Section 1095
V. I come now to consider the manner in which this ordinance should be performed
Which I shall do very briefly, and shall chiefly regard what is expressed in my text, in which the Apostle is desirous that he might, and determines to, sing with the Spirit, and with the understanding also.
1. With the Spirit. By which may be meant, either the extraordinary gift of the Spirit, by which the Apostle was capable of delivering out a psalm or hymn extempore, and that in an unknown tongue; though he was determined to make use of this gift in such a way, as to be understood by others, that so they might receive some profit and edification by it; or else, by the Spirit, may be designed the Spirit of God, who is absolutely necessary to the spiritual performance of this duty. Believers, in the discharge of this work, stand in great need of him to excite their attention, assist their meditations, enlighten their understandings, raise their affections, strengthen their faith, and make a comfortable application of what is sung to themselves; or, by singing with the Spirit, may be meant, singing with his own spirit; and indeed, believers should be servant in spirit, whilst they are serving the Lord in any ordinance: As God is a Spirit, he must be worshipped in spirit, or with our spirits, that is, with our hearts engaged in the work we are concerned in; and then may we be said to sing with the spirit, when we sing with grace in our hearts, or in the lively exercise of faith, and hope, and love; for to the due performance of this ordinance in a spiritual way, is required a large measure of grace, a good deal of spiritual light, knowledge, experience and judgment, for we should sing,
2. With the understanding also, i.e. either in a language that is to be understood, or with the understanding of what is sung (Psalm 47:7), sing ye praises with understanding; or to the understanding of others; for one end of this duty is, to teach and admonish others as well as our selves; and, perhaps, the Apostle may have some regard here to one of the titles of David’s psalms, viz. ליכשב , maschil, which signifies a psalm, giving instruction, or causing to understand. Unless we sing in all these senses with understanding, we sing with little advantage, either to our selves or others. In a word, besides our mutual edification, we should have in our view the glory of God; we are to sing unto the Lord, not to our selves, or to raise our natural affections, or to gain applause from others, by the fineness of our voice, and exact conformity to the tune; but to the glory of Father, Son and Spirit, who are that one God, who condescends to inhabit the praises of Israel. Having now considered the several things I proposed, relating to the ordinance of singing, I shall subjoin a short account of the faith and practice of the saints in the three first centuries of Christianity, with respect either to singing alone, or in the family, or in the churches; which added to the scriptural account of this duty, may serve the more to confirm us in the practice of it. If the Therapeutae, a sect of religious persons mentioned by Philo the Jew, who was contemporary with the Apostles, were Christians, as Eusebius thinks, then we have a proof, besides the scripture ones, of the Christians’ singing of psalms and hymns in the times of the Apostles; for of there Philo says, “That they not only gave themselves up to a contemplative life, but composed longs and hymns to God, in various kinds of metre and verse, and which they wrote as was necessary in graver rhyme, and which they not only composed but sung” tho’ perhaps, he may intend the Essenes, of whom Porphyry says, that “They kept the seventh day of the week in hymns to God, and in rest.”
There are some, indeed, who think they were neither, but a sect of Jewish philosophers: However this be, ‘tis certain, That there is now extant an epistle of Pliny to Trajan the emperor; in which he tells him, that one part of the charge against the Christians was, “That they used to meet together at a flared time, before it was light, and sing a hymn among themselves, to Christ, as to a god”. Tertullian refers to this letter, and expresses the charge in it thus; “That they had their meetings before it was day, to sing to Christ and to God. Eusebius cites the same, and observes, that “Pliny declared that he found nothing impious in them, nothing done by them contrary to the laws, except that rising early together, they sung an hymn to Christ after the manner of a god.” Now this letter was written in the latter end of the first century, or at the beginning of the second, and, as some think, whilst the Apostle John was yet living. Justin Martyr, Anno 150 in his epistle to Zena and Serenus, if it will be allowed to be genuine, speaks of the singing of psalms, hymns, and songs; and directs to the use of psalmody, in such a manner, as not to grieve our neighbors.
