American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1867-05-01
Communications.
For the American Citizen.
s Ancient Usage I'm Praising

| Ancient usage IN Prat8tng
| GOd.o
The above is the caption of an article found
in the Citizen Of April II. confess am
pleased with the boldness of the writer's
assertions. as the following will show:
"God has furnished US with manual of
praise, by the inspiration Of the Holy Ghost,
in the Psalms of David and both authorised
aud commanded us to use it in our songs OF
praise. He has not auth orized or given the
least intimation of his permitting any other
There is no ground ON which faith can rest
that he will accept any songs but these in-
dieted by the Holy Spirit. All this plainly
demonstrates that reasoning from prayer to
praise, as if they were the same duty, is
utterly inconelusive."
From the above ii will be seen that no
scouts are needed to ascertain the writer's
position. Now l wish, for information, to
PROFOUND this question; Where is it affirm
cd in the Scriptures that God has prepared
manual of praise for his followers, and
commanded them TO use this manual, and
this alonef All that the writer says about
the duty Of praising God, we have no doubt,
is strictly correct; but praise in it's primary
sense has 10 reference to singing whatever.
We do not deny but that we can praise God
by singing. Every heart ought to have
lively and deyout sense of Gods excellen-
cies, and any outward expression OF this in.
ward state of the heart, is properly praise.
We may speak to Gods praise, we may sing
to Gods praise, and we may HUe to Gods
praise. The Psalmist praises God in vari-
GUS WAYS. Hear him " / will remember the
days of old, and mediate on all thy works,
and talk of all thy doings." The Psalmist
here praises God by remembering, meditating
and talking. Again he says: will s,no
unto thee among the nations" 1t will be
readily seen here, that singing is distinct
kind of praise, and requires the qualifying
terms in order to be understood. The writer
has assumed that all praise is confined to
singing, and if he means anything, it is that
God has commanded, us to sing David's
Psalms, and nothing else, in worshiping
Him. But, hear the writer again.
"How the New Testament writer's under
stood this m&ter is abundsntly plain from
repeated declarations of the Apostles. -
Speaking to yourselves or to one another
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody in your hearts
to the Lord. .'-Eph. v. 8. Let the word of
Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom,
teaching and admonishing one another in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, sing>
ing with grace in your hearts to the Lord
Col. iii. 16. Is any merry let him sing
psalms. James v. l3. The duty of teach
ing and admonishing one another, of speak
ing to one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, indicted oy the Holy Ghost
and singing these songs is enjoined by the
Holy Spirit"
Will the writer please tell US if the Apos-
tie means psalms, and psalms alone, in the
above texts? If he does, why did he not say
=" Speaking to yourselves in psalms and
psalms and psalms, singing and making
melody in your hearts unto the Lord ?' If
"hymns and spiritual song" mean psalms,
why not correct the text and write it thus
at once? But the writer says, in the above
quotation, it is our duty to sing such as are
"indicted by the Holy Ghost" Now I sf.
firm that that is a palpable begging of the
question. That was the very point for him
to provs, and yet he has assumed it to be
true without any proof.
Lest | make my structures too lengthy
submit the following, hoping to hear from
the writer, or some other one as SOON as con
venient:
|. Where can it be found in the Bible
that God commands to sing, in His worship,
nothing but in .pired words?
2 Is Rouses version of Dayid's Psalms
any more inspired than the versions of Tate,
Brady, Watts or WesleyP
8. If there eaE be no positive command
found for singing psalms alone, and the in
junction is a matter of inference from the
fact that they were sung in the Jewish
church, why may we not infer that all of
the forms of the Jewish church should be
transferred to the Christian dispensation ?
Why not bring down circumcision ? 1t can
be proved more positively that Paul per-
formed circumcision, than that he only sung
the Psalms of David after be became
Christian, and especially Rouse's version OF
them.
a. Can man who confines his singing 10
psalms alone, ever sing praise to the Father
for having given his Son to die for him3 II
l understand it psalm singer has no Sav,
ior, but only the promise of one, for the
Palms are all prophetic and never speak Of
the fact that Christ has come. Ny theology
is found in what sing. If this be true Of
psalm singers. what is the difference between
them and Jews?
S. Does the psalm singer ever sing the
name Savior, Christ, Jesus, or Redeemer, in
life time W. II. TIBBLEs.
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