3. LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY PRINCETON. N. J. Division ^ )ni Section. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/serviceofsongOOstac J THE SERVICE OF SONG: A TREATISE ON SINGING IN PRIVATE DEVOTION, IN THE FAMILY AND IN THE SCHOOL, AND IN BY REV. A. G. "sTACY, A. M. Praise ye the Lord. SAINT LOUIS: SOUTHWESTERN BOOK AND PUBLISHING COMPANY, 510 AND 512 WASHINGTON AVENUE. 1871. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S71, by A. G. STACY, in the OflSice of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. Dedication. TO THE COMPILER OF SEVERAL COLLECTIONS O F HYMNS AND SONGS, REV. THOS. O. SUMMERS, D. WHOM THE AUTHOR OF THIS VOLUME PERMITTED TO CLAIM AS HIS PERSONAL FRIEND AND HIGHLY ESTEEMED BROTHER IN CHRIST, THIS BOOK IS AFFECTION- ATELY INSCRIBED. PREFACE. The Author of this unpretending volume has long looked in sadness upon the indifference manifested by many in the service of song. Thousands who have the ability to sing maintain a careless silence in the church ; and of those who sing, many are evidently destitute, to a very great extent, of the spirit of worship. Even ministers are but too frequently seen burying their own talent for song, while they allow habitual remissness in others without uttering a word of instruction, encouragement or warning. Observation of this inattention to a matter of prime importance convinced the writer, several years ago, that something should be done to bring up the practice of the Church to the Scriptural rule. Supposing that there were already extant books and tracts on the subject of Praise in Song, we searched many private Hbraries, but could find no works of the kind. Special inquiry was then made at sundry book-stores and publishing houses, but with httle success. From Columbia and Charles- ton, S. C, Nashville, Tenn., and 200 Mulberry street. New York, and other cities, nothing could be obtained but a few books on Psalm-singing, Hymnology, and Musical history. VI PKEFACE. A few other valuable publications of the same character were procured from the private library of David Creamer, Esq., of Baltimore, most of them imported by him from England about twenty-five years ago. None of these volumes are in general circulation in this country; and in none of them is the general subject of singing so fully discussed as to meet the desideratum. Hence, we reached the conclusion that one more book was greatly needed. Friends were consulted, and among them the Book Editor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, at Nashville. Their views coincided with our own, and we were encouraged to undertake the work. Urged by a sense of duty, we took up our pen, determined to publish or suppress what should be written, as judicious advisers might suggest. The present volume is the result. We have paid due respect to the productions of both ancient and modern writers; but have steadily kept in view our own plan, and have fearlessly expressed our own views. Above all, we have made the Bible " the man of our counsel." To have written in the absence of all books save the Holy Scriptures, would have cost us only about a tithe of the time and labor devoted to the work, but we thought conclusions reached after free discussion preferable to dogmatism. It is hoped that the book will be found to be Christianly liberal. There is here no doctrinal controversy to offend P K E F A C E . VII those whose creeds differ from that of the author. In what is said of Church usage we have written freely, but kindly. Our aim has been to prepare a manual for the edification and comfort of Christians generally, and which may interest and profit those who are without the pale of the Church. At every step we have desired that a theme so transcend- ently important should be treated by an abler hand ; and, without the kind words and favorable opinion of those upon whose judgment we could rely, the work had never been finished. In this connection we take pleasure in mentioning the names of the Rev. T. O. Summers, D. D., and the Rev. W. A. Gamewell. The latter now sings in heaven. Being especially solicitous to reach the heart, we converse with the reader as friend would talk to friend. The preparation of the work has been a blessing to us, and if its perusal shall be alike beneficial to the reader, we shall be a thousand times compensated for the time and effort expended. May we meet in the land of light and love. There we shall forever behold and worship "The King in His beauty." But " who can show forth all His praise." Our offering, humble though it be, is laid upon the altar of Him " who is above all blessing and praise." May it be graciously accepted. The Author. Lexington, Mo., yanuary 14, 187 1. CONTENTS. GENERAL SCRIPTURAL VIEW. The Angels Delight to Sing their Maker's Praise — Our First Parents in Eden — Their Worship — The Atonement Furnishes new Cause for Praise — Music after the Fall — Vocal music must have Pre- ceded Instrumental — Instruments invented — The first Sacred Song — Two Choirs — The Tabernacle set uf>— Moses composes a Song just before his Death — The Song of Deborah, the Prophetess — The First and Best Poets were Hebrews — The Song sung at the First Attempt to Bring the Ark to the Hill of Zion — The Song sung when the Ark was brought up — The Arrangement made by David for the Service of Song when the Worship in Jerusalem was Established — Women Singers as well as Men Singers in the Temple Choir — Why David is called "the Sweet Psalmist of Israel" — The Golden Age of Hebrew Poetry and Song — Singing at the Dedication of Solomon's Temple — The Style of Singing in the Tabernacle and in the Temple — Illustration — "His mercy endureth forever" — The Captives in Babylon hang their Harps upon the Willows — The Captives on their Homeward March — Praise at the Laying of the Corner-stone of the Second Temple — The Advent of the Messiah, and the Song of the Angels after a long season of Gloom — Christ and the Apostles Sung a Hymn before going out to the Mount of Olives — The First Century of the Christian Era — Paul and Silas at Phillippi — Teachings and Injunctions of the Apostles in regard to Singing — The Song Heard by St. John the Divine — This Scriptural Review shows Praise to be an Integral Part of Worship X CONTENTS. PART FIRST. SINGING IN PRIVATE DEVOTION. Religion should be made a Personal Matter — Singing should have a place in Private Devotion — David and the other Psalmists — The Devout Laborer — Numerous Occasions of Gratitude and Praise— ''O, Weep not for the Joys that Fade"— Death, only, considered Inexorable by the Ancient Grecians — The Albigensian Christians — Margaret Wilson — Charles Wesley — John Wesley — The Little Girl in the far Southwest — Bishop Capers— The Rev. M. L. Hoge, D. D.— The Rev, W. G. Caples _ PART SECOND. SINGING IN THE FAMILY AND IN THE SCHOOL. CHAPTER I. SINGING IN THE FAMILY. Home — A Christian Home — Praise as well as Prayer should be Heard in the Habitations of the Faithful — Benefits of House- hold Praise — Why it is especially Beneficial to Children — We need Sacred Songs as an Offset against Bacchanalian or Ribald Songs — The Early Christians — The Westminster Assembly — Matthew Henry's Remark — The Author's Reminiscences — *'Come to the Place of Prayer" — Family Choirs CHAPTER n. SINGING IN THE SCHOOL. Music should be Taught in all our Literary Institutions — Pupils can usually learn Music with ease — General Conference Action — Bishop Andrew on the same subject — Singing in the Schools in CONTENTS. XI Prussia — What Luther says — President J. M. Bonnell — Dr. Thomas Hastings — N. D. Gould — Dr. Rush Recommends Vocal Music — Horace VValpole — Instrumental Music in Female Colleges — Bishop Andrew desires Sacred Songs — Singing in the Sabbath-school — The Singing of Children — A Musical Theology for Children 75 PART THIRD. SINGING IN THE WORSHIPING CONGREGATION. SECTION 1.— WHO SHOULD SING? CHAPTER I. ALL SHOULD SING. The Object of Congregational Singing— Many of our Hymns are Prayers — Singing takes its stand with Preaching and Praying — Congregational Singing the Oldest Style of Music in the Chris- tian Church — The Transition to the Clergy — Luther Restored Music to the People — Singing a part of Divine Worship — White- field's Preaching and the Singing — The Hibernian in the Sack at Wexford — The Tavern-keeper — Musical Works issued by the Wesleys — Rules in the Methodist Discipline — But few, com- paratively, Sing — Preachers must Lead in the Reformation... 92 CHAPTER II. ALL SHOULD SING. — [Continued,) The Great Power of Song in the Reformation — Luther — Clement Marot and Theodore Beza — Priests Sung Down by the Peo- ple — Papists Imitate the Protestants — Reformation in England — Influence of Ministers— All should Sing— Dr. OHn — Bishops Coke and Asbury on Singing — George Dougherty in Charleston, XII CONTENTS. S. C. — Felix Neff— What Chrysostom says — Augustin — Mel- vill — Luther — Cotton Mather's Remark — What McCheyne says — Furber's Remarks to Ministers — The Orator — The Ant — The Word of God— His Works SECTION IL— HOW SHOULD WE SING ? CHAPTER I. CHOIRS. Definition of a Choir — Choirs obtained under the Jewish Dispensa- tion — Choirs not Popish in their Origin — Not necessarily of Judaizing Tendency — Paid Choirs Bearing Burdens — Of the Members of the Choir — Place for the Choir — Illustrative Nar- rative — Putting the Singers in the Gallery — Mostly Plain Tunes should be Sung — Aelredus' Description — Singing of the Col- ored People in Cities — Science in Music — The Precentor — The Effect of Discord — The Choir should Lead w^hile all Sing — Productive of Great Good CHAPTER IL MELODY AND HARMONY. Definition — Origin of Counterpoint — Harmonizing in Germany — Mr. Weber's first Objection to Harmony — His second, third, and fourth Objections — The Power of Harmony a Divine Gift-^ Treble should Predominate — Female Voices — Male Voices — Variety of Voice — The Music of the Spheres — Harmony in the Universe — Distinguished Advocates of Harmony CHAPTER III. FUGUE TUNES AND ANTHEMS. Definition — Origin — Billings introduced Fugue Tunes into American Churches — Objection to this style of Music — John Wesley on CONTENTS. XIII Intricate and Undevout Singing — Description by Rector of St. Bardolph's — General Conference of 1792 — Plain Tunes — Dr. A. Clarke's Objection — What has been said in favor of An- thems — To what extent they should be used — Vain Repetitions. 187 CHAPTER IV. ADAPTATION ARTICULATION ACCENT ATTITUDE. Tune must be Adapted to the Words — The Song must be Adapted to the Time, Place and Occasion — Bishop Pierce — Remarks by N. D. Gould — Another Illustrative Instance — Spirit which Per- vades the Singing — Want of Feeling in Singers — Importance of a Good Articulation — Management of the Voice — No Music without Accent — Management of the Breath — A Standing Posi- tion Preferable — Dr. Guthrie's Remarks 196 CHAPTER V. INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC. Invention of Musical Instruments — Egypt Claims Precedence — Also the Chinese — Devotion of the Grecians to Music — Romans — Music in Great Britain — The Organ — Dr. A. Clarke on Instru- mental Music — Richard Baxter's View — Home and Richmond — What Richard Watson says — David — Silence of Christ and the Apostles on the subject — J. Wesley's advice as to Organs — Portrait of a Good Organist — Various kinds of Instruments — We should always Sing Spiritually — Church Service should be Attractive — Objections Neutralized — The best Arrangement. . . 223 CHAPTER VI. SPIRITUAL SINGING. The Young Convert — Are we Prepared to Sing in Heaven? — Indifference — The Psalmist Praised God Heartily— Ardor of the Apostles and Early Christians — Heartfelt Song should Celebrate the later Triumphs of the Cross — Formality in Sing- ing the Great Evil — Science in Singing should be Recognized. . 245 XIV CONTENTS. SECTION III.— WHAT SHOULD WE SING? CHAPTER I. SHOULD WE SING PSALMS EXCLUSIVELY? Presumption in favor of Compositions of Uninspired Poets — View of the Seceders — The Title of the Psalms — "Song of Songs " — Ralph Erskine's View and Conduct — Suitableness of Matter for Praise — Testimony of Isaiah — Offering Strange Fire — "Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs" — Example of Simeon, Anna the Prophetess, etc. — Early Christians — Common Version and Rous' Compared — General Assembly of the Church of Scotland 254 CHAPTER II. UNINSPIRED SACRED LYRICS. Watts and Wesley — Opinion of John Wesley — Dr. Abel Stevens' estimate of Charles Wesley — Hymns on Hohness — Life-long Devotion of the Wesleys to Sacred Song — Reservoirs of Sacred Poetry — Merits of the Hymn-book of M. E. Church, South — Singing Hymns of Praise — Other collections of Hymns and Songs — Hymns and Songs too little Read and Studied — Brief Sketches of Hymn Writers — Great Volume of Sacred Song not yet Complete 282 SECTION IV.— W^HY SHOULD WE SING? CHAPTER I. WE SHOULD PRAISE GOD FOR WHAT HE IS IN HIMSELF AND FOR WHAT HE IS TO US. What constitutes the Glory of God ? — The work of Creation proves God to be Omnipotent — His power as great in the Moral as in the Natural World — The Wisdom of God commensurate with CONTENTS. XV His Power — God is Love — The Mercy of God the most at- tractive form of His Goodness — We are overwhelmed with emotion when wc consider what God is to us 308 CHAPTER II. THE POWER OF SONG. It banishes the evil Spirit from Saul — Tyrtaeus — What Terpander did with the Spartans — Alexander — Amabeus, the Harper — The Abyssinian Trumpet — William the Conqueror — Effect of Music on Murad IV. — Music at the battle of Quebec in 1760 — Haydn moved to tears — The Theatre — The Starving l.ion Charmed — The Singing of Cookman — Singing by Soldiers in Mexico — Effeo.t of a Song on an Actress — Song at Camp- meeting The Grey-headed Gambler The Nobleman's Daughter — Reasons why we should Sing — "Sing Praises to God! Sing Praises!" 319 INTRODUCTION. We had the pleasure of perusing the manuscript of this work when it was first written. Circum- stances prevented the publication of the work at the time, and the author has availed himself of the delay in making important additions to it. 