tude go on
singing in chearful Ignorance wheresoever the _Clerk_ guides them,
a-cross the River _Jordan_, thro' the Land of _Gebal, Ammon_ and
_Amalek; He leads 'em into the strong City, he brings them into_ Edom;
Anon they follow him _thro' the Valley of_ Bacha, till they come
up to _Jerusalem_; they wait upon him into {252} the Court of
Burnt-Offerings, and _bind their Sacrifice with Cords to the Horns of
the Altar_; they enter so far into the Temple, till they join their
Song in Consort with the _high sounding Cymbals_, their Thoughts are
be-darkened with the Smoke of Incense, and cover'd with _Jewish_ Veils.
Such Expressions as these are the beauties and Perfections of a
_Hebrew_ Song, they paint every thing to the Life: Such Language was
suited by Infinite Wisdom to raise the Affections of the Saints of that
Day: But I fear they do but sink our Devotion, and hurt our Worship.

I esteem the Book of _Psalms_ the most valuable Part of the Old
Testament upon many Accounts: I advise the Reading and Meditation of it
more frequently than any single Book of Scripture; and what I advise I
practise. Nothing is more proper to furnish our Souls with devout
Thoughts, and lead us into a World of Spiritual Experiences: The
Expressions of it that are not _Jewish_ or peculiar, give us constant
Assistance in Prayer and in Praise: But yet if we would prepare
_David_'s Psalms to be sung by Christian Lips, we should, observe these
two plain Rules.

_First_, They ought to be translated its such a Manner as we have
reason to believe _David_ would have compos'd 'em if he had lived in
our Day: And therefore his Poems are given as a Pattern to be imitated
in our Composures, rather than as the precise and invariable Matter of
our Psalmody. 'Tis one of the Excellencies of Scripture-Songs, that
they {253} are exactly suited to the very Purpose and Design for which
they were written, and that both in the Matter, in the Stile, and in
all their Ornaments: This gives Life and Strength to the Expression, it
presents Objects to the Ears and to the Eyes, and touches the Heart in
the most affecting Manner. _David_'s Language is adapted to his own
Devotion, and to the Worship of the _Jewish_ Church; he mentions the
very Places of his Journies, or Retirements, of his Sorrows, or his
Successes; He names the Nations that were Enemies of the Church, or
that shall be its Friends and tho for the most part he leaves the
single Persons of his Time nameless