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Music and Song

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Oct 19, 1916

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 93, No. 52.

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Music and Song

By Mrs. S. W. Sisson

MRS. S. W. SISSON
“MAKE a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”
“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”
In this wonderful psalm of praise we catch a glimpse of the spirit of joy which comes to us in our lives with Christ. We are to serve the Lord with gladness. We are to come into his presence with singing. Joy is manifested in the lives of those walking “in the paths of righteousness.”
What a mighty song was that of Moses! Imagine the wonder of the children of Israel when, as they approached the Red Sea, its mighty waters separated and rolled up on each side, and they passed safely over. What fear they must have felt as Pharaoh’s hosts pursued, and they thought of their fate when once more in his power! But as the hand of God drew aside the waves of the sea, and let his children walk over on dry ground, so he closed the pathway to Pharaoh and his hosts. God furnishes the safe path for our feet today, if we listen to his voice and choose his path. Was it not fitting that Moses should lift up his voice in song and praise, and exclaim, “The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him a habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him”?
Nor was Moses alone in this praise to the Most High. The prophetess Miriam also lifted up her voice, accompanied by the tones of the timbrel, and sang, “Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.” In those days of fierce warfare, it was an occasion for great rejoicing when an enemy was captured; and so we find the prophetess Deborah singing praises unto the Lord. Her song of praise closes thus: “So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might.”
One of the most remarkable pictures in the Bible is that of Saul, the first king of God’s chosen people. As we think of him, we see his brow overcast with gloom and his courtiers trembling before the gathering tempest of his evil spirit. All the kingly attributes have departed. “Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on a harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.” 1 Sam. 16:15, 16.
The scene changes. We see again the green slopes of Bethlehem, dotted with the flocks of Jesse. The tender shepherd lad faithfully performs his allotted task; and as he tends his father’s sheep, he beguiles the hours with sweet music. Messengers are sent, bidding Jesse send his youngest son to the court of Saul. “And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took a harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.” Verse 23.
Thus we see that far back in history the ministry of music had a recognized place because of its soothing influence.
Nor was music absent from the temple service, for there was, we learn, a chamber set aside for the musicians. “All the congregation worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpets sounded, and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.”
The apostle Paul, in writing to the Ephesians, gives this advice: “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” And to the Colossians he writes: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
As it was in the days of the patriarchs and in the days of Paul, so it is today. We cannot sing our sacred songs without also feeling their influence. Who can sing “Trust and Obey,” without having a greater desire to trust and obey? Or who can sing “A Friend in Jesus,” unless he has indeed found a friend in him?
Can one doubt the divine mission of music when he reflects upon the supreme power which enabled many a dying martyr to lift his song of praise to God as he faced the awful death in the arena at Rome in the days of Nero? Surely God has given us music for a purpose. Listening to the “Hallelujah Chorus,” we seem to catch a glimpse of the joy of the angels.
“Music can be a great power for good; yet we do not make the most of this branch of worship. The singing isgenerally done from impulse or to meet special cases; and at other times those who sing are left to blunder along, and the music loses its proper effect upon the minds of those present. Music should have beauty, pathos, and power. Let the voices be lifted in songs of praise and devotion. Call to your aid, if practicable, instrumental music, and let the glorious harmony ascend to God, an acceptable offering.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. IV, p. 71.
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