of those Perfons who admire them for their Antiquity.

It has often given me Pain to fee the moft noble and exalted Part of divine Worship fo much neglected, fo ill performed, or the Words fo injudiciously chofen. For certainly we never fo much refemble the Inhabitants of the heavenly World, as when we are joining together with one Heart and one Voice in finging the Praises of our Creator and our God. I beheld, and I heard the Voice of many Angels round about the Throne, and the Beafts, 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, faying, Bleffing, and Honour, and Glory, and Power, be unto him that fitteth upon the Throne, and "unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

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Such is the happy Employment of the Saints in Light! Let us ftudiously learn to emulate their elevated Strains. Our Debt of Duty and Gratitude is probably greater even than theirs. Let us then strive to fing with all our Might, with the Spirit, and with the Underftanding alfo. Brifk, folemn, lively Tunes, are beft adapted to awaken holy Affections. Avoid therefore fuch as are light, frothy and fantastic; and let all the Congregation join together in one grand Chorus. Such Words, fuch Tunes, fuch Singing as leaves us dull, ftupid, and languid, answer no valuable End whatever. They are neither pleafing to God, nor profitable to Man.

But

But fuch as raise our Affections, carry us beyond ourselves, and bring all Heaven before our Eyes, thefe are the Tunes, this is the Singing, which is beft calculated to anfwer the Purposes of divine Harmony.

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"I could heartily with, fays the "pious and judicious Addifon, there was the fame Application and En❝deavours to cultivate and improve "our Church Mufic, as have beer lately beftowed on that of th Stage. Our Compofers have on very great Incitement to it: The fc are fure to meet with excellen "Words, and at the fame Time "a wonderful Variety of them "There is no Paffion that is no finely expreffed in those Parts o "the infpired Writings, which ar << proper for divine Songs and An

"thems.

"There is a certain Coldness an " Indifference in the Phrafes of ou

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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 Hebraifms, which are "derived to it out of the poetical Paffages in holy Writ. They give "a Force and Energy to our Ex" preffion, warm and animate our Language, and convey our Thoughts in more ardent and "intenfe Phrafes, 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

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compofed

"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 fome of the "Ancients, that if the Gods. were "to talk with Men, they would "certainly fpake in Plato's Stile; but "I think we may fay, with Juftice, "that when Mortals converse with "their Creator, they cannot do it "in fo proper a ftile 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 Language; after having perufed the "Book of Píalms, let him read a lite"ral Tranflation of Horace or Pindar. "He