•■"f - .: 1^. ''^,W.. \ '. '■'■'■• , J . r ■' '' . ''■■•' ' i^ r^/'-i' iMKI^v ^^^IV^' '-^x • ^^^K^-*'^- 'i^ '• "^ aJ*^" • H|PfeL .*'; •.%t§^€^S^5<^— Psalm c. 4. Enter into bis gates with thankf giving^ and into his courts with praife, THE Import of the language in the text, may be drawn from the facred fenfe of praife in the fcriptures — the expreflion of divine praife. Thefe words are taken from a pfalm, compofed, probably, after the releafe from the Babalonifh captivity, at the building and dedication of the temple ; and fho* not vi^ritten b)iDavid, yet they breathe the fame fpirit of piety and praife. The language of facred fong, is expreflfed in pure and humble, yet elevated raptures, of men who felt the mod intimate fenfe of the omniprefence and glory of God. We might underftand by praife, all the various occafions, on which our fouls are awakened to exult in a fenfe ol the chaiadter, works, and goodnefs of God. Or wc? may with propriety confine it to the mufical expref- fion of our religious feelings ancl fcntiment?, and thus tlie text is fairly apnh'cahle to the prefcnr ocrafion. Avery important part of the Jewiih worffiipwas ma-, fic — probably on opening the Temple, the King and Priefts, and all the people, entered with mufic, which like the other parts of temple worfhip, was calculated tofolcmnize tne mind, and to prepare it for the cere- mony and emblematic glory of typycal fervice, Mufic was not only peculiarly fuited to that dif- pcnfation, but alfo,it was agreeable to the date of eaft- crn literature at that time. From the nature of man, we fhould naturally fup- pofe that fome 6f the fir ft attempts to literature and refinement, would be poetry and mufic. Thefe feem to be infeparably conneded. The fpirit of mufic, would naturally prompt to poetry and metrical com- pofition ; and again, improvement's in poetry would as naturally infpire mufic and fong — They would mu~ tually readt upon each other to infpiration and init provement. Hiftory confirms thefe ideas — Homer mixes the fong with the hiftory of contending Gods, of heroes gaining imiiiortal renown, and of conquer* mg lovers. Orpheus, with his harp, is faid to have made the trees dance, and rivers to ftop in their cour-^ fes — and Amphion is faid to have given power to th^ ftbnes, fo that they ftiould rife into regular walls and edifices — in this manner he is fabled to have builded the city of Thebes — The hiftory of poetry and mufic may doubtlefs be traced to the fame origin. In the rude and barbarous ftate of nations, juft rifing into fome degree of literary improvemjf^, we (liould ex- pert that thefe fciences would mak^ conficierable fij;- urc — we find this to he the cafe ; and perhaps mufic and poetry h?tve been mpft highly efteemed, among thofe nations, who have not very far advanced in re- finement. Thefe fciences have been efteemed, how ever ; not only among rude nations, juft beginning u> improve, but every fucceeding ftep in the progrels oi improvement, has generally, been ftrongly marked with coincident traces of progrefs, in the refinements of poetry and mufic. 'J^he mufician and the bard wei e highly refpecbed, among the ancients. It v/as the ollke of the latter to record great events, and to im- mortalize the characler, and fate of heroes, and to compofc for the worfliip of the Gods. It was the office of the former, to foothe the rough pailions of uncivilized men, to call wandering tribes to fettled ha- bitations, to aid them to the arts of fociai life, and to the fecurity of fenced cities, and to iiifplre them to the woriliip of the Gods. In a v/ord, to illuilrate thefe remarks— IMufic and poetry are languages of nature. I'he fnit llate of language mud have been-rude, and imperfed ; \Wih itw words and many objcds, men would naturally fall into what is now called the eailerii ftile — a flilc of poetical (Iructure, and which would be read with a mufical tone. At iirfl mufic and poe- try were united, afterwards, they were coafidered, ?ind cultivated as feparate arts, but they never can be wholly independent. Aniicntly, the bard and the nmfician were united in one man, and even now, the great poet muft have fome tafle for mufic, and the great mufician, mud have fome knov* ledge of poetn'. In no age, has mufic been wholly neglcded, but it has (liared the fate of the other fciences, to rife and fall with the changes of cullom, improvement^ or bar- Ij^rifrti, in ditl'erent ages and nations. It was joined univerfally with Pagan worlhip, and in all the chrif- tian countricc, it has been elteemed a part of divine fervice. The Italians have- for many ) ears excelled, and perhaps flill excel all other nations in mufic. — The Germans alfo have carried it to a great degree of perffediort' — The former are moll highly favored hj nature and cliniate, but the latter have nearly equalled the former, by indudry and application. Th.e French from their national charader have lefs excelled in the fublime and devotional, while on the other hand, the Englifli, poll'jifcd of a phlegmatic temper, have com- paratively