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a person sitting dumb and listening to a song whose music is new to him, derives from that music, new though it be, a much deeper feeling of the sentiment of the song than he could have had without it? So is it with the songs of Zion; for the action of music on our springs of emotion is the same in its principle, whether we apply it to things which are common, or to things which are sacred. There can be no doubt that, in the songs of Zion, all should join who can join, and all learn who can learn; but it does not follow that the benefit is limited to those who actually take up the song. This was never intended, and perhaps is seldom realized. The song of a large Christian assembly is far more effective in lifting up the heart to God than that of a more contracted circle; and why? because there, there are a greater number of the godly, who, by means of vocal symphony, are found to act and re-act upon one another. But still there may be some of them who muse and praise in silence, aided not a little by the voices of their brethren; because, while they can enjoy music, and feel its moving influence, they are in providence denied the power of putting it in practice. The whole question about new tunes, then, in the present state of many a congregation, just comes to this; they must be occasionally introduced where but a few can sing them, unless an arrest is to be put upon progress, in one of the finest accessaries to the exercise of Christian piety; and the annoyance given, when they are introduced, is not by any means so great as they who most need them would have others to believe.

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There is, however, a radical point, which is of course assumed, in all that has been said, and which must ever have precedence in all our attempts at improvement in the song of our worshipping assemblies. In order to be accepted, it must take its rise, not merely from the heart, but from a sanctified heart-from a heart which is 'right with God, and sound in his statutes. He is a spirit, they that worship him,' in song or in sentiment, in word or in deed, must worship him in spirit and in truth.' Music, however pure, or decorously executed, or however sound or scriptural, in the thoughts it expresses, is at the best but a secondary matter. It has its place-a high place--a place much higher than is often assigned to it in the exercises of devotion-but let it be kept in that place, and on no account raised above it. It is not worship, but the instrument of worship; it is not piety, but the handmaid of piety; and to raise the handmaid to the chair of her mistress were to bring an idol in between us and the God we profess to adore. Be it so, and it is so that this idolatry is not the reigning error of our

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Scottish Presbyterian song; yet it were too much to say that we are altogether free from it. There are among us who are verging towards it, although happily but few, who prefer the melody to the matter of our song-who would shun to sing 'Messiah's eulogy,' were it not for Handel's sake'-and whose zeal for music is a thing so exclusive-so little seasoned with sense or grace-as to furnish the opponents of temperate progress with the most formidable of all their weapons. Yes, there are such persons, more or less connected even with Scottish Christian congregations-persons whose lives give but scanty evidence of their power of appreciating spiritual song-and when these find their way, as they sometimes may do, to be leaders of our music, in the desk or in the pew, the incongruity would be positively less, whatever custom may say to the contrary, did we see them displaced by the harp or the timbrel. In the one case, we should at least know what we have-it would stand before us undisguised; but in the other, we are haunted by the painful suspicion, if not stung by the positive conviction, that the hearts of those who lead us on give the lie to their lips. It is not to the mere devotee of song, but to those whose godliness leads them to song, that we are to look for the thing we desiderate-to the men who know what music is, and who, while they like it well, for the pleasure which it ministers, yet like it far more because of its most felicitous tendency to elevate thought, and to animate devotion. Let them take up the subject at the impulse of their godliness; but let them move on slowly and patiently, according to the circumstances in which they are placed; not doubting that, in due time, God will give them success, in rescuing his gift from neglect and desecration, and raising it up by progressive advances to the highest and holiest of all the uses for which it was at first bestowed.

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True there is nothing for remorse or despair, because these are beyond the range of piety, and for them there is no song; but is any merry? let him sing psalms,' or is any sad? let him sing his sorrows as the godly sang, who were sad

before him.

