Friday, November 11, 2011

Gurnall (1617-1679) laments the decline of psalm singing

The Puritan William Gurnall laments the decline of psalm singing in his day (though the context indicates the issue was not merely the singing of inspired psalms per se, over against uninspired compositions, but whether singing itself is a regulated element in NT worship):

Believers sometimes slide away from cherished old principles of Scripture during unsettled times. Consider the singing of Psalms, for instance. So many have laid down this practice that I must ask if they ever enjoyed precious communion with God in the first place. Have their hearts ever danced up to God with heavenly love as they sang with their lips? How strange to hear a godly person deny this! If you ever met with God at this door of the tabernacle, Christian, did your heart grow cold before you threw away the duty of singing praises to Him?

The Christian in Complete Armour, Vol. 2 (Banner ed.): p. 32.


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