Chapter 4: The Second Question Stated and Proved

The second question about singing of Psalms concerns the matter of the Psalms to be sung; for there be some who do not scruple singing with the voice (as the former sort did) but singing of the Psalms of David now in these days of the New Testament. As conceiving David's Psalms were penned for Temple worship, during the Paedagogy of the old Testament. But now in the days of the New Testament, when God has promised to pour out his Spirit upon all flesh, now the whole worship of God should be carried on, not by set forms of Psalms, (no more than by set forms of Prayer) but by personal spiritual gifts, whereby some one or other of the members of the Church, having received a Psalm by the enditement of the Spirit, he sings it openly in the public Assembly of the Church, and the rest of the Brethren say Amen to it in the close.

But touching the persons of those who should sing it pertains to the third question. This second question chiefly concerns the matter to be sung, whether the Psalms of David, or some Psalm or Hymn, endited by the personal gift of this or that member of the Church. Wherein we hold and believe;

1. That not only the Psalms of David, but any other spiritual songs recorded in Scripture, may lawfully be sung in Christian Churches, as the song of Moses, and Asaph, Heman and [illegible], Solomon and Hezekiah, Habakkuk and Zachary, Hannah and Deborah, Mary and Elizabeth, and the like.

2. We grant also, that any private Christian, who has a gift to frame a spiritual song, may both frame it, and sing it privately, for his own private comfort, and remembrance of some special benefit, or deliverance. Nor do we forbid the private use of an instrument of music therewithall; so that attention to the instrument does not divert the heart from attention to the matter of the song.

Neither do we deny, but that in the public thanksgivings of the Church, if the Lord should furnish any of the members of the Church with a spiritual gift to compose a Psalm upon any special occasion, he may lawfully be allowed to sing it before the Church, and the rest hearing it, and approving it, may go along with him in Spirit, and say Amen to it. When Christ ascended up on high, to sit upon his throne of glory, look as Princes are wont to do in the day of their Coronation, [Spargere Missilia & Donaria] so did he pour out his gifts abundantly on all sorts, gifts of Miracles, Healing, Tongues, Psalms. And the Churches were willing, when they saw such special gifts of the Spirit poured out to make use of them, as occasion served. From where it was, that sundry of the members of the Church of Corinth, as they had received a gift of Psalms and tongues from the Lord Jesus, so they had allowance from the Church to employ their gifts to the public edification of the Church. But as such gifts now are not ordinarily bestowed, (which were at first given chiefly for admiration and conviction of Infidels, (1 Corinthians 14:22)) so we would not call upon men now, to prefer their ordinary common gift, as more fit for the public edifying of the Church, before the extraordinary gifts of the holy men of God in Scripture, who by the Spirit were guided to prepare spiritual songs suitable to all the conditions and affections and temptations of the Church and people of God in all ages. So then the question is, whether the Psalms of David, and Asaph, and such other hymns and spiritual songs endited by the Prophets, and recorded in Scripture, be appointed by God, to be ordinarily sung in Christian Churches, or whether laying aside Scripture-songs, we are to sing only such spiritual songs, as shall be endited by the personal (but ordinary) gifts of any ordinary officer or member of the Church. The former we hold to be the truth, others the latter.

The reasons of our faith and practice, are these:

1. Taken from the commandment, or exhortation of the Apostle (Ephesians 5:19): "Be you filled with the Spirit" (says he) "speaking to yourselves (that is, one to another) in Psalms and Hymns and spiritual Songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord." To the like purpose is his commandment and exhortation to the Colossians, Chapter 3, verse 16: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another, in Psalms and Hymns and spiritual Songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." In both which places, as the Apostle exhorts us to singing so he instructs us what the matter of our song should be, to wit, Psalms, Hymns, and spiritual Songs; now those three be the very titles of the songs of David, as they are delivered to us by the Holy Ghost himself: some of them are called [in non-Latin alphabet] that is Psalms, some [in non-Latin alphabet] that is Hymns; some [in non-Latin alphabet] that is, songs spiritual songs. Now what reason can be given why the Apostle should direct us in our singing to the very titles of David's Psalms, if it were not his meaning that we should sing them? Yes, either we must exclude the Psalms of David, from the name of Psalms, and Hymns, and spiritual Songs; or else we must be forced to acknowledge, that we are exhorted to sing them, as well as any other.