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"joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth, "make a loud noise, and rejoice, and "give praise: Sing unto the Lord with "the harp, with the harp, and the voice "of a pfalm. O clap your hands, all

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ye people, fhout unto God with the "voice of triumph: For the Lord most high is to be feared: He is the great

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king over all the earth: Sing forth the "honour of his name, make his praise glorious: Sing pfalms unto God, fing pfalms: Sing pfalms to our king, fing pfalms, for it is good to fing pfalms to our God: for it is pleasant and praise "is comely: Sing ye praifes with the "understanding: Sing ye praises with "the whole heart: Let every thing that "hath breath praise the Lord. Amen. "Hallelujah."

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In obedience to thofe commands believers exhort one another to this delightful exercife: "O come let us fing unto "the Lord, let us make a joyful noife to "the rock of our falvation, (Heb. our Jefus). Let us come before his pre"fence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noife unto him with pfalms.” And what was thus expreffed in the congregation, every believer in private applies to himself and practices. "Blefs the "Lord, O my foul, and all that is with-'

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" in me, blefs his holy name: While I "live will I praise the Lord, I will fing

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praises unto my God while I have my "being: I will extol thee my God, O "king, and I will bless thy name for ever "and ever."

We have abundant authorities in the lives of believers to prove, that finging of pfalms was very early in the church. Mofes compofed a pfalm, which he and the whole congregation fang to the glory of their almighty deliverer from Egyptian bondage. On the victory obtained over Sifera the captain of Jabin's hoft, Deborah and Barak fang a hymn of thanksgiving recorded in the book of the wars of the Lord. David was the fweet finger of Ifrael raised up of God to indite the praises of the glorious Immanuel: The book of pfalms, which he spake by the holy Ghoft, has been in ufe in the church ever fince his time. They made part of every days fervice in the temple. They were fung by Chrift, and by his apoftles. Paul and Silas in prifon, with their feet in the stocks, and at midnight, had liberty in their hearts to fing a pfalm unto the Lord. We know for certain from facred hiftory, confirmed by profane authors, that when the whole church was come together into one place it was part of the public fervice to fing

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pfalms:

pfalms for which there were rules laid down both in the old teftament and in the

new.

The principal rule was about the end propofed in finging. Why did God enjoin it in his fervice? And with what view did he require it to be performed by his people? He has herein clearly revealed his will. He intended to teach them to acknowlege his infinite love in Jefus, through whom all their bleffings flow, and to praise him and to thank him with joyful hearts and lips. Singing was the outward expreffion of their inward joy, and therefore it was accompanied with inftruments of all kinds to proclaim in the grandeft manner their joy in the Lord. While the daily facrifices were burning on the altar, they celebrated with believing hearts the atonement of the lamb of God, and expreffed their triumphing in it with all the powers of vocal and inftrumental mufic. Thus they were commanded, Num. x. 10. "In the day of your glad"nefs, and in your folemn days, and in "the beginning of your months, ye fhall "blow with the trumpets over your burnt "offerings, and over the facrifices of

your peace offerings, that they may be to 86 you for, a memorial before the Lord your God: I am the Lord your God."

This commandment Hezekiah obferved. After he had cleanfed the temple from the pollutions of his profane predeceffor, "He fet the Levites in the house of the "Lord with cymbals, with pfalteries, and "with harps, according to the command"ment of David, and of Gad the king's "feer, and Nathan the prophet: For fo "was the commandment of the Lord by "his prophets: And the Levites stood "with the inftruments of David, and the

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priests with the trumpets: And Heze"kiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar, and when the burnt offering began, THE SONG OF THE "LORD BEGAN alfo with the trumpets, and "with the inftruments ordained by David

king of Ifrael: And all the congrega"tion worshipped, and the fingers fang, " and the trumpeters founded, and all this "continued until the burnt offering was "finished." 2 Chron. xxix. 25, &c. Their mufic was not merely to please; it was expreffive. For it was a memorial. It was to call to mind the facrifice of Immanuel, and the joy flowing from it, the greatest joy that poffibly can be: For all the facrifices pointed to him, and were instituted to keep up faith and hope in him. He was the lamb who verily was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world,

world, who was flain in type from the foundation of the world, and who in the fulness of time appeared to put away fin by the facrifice of himself. The apoftle has proved at large in the epiftle to the Hebrews, that all the facrifices under the law were types and figures of the facrifice of Christ, and that the benefits ascribed to them were to fignify the graces which flow to his redeemed from his facrifice: For through this alone juftice was fatisfied, wrath appeased, atonement made, the confcience purged from guilt, the finner freely pardoned, fully juftified, yea fanctified and perfected for ever: So that by his one offering he faves believers from all fins and all miferies, and gives them enjoyment now of all bleffings, and will fecure to them eternal enjoyment. Here is the fountain of all joy. From hence flows peace with God, and love to God with every bleffing of his love. All comes through the bleeding lamb, and is the fruit of his crofs and paffion. This is the glorious fubject treated of in the psalms, and the finging and the mufic of the old teftament were entirely in praise of this. While the burnt offering was confuming on the fire of the altar, all that found could poffibly do with voices and instruments was exerted to rouse the attention, and to in

fame

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