left the cheerful anddelicate for the courfer and more languid drains of melancholy. Aruerica fliould be mentioned with refpcc\,for her improvement in all the fine arts. And tho* we cannot in Ibme rel- peels rival the Eua*opeans, we may with pleafure ob- fervc the progrefs, which is making in every profita- ble and humanizing art. After men had acquired fome knowledge of tlie powers of the human voice, we may fuppofe the inven- tion of inflruments. So early as the time of David, we have an account of a great variety of mufical in- flruments. Thefe together with a multitude of voices compofed the facred choirs of the Temple, and form- ed a principal part of divine fervice-r-There were alfo in the time of Solomon, fmging men, and fmging women, and various kinds of piping, harping and founding inflruments — See 2 Chron. v. 13, in the account, of Solomon's dedication of the Temple — Alfo the Levites which were fingers, all of them of AfaphjHeman and Jeduthun with their fons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cym- bals and pfalteries, and harps, flood at the eafl end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priefls founding with trumpets ; and it came to pafs, as the trumpeters and fingers, were as one, to make one found, to be heard in praifmg the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cym- bals and inflruments of mufic, and praifed the Lord, faying for he is good, for his mercy endureth for- ever, that then the houfe was filled with the cloud, even the houfe of the Lord. This is a very folemn inftance of divine worfhip. The number of thofe who were indrucled in fongs of the Lord, as men- tioned in the time of David, was two hundred, four fcore and eight. And probably in Solomon's time it was much greater. Thefe inflances, fhow the Rate of mufic, in fome of the earlieft times of hiftory, and confirm the obfervations, which we have previ- ou fly made. Of all inflruments, the organ flands firft, whether we confidtr the greatnefs of the invention, or the uilion of foftnefs, fublimity and variety of founds. — f9 The iirft hearing of this indrument is more peculiar- ly afFedling. It may however, on the whole, perhaps be exceeded by a band of inftruments ; but it is faid that their bed organs in fome of the eaftern church- es, united with the fublimity of Gothic architecture, can infpire the moil awful and pathetic emotions. After all, inftruments can never equal the human voice ; the voice muft always be more various, more manageable, and more fignificant than any fmgle in- flrument. There is the fame difference between the voice and an inftrument, which there is between a living man and his ftatue ; but this affords no argu- ment againfl the ufe of inflruments, any more, than that men actually live, aflbrds an argument againft Ifatuary and painting. The moft perfect mufic is a due mixture of vocal and inftrumental. In a hap- py concert of vocal and inftrumental mufic, while the inftruments regulate and enliven the voice, in return, the voice foftens the inftruments, and gives them fig- nificance. They both confpire to heighten the ex- preilion, the mufic is more extenfive and command- ing, and the whole accumulated effeft is proportion- ably greater on the mind. 2. Mufic has been called the language of the paf- fions. This is not only a truth ; but a truth which is very extenfive. When the author of nature had fmifhed his terreftrial works, to crown the whole man was created, with the diflinguifhing faculties of reafon, language, and mufic. Thefe three eftablifh his prerogative of dominion over the inferior crea- tures, and render him capable o'f the numerous im- provements of focial and religious life. /Reafon di- reds us in life and manners — language aids us in the expreffion of our ideas in focial intcrcourfe — and mufic is the expreffion of the paflions, in the rational exercife of human fenfibility.y As we can exprefti our thoughts by words, fowe can exprefs our feelings by mufic j/and there is in nature, an air of mufic correfponding to the feveral affedions of the mind — I The defign of every piece of mufic therefore, -cither indicates what is the prefent flate of the mind, or what is defirable it fhould be. Thus, the high and the low, the foft and the fevere, which denote the different ftates of the palTions, are alfo equally appli- cable to mufic. As the fimple tones in mufic, fuch ,as the high, the low, the foft, the fhrill, and the harih, rcxadly correfpond to fingle pafTions, fuch as the fub- .lime, the languid, the melting, the exhilarating, ar the 'boifterouSj fo the united adion of the whole =piece ip .union of fimple founds, or in a concert of mufic, is -cxadly chara<^erifl;ic of fuch a Hate of mind as the mufic is calculated toexprefs in the performer, or ex- cite in the hearer ; and alfo entire and extenfive harmony, in a piece of mufic, is expreifive of perfed harmony in the ftate of the paffions — and likewife, the leading chara£teriflic of the mufic, is indicative of fome governing affedion of the mind, correfponding -to