praising of their God 2. Suppose these Harpers harping with their Harps are to be understood of the Church Militant Praising God here below which as he hints is the Opinion of some others yet I cannot see any advantage he will gain to his cause by it For 1. You very well know that it is a common thing in Scripture for matters relating to the New-Testament Worship to be dressed up in Old-Testament Phrases The words Priests Sacrifices Incense c. are a clear proof of this * Vid. Glass Philol. Sacr. p. 1348. 2. But methinks we have a Text in the Book of the Revelations which fairly discovers to us what we are to understand by Harps in this Prophecy Revel 5.8 It is said that the four Beasts and the Four and Twenty Elders fell down before the Lamb having every one of them Harps and Golden Vials full of Odours which are the Prayers of the Saints Here we have the Worship of the New-Testament or the Praises and Prayers of the Saints under the Evangelical Administration adumbrated by Harps and Viols full of Odours What we are to understand by those Vials full of Odours is made plain to us in the following words Viz. Which are the Prayers of the Saints So then by Harps and the sound of them we are to understand the Praises of the same For both Praises and Prayers are there expressed by Phrases which allude to the Worship of God under the Legal Administration And thus does a Learned Prelate †Cooper Bishop of Galloway in his Commentary on the Revelations expound the place for saith he The Harp of a Christian wherewith he praiseth God is his heart the Strings of the Harp are the Affections of the Heart which must be well tuned and prepared before they can make any Melody to the Lord. To the same purpose speaks he on Revel 14.2 For saith he there There is an harping which we make to God our Heart is the Harp Sancti sunt Dei insignes Citharcedi Saints are excellent Harpers to God The Strings of this Harp are our Affections Now the Opinion of this Right Reverend Bishop I oppose to that of Dr. Hammond The Continuators of Mr. Pool's Annotations on Rev. 5.8 say thus He alludes to the Worship of God under the Old Testament where in the Temple they were wont to praise God with Instruments of Musick and offering up of Frankincense And these Persons I oppose to Mr. Baxter And saith Marlorate on Revel 5.8 By Harps we are to understand Hearts And him we oppose to Bullinger But I would entreat you to weigh a little 3. What the Learned Dr. More saith Mystery of Iniquity p. 221. He tells us of a Prophetick Scheme exceeding frequent especially in the Apocalyps which he stiles Israelitismus which he saith is a speaking of the Affairs of the Church under the Names and with allusion to such places or Persons or things as did of old concern the Israelites and People of the Jews and that in a Mystical or Spiritual meaning The frequency of this Scheme adds he is not to be wondred at if we consider that the People of Israel were one great and entire Mysterious Type or Sacrament of the Church of God such as it should be under Christ according as St. Paul has written 1 Cor. 10. That all things befel them in figures And this I humbly conceive is enough to enervate the Argument our Author has fetched from some verses in the Book of the Revelations 4. Give me leave to present you with the Learned Dr. Lightfoots * Doctor Lightfoot's Works Vol. 1. p. 350. opinion of the sense of that Text Revel 15. saith he of the beginning of the story of the Seven Vials John again calls us to reflect upon the Scheme of the Temple in Heaven which all along speaks according to the platform of the Temple at Jerusalem Here is a Sea of Glass mingled with Fire and Harpers harping by it c. Singing the Song of Moses which as it calls to mind Moses and the People Singing upon the Red-sea-shore upon their delivery from Egypt so doth it plainly allude to the Musick at the Temple I could with as much shew of Reason Argue from a place in the Revelations that when Antichrist shall fall and the pure Worship of Christ shall be freed from all Antichristian Superstitions and Pompous Rites that then the use of Instrumental Musick in the Worship of God shall cease too and be thrown out of the Churches with her other gaudy and needless Ceremonies For if we look into Revel 18. we have there an account of the Destruction of Babylon i. e. of the Roman Anti-Christian Hierarchy as the generality of Expositors understand it And upon the Destruction of this Anti-Christian Government it is said ver 22. And the Voice of Harpers and Musicians and of Pipers and Trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee That is say many all their Instrumental Musick shall be cast out of the Churches with their other Anti-Christian Trumpery For saith Aretius on the place Musicam primo loco ponit c. He puts Musick in the first place because all their Temples are filled with the sound of it There are Organs and Trumpets and Pipes but all these things made use of in Religion do displease the Lord as this place teacheth And Mr. Clerk on the same Text saith The Voice of Harpers and Musicians that is their Church-Musick shall be heard no More And ver 23. The light of the Candle shall shine no more in thee i. e. Their Consecrated Candles burning upon their Altars and before