‘PRAISE is comely for the righteous, and joyful gladness for the upright in heart;—it is good to singoraises unto our God, yea it is a pleasant thing to give [...]anks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto the na [...] of the MOST HIGHEST;—to shew forth his loving [...]indness in the morning, and his faithfulness every night, upon an instrument of ten strings and upon the [...].’

BUT was [...] so stupid and ungrateful, as to with­hold the honor [...] unto the Name of our God ‘the stones would [...]mediately cry out.’—new-born babes would li [...]p his prai [...]—'tis impossible that the Almighty should not be [...] for all Nature, every morn­ing riseth up to give [...] to his Name, and every even­ing boweth her h [...]d [...] "acknowledge his goodness, love and power. "The havens [...]clare the Glory of God, the firmament sheweth [...] handy work"—day responsive unto day uttereth a song of praise, and there is not nation or people, to whom the sou [...]d thereof hath not reached.

WHEN the morning ligh [...]gilds the mountain's brow, behold the cattle on a thou [...]nd hills lowing forth their [Page 6] gladsome h [...]sanna [...]s, and the sheep of the pastures blea [...] ­ing [...] of the groves with infinitely varied warblings, join in the song of praise to the sovereign and gracious Lord of all, who daily ‘openeth his hand, and liberally [...]atis [...]eth the desire of every thing that lives.’

NOR is the animal creation only concerned in send­ing up this Odour of sweet smell, this acceptable incense of adoration, before the An [...]ient of days—but [...] nature, nay even the elements continually assert their right to participate in the glorious privilege—For whilst the cloud capt hills erect their heads, as [...] the gates of heaven were lifted up, to do the King of Glory [...] [...]—so the Vallies sink down before him a Crea­tor of all the ends of the earth.—Whilst pines [...]nd pop­lars wave their tops to [...]oner Him, who bowe [...] his head, upon the Cross, as suffering representative of [...]dam's sin­ful progeny; the sturdy Oak and all his [...] trees spread forth their strong and branching [...]ors, to sing with rustling leaves, as with tongues inn [...]erable, His strength and wisdom; who bestowed upon them all their usefulness, and who [...] promised to [...] every tree of righteousness growing in the sorest of the Jew and Gen­tile world, in the New, Jerusalem, [...] trees of ever [...]ver­da [...] [...] in the [...]arden of God.—A whilst the numer­ous tribes of aroma [...] and [...] exhale their per­fumes to praise the sovereign Planer, the humbler flow­ers neglect [...] arise in [...] exhalations, like the smoke of the [...] from the golden Censer, in A [...]ron's hand, on [...] of atonement.

To ‘the floo [...] [...] and the hills shewing forth their [...] Lord the King,’ [...] [Page 7] the song of heaven becomes responsiv [...], and the elements of Air and Fire unite to fashion and blow the Trumpet of God; whilst the forked lightning a species of ^* music well calculated to affect the eye, performs an accompany­ment to the pealing thunder.—At beholding these tre­mendous hallelujahs and ho [...]annans the guilty Nations quake, and the song of the feathered tribes gives place to the sublim [...] music of the skies!

OC [...]AN too is fain to roar his joy, and wave succeed­ing wave, when strongly breathed on by the breath of the Almighty, swells the Concert, with his [...]arse [...]t, deepest notes of bass.

AND was the most lively imagination to ex [...]ct itself, in framing an Idea of the grandest exhibition of praise to [Page 8] Heaven's King that universal Nature is capable of per­forming; it could be no other, than the joint accompa­ [...]ment of "all things which breath [...]," whether animate or inanimate, whether rational or irrational at once utter­ing their voices, according to the respective laws of their existence, together with the roaring of the seas, the thun­ders and lightnings of the heavens, the [...]llowing of volcanoes, with their convolving flames!

THAT such an universal hymn of praise will one day be sung, we have many in [...]mations in the book of God Of these, a principal one, is the ^* Trumpet, thunderings [Page 9] lightnings and earthquake at giving the Decalogue. Then appeared in its true colours, the extreme impo­tency of fallen human Nature, when even Moses trem­bled exceedingly! Then was the earth moved to it's centre, the everlasting hills shook—the clouds poured down water, the arrows of vengeance flew abroad. All Nature was seized with strong convulsions, foreboding the pangs of future dissolution!