It is of importance to form a just estimate of what is said in the Old Testament on such a subject as this, because it is there we find the earliest examples of the connexion between godliness and song; and if there be danger, on the one hand, of attempting to draw from that example more than it can give, there is danger, on the other, of deferring to it less than it deserves. From hints there given, it seems very evident that music was at first introduced into the service of God, more as a dictate of our moral nature, than as a formal divine appointment; and that this was pleasing in the sight of God, few will venture to deny. The godly felt-and who can doubt that the feeling sprang from emotions of piety?-that if the fleeting incidents of secular life were an appropriate theme for ordinary song, much more were the doings of their God in creation or providence, but above all, in the specialties of his grace, an appropriate theme for sacred song. So, at the verance from Pharaoh and his host, when every heart was full of joy, Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her, with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.'* Again, we find that, at a later date, when the Ark was brought up from the place of its sojourn, to its fixed habitation at Jerusalem, the tribes were there by representation, and the procession was arranged as follows:'The singers went before the ark, causing the swell of their vocal melody to be heard afar as it moved along; 'the players on instruments followed after' it; and among them were the damsels,' or young Hebrew females, playing with timbrels. Here we have a scene, not only of joy and triumph, but of devotional joy and triumph; and there were singers taking the lead in it-a choir, or a band if we choose so to call it-persons to whom God had given voice for song-persons who were not only taught to sing, but taught to sing in concert-persons of both sexes, who, with their eyes on the service of God, had made music a part of their previous training-persons, in short, whose diversities of voice were so combined as to constitute harmony, and whose province it was to take the lead in the song of the Exodus xv. 20, 21. † Psalm lxviii. 25.

Hebrew Sanctuary. Nay more, there were players on instruments there, and these also of both sexes, which fact gives conclusive proof that instrumental music is not, in itself, incompatible with spiritual worship; for it is the true God who is a spirit, and not an idol of the nations, in whose service it was then employed. No doubt it would be rash to affirm from this, that instruments should be employed in Christian worship, but it would be equally rash to affirm the contrary. The use of them is not commanded, and neither is it forbidden, but left, like many minor things, to enlightened Christian discretion, which in our country, at least, and in our times, is generally found to be against their use.

But it were not easy to show that these instances of song-of educated song, be it remembered of song in regularly adjusted concert-which, as all must know, are but a sample-are to be viewed as a peculiarity either of patriarchal or Mosaic times. There is no evidence that they were limited, or ever intended to be limited, to that shadowy economy which was ordained to wax old, and to vanish away. Nay, in their principle, as already hinted, they are prior to every economy, whether for the innocent or for the fallen deli--whether of type or of anti-type-whether Jewish or Christian. For that principle has its root, first, in the nature-moral and physical conjoined-which God has given to man, and then, in the relation which he has established between himself and his creature man. If he has given us the power of speech, it is that from the heart we may speak his praise; and if he has given us the power of song, it is that from the heart we may sing his praise. Does it not follow, then, by obvious consequence, both from what we see in the nature of man, viewed simply as God made him, and also from what we read in the Book which God has written for him, as it bears upon this subject, that vocal music in Christian worship is not a thing to be trifled with, much less to be stigmatized as all but an unholy thing, but that it ought to be cultivated, and assiduously cultivated, as holding not a passing but a permanent place among the accessories of Christian worship. God is pleased with the sweet sounds which come from the human voice; he is pleased with them on their own account; we are sure that he is, for they are the result of his own creative handiwork; and since all have not the power of emitting these sounds to the same extent, while a few have scarcely any at all, it is surely the more necessary, that they who have it should educate and devote it to the highest and the best of all the ends, for which it was bestowed on them. If this was exemplified in Mosaic

times, sombre and shadowy as they were, how much more should it be so now-yes now that the Sun of righteousness has risen up, to thin away the shadows of the morning, and to shine so cheeringly over our heads with healing in his wings.