Images And much to the same purpose speaks the Learned Dr. More Mystery of Iniquity p. 428. Commenting on the same Text. There may be a more particularly contrived Allegory in reference to this Mystical City here meant as if we should understand rather the Musick at their Idolatrous Worship by these here specified which were only by a Diorismus And by these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such as do technas Consuere Sophisticas and Politicas in Theology and Church Administration for the interest of their Hierarchy These Artifices Imperii in Imperio of those also that work curious work in the Scholastick Divinity Here you have a Ternary of Authors approving this sense of the Words and one of them an Eminent Doctor of the Church of England And if the words are to be understood in this sense I am satisfied they are a considerable Argument against the use of Instrumental Musick in the Worship of God But whether this may be the sense or no I shall not contend yet thus much I think any Unprejudiced Person will grant me That this is as strong an Argument against the Sacred Use of Organs as any Mr. Newte has advanced from the Revelations to prove their use Lawful 4. I am now arrived at his Fourth Argument I shall crave leave to try the Strength of this too He delivers himself thus
A LETTER TO A Friend in the Country Concerning the Use of INSTRUMENTAL MUSICK IN THE Worship of God IN Answer to Mr. Newte's SERMON Preach'd at Tiverton in Devon on the Occasion of an Organ being Erected in that Parish-Church LONDON Printed for A. Baldwin at the Oxford-Arms in Warwick Lane 1698. A LETTER TO A Friend in the Country Concerning the Use of INSTRUMENTAL MUSICK IN THE Worship of God c. SIR I Have according to your desire been at the pains to peruse the Discourse of Mr. Newte which he delivered a while since to his Auditory at Tiverton occasioned by the erecting of an Organ in the Publick Temple there Had he confined his beloved Musick to his own Parish I believe he might have sat down quietly and have solaced himself with his Harmonious Pipes without fear of a Contradiction But he was so ravished with his Organical Devotion that nothing less would content him than to fill the whole Nation with a noise of it Therefore out comes his Sermon in Print to tell the World what a mighty admirer he is of Instrumental Musick in the Worship of God with what rare and raised Devotion he adores the Deity whilst that of others is low and inharmonious being deadned and flatned by the hoarsness of the Wind-pipe He discovers a mighty Zeal for this sort of Church-Musick as he stiles it and therefore has thought fit to oblige the World with a large Sermon to recommend and defend it But how grateful soever this sort of Musick may be to his more Elevated Genius He does ill to blame others for not approving it Why must he disturb his Neighbour with his fancy Others perhaps do not find this to be so great a help to Devotion as he confidently presumes it is To render his Discourse the more acceptable to the World He has Dedicated it to the Right Reverend the Bishop of Exon and whether it has met with his Approbation and Good-liking I have not heard but I am satisfied that some of the Clergy look upon it as a mean performance I perceive by his Epistle Dedicatory that this Gentleman has had a difficult Province of it in bringing his Organ into his Church He has been attempting it for Ten Years together and could never accomplish his design till of late And for ought I know at last he has as the Proverb speaks made more hast than good speed For is this a time to set up Chargeable Organs in the Churches This was written when a stop was put to Trade by the Prohibition of the Clipt Money the use of which he only pretends to be lawful to expend vast Sums in the setting up some Musical Pipes when as the generality of the Poor complain and that not without reason that they have scarcely Money sufficient to buy Bread for their Families Is this a time to lavish a great deal of Treasure upon inanimate Organs when as the animate ones I mean the Poor are ready to famish for want of their Daily-bread What Harmony can there be in a costly Organ when we hear the bitter lamentations of the Needy and the piercing cryes of helpless Orphans Is this a time to regale our Ears with an Expensive and yet unnecessary Musick when we can scarcely find Money sufficient to defray the Charges of a necessary War against a Potent Prince and Inveterate Enemy abroad Why must it just at this very time be Erected I hope the Worship of God has heretofore been managed with as much Edification without it Well seeing he has obtained his desire in having mounted his Organ to the place he designed it for I wish it may inspire him as with Devotion to his God so with Charity towards his Neighbour But some Mens Charity is not very large at home and then usually much less abroad His many little spiteful reflections he makes upon Protestant Dissenters discover his Charity abroad to be very deminutive And whether the compliment he makes his Right Reverend Diocesan does not savour of a want of some degree of Charity towards those of his own way and Church I leave to you to determine I shall transcribe the Passage which I have a respect to for I think it