'We are glad it is now to appear in print. We bespeak for it a wide circulation, as it is eminently good to the use of edifying. We rejoice in every efifort put forth to increase an interest in the "Service of song in the house of the Lord." The cuUus of the Church in this country has been very defective in this matter. We do not mean that we have not a sufficiently copious and suitable Psalmody. In this respect the Church — the Methodist Church in particular — is well en- dowed. There is the inspired Psalter, together with the beautiful canticles interspersed through the Bible, which might be sung and chanted greatly to the 2 XVIII INTRODUCTION. edification of the Church. The translators of our authorized version of the Bible were singularly happy in rendering these inspired hymns ; and we like to hear them sung in the nohle words which have been hallowed by the use of English- speaking Christians for centuries. Imitations of these songs of Zion were used by the Church in the days of the Apostles, and so have they been in every succeeding age. Pliny, writing to Trajan, says the Christians were accustomed to meet together on a stated day, before it was light, and to sing a hymn to Christ, as to a god, alternately. The earliest Christian hymn which has come down to our times was written in Greek, by Clemens Alexandrinus, who flourished about a hundred years after the death of John the Evan- gelist. It is a pleasing and suggestive fact, that that hymn was composed for the children of the Church. It is found in his Pedagogue. An old Latin version is sometimes bound up with it. A rough version of a portion of it may be found in our "Hymns for Schools and Families," begin- ning, " Shepherd of tender youth." INTRODUCTION. XIX As songs and ballads are the most effective veliicles of instruction and influence, so that Andrew Fletcher, of Saltoun, is reported to have said that he cared not who wrote the laws of the nation, if he might write its ballads, we need not Vv'onder that they were largely employed for this purpose, as well as for the expression of devotional sentiment, in the Primitive Church. When the Arians availed themselves of this potent instrumentality for the spread of their heresy, Chrysostom counteracted them by furnish- ing orthodox hymns for the use of the faithful. Angus tin, in the Western Church, made a hymn in imitation of Psalm cxix., to check the Donatists, who composed hymns for the propagation of their errors. Before his time, Hilary, Bishop of Poictiers, and Prudentius, a Spaniard, composed Latin hymns, which were extensively used in the Western Church. The Trisagion, or Cherubical Hymn, in its sim- plest form, has come down to us, perhaps, from the third century. It is found in the so-called XX INTRODUCTION. Apostolical Constitutions, as is tlie Gloria in Ex- cels is. The Gloria Patri was introduced to check the Arian heresy. The Te Deum was probably composed by Mcetus, Bishop of Triers, in Gaul, in the sixth century, and has been in nearly universal use ever since. During the Middle Ages the piety of the Church, almost smothered as it was by superstition, flamed forth occasionally in such productions as the Sta'bat Mater^ Dies Irce^ etc., which have been translated into the modern tongues. They are venerable relics of those dark centuries ; but neither they nor the Hymns of the Primitive Church are likely to come much into popular use. At the time of the Reformation the sacred muse was invoked more than ever before. Luther com- posed many fine hymns in German, as well as tunes, which became very popular. Clement Marot, groom of the bed-chamber of Francis I., and Theodore Beza versified the Psalms in French, and had tunes set to them. Thomas Sternliold, one of the grooms of the INTRODUCTION. XXI bed-chamber of Edward YI., Jobn Hopkins, and others, versified the Psalter in English. Their version, rough as it is, became popular in England. A version was afterward made by Francis Rous, Provost of Eton under the Commonwealth, which subsequently became, and still continues to be, the authorized Psalmody of the Scottish Churches. In 1696, Nahum Tate,D.D., Poet Laureate, and Nicholas Brady, D. D., Yicar of Stratford-on-Avon, published *'A New Version of the Psalms of David," which took the place of the version of Sternhold and Hopkins in the Church of England, and is still used by that Church and its offshoots. " The Psalms of David, imitated in the language of the New Testament," by Dr. Isaac Watts, was published in 1719, and, with his " Hymns and Spiritual Songs," became very popular, especially among English Dissenters. They are a lasting heritage to all English-speaking Churches. Charles Wesley and other members of the Wes- ley family versified the Psalter, a few Psalms ex- cepted, and wrote thousands of hymns, many of which surpass all other uninspired songs. It is not necessary to refer to the hundreds of XXII INTKODUCTION. other sacred poets wlio have tested the powers of ' onr nohle tongue to enrich the service of song in the house of the Lord. It is impossible to overstate the importance of this delightful part of the worship of the Church. There is not a doctrine or duty of our holy religion that is not inculcated in the most winning manner by holy song. In David's Psalter we have Psalms "to give instruction," and "to bring to remembrance," didactic and historical Psalms, which were used in the tabernacle, temple, and synagogue worship. The reformers of the age, who would exclude all but distinctively devotional hymns, make a great mistake. The Jewish Church and the Primi- tive Christian Church, as we have seen, availed themselves of the power of song to inform the mind, as well as to inflame the affections. It is easy enough to adapt suitable tunes to hymns of a didactic character. Such hymns may be sung with good effect immediately before sermon. Then there are subjective and hortatory hymns, which, used after sermon, enforce the subject-mat- ter of the discourse with singular power. Indeed, INTRODUCTION. XXIH such liymns not unfrequently put the minds of the hearers into a proper frame to receive the word, and should be used accordingly. It is eminently proper to open public worship with hymns of a highly devotional character, not only because it is our duty to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness," to " come into his pres- ence with thanksgiving and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms," " to show forth his loving- kindness and faithfulness upon an instrument of ten strings, upon the harp with a solemn sound," or with such other accessories as we can command, but because nothing so readily exorcises the worldly spirit, and puts us into a frame for all the other duties of the sanctuary, as songs of praise and thanksgiving. The evil spirit departed from Saul when David played his harp. Elisha calmed his own troubled spirit, when it had been ruffled by the presence of the impious King of Israel, by sacred minstrelsy. "While the minstrel played, the hand of the Lord came upon the prophet, and he prophesied. What preacher has not felt the mighty influence of an inspiring song, attuning his spirit for his holy work ! XXIV INTRODUCTION. Dr. Jolmson never committed a greater mistake than wlien he said, in his Life of Br. Watts : " His devotional poetry is like that of others — unsatis- factory. The paucity of its topics enforces per- petual repetition, and the sanctity of the matter rejects the ornaments of figurative diction. It is sufficient for Watts to have done better than others, what no man has done well." In saying this, he reproves others beside Watts and other uninspired poets. One would think the great Leviathan of English literature had never read David's Psalter, the Benedicite^ the Benedictus, the Magnificat^ the Nunc DimitUs^ and the rapturous canticles of the Apocalypse, phonographed by the Eagle-evangel- ist, who caught the volumes of holy song, as they burst from the heavenly cJioristers and the " harp- ers harping with their harps!" Strange to say, Johnson could never read a certain stanza of the Dies IrcB without the most powerful emotion ! But, not to be prolix, we express the hope that this excellent treatise will have a wide circulation, and that its perusal will bring into more general use the incomparable hymns which constitute the authorized Psalmody of our Communion, and at INTRODUCTION. XXV the same time promote " the service of song" in all the churches of the saints. We hope, too, that it will promote the revival of domestic psalmody, that delightful part of the v^orship of " the Church in the house," v^^hich has, unhappily, gone greatly into desuetude among us. Nothing so identifies us with the worshipers in the upper temple, nothing so prepares us to join in their worship, nay, " to mend the choirs above," as to sing praises unto God while we have any being on the earth. The songs of the temple voice out the harmony of the spheres, and constitute the sweetest music in the orchestra of the universe. There's not the smallest orb which thou beholdst, But in his motion like an angel sings, Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubim, Such harmony is in immortal souls. Happy those whose spirits chime in with this divine minstrelsy ! " Blessed are they that dwell in thy house ; they will be still praising thee !" " Let my due feet never fail" to go " to the house of God, v/ith the voice of joy and praise, with the multitude that keep holy-day." There let the pealing organ blow To the full-voiced quire below. In service high, and anthems clear. As may with sweetness through mine ear. Dissolve me into ecstasies, And bring all heaven before mine eyes ! Thomas O. Summees. Nashville, Tenn., January 5, 1871. i » THE SERVICE OF SO^^G. GEiS'ERAL SCRIPTURAL VIEW. When the corner-stone of the earth was laid, " the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for j oy." Long prior to this grand event, it had been the delight of the angels to sing their Maker's praise. Hence, when they saw this magnificent globe emerging out of chaos, as a brilliant reflector of the Divine perfections, they gave expression to their emotions in the loftiest strains of adoration. In due time the first holy and happy pair are created, and enter upon their delectable inherit- ance. God himself communes with them, and the angels who held jubilee at the sunrise of time pay frequent visits to this Elysium, and celebrate in song the praises of Him who has spread out a scene so fair. The sun by day, and the moon and stars by night, serve as shining preachers to the devout dwellers below; and the perpetual sermon is 28 THE SERVICE OF SONG. amplified and rendered still more emphatic by tlie beauty and innocency of beasts and birds, by the verdure and llowers which garnish this lovely domain, by crystal streams as they roll over golden sands, and even by the atmosphere itself, which is as pure and balmy as breezes from the heavenly fields. Can the hearts of this thrice happy pair remain unmoved? Can they behold this wondrous ex- hibition of their Father's love, or can they con- template their present felicity and the bliss which awaits them, without uniting in the general chorus of praise ? Can they refrain as " The morn, her rosy steps in the Eastern dime Advancing, sows the earth with Orient pearls?" Can they hold their peace as the tranquil evening puts on her star-gemmed mantle ? Silence under such circumstances, if not impossible, is in the highest degree unnatural. Sing they must, and well has Milton suggested as the words of their song his noble paraphrase of the one hundred and forty- eighth Psalm, and beautifully has he described their worship : ** Lowly they bowed, adoring, and began Their orisons, each morning duly paid In various style: for neither various style Nor holy rapture wanted they to praise Their Maker, in fit strains pronounced, or surig Unmeditated ; such prompt eloquence Flow'd from their lips in prose, or numerous verse, More tunable than needed lute, or harp, To add more sweetness." THE SERVICE OF SONG. 29 Alas, that tliis delightful song should so soon give place to the voice of wailing! Alas, that those who have been so highly exalted should experience so sad a fall ! But the promised "Seed of the woman" fur- nishes both men and angels with a new theme for praise. The Atonement converts the thorns and briars of the fall into a wreath of amaranth for Emmanuel's brow — the lamentations of the lost into j oyful hosannas. Grateful songs ascend from this cursed and blighted earth to the Father of mercies. In the Book of Genesis, covering a period of more than two thousand years, there is no posi- tive mention made of devotional music ; but we are not left without significant intimations. If the first unhappy pair trusted in a Savior to come and were reclaimed from their grievous fall, it is reasonable to suppose that they again sang the songs to which they had been accustomed in Eden, and that to these they added hymns referring to the glorious scheme of Redemption. It is exceedingly probable that music, vocal and instrumental, was used in the service of God in the early ages of the world. Yocal music must have preceded instrumental. The human voice, the most perfect of all instruments, was first found to be capable of producing harmonious sounds, and, in the course of time, these were reproduced by artificial means. Men would not attempt to 30 THE SERVICE OF SONG. avail themselves of adventitious aids before using the faculties with which they were endowed by nature. As well might we conceive that they w^ould invent the lever and the telescope before having used the arm or the eye, as to suppose that they would practice on musical instruments before having attuned the voice to melody. For the space of five hundred years, as it would seem, the human voice alone was employed in praise ; then Jubal, the father of all such as handle the harp and the organ — the inventor, doubtless, of stringed and wind instruments — was born ; and, for aught w^e know to the contrary, the first mel- lifluous strains of the harp and the organ were consecrated to God. The first sacred song of which we have any account is that which was sung by the Israelites on the occasion of their triumphant passage of the Red Sea. Having escaped from their cruel taskmasters, they fly before Pharaoh and his host. We behold, with glad surprise, the receding waters as they leave a highway for the faithful fugitives. Now they throng the safe shore, while their foes are overwhelmed by the returning waves. The Egyptians whom they have seen to-day they shall see again no more forever. Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song: " The Lord hath triumphed gloriously : the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and He is THE SERVICE OF SONG. 31 become m}^ salvation : He is my God, and I will prepare Him an habitation ; my fathers' God, and I will exalt Him," etc. This fine ode contains a cheering prophecy of the effect of this tremendous judgment on the idolatrous nations of Edom, Moab and Canaan, the final settlement of the Israelites in the prom- ised land, the building of the temple on Mount Zion, and the perpetuity of the dominion and worship of God. In allusion to the event which this song commemorates, the Psalmist, addressing the Deity, says: "Thy way is in the sea, Thy paths in the great waters, and Thy footsteps are not known. Thou leddest Thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron." Powerful, indeed, must have been the im- pression produced by the singing of this, the earliest lyric poem extant. Let us listen for a moment to the jubilant notes of the glad thous- ands who stand on the banks of deliverance." These glowing sentiments, made thrillingly em- phatic by the vocal and instrumental music to which they were joined, should live everlastingly in the hearts of the Israelites. It is supposed that the whole company were divided into two grand choirs, in which Moses and Aaron led the men, and Miriam the women. It seems, also, that they sang by turns, and with variations of soft and loud, adapted to the senti- ments of the ode ; the males, led by Moses or 32 THE SERVICE OF SOXG. Aaron, or both, singing tlie song, while Miriam, presiding over the female part of the choir and the instruments, called in their aid to swell the chorus by repeating the first stanza of the ode. Hence it is said : " Miriam answered them, ^ Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously ; the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea.' " Shortly after the Israelites commenced their wanderings through the wilderness, the Taber- nacle was set up by the command of God ; and, according to His direction, the Levites were set apart for the service of the sanctuary. Al- though we have no positive evidence of the fact, yet we have reason to believe that at this time singers and players on instruments were regularly appointed. Moses was gathered to his fathers in sight of the promised possession, at the age of one hun- dred and twenty years. Previous to his departure he composed a song, setting forth both the good- ness and the justice of God. It commences thus : " Give ear, 0 ye heavens, and I will speak : and hear, 0 earth, the words of my mouth. My doc- trine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass : Because I will publish tlie name of the Lord; ascribe ye greatness unto our God." About one thousand three hundred years B. C. THE SERVICE OF SONG. 33 the Lord sold the children of Israel into the hand of Jabin, King of Canaan, as a judgment for their evil deeds. Jabin oppressed them for twenty years, but at length they cried to God and He delivered them. The entire army of the Canaan- itos v^as slain cn the Held, except Sisera, the cap- tain of the host, who fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. Being weary, and feeling secure from his pursuers, this war-chief fell asleep. Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a nail and a hammer, and went softly to him and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground. Here was a glorious deliver- ance for Israel, and the story of triumph should be embalmed in thankful song, which is done most admirably by Deborah, the prophetess : "At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down ; at her feet he bowed, he fell : where he bowed, there he fell down dead. The mother of Sisera looked out at a window and cried through the lattice, ' Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariot ?' " " From this song, as well as that of Moses (Deut. xxxii.), we see that the first as well as the best poets of antiquity were found among the Hebrews, and that the art of poetry was highly cultivated among them many hundreds of years before Greece or any other country of the world could boast of ode, or epic, or any kind of poetic composition. The idolizers of Greece and Italy 3 34 THE SERVICE OF SONG. should not forget tliis : to Hebrew models both Greeks and Romans owe much of their perfection. Why are not these more studied ? Why do we not go to the fountain-head?"^^ Then we have the forcible and elegant song of Hannah, the prophetess, expressive of her grati- tude to God for the gift of her son Samuel. About four hundred and fifty years after the transit of the Ked Sea, the Tabernacle service was more fully organized. David, being securely estab- lished upon his throne in Jerusalem, determined, in accordance with the Divine will, to remove the Ark from the city of Nob to the hill of Zion. On the occasion of the transportation the Levites sung the Psalm commencing : " Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered, let them also that hate Him flee before Him ;" while " David and all Israel played before God with all their might, and with singing, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets." But this attempt to bring up the Ark to Jerusa- lem was unsuccessful. God had commanded that it should be borne on the priests' shoulders. In- stead of this, David had placed it upon a new cart drawn by oxen ; and Uzza having been smitten with instant death for profanely touching the Ark, even David became afraid of the Divine vengeance, and the vast multitude being dismissed, the Ark *Dr. A. Clarke. THE SERVICE OF SOXG. 35 was deposited in tlie Louse of Obed-Edom, where it remained for three months. The second attempt to remove the Ark resulted favorably. It was a solemn occasion, although not less jubilant than the first. While the priests bore the Ark tlie sing- ers sung or chanted that appropriate ode : " Lord, remember David and all his afflictions, how he sware unto the Lord, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob, saying, I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed, I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eye-lids, till I find out a place for the Lord, a habitation for the mighty God of Jacob." Everything pertaining to the service of God was now arranged in a proper and imposing manner. " David, in order to give the best effect to the music of the Tabernacle, divided the four thous- and Levites into twenty-four classes, who sung Psalms and accompanied them with music. Each of these classes was superintended by a leader placed over it, and they performed the duties which devolved upon them, each class a week at a time in succession. The classes collectively, as a united body, were superintended by three direc- tors. This arrangement was subsequently contin- ued by Solomon after the erection of the temple, and was transmitted till the time of the overthrow of Jerusalem. It was, indeed, sometimes inter- rupted during the reigns of the idolatrous kings, but was restored by their successors. It should 36 THE SERVICE OF SONG. be remarked, however, tliat \eitlier music nor poetry attained to the same excellence after the captivity as before that period. " There were women singers as well as men in the temple choir, for in the Book of Ezra, among those who returned from the Babylonish captivity, there are said to have been two hundred and forty- five singing men and women. The Jewish doctors will, indeed, by no means admit that there were any female voices in the temple choir ; and as for those meshorerotli^ as they are called in the He- brew, they suppose them to be the wives of those who sung. Nevertheless, the following passage makes it evident that women, likewise, were thus employed : ' God gave to Ileman fourteen sons and three daughters ; and all these were under the hands of their father for song in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God.' " ^ " It w^as for the raising up of men's hearts and the sweetening of their affections toward God that the prophet David, having had singular knowledge, not in poetry alone, but in music also, judged them both to be things most necessary for the house of God." f It seems that David was raised up and qualified to establish the ordinance of singing in the Church, as Moses and Aaron were in their day for the pur- * Richard Watson. t Hooker. THE SERVICE OF SOXG. 37 pose of enforcing and regulating tlie offering of sacrifices ; hence he is called, by eminence, " the Sweet Psalmist of Israel." We have now reached, in our review, the golden age of Hebrew poetry and song. David is in the zenith of his glory, and the high praises of God are, doubtless, celebrated in a more becoming and impressive manner than at any time since the exile from Paradise. At this point we might tarry long. We might speak of the heaven-inspired poems of David and the other "Bards of the Bible," and we might dwell upon the music of the Hebrews in general — their military, festive and funeral music. "We might speak of King Jehoshaphat, who, as a means of insuring victory, on going out to battle against the Moabites and the Ammonites, '* appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord, for His mercy endureth forever." We might speak of the enthusiastic welcome of David by the fair minstrels of Judea after his victory over the Philistines, as it is said, "' the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands." We might listen with delight to the animating strains which greet the Prodigal Son on his return to his father's house ; or we might, with weeping, respond to the wails of sorrow which tell us of the decease of Jairus' dauo-hter. -38 THE SERVICE OF SONG. But our plan looks more particularly to Jewish sacred music. There was singing as w^ell as prayer at the dedication of the temple built by Solomon ; and if the prayer offered up by the royal architect was memorable, so the musical service was transcend- ently imposing. This might have been expected from the immense size and surpassing splendor of the edifice, the number of persons employed in its erection, the length of time occupied in collecting the materials and completing the struc- ture, the sacred uses to which it was to be devoted, and the general and joyful expectation with which the opening of so celebrated a building had been anticipated. Josephus says that " two hundred thousand musicians were employed at the opening of the temple." This we may consider an exaggeration ; but even if we deduct three-fourths from the esti- mate, the number w^ill still be astonishingly great — well befitting the grandeur of the occasion. The following is the Scriptural account : The Levites w^hicli were singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, w^itli their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in wliite linen, having cymbals, and psalteries, and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets. It came to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising THE SEEYIOE OF SOXG. 39 and tlianking tlie Lord ; and when tliey lifted up tlieir voices with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, say- ing. For He is good ; for His mercy enduretli for- ever, that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord ; so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud ; for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God."^ It is supposed that portions of the song-ser- vice in the tabernacle, and subsequently in the temple, were executed by the Levites alone, w^hile some pieces were sung in alternate parts by them and by the people, the whole multitude lifting up their voices in chorus. In general, however, when the praise of Jehovah was celebrated, the entire body of worshipers joined in the exercise. " The singing of the ancient Hebrews was differ- ent from the cantillation practiced by the modern Jews in their synagogues ; and although much simpler than the artistic music of these days, there being but a single part, sung by all alike, only three, four, or five notes higher or lower, according to the range of the singer's voice ; and though louder and harsher than the modern taste would approve, still, doubtless, great musical effects were often produced. Take, for example, the singing of the one hundred and thirty-sixth Psalm. In this Psalm the people were invited to praise Jehovah * 2 Chron. v. 1 2-14. 40 THE SERVICE OF SONG. as the God of j^atare, and as tlie Deliverer, Guide, and Provider of Israel. At the close of every verse there is tlie regular recurrence of a burden or refrain — 'for His mercy endureth forever' — which was sung by all the people in chorus. What could be more sublime than those majestic responses ? Iii clear, sweet, cultivated tones, the Levite choir chant, ' 0 give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good,' when instantly rises from the surging mass, like the voice of man}^ waters, the commingled notes of priests, Levites, people — vocal and instrumental — 'For His mercy endur- eth forever!' With diminished volume again the Levite choir is heard : ' 0 give thanks to the God of gods,' when the firmament again resounds with the same multitudinous refrain — 'For His MERCY ENDURETH FOREVER ! ' Au SO OU iu reply to each separate summons — " ' O give thanks to the Lord of lords ; * ' * For His mercy endureth forever ! *' *To Him who alone doeth great wonders; << Por His ?nercy endiirei/i forever/ " *To Him that by wisdom made the heavens; " ' For His mercy endureth forever f until twenty-six times, in answer to as many dis- tinct calls, the throng have sent up that shout ; and every nerve is thrilling, and every soul is borne onward and upward on the tide of song to- ward the Infinite Being whose perfections and mercies are so meetly celebrated."^' *Rev. J. R. Scott. THE SERVICE OF SON(}. 41 The account of the Babylonish captivity forma a mournful chapter in Jewish history. During their exile the distress of the pious Hebrews waa generally too great to admit of their singing the songs of Zion. We may suppose, however, that they occasionally recovered their spirits suffi- ciently to engage for a short time in this enliven- ing exercise. A most affecting picture of a com- pany of these devoted captives is drawn by the Psalmist. The day's toils and sufferings are ended, and they have assembled on the bank of some stream, perhaps the Euphrates — " the river of willows." They have taken wdth them their musical instruments, and are follow^ed by some of their oppressors. These taskmasters desire to hear the delightful music for which the Hebrews were, no doubt, famed. The request is, " Sing us one of the songs of Zion." The Israelites com- mence an old, familiar temple hymn, but sad memories of Judea and Jerusalem j)ass like dark waters over their souls. Their hearts are filled with sorrow and their eyes with tears ; their voices falter and their fingers tremble along the harp- strings, as they call to mind the former magnifi- cence of the sacred city, the towers and bulwarks of Salem, and the frequent opportunities they once enjoyed of going up with the multitude to w^orship the Lord and to behold His beauty in the sanctuary. Jerusalem — " beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth" — has been laid waste. The holy 42 THE SERVICE OF SONG. house of tlie Lord is in ruins, and the sacred hill is profaned by the idolatrous heathen. This sor- rowful band of brethren may never live to see the year of release : they may never again gaze upon the vine-clad hills of their native land, nor walk the streets of the city of their solemnities. Hence the captive Psalmist says : ** By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, Yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song ; And they that wasted us required of us mirth. Saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord's song In a strange land ? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth ; If I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy." Let US now turn to the bright side of the picture. These peeled, scattered and disconsolate Israelites hail with transport the expiration of their term of bondage. The days of their mourning are ended, and they commemorate their deliverance in an ode, every syllable of w^hich is burdened ^yi^h joy. The edict of emancipation has been published by Cyrus, and these pious patriots are on their homeward march. Hear the jubilant notes of their pilgrim song : " When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, We were like them that dream. thp: service of soxg. 43 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing: Then said they among the heathen, ' The Lord hath done great things for them. ' The Lord hath done great things for us. Whereof we are glad." We scarcely need to "be reminded that tlie reconstructed city was surrounded by massive walls and graced with another temple. Of course the stated services were re-established, and, as has already been intimated, were kept up with more or less regularity until the inauguration of the Gospel dispensation. It should be here noted that the faithful cap- tives not only returned with singing to Jerusalem, but that the voice of praise was heard at the lay- ing of the corner-stone of the second temple. II is said that " When the builders laid the founda- tion of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the Lord, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord ; because He is good, for His mercy endureth forever toward Israel." ^ What a scene was that ! The musicians singing and playing on instruments and the multitude shouting for joy, while many of the ancient men" wept aloud in view of the contemplated Ezra iii. lo, ii. 44 THE servicp: of song. inferiority of tliis temple to tlie one in which they had formerly worshiped. We read, also, that the Israelites "kept the dedication of this house of God with joy." Ezra and Nehemiah attached as much importance to sacred music as David had done in his day, and, therefore, they not only " set the priests in their divisions," but also " the Levites in their courses for the service of God." From our last stand-point we travel down the stream of time, and for ages we gaze with tearful eye upon the barrenness and wickedness, and also upon the sufferings, of the Jewish Church. But the eclipse has at no time been total, and we finally hail the advent of the long-promised Messiah as the radiance of the magnificent sun streaming through rent clouds on the evening of a long and stormy day. 'Now we see the humble shepherds as they watch their flocks by night. The}^ experience a painful surprise as the angel of the Lord appears, and as the glory of the Lord shines round about them. But their apprehensions of danger are put to flight as the heavenly messenger, with silvery voice, pronounces the words : " Fear not : for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." But the news is too good to be told only in plain THE SERVICE OF SOXG. 45 words of prose, it must also be proclaimed in the sweetest strains of celestial song. Beliold! a happy and shining multitude from the skies form a glowing canopy above the heads of the enrap- tured shepherds, and the glad song — the natal hymn of the Redeemer — rises, and rolls, and reverberates : " Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, good will toward men I " "We may suppose that the mission of the Son of God to earth caused a grand jubilee in heaven, and that these seraphic choristers turned for a time from the throne of the King of kings to bear the thrilling tidings to abject man. Hence the poet : *' In heaven the rapt'rous song began, And sweet seraphic fire Through aU the shining legions ran, And strung and tuned the lyre. Swift through the vast expanse it flew, And loud the echo rolled ; The theme, the song, the joy was new, ' Twas more than heaven could hold. Down through the portals of the sky Th' impetuous torrent ran. And angels flew with eager joy To bear the news to man." The Redeemer tabernacles among men for thirty- three years, and now the Man of Sorrows— the Lord of glory— is to be crucified. It is night, and the Master and His disciples are in a large upper room 46 tup: service of song. in the city of Jerusalem. The feast of the Pass- over has been celebrated for the last time by them, and the Lord's Supper has been instituted. Each one of the little sorrowing band has partaken of the bread and wine, and the Savior utters the con- soling words : " I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." Then, " When they had sung a hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives." The Paschal Psalms, or the Psalms composing the great Hallel or chant which the Jews used at the close of the Passover, were from the one hundred and thirteenth to the one hundred and eighteenth, inclusive. This Hallel was not all sung at once, but in parts, the last of which was sung at the close of the Passover. It is probable that the hymn sung by Christ and His disciples on the eve of their departure for Mount Olivet embraced the one hundred and eighteenth, which evidently refers to the Messiah. The words are exceedingly appropriate to the occasion, especially if we consider the Lord and His eleven faithful followers as turning away from their present griefs to contemplate the goodness of God in redemp- tion, the triumphant resurrection of the Crucified, and the unspeakable blessings conferred upon man through the Atonement. The one hundred and seventeenth Psalm is \ I THE SERVICE OF SONG. 47 a most beautiful aud stimug prelude to this Paschal song: ** O praise the Lord, all ye naLions ! Praise Him, all ye people ! For His merciful kindness is great toward us ; And the truth of the Lord endureth forever. Praise ye the Lord." Then the one hundred and eighteenth : ** O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good; Because His mercy endureth forever. Let Israel now say, That His mercy endureth forever. Let the house of Aaron now say, That His mercy endureth forever. Let them now that fear the Lord say. That His mercy endureth forever," etc. How significant are some of the allusions in this Psalm, such as : Bind the sacrifice with cords even unto the horns of the altar." If Christ and the apostles could sing in view of this sad scene, how much more should we rejoice and give thanks when we are assured that the illustrious Victim has, indeed, suff'ered and died, and that the God- man, having broken these cords asunder, has ascended triumphantly to heaven, where He ever livetli to make intercessions for us. Can we indi- vidually adopt the language of this same memor- able Psalm and sing from the heart : *' The Lord is my strength and S'^ng, And is become my salvation? " 48 THE SERVICE OF SONG. Let saints on earth and in heaven unite in the grand doxology with which the Psalm closes : " Thou art my God, and I will praise Thee : Thou art my God, I will exalt Thee. O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good; For His mercy endureth forever." Memorable, indeed, is the first century of the Christian era. The Son of God lives, dies, rises, and ascends to heaven. The day of Pentecost dawns : the old dispensation expires ; the new dispensation begins. The shadows are dispersed by the rising Sun of Righteousness. The cum- brous and typical services prescribed by the cere- monial law of Moses are succeeded by the simple and spiritual worship which Christianity enjoins. The apostles, having been endued with power from on high," go forth preaching in obedience to the Divine command. Has the Church had her hymns of praise during the darker ages of her existence, and will she have no songs to sing on this the brightest and best day that the world has seen since the fall ? We turn to the precepts and practice of those holy men, who having seen Christ, preached Him to the world. They established churches in various parts of Asia, "beginning at Jerusalem." At length "a man of Macedonia" appeared to St. Paul in a vision and called him to Europe. Paul and Silas went to the heathen city, Philippi, and preached. THE SERVICE OF SONG. 49 Paul also cast the evil spirit out of a female servant wlio " brought her masters much gain by sooth- saying." They stirred up the wrath of the popu- lace ; a mob was raised ; the magistrates tore off the clothes of these persecuted saints ; " many stripes'' were inflicted upon them ; they were thrust into the inner prison, and their feet were made fast in the stocks. Sad spectacle ! These men are far away from kindred and friends, confined in a loathsome dungeon, in the most uneasy posture imaginable. They are clad in rags ; hungry and faint from the loss of blood, which still oozes from their lacerated bodies. But " at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God : and the prisoners heard them." How sweet were these " songs in the night ! " How refreshing to the drooping spirits of these faithful disciples of Christ ! How acceptable to Him who before all temples prefers the devout, believing heart ! What strange sounds to be heard in a heathen prison ! How many hearts indurated with crime were charmed by these songs, and, in some meas- ure, prepared for the reception of the Gospel ! The first Redemption hymn heard on European soil has now been sung : the last one will mingle its melody with the echoes of the resurrection trumpet. As to the words used by these pious sufferers, of course we have no definite information. We know, however, that they were well acquainted with the Book of Psalms, and from that great 4 50 THE SERVICE OF SOXG. magazine of sacred poetry they may have drawn the material of their songs. They may have sung : ** And the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord, For He hath looked down from the height of His sanctuary, From heaven did the Lord behold the earth ; To hear the groaning of the prisoner, To loose those that are appointed to death, To declare the name of the Lord in Zion, And His praise in Jerusalem ; ' When the people are gathered together And the kingdoms, to serve the Lord." In various passages in the Apostolic Epistles singing is recognized as a component part of Divine worship. To the Corinthians St. Paul says : " I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also." To the Ephesians he says : " Be filled with the Spirit! speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." To the Colossians he says: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom ; teach- ing and admonishing one another in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." A few years after these words were written, St. John the divine was banished to the Isle of Pat- mos, " for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." But God was with him during THE SERVICE OF SONG. 51 liis exile on that lonely island in the midst of the jEgean Sea, and favored him with enrapturing views of the latter-day glory of the Church and of the heavenly world. How charmingly did the songs of the redeemed fall upon his ears 1 He says: "I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying Alleluia ; salvation, and glory, and honor, and power unto the Lord our God : for true and righteous are His judgments And again they said. Alleluia And a voice came out of the throne, saying. Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying. Alle- luia : for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." We have now reached the last page of the in- spired volume. Of course we have given only a general view of the Divine teachings on the sub- ject under consideration, without attempting to notice all that is said in regard to it. We pause a moment to retrospect the hallowed ground over which we have traveled. And, in the review, we can not fail to perceive at least one great truth which stands out in bold relief, both in the Old Testament and in the New — i. e., that singing is AN ELEMENT OF DiviNE WORSHIP, and that it should be conducted with that solemnit}^, fervor, and spirituality which should ever characterize devotional services. It was kept up in the Church 52 THE SEEVICE OF SONG. from a very early period in the world's history down to the close of the Apostolic day. The last of the inspired writers give no intimation that the service of song is to be temporary ; hut, on the contrary, they enjoin its observance, and give ex- plicit directions in reference to th*^ spirit in which it is to be conducted. This department of worship was instituted by God himself, as was also the reading of the Scriptures, prayer, and preaching ; and never having been abrogated, it remains to be perpetuated to the end of time. How strange that in the light of the Scriptures, so clear and strong, any one should conclude that the days of sacred song have long since passed away ! It is gratifying to observe, however, that nearly all the branches of the Christian Church, however they may differ on other points, recog- nize singing as a part of Divine worship. Against this almost unanimous testimony of the Churches, the Society of Friends utter their decided protest. But this is not remarkable when we consider that they reject the ordinance of bap- tism in the face of the great commission, and the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, enjoined as it is by the positive command of the Master. Let us, then, give heed to the inspired teach- ings. Let all the members of the Church militant raise their voices in praise to the great Captain of our salvation," and