the leading charadier and defign of the mufic. — - -From the correfpondence of the fimple tones of mu- fic, with the fimple pafiions, we may doubtlefs find as good areafon as can be given, why mufic is pleafing or difpleafing at all — And this is confirmed by the fad, that different perfons are pleafed with different founds and different airs. For tho^ one may be delighted with the cheerful and lively, another with the languid and melancholy, yet all are dilgufted with harfhnefs and difcords, and all are at once delighted with eafe, harmony, and foftnefs. And it will be -found that thefe different perfons are moft pleafed,with thofe airs which are moft: agreeable, in a philofophic fenfe^to their conftitutions. Mufic, more than the oth- er fciences, has an intimate connexion with animal nature. From this doctrine we may give the reafon why the ancient bards and muficians acquired fuch an influence over the paffions of men. Thus David could drive madnefs from Saul, and change hipi for a moment into a rational and benevolent man. And this infeparable connection between mufic ^nd the pafTions, can never be dilTolved, either by barbarim on the one hand, or refinement on the other. The influence of luufic may be the greateft over uncivi- lized men, who are mod governed by their pafTions, notwithflandinL?, as refinement and humanity pro- ceed, the mind willbecome inore and more fufcepti- ble of the various exprellions and delicacies of mufic. This gives the (kilful mufician an increafing power over the affeclions of his hearers. Thus, if he would call them to mirth, this mufl be the charader of his mufic — if he would call them to mourning, his flrain muft be languid and melting — if he would excite them to the fublime, the mufic muft foar with majefty and pathos. But the higheft efled of mufic is, when all the powers of virtuous fenfibility are excited, by a variety of correfponding mufical expreflions, fo that at fome capital point, the combined adion of the whole piece, may be the greateft poflible exertion of the performers, and the higheft poftible excitement of the lj£arers. In this connexion between mufic and the^aflions God has greatly added to the plea- fures of focial life. But we may trace this idea further ; by this con- neclion we are rendered fufceptible of moral impref- fions alfo — As the paflions and affections are defign- cd as well for focial as religious life, fo mufic is cal- culated to infpire us with benevolence, fear, or de- votion, as well as with gaiety and friendfhip. /To every external impreflion, there is a correfponding fenfetion in human nature, and to every fentimentof religion, there is a coincident fet of feehngs in the human heart. / Thus mufic has in fome men uni- formly, and in moit men at times, a power over the moral feelings — the general effe<^l of mufic on the mind, is to foothe and harmonize the afledions, and thus to prepare it for moral influence, and even for the reception of truth itfelf. Particularly on young and tender minds, nothing has a more happy influ- B lO ence ; it prq^ares the way for attention — it foftens the heart, and finds an avenue for the fentiments of philofophy, morals, or religion. But we may add to thefe remarks, in mufic accompanied by words, there is a double effed of whatever is intended. The language conveys the fentiment, and the found reach- es the affedions, and the fpirit and the underftand- ing are of courfe united. Mufic has indeed been perverted — the charms of innocent nature have been tortured in the filthy fongs of ribaldry, nonlcnfe,and lull — and the beauty of the celeftial inhabitant, the delight and employment of Angels, has been ravifhed and defiled in a degenerate world ; but facred nm- fic, in her purity and perfedion can dwell only with Angels, and with thofe who are probationers, for the celeftial raptures of feraphic fong. Ater thefe more general remarks, kt us turn out? attention, 3. To the fenfe and ufefuliiefs of mufic, as appli- ed to divine praife. The great author of nature, who has fo wifely adapted the faculties of m^ to his terreftrial habitation, has made the onlyTneans of human felicity, confifteiit with the rules of moral ob- ligation. Mufic is no more capable of adding to the pleafuresr of animal and focial fife, than it is of aid- ing us in the duties of religion. The connexion be- tween mufic and the paflions, admits of its being ap- plied to the purpofes ot^ religious worfhip, to the higheft advantage. Mufic has ever been efteemed part of divine fervice, and doubtlefs it is a very ce- cefiary and important part. In the Jewifh church it was highly regarded, as applied to facred hymns, compofed for the woriliip of God. Mofes was the firft author of which we have any account, who wrote hymns for divine worfhip. AH nations have followed his example, in the worfhip of their Gods. The compofition of lacred hymns and fongs was im- proved by fucceeding Prophets ; but facred mufic was carried to its higheft perfection under David. — David introduced many inftruments, and reduced to 1 1 order this folemn part of worfhip. This pradlce :ontinued in the Jewifh church, till it was fan^tioned .