In his work Gangrena (second book), the Presbyterian Puritan highlights a hymn that Antinomians were singning instead of David's Pslams; what does this tell us about Presbyterian worship if Edwards condemned others for singing something instead of David's psalms?


A HYMN which some of the Antinomians do sing at their meetings instead of DAVID'S Psalms.


THe newes is good, Christ shed, his bloud,
our peace is made in Heaven;
And now he is gone up to his Throne,
all power to him is given.


12
2

Our glory is great, we are compleat
in Gods great love we stand,
We are on high exalted by
Christs victorious hand.


3

We once neer lost, to hell did post,
but God in mercy found us,
And now he hath taught us his path,
and with his mercy crown'd us.


4

Shall sin or hell Gods people quell,
or ever keep them under?
No, Christ hath died, sin purifide
and hell bands rent in sunder.


5

The bloud of Christ our great High Priest,
which once for us was shed,
Hath purg'd the blot, and cleans'd the spot
wherewith we were besmear'd.


6

A glorious thing, a wonder strong
that sin should not defile,
And those are all to Christ more dear
that once did seem so vile.


7

All sin we finde is out of minde,
the Saints are made divine
First in the love of God above
in glory they do shine.


8

None are so dear, nor yet so near,
with God they are made one,
Who now doth see them sure to be
as is his only Sonne.


9

Christ is our guide, we cannot slide,
nor never fall away;
Our state is sure, and must endure
though all things else decay.


10

Then let's be bold, our heads uphold,
the time is drawing nigh
When we shall raign, and eke remain
with God eternally.


13
11

Let all base fears, and needlesse cares
out of our souls remove,
With speed let's fly to God on high
and dwell with him above. Amen, Amen.

__________________
Daniel Ritchie
Saintfield, Northern Ireland - Queen's University, Belfast:History/Politics
Member of Dromara Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland (Covenanter)

Do you know which verses they had the most problems with, that were viewed as reflecting antinomian thinking?

__________________
Charles Plauger
Member/Grace Reformed Church
Oakland, MD

All sin we finde is out of minde,
the Saints are made divine
First in the love of God above
in glory they do shine.

A distinctive of Antinomian teaching is that God sees no sin in the saints. The reformed taught that indwelling sin was a continuing presence which saints were obliged to mortify, as clearly taught in the Old and New Testament Scriptures.

__________________
Yours sincerely,


"Illum oportet crescere me autem minui."

That is quite correct; though I got the impression that Thomas Edwards' main problem with it was that it was being sung in place of the Psalms of David.

__________________
Daniel Ritchie
Saintfield, Northern Ireland - Queen's University, Belfast:History/Politics
Member of Dromara Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland (Covenanter)