it is acknowledged, as a general principle,
that the abuse of a good thing is no ar-
gument against the use of it; and why
should so good a thing as music be ex-
cluded from the sweep of this principle?
That which is holy may be given unto
dogs, but it is holy still; or pearls may be
cast before swine, but they are pearls still;
and however far the taste for melody, or
power of making it, may be made the pro-
stitute of depravity, that is no reason why
Christian men should cease to rescue it
from the impious degradation, or be slack
in restoring it to the elevation which he
who gave it has assigned to it. But there
is more here. Men have perverted the
gift of understanding, as well as the gift
of music, and, indeed, it is the prior per-
version of the former which has led them
to pervert the latter; and how do we Chris-
tians reason from this perversion?
we say we should avoid thinking, or think
but very sparingly? No, but we take the
fact of such perversion, so extensive and
so ruinous, as a very cogent subsidiary
argument, for the assiduous cultivation of
our understanding, in the light and by the
rules which He who gave it has prescribed
to it. Thus we deal with the higher gift,
in order to secure the use of it;
and why
should not the lower, which comes from
the hand of the same Divinity, be dealt
with in the same way?

Do

In not a few of our Scottish congregations there is a deficiency of sacred music, and an aversion to progress in it which are not easily overcome. Among the victims of this aversion, the impression is more or less prevalent, that, at least in the general, music and frivolity are little else than two names for the same thing, and, of course, that while a few of its varieties may be admitted into the house of God, to conciliate the young and the inconsiderate, yet anything like particular attention to it is beneath the gravity of riper years. This unfortunate state of mind may, in some degree, be traced to a salutary dread of that tendency to put song in the place of sermon, and ceremony in the place of substance, which prevailed so much in the days of our Popery; but there can be no doubt that it has been deepened and perpetuated, in no small degree, by the open and unblushing desecration of music, in the midst of which they have been brought up. They have seen the very best of it flung away upon chivalry, or romance, or war, or political partizanship, or the casualties of courtship, or the freaks and oddities of eccentricity, or even upon But some may be disposed to say 'it is drunken carousal, or the foulest and most not to music that we object, nor yet to loathsome of human sensualties. These music well sustained, but to those extravathings they have seen, and continue to see, gances connected with it, which, in our in almost every direction to which they opinion, are not suited to the worship of turn their eyes; and looking at them, they God, with the incessant introduction of have been led, by a process of which they such novelties, as put it beyond the power are scarcely conscious, to slide into the of any ordinary congregation to join in the opinion that music is in itself a carnal song.' Now, as to the first part of this thing that to be fond of it is to be, at objection, it is at once admitted, that there least, a fool, if not something worse than are pieces of music now and then, but not a fool, and, of course, that no more than a often, brought into the house of God which tame, aye, and a timorous, approximation are not suited to his service, and that all to it should ever be associated with the such pieces should be carefully excluded. services of religion. But these persons But, on the other hand, it ought to be reare mistaken-they are greatly mistaken-membered that this is a question of taste and by a little candid consideration, some, although not all of them, might be cured of their mistake; for although mere wranglers may be found among them, who think it backsliding to be convinced, yet, to a great extent, they are sincere, right-hearted, and devout. Yes, they are mistaken, but their mistake is, in many cases, the result of position, rather than of obtuseness, and all they require is to be reasoned with, not by those who sneer out their logic, but by those who have heart as well as head, and whose respect for the sacredness of Christian worship they feel to be on a par with their own. It is true that music has been shamefully misused; about this they are in no mistake; but

aye, and of sanctified taste-about which men who are equally devout, and equally concerned about the decorum of public worship, may be expected to differ. They who have skill in music, and a rather lively relish for it, are sure to form a different opinion from those who have but little of either; and the question, who are likeliest to be right? admits of but one answer; for, other things being equal, it is knowledge which rectifies judgment, here as in every thing else. The best informed are the most convinced, that a far greater variety of song ought to be found in the service of God, than others are apt to suppose; and to form our estimate from the meagre specimen of either variety or