THROUGH the strong vibrations of the thunders and trumpet, in the day when God shall visit the wicked­ness of those who dwell upon this earth, all hearts shall qua [...],—every face shall gather paleness,—and every leg, which standeth not upon the rock of ages, shall bow down under it's burden! When round the devoted earth, the thunders roll tremend [...]ous and the forked lightnings flash through the heavens;—when the Trum­pet of eternal Judgment soundeth louder and louder, with dreadful clangor rending the rocks, bursting the mountains, and calling the dead from their graves;—can this fate be other than that of ^* devoted Jericho, [Page 10] whose walls fell flat at the sound of the trumpets blown by the Priests, as in obedience to the divine command, [Page 11] they walked round it?—Surely not.—All the so much boasted glory of this Earth shall then vanish like the beseless fabric of a vision!

HIGHLY expressive of the much wished for time, when the representative priests of Him who is both King and Priest for ever [...]ore, shall be clothed with righ­teousness, and his saints sing for Joyfulness, is the bringing up and placing the Ark of the Testimony in it's appointed place. Again the Priests of the Lord blew with trumpets— ‘the high praises of God was in their mouths:—Israel rejoiced in him that made him, and the children of Zion were joyful in their King. They praised his name in the dance; they sang pra [...] ­ses unto him, with the timbrel and harp, with psalte­ries, and cymbals, and with trumpets they lifted up the voice with joy.’

WITH such melody and rejoicing the Father was de­lighted—he smelt the smell of his sons and daughters, and pronounced them blessed. The spirit of love and joy rested upon them, and filled their souls with a fore­taste of that exultation and triumph, which shall take place, when the Messiah shall "triumpl [...] gloriously," having overcome every enemy—"when the redeemed of the Lord shall return to Mount Zion," with the harp of praise in their hands, the crown of glory on their heads, and the psalm of thanksgiving in their mouths;—insomuch that Jehovah bowed the heavens and came down, he descended from the throne of his Majesty, and ‘his Glory filled the house of the Lord, so that the Priests were not able to minister because of the glory of Jehovah!’

To this glorious manifestation of the Sh [...]kinah, the [Page 12] divine presence, approbating a Concert of Vocal and Instrumental praise, allow me to subjoin that remarkably beautiful Vision vouchsafed to the beloved John in the Isle of Patmos, where he, in the spirit beheld the ‘thou­sands of thousands, and thousand times ten thousand on Mount Zion saying with loud voices, worthy is the Lamb that was stain to receive power and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.’ ‘And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them heard I, say­ing—Blessing and honor, and glory, and power be unto him that firteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.’— ‘And I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps; and they [...]ung as it were a new song before the Throne.’

BUT until the time arrives in which the song of Moses and of the Lamb shall be sung, in full chorus, by the redeemed of the Lord;—well may we at a humbler distance aspire to join with Angels and Archangels and all the Company of heaven, in praising God and saying ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of thy glory: glory be to thee O Lord most high.’

IT is meet and right and our bounded duty thus ‘to glorify God in our souls, and in our bodies;’ for both are his property by creation, and his right by re­ [...]. And what better method can we take to glorify God, next to the performance of those duties we [...] each other, as men and as christians, than by ma­ [...] the body subservient to the divine impulses in the [...] [...]work [...] work with D [...]aleel and Aholiab ‘in curious [...] in silver, in [...] in precious stones, in tim­ber, [Page 13] and in carved work, to beautify the house of the Lord;’—and "in making instruments of Music with David, wherewith to sound the praises of our God?"—The same divine and holy spirit which inspi­red the Prophets, and filled the Apostles with power from on high, endued Bezaleel and Aholiab with "skill to work all manner of cunning workmanship,—and taught the Man after God's own heart, to cause Harps, and Psalteries, and Dulcimers, and Trumpets, and Organs, and all kinds of musical instruments to be made," to celebrate the praises of the Lord.

IN ancient times, ^* instrumental music was in high­er and more general estimation, than in these modern days of extra-refinement, and no man's education was reckoned compleat, who could not play upon some in­strument. And history informs us, that the Jews, re­ceived no small favours from the Babylonians, during their captivity, on account of their excellent skill in music.—Indeed as early as (if not earlier than) the days of Samuel, the study of instrumental music was a very essential part of the ^† Collegiate Education of [Page 14] the Jews, To be ascertained of this, let any unprejudi­ced person read the history of Samuel's first interview with Saul in quest of his Father's asses; (1 Sam. 10 ch.) where the Prophet directing Saul which way to go,—among other things, thus says to him— ‘thou shalt go by Rachel's sepulchre, thence to the plain of Tabor, thence to the hill of God, and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither, that thou shalt meet a company of Prophets, coming down from the high place, with a Psaltery, and a Tabret, and a Pipe, and a Harp, and they shall prophecy. And the Spirit of the Lord shall come upon THEE, and thou shalt pro­phecy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.’