to these sublime and stir- ring notes let the " sacramental host " march on triumphantly to the conquest of the world. THE SERVICE OF SONG. 53 PART FIRST. SINGING IN PRIVATE DEVOTION. Religion should be made a Personal Matter — Singing should have a place in Private Devotion — David and the other Psalmists — The Devout Laborer — Numerous Occasions of Gratitude and Praise — **0, Weep not for the Joys that Fade" — Death, only, considered Inexorable by the Ancient Grecians — The Albigensian Christians — Margaret Wilson — Charles Wesley — John Wesley — The Little Girl in the far Southwest — Bishop Capers — The Rev. ^L L. Hoge, D. D. — The Rev.. W. G. Caples. " In ev'ry joy that crowns my days, In ev'ry pain I bear. My heart shall find delight in praise. Or seek relief in prayer." "We would empliasize tlie familiar truism, that religion should be made a personal matter. The Gospel addresses itself to individuals. Every member of the human family is personally guilty. Every one is exposed to wrath. Every one has been redeemed, and may be saved by a personal trust in the merits of Christ. Hence it is said : " Enter into thy closet." Go alcne to the mercy- seat. Wliile you attach due importance to public and social worship, see to it that you serve God 54 THE SERVICE OF SONG. in your individual capacity. Do not lose your identity in the common mass of humanity, but sedulously cultivate a sense of your own responsi- bility. Pray to God in secret, and be rewarded openly. He who neglects private devotion, and looks forward to the Sabbath in the hope that, as a sponge, it will wipe out all the sins of the week preceding, will go to the sanctuary with a cold and hard heart, and the services will be to him an irk- some task. The lamp of Christian experience will soon go out if it is not trimmed and fed in secret. IsoT is there any reason why singing should not constitute an integral part of private devotion. This delightful exercise stirs the soul, quickens the believer's faith, fans the flame of love, and thus fits him for his duties, trials and enjoyments. David, when harassed and persecuted by Saul and his allies, was sustained and soothed by the sweet influences of poetry and song. Cut off from the privileges of public worship, an exile dwelling in dens and caves of the earth, he expressed his gratitude for past mercies and his trust in God for the future, in odes the most touching and sublime. Oppressed with the cares of state, exposed to the privations and perils of the camp and the battle- field, he would, nevertheless, constantly maintain a devotional spirit. Hear the pious utterances of the " monarch minstrel " and others of the inspired Psalmists : " I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise THE SERVICE OF SONG. 55 sliall continually be in my moutli." "Let my moutli be filled with Thy praise, and with Thy honor all the day." In God we boast all the day long, and praise Thy name forever and ever." " Seven times a day do I praise Thee, because of Thy righteous judgments." The followers of Christ have often experienced how effectually the hours of solitude may be bereft of their loneliness by the uplifting of the heart to God in prayer and praise. The devout laborer, as he goes to his daily toil, mingles his morning songs with the tuneful lays of the lark. Hear his supplicatory hymn : '* O disclose Thy lovely face, Quicken all my drooping powers ! Gasps my fainting soul for grace, As a thirsty land for showers. Haste, my Lord, no more delay, Come, my Savior, come away ! " Dark and cheerless is the morn, Unaccompanied by Thee ; Joyless is the day's return, Till Thy mercy's beams I see — Till thou inward light impart. Glad my eyes and warm my heart." Keturning from his work at the close of the day, he lifts his voice again and sings : *' The mellow eve is gliding Serenely down the west ; So every care subsiding. My soul would sink to rest. 56 THE SERVICE OF SONG. " The woodland hum is ringing The daylight's gentle close ; May angels round me singing Thus hymn my last repose. " The evening star has lighted Her crystal lamp on high ; So, when in death benighted, May hope illume the sky. ** In golden splendor dawning, The morrow's light shall break; O, on the last bright morning, May I in glory wake." The mother is frequently left with no companion but her little one. She looks upon the tiny form and muses with maternal solicitude upon the destiny of the young immortal. She trembles in view of the dangers and sufferings to which the loved one is incident, but disburdens her heart by a hymn of invocation and praise to the God and Father of all. The Christian traveler is in a strange land. Strange habitations greet his vision and a strange language falls upon his ear. With a sad heart he contrasts these new sights and sounds with the familiar scenes of his native country and his child- hood's home. He may never again behold the green trees and blue skies which looked down lovingly upon his youthful sports. The anxious ones whose hearts follow him in his wanderings may never hail his return. But he feels that he is about his Father's business and on his way to his Father's house. And now "How happy is the pilgrim's lot!" THE SERVICE OF SONG. 57 How grateful is the song which wafts his soul to the " city in the skies ! " Every pious individual finds numerous occa- sions for gratitude and praise, such as the change of seasons, birth-days, deliverance from danger, and the reception of special blessings. Even afflictions are designed to "3deld the peaceable fruit of righteousness," and hence the injunction, " Rejoice evermore : pray without ceasing : in everything give thanks." It is to be feared that in seasons of sadness and suffering we too often lose the spirit of praise : we make our requests to God, but not with thanks- giving. Thus we fail to receive the grace we need. Amid the fiercest storm let the soul be serene. Let the Divine character be contemplated; let the memory of past blessings be vivid ; let present possessions and enjoyments be appreciated; let the " exceeding great and precious promises " be implicity relied upon, and let the "far more ex- ceeding and eternal weight of glory" be antici- pated. Then will the chastened child of God be so filled with gratitude and hope as to become unmindful of his anguish. O weep not for the joys that fade Like evening hghts away ; For hopes that, like the stars decayed, Have left their mortal day ; For clouds of sorrow will depart, And brilliant skies be given, And though on earth the tear may start, Yet bliss awaits the holy heart Amid the bowers of heaven." 58 THE SERVICE OF SONG. How often has the spirit of the dying saint been uplifted upon the pinions of song, his own falter- ing notes blending with the anthems of angels ! We are informed that the ancient Grecians con- sidered death as the only god who would neither be moved by offerings nor conquered by sacrifices and oblations ; and, therefore, he was the only one to whom no altar was erected, and to whom no hymns were sung. But to the Christian death is by no means so inexorable. Gaining the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, the holy conquerer rises above " the last enemy " with grateful paeans upon his lips. Many of the martyrs sang until they breathed their last in the flames. It is said that during the persecutions by Simon de Montfort, in the thirteenth century, one hundred and forty Albi- gensian Christians were engaged in singing while they marched into the fire which had been kindled to consume them. Margaret Wilson, having been sentenced to death for her faith in Christ, was fastened to a stake in Solway Frith, between England and Scotland, to await the advancing tide. Bat she sang and prayed until the waves choked her voice. Many other examples might be given of the triumph of praise over the horrors of a violent death. "Nothing," says the Rev. Richard Baxter, " comforts me more in my greatest sufferings, or seems more fit for me while I w^ait for death, than THE SERVICP: of SONG. 59 singing psalms of praise to God ; nor is tliere any exercise in which I had rather end my life." Charles Wesley finished his course in the eighti- eth year of his age. This prince of uninspired poets put his last prayer into verse. Calling his wife to his bedside, he desired her to write : "In age and feebleness extreme, Who shall a helpless worm redeem ? Jesus, my only hope Thou art, Strength of my failing flesh and heart ! O, could I catch a smile from Thee, And drop into eternity ! " Beautiful and triumphant conclusion of a well spent life ! The poet-preacher dropped his harp but for a moment. He still lives ; and, having reached " the city of the Great King," rejoicing in immortal youth and vigor, he continues to pour out his soul to God in love and praise. In his eighty-eighth year John Wesley entered into rest. The sunset of his long and memorable day was gloriously peaceful. In life, sacred song was the element in which he delighted to move, and in death it diffused around him a celestial fragrance. The day before his departure he sang that ex- cellent hymn, composed by his brother Charles : All glory to God in the sky. And peace upon earth be restored ! O Jesus, exalted on high, Appear, our omnipotent Lord; 60 THE SERVICE OF SONG. Who meanly in Bethlehem born, Didst stoop to redeem a lost race; Once more to Thy people return, And reign in Thy kingdom of grace. '* O wouldst Thou again be made known, Again in Thy Spirit descend ; And set up in each of Thine own, A kingdom that never shall end ! Thou only art able to bless And make the glad nations obey ; And bid the dire enmity cease, And bow the whole world to Thy sway." Later in tlie day lie surprised the friends wlio wept around Mm by singing : '* I'll praise my Maker while I've breath, And when my voice is lost in death Praise shall employ my nobler powers ; My days of praise shall ne'er be past. While life, and thought, and being last, Or immortality endures." Still later, after a brief but very fervent prayer, lie raised Ms voice and sang two lines of the Doxology : To Father, Son and Holy Ghost, Who sweetly all agree." Night came on, but to the expiring, rejoicing saint there was no darkness : an eternal day dawned upon his enraptured spirit. He frequently at- tempted to repeat the hymn which he had sung the preceding day, but could only utter, " I'll praise — I'll praise." The next morning, with a heart full of tranquil THE SERVICE OF SONG. 61 I joy, lie said to his friends, and to all sublunary things, "Farewell!" A few years ago there lived a beautiful little girl in the far Southwest. She was almost always smiling and singing, and every one praised her for her goodness. One day she lay down upon her bed, looking very pale, and said she was very weary. Her little hands grew cold, and , great drops of clammy sweat stood on her fair I young brow. And then her large blue eye grew i bright and sparkling, and a heavenly smile irra- I diated her pale features, and she exclaimed, " Music ! music ! 0, how sweet I *' Then, extend- ing her little arms, she said : "I am coming ! " Instantly the spirit took its flight, and there was another songster in the angelic choir. " Let music charm me last on earth, And greet me first in heaven." I On a certain occasion the late Bishop Capers ' was dangerously ill — in fact it was supposed that his end was near. But, with exultant faith and hope, he was ready to meet the last enemy. Having given, as he sujpposed, his dying charge to his sorrowing wife and children, and having bidden them farewell, he requested Mrs. Capers to write as he dictated the following couplet : II " O may I joy in all his Hfe, ' And shout the Cross in death ! " He then said, " Give me the paper ; I wish to draw a line under the words, And sliout the Cross in 62 THE SERVICE OF SONG. deatli^^ repeating the expression several times. But the sickness was not unto death ; it was sev- eral years after this that he was called to his re- ward. And, as he had anticipated, the Cross bore him triumphantly through the final conflict. He who took such unutterable delight in singing the praises of God on earth has assuredly gone to "Ask an angel's lyre." Blessed are they who, through faith, come forth from the Christian's warfare singing the victor's song ! The Rev. Moses L. Hodge, D. D., an eminently pious and gifted minister of the Presbyterian Church, died recently near Petersburg, Ya. War, like a mighty earthquake, had convulsed the whole country from center to circumference, and among the last sounds that fell upon the ear of the dying Christian were the distant thunderings of artillery. But with these terrific sounds the songs of Zion mingled their melody. The morn- ing was unusually calm and bright, and Dr. Hodge, after looking out for the last time upon its light and beauty, requested those present to sing a hymn. '* How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord," was sung, and the Doctor remarked : "It is enough ; all that is comforting in the assurance of the Divine love and care seem to be there ; nothing is THE SERVICE OF SONG. 63 omitted." His own voice, in life, had been excel- lent, and when they began to sing, " How sweet the name of Jesus sounds In a believer's ear ! " he could no longer remain silent, but joined with a trembling voice, imparting his wiiole strength and soul to the two last lines of the stanza: ** Weak is the efifort of my heart, And cold my warmest thought ; But when I see Thee as Thou art r II praise Thee as 1 oughts His face beamed anew with heavenly joy, and his voice grew fuller and deeper as he said : "And may the music of thy name Refresh my soul in death ! " Adding, after a brief pause, "I know but little of music now ; but soon I shall be listening to the diapason of the universe." Soon after this he passed away to rejoice with the shining ones in his Heavenly Father's house. The Rev. Wm. G. Caples, of the Missouri Con- ference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was one of the most gifted and successful minis- ters in the West. While in th^^ meridian splen- dor of his life and labors, he died in Glasgow, Mo., October 11, 1834, of a wound received during a contest of the Confederate and Federal forces for the occupancy of the city. Mr. Caples was not a combatant, and the wound was not intentionally inflicted. " The end of that man was p^ace," yea, 64 THE SERVICE OF SONG. it was a glorioiis triumpli over "tlie last enemy." The Kev. John D. Yincil says'^* that, after prayer had been offered, " we all united in singing the last strains he ever heard till the music of the heavenly songsters broke upon his ear. While we sang 'I would not live alway,' with him a favorite piece, his face brightened into a glowing radiance, reminding us of the countenance of Stephen in the council when he preached his last sermon. Brother Caples attempted to join in the melody that was bearing his soul up to the place 'Where the saints of all ages in harmony meet.' He was too weak, however, to sing, but repeated tlie words with deep feeling." When the singing was concluded, the dying Christian hero said to Mr. Yincil, with the most settled composure and sweet serenity : " My brother, my race is about run — suddenly cut short. I have unexpectedly reached the end. I shall soon be on the other shore." Hear the sermon which the Gospel preaches to the d3^ing believer : "Is thy earthly house distrest? Willing to retain its guest? ' Tis not thou, but it must die ; Fly, celestial tenant, fly ! Burst thy shackles ! drop thy clay, Sweedy breathe thy life away ; Singing to thy crown remove, Swift of wing, and fired with love. * Bishop Marvin's Life of Caples. THE SERVICE OF SONQ. ' Shudder not to pass the stream, Venture all thy care on Him — Him, whose dying love and powet Still'd its tossing, hush'd its roar. Safe is the expanded wave. Gentle as a summer's eve ; Not one object of His care Ever suffered shipwreck there. ' See the haven full in view ; Love divine shall bear thee through. Trust to that propitious gale ; Weigh thy anchor, spread thy sail. Saints in glory, perfect made, Wait thy passage through the shade ; Ardent for thy coming o'er, See, they throng the blissful shore. ' Mount, their transports to improve. Join the longing choir above ; Swiftly to their wish be given. Kindle higher joy in heaven. Such the prospects that arise To the dying Christian's eyes ; Such the glorious vista, faith Opens through the shades of death." 