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 so much neglected, fo 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 Bleffing. 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, beard 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, fuch 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, carryus beyond ourselves, and bring all Heaven before our Eyes, thef are the Tunes, this is the Singing which is best calculated to answe the Purposes of divine Harmony. " I could heartily wish, says th "pious and judicious Addison, ther "was the fame Application and En "deavours to cultivate and improv " our Church Music, as have bee " lately bestowed on that of th "Stage. Our Composers have on "very great Incitement to it: The "are sure to meet with exceller "Words, and at the same Time "a wonderful Variety of them "There is no Passion that is no " finely expressed in those Parts c "the inspired Writings, which ar proper for divine Songs and An "thems.

"There is a certain Coldness an

< Indifference in the Phrafes of ou

Europea

* 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 fets the Mind in a "Flame, and makes our Heart burn "within us. How cold and dead "does a Prayer appear, that is " composed

1

"compofed in the most elegant and "polite Forms of Speech, which "are natural to our Tongue, when "it is not heightned by that Solem"nity of Phrafe, which may be "drawn from the facred Writings! "It has been faid by some of the "Ancients, that if the Gods. were "to talk with Men, they would "certainly spake in Plato's Stile; but "I think we may say, with Justice, "that when Mortals converse with " their Creator, they cannot do it " in so proper a stile as in that of "the holy Scriptures.

"If any one would judge of the • Beauties of Poetry that are to be " met with in the divine Writings, "and examine how kindly the He"brew Manners of Speech mix and "incorporate with the English Lan

guage; after having perused the "Book of Píalms, let him read a lite"ral Translation of Horace or Pindar. "He