•)y Chriit and his Apoftles, who themfehcs recom- nended it, both by example and precept. The hymn which our Saviour fung with his Difciplej; at the laft fupper is fuppofed to have confifted of the pfalms contained between the hundred and thirteenth, and hundred and eighteenth inclufive. Mufic was not, in the Jewi{h church, a ceremonial, but a moral part of worfhip — thus it was confidered by Chrift — thus it w^as recommended by the Apoftles, and i^ this fenfe it has ever been elteemed in the chrillian church. The poetic language of fcripture, attended with mufic, is calculated for every purpofe of devo- tion. As man is compounded of body and fpirit, the defign of mufic is to make both natures to har- monize together — that our fpiritual deadnefs may bq enlivened, by the warmth of animal feelings, and that our paflions may be drawn under intcUeftua^ dominion, by the fentiment and devotion of celefliaJ fong. Mufic can infpire the fecial, tender and be- nevolent feelings — it can alfo call up a devotional frame of mind, with atfeclions and fcntiments fuita- ble for the houfe of God — it can lay open the heart to the faired iniprefTibns of facred truth, and give us foretaftes of the joys and raptures of the upper world — Wc have reafon to lament the abufes of mufic — that it has been turned to the worfliip of pagan divi- nites, and perverted to the parpofes of obfccnity and licentioufncfs ; but the fame mourning may be ap- plied to religioii itfelf. The depravity of human na- ture is lamemable,in whatever light it is viewed. Mufic has indeed been forced to^ the fervice of the libertine, the letcher, and the athiclt — She has at- tended immolations and facrifice.^ made to Gods fiditious,ahfurd,and unknown — Ihe has fanclioncd al- tars, flaincd with human blood ; on which the fniif ©f the body has been offered for the fins oFclie foul, yet fhc is facred. Mufic is n^itural to men, and may 12 be. applied to the worft purpofes, but the perfedion ofhercharms,can dwell only with innocence and vir- tue. She may be applied to calm the joys, and foothe the forrows of human life. She may be im- proved to enliven the focial hour, or to fweeten the expreflions of friendfhip, or to embalm the memory of the dead ; but her higheft prerogative is to join in the exercife of our religious feelings and aifec- tions,and to heighten the expreflions of divine praife. IE vena bad man, may be charmed into a kind of tem- porary virtue and devotion, by the influence of divine fong./ The greatnefs and goodnefs of God, in all his boundlefs difplays of creation, providence, and grace, call for more than mere language can exprefs— -in view of thefe things the foul can only exult, and Gods praife mufl be ihouted in hymns and anthems. Thus the Angels are frequently employed. When God exhibited this lower creation, the morning ftars fang together, and all the fons of God fhouted for joy. — Ood has formed the inferior creatures alfo, with or- gans of praife — the birds notice the times and fea- fons, and excite us to praife our maker ; and do we difcover lefs beauty in the rifm? morning, or in the opening fpring ? Shall man (land a filent fpeclator of thofe fcenes, at which all creatures croke around him ? To us, nature opens, with a thoufand beauties, which the beads, the fowls, and the filhes, caimot reach — to us are unfolded, the deeper treafures of wifdom and knowledge — to us the great funofright- eoufnefs has arifen, with healing on his wings, The low opinion which fome entertain of mufic, is certainly inconfiflent, both with the didates of rea- fon and revelation. Too little attention has been given to mufic, in religious worftip, in mod: of our churches — in fome places it has been almoft wholly ■negleded ; in others, it has been performed, in a trifling, improper, or unanimating manner. In all places, it is fubjed to languor and decay. We '3 liavc reafon to lament that this is true ; becaufo mu- fic, except the truths of fulvation, is no Ms iinpor* rant than any other part of wori'bip — it is no lefs fa- cred, no Ids devotional, and no lefs awful tiian pray- er itfelf. From this we may conclude, that the neg- lect of mufic, ill public .worlhip, is not merely inde- cent, but fmfu!. Were men pure and fmlefs, as the heavenly hihabitants, devotion would be n.