66 thp: sekvick of song. PART SECOND. SINGING IN THE FAMILY AND IN THE SCHOOL. CHAPTER I. SINGING IN THE FAMILY. Home — A Christian Home — Praise as well as Prayer should be Heard in the Habitations of the Faithful — Benefits of House- hold Praise — Why it is especially Beneficial to Children — We need Sacred Songs as an Offset against Bacchanalian or Ribald Songs — The Early Christians — The Westminster Assembly — Matthew Henry's Remark — The Author's Reminiscences — "Come to the Place of Prayer" — Family Choirs. " Home, sweet home ! " At home infancy is cradled, childhood is nurtured, youth is guarded, manhood is inspired, age is supported and solaced. There sickness is healed and sorrow- soothed. There weariness rests and anxiety finds repose. Home is a magnet which ever attracts the heart, whether we sail on distant seas or wan- der in foreign climes. It is a relic of paradise — a type of heaven. *' The pilgrim's step in vain Seeks Eden's holy ground; But in home's holy joys, again An Eden may be found." THE SEKVICE OF SONG. 67 This, liowever, can only be said of a Christian home. In this little empire love mast reign with undisputed sway, or the type has but little signifi- cance. " He setteth the solitary in families," that, around the hearth- stone, alfection's golden chain may sweetly link heart to heart, and all hearts to the God of love. The express design of this institution is, that the parents being holy, the children may be schooled into habits of piety. Thus the young are to be prepared for a life of usefulness and happiness, and for a joyful immor- tality. There should be, in some sense, a Church in every house. There are family wants and family blessings ; and hence there should be family prayer and praise. In the Scriptures those families that call not upon the name of the Lord are placed in a category with the heathen ; but it is said that "the house of the righteous shall stand." It is scarcely necessary to urge that the habitations of the faithful should be vocal, morn- ing and evening, with praise as well as prayer. " It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy name, O Most High : to show forth Thy loving kindness every morning, and Thy faithfulness every night." " Sing unto the Lord, bless His name : show forth His salvation from day to day." This delightful exercise can not fail to elevate the aims, tranquillize the spirits, and intensify the love of parents, children and servants. We may 68 THE SERVICE OF SONG. well suppose that angels on errands of mercy pause to listen to the songs which go up from a holy household. Yea, the God of angels hears with approbation these ascriptions of praise. The opinion has been confidently advanced, that where there is p^'^ging at the family altar, the children are more likely to be brought under religious influences, and to become disciples of Christ at an early age, than in those families in which there is no service of song. If this be so, is not singing in family worship a matter of prime importance ? The reasons for the opinion referred to are, it would seem, conclusive. When there is singing, the child is much more apt to become a partici- pant in the worship than when this pleasing exer- cise is omitted. The reading of the Scriptures and prayer are comparatively uninteresting to those who are of tender years ; but singing engages the voice and enlivens the spirits, and is withal such a service as the young generally delight in. Hence it is altogether probable that impressions are made upon the susceptible heart by means of melodious sounds, which would not be made with- out this fascinating and influential agency. Much stress should also be laid upon the fact that the youthful memory being exceedingly tena- cious, impressions made upon the child are likely to be indelible. The great incidents in the history THE SERVICE OF SONO. 69 of tlie Israelites were woven into song, and these eucharistic epics were required to be diligently tauglit to their children. So, in the present day, the simple doctrines and thrilling events of Chris- tianity should be wrought into verse and imprinted upon the juvenile mind by the power of music. Truths thus inculcated will cling to the soul for- ever. We all know that cherished memories of home and friends are written upon the immortal mind with such enduring vividness that the record can never be effaced. But in all the reminiscences of days gone by there is nothing that so haunts the spirit as the songs to which we were accus- tomed in childhood. The sweet tones of a mother's voice will live and speak in the heart long after that familiar sound has been hushed into silence. The recollection of the songs of Zion which were first heard amid the throng of worshipers in the city, or in the em- bowered country church, will remain in morning freshness long after the sanctuary has mouldered into ruins. We may cross oceans and wander in foreign climes ; the erect frame may be bowed with the weight of years, and raven ringlets may be converted into locks of snowy whiteness ; but the old home-songs heard in the distance in the still morning, or sung by ourselves in some calm hour of reflection, or by the home-circle on a winter's evening, will bring around us the friends and the scenes of other days and of far-^ff lands ; and, 70 THE SERVICE OF SONG. while tlie dim 63^6 of age sparkles with unwonted brilliancy, the heart will beat with the buoyancy of early youth. ** When thro' life unblest we rove, Losing all that made life dear, Should some notes we used to love In days of boyhood meet our ear, Oh ! how welcome breathes the strain ! Waking thoughts that long have slept , Kindling former smiles again In faded eyes that long have wept. " Like the gale that sighs along Beds of oriental flowers. Is the grateful breath of song, That once was heard in happier hours; Fill'd with balm, the gale sighs on, Though the flowers have sunk in death ; So, when pleasure's dream is gone. Its memory lives in music's breath." It is not at all improbable that the songs learned in the nursery, or around the fireside, will be used by the Holy Spirit in after years as the instru- mentalities of conviction, conversion, and final salvation. On the contrary, bacchanalian or ribald songs, which are apt to be learned and used by those who are unaccustomed to religious melodies, are, in the hands of the Destroyer, a most potent means of spiritual and everlasting ruin. Shall we quietly allow this tremendous power to pass into the hands ^of the enemy, or shall we not eagerly THE SERVICE OF SONG. 71 seize upon it as our lawful right, and wield it for the good of our race and the glory of God? ** Who on the part of God will rise? Innocent sounds recover — Fly on the prey, and seize the prize, Plunder the carnal lover. ** Strip him of every moving strain. Every melting measure; Music in virtue's cause retain, Rescue the holy pleasure." It will, doubtless, be admitted that singing as a part of family worship is by no means as generally observed as it was in former days. While in many things we have advanced, at this point we have retrograded. Suppose we were to dispense with singing in the Church, how sadly would Zion be shorn of her beauty and power ! How comparatively dreary and feeble would be the services ! And is not this the very effect which has been produced b}^ the discontinuance of sing- ing in the Church-in-the-house with which our children are especially identified ? Why should not a worshiping family sing? Have we not sufficient time to spare from secular engagements ? Is the work too arduous ? Is the exercise calculated to do no good ? Will not the same reasons which would justify us in the habit- ual neglect of singing at the family altar also 72 THE SERVICE OF SONG. justify us in dispensing witli the reading of the Scriptures and prayer ? It is said of the early Christians tliat their family devotions consisted of the reading of the Scriptures, singing and prayer, and that this household wor- ship was engaged in four times every day. Happy households ! Their cliildren were especially taught to sing the wonders of Redemption. In the year 1644, the Westminster Assembly declared the singing of psalms to be a duty in which all Christians should engage, both in the congregation and in the family. Matthew Henry says : " He who reads does well ; he who reads and prays does better ; but he who reads, sings and prays does best of all." The writer well remembers the sojourn of the ministers of the Gospel at his father's house as among the happiest hours of his boyhood days ; but he has no recollection of ever being present at worship under the paternal roof, which was regularly kept up morning and evening, when singing did not constitute a prominent part of the service. Let this Scriptural, time-honored custom be perpetuated. At least twice a day, let every home be gladdened with tuneful worship, and, as we see our children uniting in the service, let us THE SERVICE OF SONG. 73 thank God that " out of the mouths of babes and sucklings He has perfected praise." *' Come to the place of prayer! Ye band of loving hearts, O come and raise, With one consent, the grateful song of praise To Him who gives you a lot so fair. '* So in the world above, Parents and children may meet at last, When this their weary pilgrimage is past. To mingle their joyful notes of love." Wherever it can be done, family choirs should be formed and maintained. If parents and children would frequently spend the evening in singing, the most happy effects would ensue. The gay world spreads out before the young its bewitching at- tractions, and they are ever prone to overstep the line which separates the , territory of innocent enjoyment from the enchanted ground of sinful pleasure. To enable them to resist these danger- ous fascinations, let home be made an Elysium. The concord of sweet sounds, in the bower or around the fireside, will be a formidable rival to the fashionable follies of the ball-room, and to the ensnaring convivialities of the drinking-saloon. At home let music and flowers, and all other inno- cent and lovely things, be laid under contribution, and an influence will be exerted upon the young mind which will lead to high aspirations and noble deeds. The flowing numbers of song act as so many fleet-footed scape-goats to bear the genius 74 THE SERVICE OF SOXG. of family broils far away into the wilderness. How can parents be impatient or irascible in tlie midst of music? How can children be petulant or disobedient? How can servants be obstinate or rebellious ? In this world, where there is so much to irritate and annoy, let us, as far as we can, make the atmosphere about us tremulous with soothing sounds. Every family is subject to reverses and afflic- tions, but a musical family can scarcely be un- happy. Amid the wane of fortune and the shadows of distress, music charms the desponding heart, leading it onward to the light of sunny days which are yet to dawn. THE SERVICE OF SONG. 75 CHAPTER II. SINGING IN THE SCHOOL. Music should be Taught in all our Literary Institutions — Pupils can usually learn Music with ease — General Conference Action — Bishop Andrew on the same subject — Singing in the Schools in Prussia — What Luther says — President J. M. Bonnell — Dr. Thomas Hastings — N. D. Gould — Dr. Rush Recommends Vocal Music — Horace Walpole — Instrumental Music in Female Colleges — Bishop Andrew desires Sacred Songs — Singing in the Sabbath-school — The Singing of Children — A I^Iusical Theology for Children. It is self-evident that the pupil should he taught, as far as possible, everything that will conduce to success in this life and to happiness in the life to come. Hence we conclude that music, whose influence is most animating and benign, should be taught in all our literary institutions. In view of the fact that music is a beautiful and useful science, is it not strange that it has been so much neglected in this land which boasts so loudly of a high Christian civilization ? And yet thous- ands of American youth of both sexes have passed from the nursery to the school, and thence to the college, and have graduated with the highest scho- lastic honors, in total ignorance of the science of music ! To the literati in other countries it must 76 THE SERVICE OF SONG. appear marvelous that in many of our institutions for males, from the primary school to the most renowned university, there are no facilities af- forded for the acquisition of musical knov^^ledge. Music is not in the curriculum ; it claims no day, no hour, from the beginning to the close of the student's career : it is ignored as if not worthy of the attention of educated men. As a