The Psalms of David

will not cepsure and condemn any part of this work, without a diligent perusal of the Jarger edition, wherein the preface and notes, in the judgment of many learned and pious men, have given a fufficient vindication of the whole performance.

Of the Use of this Psalm-Book. The chief design of this work was to improve pfalmody or religious singing, and to encourage the frequent practice of it in public assemblies and private families with more honour and delight; yet the author hopes the reading of it may also entertain the parlour and the closet with devout pleafure and holy meditations. Therefore he would request his readers, at proper seasons to peruse it through; and among 340 facred hymns, they may find out several that fuit their own čase and temper, or the circumstances of their families and friends; they may teach their children such as are proper for their age, and by treasuring. them up in their memory, they may be furnished with pious retirement, or may enterrain their friends with holy melody.

Of Chusing or finding the Psalm. The perufal of the whole book will ac-. quaint every reader with the author's method, and by consulting the index or table

of contents at the end, he may find hymns very proper for many occafions of the Chrif. tian life and worship; though no copy of David's Psalter can provide for all, as I have thewn in the preface.

Or if he remembers the first line of any psalm, the table of the first lines will direct where to find it.

Or if any shall think it best to sing all the psalms in order in churches or families, it may de done with profit; provided those psalms be omitted that refer to special occurrences of nations, churches, or single Christians.

Of naming the psalms.
Let the number of the psalm be named
distinctly, together with the particular metre,
and particular part of it: As for instance;
let us fing the 33d pfalm, 2 part, common
metre; or, let us fing the gift psalm, ift
part, beginning at the pause or ending at
the pause; or, let us fing the 84th psalm
as the 148th psalm, &c. And then read
over the first stanza before you begin to
fing, that the people may find it in their
books, whether you sing with or without
reading line by line.

Of dividing the Psalm.
If the psalm be too long for the time of

custom of finging, there are pauses in many of them at which you may properly rest: igit Or you may leave out those verses which are included in crotchets [] without disturbo ell ing the sense: Or in some places you may begin to sing at a pause.

Do not always confine yourselves to lix dig stanzas, but sing seven or eight, rather than matic confound the sense, and abuse the pfalm in folemn worship

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Of the manner of singing. It were to be wished that all congregations and private families would fing as they do in foreign Protestant countries, without Patien reading line by line. Though the author and has done what he could to make the sense complete in every line or two, yet many inconveniencies will always attend this unhappy manner of singing: but where it cane not be altered, these two things may give some relief.

First, Let as many as can do it, bring Psalm-books with them, and look on the words while they fing, so far as to make the sense complete.

Secondly, Let the clerk read the whole psalur over aloud before he begins to parcel out the lines, that the people may have some notion of what they fing; and not be forced to drag on heavily through eight tedious fyl

lables without any meaning, till the next lines
come to give the fenfe of them.

It were to be wilhed also that we might
not dwell so long upon every single note,
and produce the syllables to fuch a tiresome
extent with a constant uniformity of time;
which disgraces the music, and puts the
congregation quite out of breath in fing-
ing five or fix stanzas: Whereas, if the me-
thod of finging were but reformed to a great-
er speed of pronunciation, we might often
enjoy the pleasure of a longer psalm with
less expence of time and breath; and our
psalmody would be more agreeable to that
of the antient churches, more intelligible to
others, and more delightful to ourselves.