-tural, and mufic would be praife — It would be much of our bufmefs. to chant the praifes of the mod high, iu alleluias and anthems drawn from every objed, and- occafion, by which his perfcclions are dilplayed ; and every dilfersnt air would call up fonie new divine fentiinent, which wOuld exalt, ejiHven, and moralize the mnid. Objctlions have exifled agalnfl: unfancliiied fnig- efs ; but if Tinging pfalms, is confidered as a part of divine worfhip, the objection lies equally againfl all the duties of the fanduary, as they refpccl the un- converted — if linging is . confidered as among the means o[ grace, the objection will lie againfl all the means of grace. But the objedion is too futile to merit a formal anfwer — All the duties of religion have the fame ultimate objecl, and require, asdutie?, the fame temper of mind. Every part of divine fer- vice may be numbered with the means of grace — we are all under a difpenfation of grace, and both the duties and inilitutions of relicrion, are diredlv and unitedly calculated to awaken in us a fenfe of pi-cty, and to lead us to God, who i^i the fountain of moral perfeQion. It is the duty of all, who are able, to j.iri in the mufic of divine fervice ; and parents ought, as far as confrftent, to aid and fupport their children iu this duty, iklides the duty it is a very great orna- ment to fociety ; it may ailiil both the manners and the morals. Nothing is more deb'giitful in public worlhip than a good number of v/ell arranged fingers, who perform not only with decency, but fo as to command ihcattendori of the aflembly— On the oth- u or hand nothing is more difguftlng than a fet of life* lefs and difcordant performers. Nor is any thing mor« indecent in public worfhip, than for the fingers particularly, to (land, fit, or fing, in a lolling, frolic- fome, or fleepy poflure. We ought all, to remem- ber, when we go into the fan£tuary, that we are pro- fefledly in the prefejnce of the great God — whatever we attempt in addrefs to him, {houtd be attended in the mod folemn and fearful manner. This truth is equally applicable to mufie and all other parts of divine fervice. Further — the finging of pfalms is highly calculated to awaken the fingers. If their hearts can be affeded, by any thing, they may with thofe. awful and interefting truths which they pro- nounce, refpeding the fall of man — his redemption by the only fon of God-r-and the future glory of Chrift's kingdom, ifluing in the endlefs happinefs of thofe who are finally faved-r-rThe fame, may alfo ap- ply to the refi: of the aflembly. The words of well adapted pfalms, with the cor- refponding Iblemnities of mufic, derive a double ad- vantage from being fung, and fall with an agojravated weight on the mind. Exprellive words touching the coincident afFe6lions5elevate the whole foul — the heart and the intelled are united — the divine object is feiz- ed — and heaven opens on our view. If from thii; glorious profpecl the finner may retire with difguftj the faint would leave it with reluctance, and would fpend an eternity in the ravifhing vifion. Perhaps we may now attend to the objedions,which by fome would be made againfl inftrumental mufic. Thofe who objcd to the prefent eftablifhed mufic, as ufed in the churches, may be divided into three clail- es— thofe who are oppofed to all method in this part of worfhip— thofe who fuppofe none but member $ of the church ought to be fingers — and thofe who deny the propriety of infirumental mufic. To the firfi of thefe we fiiall make no reply ; the fecond we have al- ready noticed 5 and with refped to the third, we ob- ferve — the force of their obje£lion arl/es from the fup- pofttion that mufic is not a moral, but a ceremonial part of worfliip. If this fiippofition is removed per- haps the very ground of the objection wiU be taken away. For if mufic was a moral part of worfliip, the authority of the Jewifh church, in .the ufe of inftru- ments, would be an argument equally fufBcient for us all. That it was moral, and not ceremonial, wc argue, both from its nature, and from its ellablifh- ment. Fird, becaufc it was not conneded with the eftablifhment of ceremonial fervice — -Divine mufic, if not introduced, was certainly eftablifhed and reduced to form by David, more than four hundred years af- ter the Mofaic inflitution of typical fervice. And what corroborates the argument, is, that the beauty and life of Jewifli mufic had declined with the fpirit of religion, from the time of David, and failed with the other moral parts of worfliip, while only the cere- monial remained, at the time of our Saviour. But, Secondly, Mufic is a moral part of worfhip, be- caufe, clearly, it is the exprcfTion of divine praife, and thus, is no lefs folemn and devotional than prayer.—- As fuch it conneds itfelf with the very exiftence of focial worfhip. If this is true of finging, it mufl be true of the ufe of inflruments alfo — Becaufe, Thirldly, There can be no difference in the nature of mufic confidered with refped to its caufe, effects, or moral tendency, whether it is made by the voice, or by an inftrument. For the organs of the voice compofe a real inftrument, an inftrument which makes its found by means of air, as muclj as a viol, organ — its efied is produced thro' the medium of the ear — and its moral tendency is drawn from its correfpondence to certain paflions or afledions of the mind. If the caufe of all mufic is the fame— if the nature of it is the fame, with refped to the princi- ples on which it rclls — if its effects are of the fame nature on the mind — and if the moral influence of it aiifes from its connexion with the paflions^ furely i6 there can be no foundation for a mornl ciiftin ;v>.-.>^ ;■■.-'■. »