A47407:637
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.
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.
But you say, pag. 18. That the Gifts of the Holy Spirit were not given alike to every Member of the Church.
Answ. 'Tis granted: But doth it follow, because some had the extraordinary Gift of the Spirit to pray, must not the others who had not those Gifts, no more than we have them now, not pray at all? Brother, I am grieved to see how you are deceived, and would •eceive others: But as they who had not the extraordinary Gift of the Spirit to pray, were, notwithstanding, to pray; so they who had not the extraordinary or special Gift to sing, were, nevertheless, to sing the Praises of God. What you speak, pag. 18. about the diversity of Gifts, but the same Spirit, from 1 Cor. 12. is rather more against the performance of those other ⟨p. 30⟩D•ties and Ordinances than Singing, because Singing is not there mentioned. But all that you say there, has been answered already; so is what you infer from Col. 3. 16. Ephes. 5. 19. For to think the Apostle refers to the special Gift of Singing in those places, is of a pernicious tendency; for you may as well say the same of all other Precepts enjoined on the Churches, and so free us from all Gospel-Obedience for want of such Gifts. Why must not Spiritual Songs be allowed, as well as Psalms and Hymns? What do you mean in pag. 23?
Brother, you were better be silent till you can distinguish better between Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, and the manner of the bringing of them forth by a special Gift. A Doctrine may be as Spiritual that is precomposed, as that which was brought forth by a special Gift; so may an Hymn, or Spiritual Song, though 'tis by the ordinary Gifts or Help of the Spirit precomposed; there cannot be an Hymn, nor Spiritual Song, without its Form; but if it be a Spiritual Song, it has a Spiritual Form. The very word may convince yo of your Error; if the Song be taken out of Christ's Spiritual and Sacred Word, the Form is Spiritual; and if it be sung with a gracious Heart and Tongue, 'tis doubtless Spiritual Worship and acceptable to God.