The breach repaired in God's worship, or, Singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs,…

Object. The Apostle to the Ephesians and Colossians doth not say, Sing one to another in Psalms, but speak or preach one to another; or, in other words, Teach and admonish one another; the Psalms dwelling in their Hearts they were to dispose them in a way of teaching and admonishing; but as for singing, he makes no mention of that, until he came to teach them the manner of dispensing the words of Christ unto God in one Verse, and then indeed he teacheth them to sing in the Spirit, making Melody with Grace in the Heart.

If I do not mistake you, this Objection contains part of what you say, and pray take his Answer; I do not doubt but he gives the true sense of the place.

Answ. Such as tremble at the Word, saith he, (as the framer of this Objection professeth himself to do) they should rather bow their Judgments and Practice to Scripture-Language, ⟨p. 117⟩than bow the Sense of Scripture to their own Conceptions against the Language of Scripture; it is one thing to speak one to another in Psalms, and Hymns, and spiritual Songs, as is done in singing, and another thing to preach and teach one another out of the Psalms, and Hymns, and spiritual Songs. 'Tis true, they were to teach and admonish one another out of the Psalms, and the scope of Paul will teach that; but if Paul had meant that, to wit, that they should teach and preach one to another out of the Psalms, he would not have said, Speak ye one to another in Psalms, or with Psalms, but out of the Psalms, for such is the Language of the Holy Ghost in expressing this Duty; Paul is said to have expounded and testified, and persuaded the Jews out of the Law of Moses, and out of the Prophets, Acts 28. 23. So Philip is said to do, begin to preach to the Eun••h, from that Scripture in Isaiah,