THUS singing and playing the Songs of Zion these [Page 15] "Sons of the Prophets" ‘did celebrate each festal day, their soul did magnify the Lord, and their Spirit re­joiced in God their Saviour;’ their hand and voice so employed, they feared not the attacks of the enemy, neither dreaded they the approach of the foot of pride.—The spirit of the evil one dares not come nigh the mansion of melody, nor can the voice of the ancient murderer find place among the rejoicings of the re­deemed of the Lord.—But if the heart of man will say unto God "depart from me I desire not the knowledge of thy ways,"—and will madly welcome into it the en­emy of human happiness, how can the harmony of Zi­on do it any good?—The Lyre of David at times could triumph over the spirit of discord in the person of Saul, but when he leagued with the enemy to be car­ried away captive into the Kingdom of death, where is the wonder if even the songs of Zion proved unable to inspire him with strength to break his chains?

[Page 16] AND here it is not unworthy of being remarked, that, from the hour, in which Saul drove melody from his presence, the Spirit of the Lord no more strove with, but, gave him entirely up to the imagination of his de­luded and discordant heart. By joining a company of prophets coming down from the hill of God, prophecy­ing with a "Psaltery and a Tabret, and a Pipe, and a Harp," Saul formerly "was turned into another man;"—he became a Prophet of the Lord;—and now, upon his ^† driving from his presence Instrumental Musical, the faithful attendant on prophecy, we behold him changed again—but alas! he is changed into a child of death, and Gilboah thirsts to drink his blood.—Spur­ning at the Oracles of the God of the living, he flees to consult a votary of the father of lies, who pretended to prophecy by means of a communication with the dead.—In that sacred Volume, wherein our Creator vouchsafes to become our teacher, we are amply in­structed concerning what things are lawful, and what not; there too we find the usual methods of celebrating festal days, as well as of observing days of mourning. When ISRAEL, aided by the outstretched arm of OM­NIPOTENCE, had passed the red Sea, Miriam the Pro­phetess took a Timbrel in her hand, and sung his pra [...] ­ses "who overthrew Pharoah and his host, for his "mer­cy [Page 17] endureth for ever." So in like manner, when JE­SUS of Nazareth had ascended up on high, from the de [...]th of the Sea of sorrow, which he had engaged to go through when he undertook to deliver man,— ‘the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy, at the exultation of human nature in our triumphant Re­presentative’—Behold, says the beloved John, ‘I saw THEM that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the num­ber of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the HARPS OF GOD;—and they sung the song of Moses and of the Lamb.’

AT the commencement of each returning year of Jubi­lee, the Trumpet "lifted up the voice with joy,"— ‘pro­claiming liberty to the captives, and the opening the pri­son to such as were bound;’—just so, at the commence­ment of that final and much to be desired jubilee, to which every temporary one pointed, shall a louder Trumpet sound, spreading an alarm through all the regions of the Grave.—If Herod was troubled and all Jerusalem with him when the Celestial Band proclaimed in song seraphic the birth of "THE MAN FROM HEAVEN"—assuredly, at the birth of the thousands of Mankind from the inclosing tomb, ushered into life with cele [...]tial music, and exulting to obey the mandate ‘awake and sing ye that dwell in the dust, and let melody be heard throughout all the cham­bers of the grave’—the tyrant Death shall be troubled indeed and feel the eternal wound.

INSTRUCTED by Him, who giveth breath unto all things, and whose Prophet enjoins ‘all things that have breath to praise the Lord’—the Church, in every age and coun­try well knows when to tune her harp to rejoicing, and her Organ to the voice of them that weep. With the meek and obedient Shepherds, she rejoiceth on the great days of [Page 18] MANIFESTATION, and during the season, wherein she com­memorates the TAKING AWAY of the BRIDEGROOM, she mou [...]neth, but still praiseth God, and with the Virgi [...] Mother "pondereth all these things in her heart."

