A47407:21
The breach repaired in God's worship, or, Singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs,…
The breach repaired in God's worship, or, Singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, proved to be an holy ordinance of Jesus Christ with an answer to all objections : as also, an examination of Mr. Isaac Marlow's two papers, one called, A discourse against singing, &c., the other, An appendix : wherein his arguments and cavils are detected and refuted / by Benjamin Keach ...
London: printed for Author, 1691
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Dedication: THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY TO ALL THE Baptized Congregations In England and Wales, Who are…
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
If any of you should say, How can we be satisfied to have Communion with the Church, when we believe 'tis an Innovation? (that's a hard word.) Ar• you Infallible? Is there not ground for you to fear you are mistaken, or to think in the least 'tis a doubtful case, since so much is to be said for it, and has been so generally received from the beginning by most enlightened Saints, and you your selves with the Church for so long a time been in the Practice of •t at other times?
If any of you should say, How can we be satisfied to have Communion with the Church, when we believe 'tis an Innovation? (that's a hard word.) Ar• you Infallible? Is there not ground for you to fear you are mistaken, or to think in the least 'tis a doubtful case, since so much is to be said for it, and has been so generally received from the beginning by most enlightned Saints, and you your selves with the Church for so long a time been in the Practice of •t at other times?
Besides, can you find any ground from God's Word, that will warrant you to separate your selves from the Church upon this account? and also may not the same or like Scruple rise in our Spirits against having Communion with you, who we believe lie short of a plain Gospel-Ordinance, •nd so, through want of light, diminish from God's Word, as you say we add thereto by doing of it? But far be it from us to have a thought to act that way towards any of you. Moreover, will not such a practice, of a Separation from the Church upon this account, justify other Godly Christians, who are Members of such Churches who do not sing, (that are convinced as well as we it is their Duty) to separate from those Congregations, to join with such Churches as are in this practice? Doubtless that Door that will let you out ⟨p. xii⟩of this Church, will let others out of those Churches, (I mentioned before) and there are not a few such in this City. There is one thing I think good to note here, to prevent any mistake, that tho I call Preaching a moral Duty, yet to preach the Gospel only, appertains to such whom God particularly hath gifted for that Work, and who have a lawful call to it.