valuable End whatever. They are neither pleafing to God, nor profitable to Man. But But such as raise our Affections, carry us beyond ourselves, and bring all Heaven before our Eyes, these are the Tunes, this is the Singing, which is best calculated to answer the Purposes of divine Harmony. " I could heartily wish, says the " pious and judicious Addison, there "was the fame Application and En"deavours to cultivate and improve " our Church Music, as have been " lately bestowed on that of the "Stage. Our Composers have one "very great Incitement to it: They "are sure to meet with excellent "Words, and at the same Time, "a wonderful Variety of them. "There is no Passion that is not " finely expressed in those Parts of "the inspired Writings, which are proper for divine Songs and An"thems. "There is a certain Coldness and << Indifference in the Phrafes of our European European Languages, when they "are compared with the oriental "Forms of Speech; and it happens "very luckily, that the Hebrew I"dioms run into the English "Tongue with a particular Grace "and Beauty. Our Language has "received innumerable Elegancies "and Improvements, from that "Infufion of Hebraisms, which are "derived to it out of the poetical "Passages in holy Writ. They give a Force and Energy to our Ex" pression, warm and animate our "Language, and convey our " Thoughts in more ardent and "intenfe Phrases, than any that "are to be met with in our own "Tongue. There is Something fo "pathetick in this Kind of Diction, "that it often sets the Mind in a "Flame, and makes our Heart burn "within us. How cold and dead لا "does a Prayer appear, that is " composed |