RESPONSIVE TO THE VOICE.
By A Little One
THERE is a great chord of harmony struck by the divine Hand of love in heavenly places which vibrates and reverberates over mountain and valley, over river and ocean, to which our hearts, if attuned, will give a glad response. Did you ever note the answering tones given by the strings of a piano as it echoed a sound made in another part of the room? Our hearts should be far more responsive than the lifeless strings of the piano harp. If our hearts are “out of tune,” it behooves us speedily to have the great Master Musician touch them, for He is the Author of all harmony. That of the ripple of the brooklet, the boom of the mighty waves of ocean; the sweet strains of the stringed instruments, and those that seem to be breathing richest melody through their reeds when touched by the hand of one whose soul is filled and thrilled with the “great Amen;” the cheery songs of the happy little birds whose sole mission seems to be to fill the air with their joyous singing, and the happy voices and merry laughter and words of love of the little ones—the sweetest of all earth’s sweet music—yes, He is the composer of it all; He can attune us anew if we but go to Him. To what is your ear attuned? As the hurrying crowd passes along the busy street, the ear of one catches this sound, the ear of another that. The musician hears the notes of an instrument now and then as he hastens along, sounds unheard and entirely unheeded by the ordinary ear. The blacksmith hears the ring of the sledge as it falls upon the anvil in some distant shop. The engineer, listening for the directing notes of the captain’s bell, can hear it even in the midst of the roar of the foaming billows without and the clash and clamor of the machinery within. The motorman is mindful of the clanging gong which is unnoticed by others—he hears the warning note even through the noise and confusion of a crowded city street. So should each one of us be on the alert to catch the faintest signal of warning or direction—for with us, as with the motorman, to hear and heed is often a question of life and death. The violinist as he tunes his instrument, can, with his quickened sense of hearing, discern the guiding note and change the violin to accord with it, tho the hum of conversation and other sounds would make other and unaccustomed ears unable to detect the special note. The musician must have a correct and unchanging note to which to attune the strings of his violin—one which will give no uncertain sound. So also must we have a true and unchanging note to which to attune our lives. The key-note of one is money, of another is business, of another fashion and society, and of still another fame, and of others, but far too few, the Word of God. The ear of the willingly obedient child can hear the parent’s voice speak his name when others hear not. The ear of one who loves another, be it parent or child, friend or lover, is sensitive—love is ever quick to catch the first syllable of the voice of the loved one. The voice may be that of a person, pleasure, or ambition; it may be that of the art of music, poetry, painting, or one of the many other voices which are constantly calling to those around, but recognized only by those whose ears are in accord, especially with this or that voice, made so by love, duty, or cultivation. What is your key-note? For what voice are you listening? Sooner or later we will each one catch the sound we “strain our ears to hear,” for as we listen more and more for it, we will become the more accustomed to its peculiar and, to us, charming tones, and we will hear it, regardless of the noise and confusion around us. Who, in the midst of earth’s great babel, can distinguish the waves of heavenly sweetness which float earthward to soothe, comfort, and fill with joy the weary traveler to that “distant City”? It is only to the attentive ear that the heavenly voices can penetrate. As a true musician can feel the wondrous harmony in music, so also can the grand accord of heaven be heard and felt only by those whose lives are hid with Christ in God—there they can realize the perfect sweetness of perfect harmony. The voices of nature and revelation are messengers ever calling heavenward. Have you a listening ear for the “still, small voice” that you may hear and know the Voice of all voices whenever the Shepherd speaks? for He says, “My sheep hear My voice.” What voice are your ears alert to catch? What will be the end of following that voice, be it that of art or business, pleasure or duty? The following of some voices will lead, like the following of a “Jack-o-lantern” or “will o’ the wisp,” but to quagmires, sloughs of despond, and over precipices into the lake of death. Ah, there is a Voice that it is safe to hear and follow; that Voice will lead into green pastures, beside still waters, yea, and to its followers bespeak eternal life.