stian Psalmist, among the Characters of a
Saint, Psal. 15. 5. meets with the Man that _puts not out his Money to
Usury_, he ought to exchange _one that is no Oppressor_ for an
Oppressor or Extortioner, since Usury {247} is not utterly forbidden to
Christians, as it was by the Jewish Law; and wheresoever he finds the
Person or Offices of our Lord _Jesus Christ_ in Prophecy, they ought
rather to be translated in a way of History, and those Evangelical
Truths should be stript of their Vail of Darkness, and drest in such
Expressions that Christ may appear in 'em to all that sing. When he
comes to Psal. 40. 6. and reads there Words, _Mine Ears hast thou
opened_, he should learn from the Apostle to say, _A Body hast thou
prepared for me_, Heb. 10. 5. Instead of _binding the Sacrifice with
Cords to the Horns of the Altar_, Psal. 118. 27. we should _offer up
Spiritual Sacrifices_ (that is the Prayer and Praise of the Heart and
Tongue) _acceptable to God by Jesus Christ_, 1 Pet. 2. 5. Where there
are any dark Expressions, and difficult to be understood in the Hebrew
Songs, these should be left out in our Psalmody, or at least made very
plain by a Paraphrase. Where there are Sentences, or whole Psalms, that
can very difficultly be accommodated to our Times, they may be utterly
omitted. Such is Psal. 150. part of the 38, 45, 60, 68, 81, 108. and
some others, as well as a great part of the Song of _Solomon_.

Perhaps 'twill be objected here, that the Book of Psalms would hereby
be rendred very imperfect, and some weak Persons might imagine this
Attempt to fall under the Censure of Rev. 22. 18, 19. that is, of
_taking away from, or adding to the Words of the Book {248} of God_.
But 'tis not difficult to reply that though the whole Book: of Psalms
was given to be read by us as God's Word for our Use and Instruction,
yet it will never follow from thence that the whole was written as a
Psalter for the Christian Church to use in Singing. For if this were
the Design of it, then every Psalm, and every Line of it might be at
one time or another proper to be sung by Christians: But there are many
hundred Verses in that Book which a Christian cannot properly assume in
singing without a considerable Alteration of the Words, or at least
without putting a very different Meaning upon them, from what _David_
had when he wrote them; and therefore there is no necessity of
translating always intire Psalms, nor of preparing the whole Book for
_Englis