BY faith, accompanying her Lord in his visit to the "daughter of Jairus," she hears him meekly pronounce the music premature—"give place, for the maid is not dead "but s [...]eepeth;"—yet he findeth no fault with the custom, and what was unblameable in his eyes, ought to be no less so in ours. And as often, in the course of her holy offi­ces, as he presents himself before her at the Paschal Solem­nities, she is careful to tune her heart and voice to that Hymn which he sung with his disciples before he entered upon his passion.

IF ever the soul of man is transformed from sin to righ­teousness, it must be, either when he is upon his knees in prayer to God, for "when Jesus prayed he was transfigu­red"—or, when copying the last public transaction of Je­sus with his disciples, ^† he sings an hymn—and in every stage of his life, is prepared to join with good old Simeon, and say, ‘Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace for mine eyes have seen thy [...]alvation.’

WONDERFUL indeed is the effect of sacred music, when the Soul is properly attuned, and in unison with the love of God and the love of our neighbour! We reäd that [...]isha had conceived such a degree [...]indignation against [Page 19] the King of Israel because of his idolatrous practices, that, although possessed of a double portion of Eli [...]ah's spirit he could not prophecy even at the request of the King of Judah who was a far different character, without the aid of instrumental music.— ‘As the Lord of Hosts liveth, (saith the Prophet) before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the King of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee:—but now, bring me a ^† Minstrel:’—and it came to pass, "when the minstrel played the hand of the Lord," that is the spirit of prophecy, "came upon him."

[Page 20] AT seeing the prosperity of the ungodly,—David was tempted to say "surely I have cleansed my hands in vain"—but when he joined in praising God in the great con­gregation, he learned more perfectly that ‘God is holy in all his ways, and just in all his works’—and that the end of these men is, that they shall wither as the green herb, and be brown away like the chaff of the summer threshing floor.

WHEN Paul and Silas sang praises unto God, not only [Page 21] did the prisoners hear them—but their ^* song pierced the skies, and "entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth."—For low! there was an earthquake—and the prison doors were opened! In like manner, when the penitent, tho' bound by the chains of his sins, attempts to sing praises unto God with a willing heart, instantly his chains fall off;—he is commanded to arise and walk out of his pri­son [Page 22] and to publish what great things God hath done for his Soul.—Thus, when the Lord turneth away the Capti­vity of any of Zion's children, with great propriety may their mouths be filled with laughter, and their tongues with singing— ‘making a joyful noise before the Lord the King.’

NOW—have we not seen the divine presence approba­ting a concert of vocal and instrumental praise?—have we not seen the prophets prophecying on earth with the ac­companiment of an harp; and the redeemed of the Lord singing praises with the harp in their mansions of bliss?—who then is he that shall find fault, when indeed, I trust, with a suitable portion of David's spirit, we borrow David's words, and say ‘awake [...]u [...]e and harp, awake up my glo­ry to sing praises to the Lord?’—Since we have all re­beatedly heard the apostosic injunction, "rejoice evermore"—well may those for whom Christ hath died obey it—and praise him in the sound of the trumpet—with the psaltery and harp, with the timbrel and all stringed instruments, in the Organ, cornet, cymbals, and Sackbut—so that every thing that hath breath may praise the Lord.

FINALLY—seeing the great and frequent abuse of Instru­mental music hath raised such a degree of superstitious re­sentment against the admission of any other kinds of In­struments into Churches, except the ^† Organ—let us there­with [Page 23] with be content. And as the placing one in this Church hath occasioned this meeting of the Congregation—permit me to conclude with offering some observations and in­structions naturally arising from the Analogy betwixt the Organ of human contrivance and ourselves the wonder­ful Organs of God's building.

THE materials of which the various parts both of [...] Organ and our Bodies, are composed, are of the earth; but what gives life to both descendeth from heaven. When the body of man received the breath of life, that wonder­ful Organ was ready to praise God, so when the bellows, the lungs of the Organ of man's building, heaves and in hales the air, it may be said to be alive—it is ready to obey the singer of him who desireth it to join with the Congre­gation in praising God.—The Spirit of the Lord giveth it breath—it soundeth— ‘and we hear the sound thereof, but cannot tell whence that sound cometh, nor whither it goeth.’—How expressive is this of the operations of that spirit who worketh is the hearts of the regenerate! Do the pipes stand in rows—does each one know it's own appointed place—and do they all receive their due pro­portion of air from the common stock? Just so, the mem­bers of the body natural, social, or christian stand in that relation, which they bear to each other and to the whole; none can say to the other ‘I have no need of thee,—for no man liveth to himself.’—We are members one of another, and our duty is to preserve "the unity of the spirit [Page 24] in the bond of peace," always remembering that, what­ever good thing any man has, he must have received it from above.