deserves an Animadversion Thus then he Addresses his Lordship My Lord It is now highly to be wished if such a Wish be not too great in our days that all others who possess the same Station and Dignity in our Church with you were as Zealous and hearty in promoting the interest and defending the rights of its Constitution It would make some of us happy beyond our expectation and others beyond their design if not against their wills Then we might see our excellent establishment and Old-England flourish in our time as they did in that of our Forefathers In which Passage you cannot but observe what a vast commendation he heaps upon his Lordship and advances him far above those of the same station in the Church This Gentleman when he dropped this passage I suppose had almost forgotten the common Proverb Viz. That comparisons are odious He hereby tacitely accuses the other Reverend Bishops of a want of Zeal and heartiness in the promoting the interest and defending the rights of the Churches Constitution I wish this Gentleman would be pleased to shew us in what respects the other Reverend Bishops have been wanting to the Churches Interest For my part I would not in the least be thought to detract from the due praises of the Bishop of Exon. But why should many other Reverend Bishops of the same Order be marked out as Men too little concerned for the Churches interest When as it is apparent beyond a possibility of a denyal that they have appeared with a great deal of Warmth in defence of that Church and its rights That Man must needs be a great Stranger to the other Reverend Bishops who shall adventure to assert that they have been wanting as to their Zeal and heartiness in the promoting of the Churches Interest and defending of the Rights of the Churches constitution The present Arch-Bishop has written with great Learning and Zeal against Atheists in his Examination of Hobbs's Creed and against the Papists in his Elaborate Discourse of Idolatry The Reverend Bishop of Worcester has Learnedly pleaded the Cause of Christianity against Atheists and Deists in his Origines Sacrae and his Letter to a Deist With very great strength of Reason has he Confuted the Doctrines of the Church of Rome in his Rational Account His Idolatry of the Church of Rome and in many other Excellent Discourses And with wonderful Learning has he Vindicated the grand Doctrines of our Religion against Crellius and others of the Socinian party His Discourse of the Sufferings of Christ and that of the Trinity evidently prove this I suppose I need not tell you that with great briskness he has written against those too who are somewhat averse to the Churches discipline His Mischief of Separation will discover
attend This terrible word Unanswerable is enough to scare a Junior Disputant But perhaps all this Remark may be no other than a harmless Mormo only to Amuse not to do any Execution Therefore I shall look a little more narrowly into it If saith he Musical Instruments as is granted had that power then how have they changed their Nature since A few things will discover this Interrogatory not to be so very formidable as our Author presumes it to be 1. These were Means appointed of God to stir up the Affections of the Jewish People under the Legal oeconomy and doubtless God concurred with his own Institutions and made them useful to that end But they are not a means now thus appointed of God to be used in Gospel-Churches Therefore we have no reason to expect that God should thus concur with Persons in the Use of them in these times of the New-Testament Administration 2. At the same rate a Man may argue for the use of Sacrifices and Incense still For is it not very easie to say if Sacrifices and Incense were of use then to stir up the Affections How have they changed their Nature since And must this be looked upon as an Unanswerable Remark If not Why should our Authors be thought to be so But I shall offer you a few things more to this purpose when I come to consider the great advantages which as our Author avers acrue to Persons by this sort of Church Musick Thus having considered the Authority he has produced from those of the Separation as he stiles them in the behalf of his admired Musick I will endeavour to be even with him by presenting you with the Judgment of two Church-men directly against it 1. I shall offer you the Opinion of Mr. Maxwel a Scotish Divine but yet not of the Geneva Cut but of the true Prelatical Stamp In a Discourse of his Entituled The Excellency of the Church of England above that of Geneva He delivers himself thus We agree with the Reformed Divines that Instrumental Musick is neither a help to nor a part of Divine or Ecclesiastick Worship This I am satisfied is a much fuller Passage against Instrumental Musick in Divine Worship than is his citation from the Assemblies Annotations for it 2. But what will you say if I produce a very Eminent and Learned Bishop declaring against this sort of Musick in Christian Assemblies That I suppose may be sufficient to counter-poize Mr. Baxter's Testimony Well then the Reverend the Learned Bishop Taylor Delivers himself expresly against this sort of Church Musick For saith he The Use of Psalmody or Singing of Psalms Duct dub Lib. 3. p. 329. be cause it can stir up