ded on public attention, let the forfeiture be paid by those officious friends.*

Those men, on whose sentiments I have animadverted, succeeded by their compositions, in excluding the songs of inspiration, from the psalmody of the Church. It is my wish those songs should be restored. I am therefore justifiable in calling public attention to those reasons, that recommended a measure which I believe to be improper, and in exposing that impious banter, which, in an age of infidelity was too successful, in effecting a practical preference of the word of man, to that of God. I trust my attempt shall not be in vain. My

After reading Dr. Latta's discourse on Psalmody, and not a little surprised at its sentiments and reasoning, upon turning to the Christian's Magazine, my surprise was accompanied by pain to find that the learned and orthodox editors of that respectable work, devoted their pages to eulogize that gentleman, not only as a man, and a scholar, but as a divine; and, as if to make it more conspicuous, in a marginal note, to adduce his "Discourse on psalmody," as a specimen of his talent in justi. fication of their eulogy. No less painful is it to find such a work receive the high commendation, of such a man as the learned and excellent Professor at Princeton, in his life of Dr. Rodgers. It is hoped none of those gentlemen were really acquainted with the true character of that work; but resting upon what they considered the character of their friend, unwitting. ly transferred the reputation of the man to his book. But those works shall outlive them; and as it is now, so when they shall be no more inhabiters of our world, their testimony will be em ployed to give currency to the very exceptionable pages of that discourse; pages containing sentiments from which their whole souls, I trust, would revolt. To correct the evil is a duty they owe to themselves, to the church of God, and to the cause of truth.

appeal is made to christian consistency, and it is made in a day, as remarkable for liberal exertions to circulate the word of God, as a late period was, for undisguised opposition to the authenticity, and divine inspiration of that blessed book.

Will not, then, the genuine friend of the bible arise, and in manly, in evangelical, consistency, declare to the world, and to the Church of God, that he does not believe any portion of the lively oracles of the God of truth, "has a tendency to make heresy triumphant, or, that it checks us in our ascent toward heaven, throws the vail of Moses over our hearts, dar. kens our sight of God the Savior, and is opposite to the spirit of the gospel." It is time to awake from the slumber of a mere accommodating policy, and to tell the world, these are opinions you do not hold. Convince us, then, that you are sincere. Recall the Book of Psalms from its exile, and restore to it its pris. tine honors. This will be an act of magnani. mous policy, worthy the age of Bibles; an act which the Spirit of God will approve; and in which the Church on earth, and saints in heaven will rejoice.

THE EVIL CONSEQUENCES OF SUPPLYING THE PLACE OF SCRIPTURE PSALMS, WITH HUMAN COMPOSITIONS, furnishes a sixth reason against it. I am forbidden by my prescribed limits, to expand the subject much farther. It requires, however, but little reflexion to perceive the danger. The consequences are indeed extensively felt, and, if the practice be continued, they have not yet reached their bounds.

The Book of Psalms has been undervalued. A language, better fitting the lips of deists than of christians, has been countenanced and the Church of the Redeemer, rent enough before, has been still more divided by the measure now opposed. The preference of a human, to divine Book of Psalms, has led to the maintenance of opinions respecting the dispensation and exercise of grace, under the old Testament, totally at variance with truth, and contradictory to the public standards of the re formation churches, It has forced the advo cates of that preference, to assume a position, that deprives the Church of God at large of his word, as the ground of faith, except those of her members who may be learned in the ori

ginal tongues, in which the scriptures were first written. For, if as faithfula version of the bible, as can be obtained, has no claim to be called the Word of God, as some suppose, then the faith of the great majority of saints,

in every age, has been built on a sandy foundation, the word of man. And, finally, the measure opens wide the door for introducing, and propagating every species of heresy.

The fact, that hymns of human composition, admitted into the Psalmody of the Church, tend to the corruption of religion, is scarcely deniable. Admit them once, where shall we stop? Every fanciful scribbler who may be permitted to ascend a pulpit, and whose inflated vanity induces the belief, that he is a poet, will urge the use of his hymns, “ the sponta-neouseffusions of his affections," composed, as he may imagine, in adaptation to his discourse. Then, instead of a few females, on a particular day, like Paulus of Samosata, he may hear the whole choir, from day to day, sing his, in place of the praises of God.

Examine the hymn books of the respective communities, which have laid aside the Bible Psalms, and you will find their peculiar tenets

interwoven with their song. According to present sentiments and practice, it is, generaldy, in the power of every minister to adopt into his congregation, what hymn books he may deem meet. And thus employ, if unsound in principle, a powerful mean of seduction from the path of truth. With what heart, with what kind of faith, can the worshipper, in such a state of things, enter the house of God? At this day, in many Churches, there is no certainty, in what collection your song of praise shall be found: whether it shall be strictly Calvinistic in sentiment, or replete with all the horrors, and all the nonsense, of the high toned Hopkinsian school; whether, in it, these shall be qualified by an admixture of more truth, or whether it shall be a mere evanescent effusion, depends on circumstances the most uncertain, to the majority of worshippers. This is an unhappy state of things; for it a remedy should be speedily sought.

It would be worth while to spend some labor, to ascertain what has been actually done in this way, to corrupt religious opinion. The inquirer should go back to a date more ancient than the present age. As respects our