science, music, of course, has its philosophy. It is at the farthest possible remove from an arbi- trary blending of incoherent fragments. It has its rules and its reasons — its theory and its prac- tice. Therefore, while it greatly enhances our usefulness and happiness, the study of the science is an excellent means of mental discipline. Is it not manifest that, in all our schools, acade- mies and colleges, instruction should be given in vocal music? We should certainly make the practical admission that the science which espe- cially aids us in the worship of God is as import- ant as the science of numbers, by which w^e carry on trade and increase our earthly substance. We should be as ready to eliminate arithmetic from the course of studies prescribed for the young as to omit music. Let no one conclude that we would impose upon teachers an unreasonable burden. Very few per- sons are destitute of the ability to sing, and all sane persons are capable of acquiring the science of music. Every teacher who is Avorthy of the THE SERVICE OF SO^^G. 77 name can, with proper effort, give instruction in this branch of learning as in any other department. There is no real difficulty in the way. Let it not be supposed that the science is too abstruse to be acquired by boys and girls : the success uniformly achieved wherever due exertion has been made gives a palpable contradiction to the hypothesis. A youth of suitable age who is incapable of understanding the principles of vocal music, when simplified and explained by a com- petent teacher, is incapable of mastering any science whatever, and the case may be given up as hopeless. Unlike most other studies, this is a delightful recreation rather than a work of toil and fatigue ; for, while its principles are clearly developed and systematically presented to the pupil, there is an inspiration connected with the practical part which refreshes and invigorates the mind. ITearly every one has a natural fondness for singing ; but, in the case of thousands, this de- sire is permitted to lie dormant until it dies for want of exercise. Take any other science — chemistry, for example — and, leaving it out of the regular school and college course, trust to its being learned by chance in a few lessons given by an itinerant lecturer, or otherwise, and how many of the educated in our country would have a taste for it, or be proficient in it? We can easily account for the deplorable neglect of music which exists in 78 THE SERVICE OF SONG. many parts of the United States and elsewhere, on the ground that the talent for it is not called into exercise in the most impressible and buoyant period of life. Daily let the school-house and the academy ring with the glad voices of the enthusi- astic tyros, and there is no danger that the science will be forgotten, or fall into desuetude, in the college, or in after life. We never can be a nation of singers until we follow the example of the Germans and enthrone music in the temple of knowledge, as we have done the other sciences. For the last few years a gratifying advance in this direction has been manifest in this country, as well in the South as in the North, but the reform is yet in its infancy. The action of the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in the year 1858, on this subject, is especially gratifying and prophetic of reform. The Report of the Committee on Education, which was adopted by the Confer- ence, is very emphatic, as will be seen by the fol- lowing extract : " It is believed that vocal music could be introduced with advantage into all our primary and preparatory schools as a constant and required exercise. We rejoice to know that efforts are making in some quarters to promote this end. We trust that the Church will sustain these laudable efforts by getting up and publish- ing suitable music, and by every other practicable method. Surely there is no poetry more beautiful I THE SERVICE OF SOXG. 79 or sublime than sacred poetry : no music better calculated to move the heart than sacred music. Is it not, then, a burning shame that it is so neglected in our Church schools ? We would most earnestly urge all who have these educa- tional interests under their control to look well to this matter." Let the very important fact brought to view in the foregoing extract be carefully considered. In distinct and ^cery earnest tones the voice of the Church has gone over her wide- spread terri- tory, calling to all her members and friends, and especially to her educators, to take steps for the impartation of instruction in music in all schools under her influence. ^ Let us hear Bishop Andrew, of the same Church, on this subject. Speaking of the Report from which we have just quoted a paragraph, he says : " There is another subject noticed in it which de- mands a passing word. It is the recommendation of music as a proper part of the course of study in all our institutions of learning. We are glad that attention is called to this subject, and hope that those who direct our educational operations will give it their serious and early attention. We believe that education, properly understood, is the cultivation of all the faculties which can be made available for our improvement, mentally, morally and physically. Music forms an important part in the course 80 THE SERVICE OF SONG. of instruction. In Prussia it enters into the course from the primary school up, with a view to im- prove the voice, and also to enable the pupils to unite in the solemn services of religion — very im- portant objects, both of them, which we in this country too much ignore Should we not begin, even in childhood, to learn and practice the delightful lessons which shall employ our powers in all their exalted perfection in that bright world to which at last we hope to go?" We may add that the schools in Prussia are always opened and closed with religious exercises, of which the singing of hymns forms a part. " The \ teachers in those schools say that they regard the singing as the most efiicient means of bring- ing a scholar under a perfect discipline by moral influence ; and that, in the case of vicious youth, the reading of the Bible and the singing of hymns are among the most efficient instruments employed for softening the hard heart and bringing the stubborn will to docility." Luther says : "I desire that the young, who ought to be educated in music as well as in other good arts, may have something to take the place of worldly and amorous songs, and so learn some- thing useful and practice something virtuous." In the schools founded on the plan of Luther and Melancthon, nearly one-fourth part of the school hours v^as devoted to music. As the result of these efforts, " the hymns spread among all THE SERVICE OF SONG. 81 classes of people, and were sung not only in the cliurclies and schools, but also in the houses and in the workshops, in the streets and in the market- places, in the harns and in the fields." President J. M. Bonnell, of the"Wesley an Female College, in an earnest plea for ^' a varied but homogeneous, universal, permanent and heart- stirring Church music," says : " Our male colleges and universities must take this matter in hand. They must place in their Faculties a chair of mu- sic. It could very properly be combined with orator}^, and the incumbent be called the Profes- sor of Yocal Culture. But that in each case would depend upon the happy accomplishment of the Professor himself. "What we recommend is, that a gentleman of true scholarly attainments, accom- plished in the whole science of music, able to teach and train the voice, shall be admitted to equal rank with the other Professors, and be re- quired to instruct all the students, or so many as would avail themselves of the privilege, in the principles and practice of singing. For the sake of those who expect to become teachers, he should inculcate the true manner of inducting young pu- pils into a knowledge of musical notation and some skill in singing from it, and, especially, in those principles of good taste which are connected with congregational singing The educated men of the Church must come to the rescue in this matter. They must give their coun- 82 THE SP^RYICE OF SOl^G. tenance to vocal musical culture. Tliey must in- vite it, if not demand it, in the teachers of their boys' schools, and our colleges must inaugurate the movement." Dr. Thomas Hastings, who has done so much to advance the cause of Church music in America, remarks, that " early cultivation in this art, when rightly directed, is uniformly successful." N. D. Gould, Esq., one of the first teachers of juvenile music schools in this country, speaking of the difficulties with which he had to contend about forty years ago, says : " It was a new idea, and no one wished to commence the experiment. The general impression and language was, that for children to sing while young would injure their voices, their health, and take their attention from other studies ; and, although to learn to sing was vf ell enough, still it was of secondary consequence. It might be done if perfectly convenient ; if not, it was just as well to omit it. Although it could be made evident that the employment was a pleasant one, useful through life, and a source of comfort when many other branches of education would cease to be useful, or even to be noticed, yet, after all the persuasion in our power, we could not suc- ceed in obtaining a class until we resorted to the expedient of teaching the art of writing in con- nection with music — writing and singing altern- ately half an hour for two hours. " In this way, for the sake of the writing, we col- THE SERVICE OF SONG. 83 lected scliools of about twenty-five each, at tliree different points, and our patrons were so well satis- fied with the experiment, that after one term there was no difiiculty in collecting scholars to attend to singing alone It was a w^ell-known fact in all places, notwithstanding the fears ex- pressed by parents that it would injure the voice and health, that the best voices and the best singers were those who belonged to musical families, who were accustomed to sing from childhood upward ; and those who feared injuring the lungs did not consider how any part of the system is strength- ened by constant use ; and we presume the same parents never troubled themselves about the cry- ing and screaming of their children through fear of injury tq their lungs. Much less should they fear the gentle exercise of the voice to make melodious sounds. Besides, the child that loves to sing will be singing something, in some way, whether taught or not. How necessary, then, that they learn to sing understandingly ! As to its di- verting the mind from other studies, experience has proved the contrary. Teachers of common schools, where singing is made a part of the exercises, have universally acknowledged that the best singers were usually the best scholars in other studies." Some years ago, in a Western city, a gentleman proposed the introduction of vocal music into the public schools ; but the opposition to the measure 84 THE SERVICE OF SOXG. was general and decided. He tlien proposed to teach the scholars in two of the schools gratis for one year. The proposition was accepted, and four schools, instead of two, received instruction from him in singing. At the close of the rear the evi- dence in favor of the plan was so conclusive that he was employed for the year ensuing — a liberal salary being given him — to teach in a large num- ber of schools, and when he concluded his labors others were employed in his stead. Dr. Kush, in his Essay on Elocution, says : "To those who have studied human nature, it will not appear paradoxical to recommend a particular attention to vocal music ; its effects in civilizing the mind, and thereby preparing the young for the influence of religion and government, have so often been felt and recorded that it will be unnecessary to mention facts in favor of its usefulness.*' Again, in his Essay on Female Education, Dr. Rush remarks, that '* Vocal music should never be neglected in the education of a young lady in this country The exercise of the organs of the breast,. by singing, contributes very much to defend them from those diseases to which they are exposed by our climate and other causes. Our German fellow-citizens are seldom affected with consumption This, I believe, is in part occasioned by the strength which their lungs acquire by exercising frequently in vocal music. Mr. Adger informed me that he had known sev- THE SERVICE OF SONG. 85 eral instances of persons strongly disposed to consumption who were restored to health by the moderate exercise of their lungs in singing." Horace Walpole says : " Teach your children music. You Avill stare at a strange notion of mine ; if it appears even a mad one, do not won- der. Had I children, my utmost endeavors would be to breed them musicians. As I have no ear, nor even thought of music, the preference seems odd ; and yet it is embraced on mature reflection. It is the most probable method to make them happy. It is a resource that will last them through life." We have now heard an expression of opinion in regard to the utility of vocal music in schools, from the Church, the great reformer, the bishop, the college president, the veteran music teacher, the common school authorities, the eminent phys- ician, and the Earl of Oxford. To these favorable and forcible utterances much more mio-ht be o added, but we forbear. The foregoing paragraphs refer particularly to vocal music. We venture a few suggestions in regard to instrumental music in female colleges. Respecting the style of music most to be desired, we take occasion to express a decided preference for that which is comparatively plain and simple. We would not decry science, nor reject artistic excellence ; but we submit that what are usually called fashionable or operatic performances have 86 THE SERVICE OF SONG. in them an excess of art, savoring of affectation, reminding us of bombast in oratory or gaudi- ness in apparel. A st}- le less pretentious is more in unison witli nature, sweeter and more subduing in its effects — more powerful to thrill and capti- vate the soul. We think, too, that the music used should be very carefully selected. Amorous or theatrical pieces, and Ethiopian melodies — all effusions which tend to degrade the taste, enfeeble the in- tellect or vitiate the heart, should, of course, be promptly eschewed. Our female colleges operating under Church auspices are pledged to guard their pupils against evil influences, and to lead them along in the straight and narrow way. Those pupils who have been destitute of religious instruction at home should here be taught " the Avisdom which is from above," while the piety of religious pupils should be carefully fostered. Vital Christianity without bigotry and proselytism, should be the motto of every institution. It has been well said that music has a moral character independently of the poetry to which it is set. This moral character must be much more decided and influential when the sounds are made to give expression to words. Whatever sentiment is clad in the garb of poetry and music must have a remarkable potency, either for good or evil, and especially when the subject upon w^hich it acts is THE SEKVICE OF SONG. 87 as delicate and susceptible as the opening flower. How carefully, tlien, sliould we exclude from our Christian female colleges and schools all musical publications of injurious tendency ! Doubtless quite an improvement might be made in many institutions by clearing away all the sentimental trash which may be found within their walls, and substituting instead thereof a good supply of sacred pieces. As to poetry, " there are no songs comparable to the songs of Zion and, as to music, there is none better fitted to charm the ear and stir the soul than that which Divine worship has hallowed. Bishop Andrew says : " Our schools often employ some one with an unpronounceable name, who is often an infidel, or, if not thoroughly so, at least he ignores all spiritual religion, and to him we commit the musical training of our beau- tiful, and amiable, and sensitive, and impressible daughters. 