Athenogenes, a martyr, in the second century, as he was going to the fire, delivered an hymn to those that stood by, in which he celebrated the Deity of the blessed Spirit. Clemens Alexandrinus, Anno 190, or 200, speaking of a good man, says, “His whole life is a continual holy day, his sacrifices are prayer and praise, the scriptures are read before eating of food; and, whilst eating, psalms and hymns are sung; and, at night, before he goes to bed prayer is performed again. And, in another place, he observes, that “a man’s love, friendship, and good will to God, should be shewn by thanksgiving and singing of psalms, ” and he himself composed an hymn to Christ, which is still extant at the end of his Paedagogue.
Tertullian, who lived about the same time, has many things in his writings, which shew that singing of psalms, both publicly and privately, was practiced in his day; in one place, he says, “After washing of hands, and lighting up of candles, meaning at their Christian meetings, and love feasts, every one might come forth, and sing to God, either out of the holy scriptures, Or what was of their own composing.” And elsewhere, among the arguments he makes use of to prevail on Christians to marry among themselves, this is one; “psalms and hymns, ” says he, “are harmoniously sung between the happy pair; and they provoke each other to sing the better to their God.” And in another place, he speaks of the reading of the scriptures, singing of psalms, preaching, sermons, and of prayer. as the several parts of public worship. And to add no more, in another book he makes this to be one part of the happiness of a chaste and continent man, that, “If he prays to the Lord, he is near to heaven; if he studies the scriptures, he is wholly there; if he sings a psalm, he pleases himself.”
Origen, Anno 226, or 230 speaking of the need of the Spirit of God in prayer, adds, “Even as no man can sing a psalm or hymn to the Father in Christ, in good rhyme, proper verse and metre, and in concert, except the Spirit, who searcheth all things, even the deep things of God, first searches, and, as much as can be, comprehends the deep things of the mind, with songs of praise and hymns”.
Cyprian, Anno 246 exhorted Donatus to the practice of singing of psalms, in an epistle to him, “Let a psalm, says he, be sung at a feast, kept with moderation; and that thou mayest have a retentive memory, let thy voice be melodious. Begin this work after the usual manner.” Nepos, an Egyptian bishop, Anno 260 is greatly commended by Eusebius, not only for his faithfulness, labor, and diligence in the scriptures, but for his psalmody; which was very grateful to many of the brethren at that present time. I might go on to produce testimonies, proving psalmody to be in use in the church in the times of Constantine, not far from the third century, which, as Eusebius, who was on the spot, relates, was performed with a very decent and agreeable modulation of the voice. As also, in the churches at Alexandria and Milan, when Athanasius was bishop of the one, and Ambrose of the other, who both lived in the fourth century. I might also observe, what spiritual delight and comfort the great Austin found in attending on this ordinance; but I choose to go no further than the three first centuries, which were the purest and most incorrupt ages of Christianity.
Paulus Samosatenus, who denied the divinity of Christ, is the only person I have met with in this period of time, that objected to the psalms and songs sung in the churches, which he condemned as novel compositions; and yet provided women to sing in the church concerning himself: His reason for it seems to be, because the divinity of Christ was in an excellent manner let forth in the old songs and psalms; as appears from a passage in Eusebius, mentioned to confront Artemon and Theodotus, who had represented Christ’s divinity as a novel doctrine. “The psalms and songs of the brethren, says Eusebius, which were written by the faithful, from the beginning, set forth the praises of Christ as the word of God, ascribing divinity to him.” From the whole it may be concluded, that this ordinance of singing of psalms, as it was used by Christ and his Apostles, so it was continued in the ages next to them; and though it has been dragged through the sinks of popery, yet it ought not to be rejected on that account: Had our reformers treated the ordinances of Christ in such a manner, because they found them corrupted, we should have had no ordinance now in being: Let us rather do all we can to clear this of every degree of superstition, and restore it to its native simplicity and spirituality.