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 fá injudiciously chosen. For certainly we never so much resemble thë In: habitants 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 Beats, 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 pain, to receive Power, and Riches, and Wif dom, and Strength, and Honour, and Glory, and Blesing. . And every Creature which is in Heaven, and on the Earth, and under the Earth, and such

beard I, saying, Blefing, and r, and Glory, and Power, be unto þat fitteth upon the Throne, and be Lamb for ever and ever. h is the happy Employment of ints in Light! Let us studiearn to emulate their elevaains. Our Debt of Duty and udę is probably greater even theirs. Let us then strive

with all our Might, with irit, and with the Underg also. Brisk, folemn, lively

are best adapted to awak y Affections. Avoid therech as are light, frothy and c; and let all the Congregah together in one grand chos ch Words, such Tunes, such

as leaves us dull, stupid, guid, answer no valuable End er. They are neither pleaGod, nor profitable to Man.

But

But such as raiseour 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 auswer 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 An66 thems.

" There is a certain Coldness and es Indifference in the Phrases of our

European

1

opean Languages, when they
compared with the oriental
ms of Speech; and it happens
luckily, that the Hebrew I-
ns run into the English
gue with a particular Grace
Beauty. Our Language has
ved innumerable ělegancies
Improvements, from that
ion of Hebraisms, which are
ed to it out of the poetical
ges in holy Writ. They give
rce and Energy to our Ex-
ion, warm and animate our
guage, and convey
ughts in more ardent and
ife Phrases, than any that
o be met with in our own
ue. There is something so
tick in this kind of Diction,
it afren fets the Mind in a
e, and makes our Heart burn
nus, How cold and read
a Prayer appear, that is

our

" composed