the Affections and make Religion please more Faculties is very apt for the Edification of Churches The use of Instrumental Musick may also add some little advantages to Singing but they are more apt to change Religion into Air and Fancies and take off some of its Simplicity and are not so fitted for Edification Ad Disciplinas aliquod Artificiale Organum non est ad hibendum said Aristotle as he is quoted by Aquinas Artificial Instruments are not fit to be applied to the Use of Disciplines that is The Musick of Instruments does not make a Man wiser or instruct him in any thing this is true and therefore they are not of themselves very good Ministries of Religion And then a little below in the same page he tells us from Chrysostom That those Instruments were permitted the Jews ob eorum Imbecilitatem For their Weakness Thus I suppose I have fully requited him for his Citation of Mr. Baxter By this time I presume you may be satisfied that I have fairly represented his Arguments and as fairly Answered them But now the method of his Discourse leads us to consider the great Use and Advantages of this sort of Musick For these he pretends are many But I am inclined to believe that Instrumental Musick in the Worship of God is nothing so useful as he imagines The Advantages which he confidently avers may be reaped by it may be rather the Suggestions of a warm Fancy than the Results of a well informed Judgment But that I may the more exactly suit my Answers to his Allegations I shall carefully trace him as to the steps he takes in order to his Advance to that Position Viz. That the Use of Organs is of very great Advantage in the Worship of God in these times of the Gospel Ser. p. 20. The First advantage of Organs he thus expresseth The Organ will Regulate the Untuneable Voices of the Multitude and make the Singing in the Church more Orderly and Harmonious It cannot be supposed but there will be great Discord and Jarrings in a mixed company of Singers where few perhaps have had the Benefit of Art to Tune and help their Voices 1. How can the Organ Regulate untuneable Voices or make them Harmonious in the Church If they are Untuneable or not Tuneable I am certain they cannot be Harmonious any more than there can be Harmony in Singing without a Tune But I suppose that word was intended rather to make the Sentence Tuneable than True 2 But I believe his meaning to be that the Organ will Regulate the untuned Voices of the Multitude and render them the more Harmonious To this then I Answer That the Organ may sometimes drown the Voices of the Multitude by its lowder noise but I am not in the least satisfied that it will render Untuned Voices the more Harmonious For if the Voices are not Harmonious the Organ will not make them so If there are Jarrings and Discords in a mixed Company of Singers when the Organ does not found I cannot see how the Organ will help them by its Harmony to be more Orderly and Melodious For Persons who have not had somewhat of Art to help their Voices know not well how to sing in Consort with an Organ 3. But if Persons have untuned Voices I suppose there may be a much better Cure for this than an Organ If they are but taught to sing by some Artist their Voices will be more Harmonious than an Organ can make them to be And less than Five hundred Pound Sterling will be enough to procure an Artist or two to Instruct a Large Congregation in Vocal Musick and to bring them to some competent skill in Psalmody The Dutch and French Protestants in their Churches sing very Harmoniously and that because they are instructed in the Elements of Vocal Musick from their Child-hood For at the same time their Children are taught to Read they are taught to Sing So that it is not the Melodious sound of an Organ that prevents Discords and jarrings amongst them but their skill in Vocal Musick and this Persons may arrive to by some Instruction from an Artist much sooner than byâ—â—n Organ The Musick of an Organ he saith will both grace the service Ser. p. 21. and please the Offerer How
well it may please the Offerer I shall not enquire but that it will Grace the Service I do not believe unless by Gracing the Service he intends that it will give it a greater external Pomp and Splendour And if that be his meaning the Papists will tell him that the Service in the Church of Rome is much more Graceful than that which is to be found in this Authors Church Alas Sir Simplicity is the Glory of the Christian Worship and the more there is of Pomp and Ceremony added to it the less Beautiful and Graceful is it found A Worship dressed up al a Mode de Romain with Ribbons and Gaudy Topknots will not be Graceful in Gods account how much soever some Superstitious Fops may Admire and Applaud it But is the Worship of God any thing the better for a few Gaudy Additions of Men Will such Fancies render it the more acceptable to God or the more Advantageous to the Worshippers To conclude either of these would be an Argument of Superstition But it will Please the Offerer he pretends The Musick may please his Ear or delight his Fancy But I suppose what may gratifie the Sence and please the Fancy must not presently be admitted to have a room in Divine Worship For if so Hundreds of Fopperies might he brought into Christian Assemblies