BUT, alas! expressive of the humbled condition of our nature, are all the works of man; for all loudly publish their own imperfection, as well as that of him who made them!—And are not we hereby admonished to seek for perfection from God? and this perfection consisteth in be­ing like unto God, and God, St. John tells us, is Love.

IN tuning the Organ, the proportion of discord insepa­rable from the scale of Music, is distributed among the se­veral pipes of the Octave, in order that they may all bear their proportion of this inconveniency—and consequently produce better harmony, than if the whole error was laid on any one of them. What may we learn from this—but "to bear one another's burdens"— ‘to please each man his neighbour, for his good to edification?’—and thus to fulfil the royal law of concord the companion of Cha­rity.

TO the so general neglect of "mutual forbearance and mutual forgiveness," is owing the great dissimilitude be­tween many of our modern christians and those of ancient times, ‘when THE MULTITUDE OF THE BELIEVERS WERE OF ONE HEART AND OF ONE MIND.’

NOT more apt to go out of tune, and all sorts of instru­ments, from the influences of heat, and cold, of moisture and drought, and of winds and calms; than are the affec­tions of the human heart, those strings or pipes of this Or­gan of God's building from the influences of the various objects which surround them; ‘the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.’ How oft do one [Page 25] or all of these despire to put out souls out of tune, and spread the jarrings of discord among us? When comes wars and lightings among us? come they not even of our lusts?

WHY need I pursue the Analogy further? Beholding Brethren, the weakness of our mortal nature thro' sin, in the imperfection insparable from all the works of skill and genius,—and the dignity of that nature, to which we are invited, and of which we have an engaging foretaste [...] the TRANSFIGURED BODY of our LORD on Mount Ta­ber;—be it out business and delight, to love, honor, and obey the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul, ‘in every thing giving thanks and making ME­LODY in our hearts to the Lord’—and to love our neighbour as ourselves.

THUS prepared—we may pray "thy Kingdom come" "come Lord Jesus—come quickly."

So when "the AUTHOR OF PEACE, and LOVER OF CON­CORD" shall again descend, and as at the first, breathe into man the breath of life, every one, whose life hath been a life of praise and love, and hope in Jesus, shall again live, they shall stand in his sight, and enter upon the employ­ment of never ending praise; and they shall invite the whole creation to join with them, saying ‘O all ye works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord, praise him and magnify him for ever.’ They shall in seraphic and al­ternate hymns, incessantly chant Jehovah's works of Crea­tion, Providence, and Redemption, with the accompa­niment of such INSTRUMENTS OF MUSIC, of which, those used in the Temple and the Church have been the emblems types and shadows.

[Page 26] PERSUADED of this, the Church ceaseth not to sing praises unto the Lord, well knowing that the Celebration of her Nuptials with the Lamb fast approacheth, when the grand hymenaeum shall be sung, to which every hymn performed on earth is a kind of prelude. Whilst there­fore the day of grace lasteth let prayer and praise ascend up to glorify God, and benediction and grace will descend to sanctify and gladden the heart of man. But, when pray­er shall be absorbed in fruition, and hope shall have fully accomplished its pursuits—Praise like her sister charity shall reign triumphant, throughout the endless ages of eter­nity.

‘PRAISE the Lord, ye house of Levi—praise the Lord ye house of Aaron—O all ye children of men bless ye the Lord, praise him and magnify him forever:—be tell­ing of his salvation from day to day;—for he is good and gracious, and cannot worthily be praised.’—Salvation be ascribed unto our God, for he hath holpen his people—and redeemed us from the hand of the enemy: hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah;—he who is the resurrection and the life—was dead and as alive again, and liveth forevermore, hallelujah, Amen.

NOW to the incomprehensible NAME—at which good Angles bow—and evil angels tremble—JEHOVAH ELO­HIM—THREE PERSONS in ONE ever gloirous and adorable ESSENCE, revealed to men under the endearing names of FATHER, SON, and HOLY GHOST—be ascribed by the Church visible and invisible—and by every part of the Creation of GOD, all glory, honor, dominion, thanksgi­ving and praise—now in time, and when time shall be no more.

AMEN.