"promifes, for I believe them enough to venture an "eternity on them." When he was almost worn out and broken down by his infirmities he obferved, in converfation with a friend, that "he remembered an "aged minifter used to say that the moft learned and knowing Chriftians when they come to die have "only the fame plain promifes of the gospel for their "fupport as the common and unlearned; and fo, faid

he, I find it: it is the plain promifes of the gospel "that are my support, and I blefs God they are plain "promifes, that do not require much labour and pains

to understand them, for I can do nothing now bus "look into my Bible for fome promise to fupport me, "and live upon that." When he has found his fpirit tending to impatience, and ready to complain that he could only lead a mere animal life, he would check himfelf thus, "The bufinefs of a Chriftian is to bear "the will of God as well as to do it. If I were in health "I could only be doing that, and that I may do now. "The best thing in obedience is a regard to the will "of God, and the way to that is to get our inclina"tions and averfions as much mortified as we can." With fuch a calm and peaceful mind, with fuch a blefted and lively hope, did this faithful fervant of Chrift wait for his Master's fummons till the longwifhed for period came, and then he went to reft from his labours where his works follow him."

THE PREFACE,

OR,

An Inquiry into the right way of fitting The Book of Pfalms for Chriftian Worfeip.

THOUGH the Pfalms of David are a work of admirable and divine compofure, though they contain the nobleft fentiments of piety, and breathe a moft exalted fpirit of devotion, yet when the best of Christians attempt to fing many of them in our common tranfiation that fpirit of devotion vanifhes and is loft, the pfalm dies upon their lips, and they feel scarce any thing of the holy pleasure,

If I were to render the reafons of it I would give this for one of the chief, namely, that the royal Pfalmift here expreffes his own concerns in words exactly fuited to his own thoughts, agreeable to his own perfonal character, and in the language of his own religion: this keeps all the springs of pious paffion awake, when ev'ry line and syllable fo nearly affects himfell; this naturally raifes in a devout mind a more lively and tranfporting worship; but when we who are Christians fing the fame lines we exprefs nothing but the character, the concerns, and the religion, of the Jewifh king; while our own circumftances and our own religion (which are fo widely different from his) have

little to do in the facred fong, and our affections want fomething of property or interest in the words to awaken them at first and to keep them lively.

If this attempt of mine, through the divine bleffing, become fo happy as to remove this great inconvenience, and to introduce warm devotion into this part of divine worship, I fhall eftcem it an honourable fervice done to the church of Christ.

It is neceffary therefore that I should here inform my readers at large, what the titlepage expreffes in a fhorter way, and affure them that they are not to expect in this book an exact tranflation of The Pfalms of David; for if I had not conceived a different defign from all that have gone before me in this work I had never attempted a fervice fo full of labour, though I muft confefs it has not wanted its pleasure too.

In order to give a plain account of my prefent undertaking I fhall firft reprefent the methods that my predeceffors have followed in their versions; in the next place I hope to make it evident that thofe methods can never attain the nobleft and highest ends of Chriftian pfalmody; and then defcribe the courfe that I have taken, different from them all, together with fome brief hints of the reasons that induced me to it.

First, I will represent the methods that my predeceffors have followed. I have seen above twenty verfions of the Pfalter by perfons of richer and meaner ta

lents, and how various foever their profeffions and their prefaces are, yet in the performances they all feen to aim at this one point, namely, to make the Hebrew Pfalmift only speak English and keep all his own charafters still. Wherefoever the pfalm introduces him ás a foldier or a prophet, as a fhepherd or a great mufician, as a king on the throne, or as a fugitive in the wilderness, the tranflators ever represent him in the fame circumstances. Some of them lead an affembly of common Chriftians to worship God as near as poffible in those very words; and they generally agree also to perform and repeat that worship in the ancient Jewish forms wherever the Pfalmift uses them.

There are feveral pfalms indeed which have scarce any thing in them perfonal or peculiar to David or the Jews, fuch as Pfalmi. xix.xxv.xxvii. lxvii. c.1. &c. and thefe, if tranflated into the plain national language, are very proper materials for pfalmody in all times and places; but there are but a few of this kind in comparison of the great number which have fomething of personal concerns, prophctical darknesses, Hebraifms, or Jewish affairs, mingled with them.

in

I confefs Mr. Milburn and Mr. Darby (though

very different verfe) have now and then given an evangelick turn to the Hebrew fenfe; and Dr. Patrick hath gone fo much beyond them in this refpect that he hath made ufe of the prefent language of Chriftians in feveral pfalms, and left out many of the Ju

daifms. This is the thing that hath introduced him into the favour of fo many religious affemblies; even thofe very perfons that have an averfion to fing any thing in worship but David's Pfalms have been led infenfibly to fall in with Dr. Patrick's performance by a relish of pious pleasure, never confidering that his work is by no means a just tranflation, but a paraphrase; and there are scarce any that have departed farther from the infpired words of Scripture than he hath often done, in order to fuit his thoughts to the state and worship of Christianity. This I esteem his peculiar excellency in thofe pfalms wherein he has practised it; this I have made my chief care and bufinefs in every pfalm, and have attempted at leaft to exceed him in this as well as in the art of verse, and yet I have often kept nearer to the text.

But after all this good man hath fuffered himself so far to be carried away by cuflom as to make all the other perfonal characters and circumstances of David appear strong and plain except that of a Jew, and many of them he has represented in stronger and plainer terms than the original. This will appear to any one that compares thefe following texts in Dr. Patrick with the Bible, namely, Ffalm iv. 2. and ix. 4, 5. and xviii. 43. and li. 4. and Ix. 6, 7. and ci. 1. cxli. 6. and cxliii. 3. and feveral others: so that it is hard to find even in his version fix or eight stanzas together in any pfalmi (that has perfonal or national affairs in it) so fit \