execution, which is fixed and stereotyped in not a few of our Scottish congregations, were to come very far short of the mark. Still it is in this way that-not to speak of the captious, whose point of honour is never to be pleased-well conditioned godly persons, the dupes of a limited use and wont, are frequently misled. They not only conclude, from the little that they know or have seen, but hold tenaciously by the conclusion, as if there were nothing beyond it; whereas, had their range of vision been wider, their conclusion would have widened along with it, bringing no detriment, but positive aid, to the fervour of their piety. No doubt, there is such a thing as the music of rant and frivolityif music it may be called-which ever ought to be sternly excluded from the precincts of the sanctuary; but beyond this, and far above it, there are congenial varieties, of which, by judicious selection, Christians may avail themselves, as their appropriate auxiliaries, in singing the joys or sorrows of their hearts, or more directly the praises of their God.

Then, as to the remaining part of the objection, which relates more immediately to what are called new tunes, there may be errors here, as well as in the former ease. New tunes may be introduced, with a taste so bad, or a frequency so reckless, as to deserve the severest reprehension. But here also there is an exclusiveness, and a readiness to take offence, which the best judges in matters of melody, being at the same time the most devout, are constrained to condemn. There is room for the introduction of new tunes into many of our congregations, as well as for giving more effect to those already introduced there is large room for both; for why should we draw the praises of our God, and enter with spirit into the feats of a warrior?-and to plead more novelty, as a bar in our way, were to sanction the principle which puts an extinguisher upon all improvement whatsoever. Wherever there is improvement, there is change; and wherever there is change, there is something new, whether in the affairs of earth or of heaven.

But still the question recurs, 'is it right, or can it be right, to introduce tunes, however eligible in themselves, which none but a small minority of a worshipping people are qualified to sing? And the answer is, that in the abstract it is not right, but should be carefully avoided, so far as circumstances will permit; while yet, with a very few exceptions, these same tunes must either be introduced in this way, or never introduced at all; for this plain reason, that a large majority of professing Christians are not only deficient in sacred music, but choose to remain so, even where

the means of improvement in it are gratuitously provided for them, and pressed on their acceptance. They think it above, or beneath, or beyond them, to take up their heads with such a thing; and the little they know of it has been picked up, not in a school or a class, where its rules are explained and exemplified-not, in short, by separate training of any kind whatever-but in the social worship of the family, or in the house of God. This is the true account of the matter; it has been so for ages; and with what grace can they to whom it applies blame the introduction of tunes which they cannot sing? Do they not owe to the thing they complain of, much of their own attainment, slender as it is? and have they not necessiated, by their culpable remissness, the very evil which with their lips they condemn? The few tunes which they can sing were once new to them; and where, in nine cases perhaps out of every ten, did they learn to sing them? In the worship of the family or in that of the church. This they know full well; or if they think they do not, memory will very easily bring it up to their minds; and they needed its aid to rectify or to moderate the excess of their present opinions. It is far from being intended, by these remarks, to palliate the recklessness already referred to; but they ought to be taken into account, and impartially pondered, by those who are sometimes the readiest to raise their outcry against an evil which they themselves have, in part, created. The person who obstinately refuses to prepare himself for a due extension of the Church's meludies should, in all conscience, be the last to complain of a progress which leaves him behind.

After all, the introduction into Christian | worship, of now and then a piece of music, which but a few can sing is, although a real, yet not so great an evil, as it is sometimes taken to be. It were easy to fret in silence, or to talk loudly about desecration; but it is better to bind our judgment down to the exact amount of merit or demerit. If a tune has been judiciously selected, and is suited to its theme, and is well sung by but a few, the worshipper who cannot sing it-if he has an ear for music-may even at the first derive devotional aid from it in no small degree, by simply giving his mind up to the sentiment, as the melody brings it along; till by and by his voice, without an effort, falls in with the other voices, and so the evil is at an end. Again, if the worshipper has little ear for music, or perhaps none at all, it is not easy to see how his devotions can be either aided or disturbed, by any one piece of it, more than by another. How often does it happen in ordinary life, that