and be mixed with the Service there He saith Ser. p. 21. It is somewhat unreasonable to suppose God will be delighted with such unpleasant and harsh Tones in his Service as Men in their common Diversion would not endure And for ought I know it may be as unreasonable to suppose that God will be delighted who is a pure Spirit with the sweetest airs and Melody of an Organ Non Musica Chordula sed Cor. 2. The Second Use he pretends of his Organ is to stir up the Affections of the Soul Ser. p. 21. Ser. p. 10. and make them the fitter for Devotion And other where he tells us it is of use to exalt Mens Devotion I would offer you a few Remarks upon this As 1. Methinks the Musick of the Voice should be sufficient for this purpose The generality of Men I think concur in it that Vocal Musick is much more Sweet and Charming than Instrumental and has as great a Power to raise and warm the Affections as any the most Musical Pipes upon Earth If Christ had thought fit Instrumental Musick should have been used to this end in the times of the Gospel I doubt not but it would have been the Matter of a Precept as well as it was under the Law 2. But what does this Gentleman mean by Exciting the Affections Does he intend that the Melody of his Organ will excite good Thoughts attended with such an Agitation of the Blood and Spirits as is to be found in the Affections of Joy Hope Desire Love c If this be his Meaning I utterly deny that his Musical Instrument by its Sweetest Harmony will thus stur up the Affections of the Soul Necessarily Perhaps Contingently sometimes the Musick of an Organ may have such an effect which being granted it will not thence follow that Organs may be Statedly used in the Worship of God for that end For the sight of a Cross or a Gallows may be the occasion of the stirring up of good thoughts in a Man yet I suppose none will thence be forward to conclude that they may be brought into Christian Worship and statedly used there for that End The sight of a Deaths-head of a Skeleton or of a Lamb dead and bloody may accidentally stir up some good Affections in some good Men. What! May they therefore be brought into Worshipping Assemblies and be set before the People as a means to stir up their Affections and to excite their Devotions And must we have Sermons Preached and Printed to inform Christians in the excellent use of them to these purposes I believe you will readily grant me that Ministers Time and Abilities may be better imployed How fond a thing is it for Ministers to introduce their own private Fancies into their Congregations and then by their Preachments to go about to perswade People of the excellent use of them 3. Christ has promised to Concur with his own Ordinances duly Administred but he has no where promised to concur with Mens groundless Fancies and they have no reason to expect that Organs should be thus useful to Excite Mens Affections seeing it is no Appointment of the King of the Church to this end 4. If Organs are of use to stir up the Affections of Christians in the Worship of God and are to be used for that very end why should we not have more sorts of Musical Instruments such as Harps and Viols Timbrels and Haut-bois c. the more to excite the Affections For I suppose our Author will not deny but that these have a vertue too to excite Affections So that if Organs will somewhat excite the Affections the other Musical Instruments will give some heightning addition For Bonum bono additum facit Majus bonum Good added to good makes the greater good And so the more Musical Instruments supposing them well Consorted will raise the Affections the more An excellent way this to introduce all the Musick of the Jewish Temple and to fill every parish-Parish-Church with a Choir of Levites 5. I grant that the Musick and Melody of an Organ may put a pleasing Motion upon the Blood and Spirits may perhaps cause the Blood to glide along the Veins and Arteries with somewhat more of briskness But what is this to the stirring up of Pious and Religious thoughts in the Mind Must a pleasing motion of the Spirits necessarily be accompanied with serious and devout Cogitations Then whenever Persons hear the sound of an Organ in a Tavern and have their Spirits pleasingly agitated by it they must all necessarily fall to their Devotions But experience assures us that altho ' Organs are sometimes found in those places yet rarely are they found very devout who frequent them He Informs us Ser. p. 21. that this sort of Musick is a Mighty Advantage to Religion So then doubtless we may conclude them to be the best sort of Christians who are favoured with the Melodious sound of an Organ because from what our Author saith we must suppose them to be the most Devout But alas this sort of Talk is all pure Falacy I remember in some of the Logick Systems I have formerly perused I have met with an Instance of a Fallacious Sorites to this purpose viz. Qui benè bibit benè dormit qui benè dormit non peccat qui non peccat erit beatus Ergo qui benè bibit erit beatus Methinks our Author seeks to impose upon his Readers much what in the same manner for at this rate as far as I can sound the depth of his Argument does he reason They who have the use of Organical Musick in their Sacred Assemblies are moved or