a person sitting dumb and listening to a song whose music is new to him, derives from that music, new though it be, a much deeper feeling of the sentiment of the song than he could have had without it? So is it with the songs of Zion; for the action of music on our springs of emotion is the same in its principle, whether we apply it to things which are common, or to things which are sacred. There can be no doubt that, in the songs of Zion, all should join who can join, and all learn who can learn; but it does not follow that the benefit is limited to those who actually take up the song. This was never intended, and perhaps is seldom realized. The song of a large Christian assembly is far more effective in lifting up the heart to God than that of a more contracted circle; and why? because there, there are a greater number of the godly, who, by means of vocal symphony, are found to act and re-act upon one another. But still there may be some of them who muse and praise in silence, aided not a little by the voices of their brethren; because, while they can enjoy music, and feel its moving influence, they are in providence denied the power of putting it in practice. The whole question about new tunes, then, in the present state of many a congregation, just comes to this; they must be occasionally introduced where but a few can sing them, unless an arrest is to be put upon progress, in one of the finest accessaries to the exercise of Christian piety; and the annoyance given, when they are introduced, is not by any means so great as they who most need them would have others to believe.

There is, however, a radical point, which is of course assumed, in all that has been said, and which must ever have precedence in all our attempts at improvement in the song of our worshipping assemblies. In order to be accepted, it must take its rise, not merely from the heart, but from a sanctified heart-from a heart which is

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right with God, and sound in his statutes. He is a spirit, they that worship him,' in song or in sentiment, in word or in deed, must worship him in spirit and in truth.' Music, however pure, or decorously executed, or however sound or scriptural, in the thoughts it expresses, is at the best but a secondary matter. It has its place—a high place-a place much higher than is often assigned to it in the exercises of devotion-but let it be kept in that place, and on no account raised above it. It is not worship, but the instrument of worship; it is not piety, but the handmaid of piety; and to raise the handmaid to the chair of her mistress were to bring an idol in between us and the God we profess to adore. Be it so, and it is so that this idolatry is not the reigning error of our

Scottish Presbyterian song; yet it were too much to say that we are altogether free from it. There are among us who are verging towards it, although happily but few, who prefer the melody to the matter of our song-who would shun to sing 'Messiah's eulogy,' were it not 'for Handel's sake'-and whose zeal for music is a thing so exclusive-so little seasoned with sense or grace-as to furnish the opponents of temperate progress with the most formidable of all their weapons. Yes, there are such persons, more or less connected even with Scottish Christian congregations-persons whose lives give but scanty evidence of their power of appreciating spiritual song-and when these find their way, as they sometimes may do, to be leaders of our music, in the desk or in the pew, the incongruity would be positively less, whatever custom may say to the contrary, did we see them displaced by the harp or the timbrel. In the one case, we should at least know what we have-it would stand before us undisguised; but in the other, we are haunted by the painful suspicion, if not stung by the positive conviction, that the hearts of those who lead us on give the lie to their lips. It is not to the mere devotee of song, but to those whose godliness leads them to song, that we are to look for the thing we desiderate-to the men who know what music is, and who, while they like it well, for the pleasure which it ministers, yet like it far more because of its most felicitous tendency to elevate thought, and to animate devotion. Let them take up the subject at the impulse of their godliness; but let them move on slowly and patiently, according to the circumstances in which they are placed; not doubting that, in due time, God will give them success, in rescuing his gift from neglect and desecration, and raising it up by progressive advances to the highest and holiest of all the uses for which it was at first bestowed.

BIBLICAL STUDIES.

D. Y.

PSALM CIV., VERSES 5-9.-THE PAST

CHANGES OF THE EARTH.

No. III.

IN these verses we have a reference to changes that have formerly taken place on the surface of the globe. That reference may either be to the deluge of Noah, or to the separation of the dry land from the sea, which took place on the third day of creation. Modern science informs us that these are but specimens of many similar changes which occurred in the past history of the world which we inhabit. More than

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