'No wonder we can hardly ever get a sacred song out of one of them. We call on our daughters for music, and they cram us with a waltz, or some wild, moon-struck love ditty! Surely it is time these matters were mended ; and to the Church, to the Christian schools of the country, we must look for reform." We can not more appropriately close this chap- ter than b}'' devoting a few paragraphs to the subject of music in the Sabbath-school. It is difiicult to give to the institution a thor- 88 THE SERVICE OF SONG. oughly religions character. It is to be feared that in many of our Sabbath- schools there is a sad want of spirituality. How may the young heart be softened? How may the thoughts be directed heavenward ? How may the children be impressed v/ith the great fact that they have assembled for the express purpose of learning how to be holy and happy ? Great importance should certainly be attached to the devotional services, and, in these exercises, singing should have a prominent place. Singing, not to display the industry and tact of the teacher, nor the smartness of the scholar, but singing in which God is earnestly and reverently praised. "We liave reason to believe that, in many of oui Sabbath-schools, the song service only extends to two or three stanzas at the opening of the school, but few of the children sing, and but little interest is felt in the exercise. How much is lost in con- sequence of this indifference it is impossible to ascertain. But we are glad to know that the sing- ing in som^e of our schools is such as to illustrate the beauty and utility of juvenile sacred song. There is an attractiveness, an inspiration in it that thrills the child's heart, breaks the monotony and beguiles the tedium of the ordinary routine, and brings to mind the holy employments and rapturous joys of saints and angels in heaven. If singing should constitute a daily exercise in literary institutions, how much more should it THE SERVICE OF SONG. 89 claim attention in the Sunday-school? We can not too forcibly urge upon all superintendents and teachers the great importance of cultivating in the youthful mind the love of sacred song. We be- lieve that by this means many a languishing Sunday-school might be resuscitated, and that many that are in successful operation might be greatly improved as to the character of the influ- ence exerted. If we vrould impart to the institution a lively, jubilant, aggressive character, we must engage the voices, charm the ears and exhilarate the souls of those who attend. Oh, for the power of song to give a new impulse to this great enter- prise I Where the children sing well, the reflex influ- ence upon the teachers, the parents, and upon the world is most salutary. What heart has not been melted with the sweet, artless strains which pro- ceed from the lips of childhood ? At Sabbath- school festivals it is not unfrequently the case that the singing is the chief attraction. Sometimes it sounds as if a company of seraphs had come from the spirit land to give us a sjDecimen of angelic minstrelsy. This shows what children can do when properly trained. "There is," says Longfellow, "something ex- ceedingly thrilling in the voices of children sing- ing. Though their music be unskilful, yet it finds its way to the heart with wonderful celerity. Voices of cherubs are they, for they breathe of 90 THE SESVICE OF SONG. paradise ; clear, liquid tones, that flow from pure lips and innocent hearts, like the sweetest notes of a flute, or the falling of water from a fountain." The good effect of proper attention to singing in our Sabbath- schools would soon be visible in the Church service. The children having learned many of the hymns and tunes, and having im- bibed the spirit of singing, would naturally desire to join with the congregation in the service of praise ; and this would have a powerful tendency to make the worship pleasant and profitable to them. ISTor would it be long before the best singers would be found to be those who had been trained in the Sabbath-school. This is in fact the most successful mode of improving our Church music. " Our best reliance," says Mr. Willis, "for the support of congregational song is, I am satisfied, that which, perhaps, might not at first suggest it- self — children. Children are the future Church. But, aside from this, the earnestness of their young, fresh natures ; the facility with which they learn ; the pathetic innocence of their voices, and the strong appeal of their example, as well as their music, to the hearts of parents and older persons present, render them of signal service in congre- gational song." Then let the children cry, Hosanna ! in the tem- ple. Give us for them a poetical, musical theology. Let the Sabbath-school be, in reality, the school TEIE SERVICE OF SONG. 91 of Cbrist. Attune infantile voices for nobler strains in the New Jerusalem. Let tlie 3'oung soldiers in the army of the Lord march forth to the conflict to the inspiring notes of sacred music ; and when the warfare is ended, let their victories be cele- brated in the poetry and song of immortality. 92 THE SERVICE OF SONG. PART THIRD. SINGING IN THE WORSHIPING CONGREGATION. SECTION I.— WHO SHOULD SING? CHAPTER I. ALL SHOULD SING. The Object of Congregational Singing — Many of our Hymns are Prayers — Singing takes its stand with Preaching and Praying — Congregational Singing the Oldest Style of Music in the Chris- tian Church — The Transition to the Clergy — Luther Restored Music to the People — Singing a part of Divine Worship — White- field's Preaching and the Singing — The Hibernian in the Sack at Wexford — The Tavern-keeper — Musical Works issued by the Wesleys — Rules in the Methodist Discipline — But few, com- paratively, Sing — Preachers must Lead in the Reformation. ** Lord, how delightful 'tis to see A whole assembly worship Thee ! At once they sing, at once they pray ; They hear of heaven and learn the way. I have been there, and still would go ; 'Tis like a httle heaven below." — Watts. In answering the question, Wlio should sing? let US recur to the fact that the object of congre- gational singing is the worship of God. The word worship, in its primary signification, gives us the THE SEEVICE OF SONG. 93 idea of wortli, wortliship, or worthiness. Religious worship is the act of paying Divine honors to the Supreme Being. The forms of worship are various. All the exercises and ordinances pertaining to the Church are designed to be means of grace — media through which the soul is uplifted to God, and through which spiritual supplies are conveyed to the soul. Hence it is obvious that all the de- partments of Divine service should be so arranged and conducted as to conduce most directly and fully to this end. Prayer should be offered at the right time, and in the right spirit. Suitable por- tions of the Word should be read with becoming earnestness and solemnity. The preaching should be evangelical, plain, practical, powerful. But what of the singing? Is it less important than the other departments of Divine service ? Surely not. All other forms of worship are temporary, but praise shall employ the noblest powers of saints and angels forever. That precept which is most frequently urged and reiterated in the Scriptures is the one which enjoins praise to God. Again, many of our hymns are in reality prayers, and it has been well said that the singing of these hymns by the congregation is the highest form of prayer — prayer uttered by the combined voices of the assembly — prayer shouted to the heavens. It is manifest, therefore, that the service of song is designed to be a real power in the Church, and that all the lovers of Zion should be 94 THE SERVICE OF SOXG. most solicitous to engage in it according to the Divine will. " Singing is a service wliicli comes under the direct notice of both preachers and people — the ignorant and the learned It takes its stand with preaching and praying, and is one of the very staple ordinances of religion by which the soul carries on holy commerce with heaven." * " More than upon any other means, our religious life is dependent upon the spirituality, ade- quacy, and inspiration of our worship- song. The hymnology of the Church aims at the perfect ex- pression of all that is purest and noblest in the spiritual life. If prayer expresses its lower moods of need and sorrow, praise expresses its higher moods of satisfaction and joy. Prayer seeks; praise proffers. Prayer is a beseeching and a wail ; praise a worship and a psean Prayer asks God to come to us ; praise seeks to go to God. The soul that prays falls prostrate with its face to the ground, often being in agony ; the soul that praises stands with uplifted brow and transfigured counte- nance, ready to soar away to heaven." f Viewing the subject in this light, can we be at a loss for an answer to the question. Who should sing? Are w^e not all the workmanship of the Divine hand, subjects of the Divine govern- ment, recipients of the Divine bounty? Can any of the children of men fail to engage in any part * Thomas Hirst. t Rev. H. Allon. THE SERVICE OF SOXG. 95 of the worship of the Most Higli and be blameless ? All who have the ability to sing are most assuredly bound to do so in the best manner pos- sible ; and if there be individuals wdio have no ear and no voice for music, they are also required to unite in the service by making melody in their hearts to the Lord. Thus the whole congregation should unite in celebrating the praises of the triune God. This was the practice of the Christian Church in the early ages of her history. A late writer,* treating of what he calls " the music of the people," informs us upon reliable authority that " this is the oldest style of music in the Christian Church. During the first three hundred years after Christ there was no other. The singing of the early Christians was wholly congregational. Shortly subsequent to the year 300 the first change oc- curred — that of responsive singing. This mode of singing was first practiced in the Syrian Churches: about the middle of the fourth century it was introduced by Flavian and Diodorus into the Eastern Churches ; thence transferred, in the year 370, to the Western Churches by Ambrose, and soon came into general use under the name of the Ambrosian style of music. As this responsive singing was performed by the people, the music still retained its congregational character. " Choir music was introduced into the Church * Richard Storrs Willis. 96 THE SERVICE OF SO^^G. in tlie fourth century. At tliis time a distinct class of persons was appointed to take charge of this part of religious worship. But the people continued, for a century or more, to enjoy, in some measure, their ancient privilege of singing to- gether — joining occasionally in the chorus and singing the responses The clergy eventually claimed the right of performing sacred music as a privilege exclusively their own. Thus, from the people, it would seem, Church music passed, first to certain appointed officers of the Church, and from them to the clergy ; and, the more effectually to exclude the people from any participation in this exercise, the singing was now in Latin. " This entire monopoly of the music by the clergy continued until the era of the Reformation, when Luther restored, as the sacram^ental cup to the mouth, so music to the lips of the people." " From the first and Apostolic age singing was always a part of Divine service, in which the whole body of the Church joined together."* It is well known that the Methodist Church has uniformly uttered an emphatic voice in favor of congregational singing. The genius of Method- ism requires this style of Church music. Methodism has been happily denominated, Christianity in earnest." It is the second great Bingham. THE SERVICE OF SOXG. 97 revival of vital godliness tliat the world has wit- nessed since the da3^s of the Apostles, as the Reformation in the sixteenth century was the first. "Wesley an Methodism deplored the degeneracy of the times. It wept over the laxity and deadness of the Establishment, and ardently longed for the simplicity, purity and power of primitive Chris- tianity. The hearts of the great founders of Methodism having been " strangely warmed," a new song was put into their mouths. Animated by the spirit of Christ, they sang : " 0 that the world might taste and see The riches of His grace I " The mighty power of God was manifested in various places in the conversion of penitents, and in the sanctification of believers. Societies were formed, and stated meetings were held. Persecu- tion raged ; and, driven from the churches, the people worshiped in the fields. The field preach- ing of Wesley and W^hitefield, in the year 1739, be- came " the starting point of our modern religious history." Methodism has always attached due import- ance to the intellectual. She claims the venerable halls and "classic shades" of the University of Oxford as the place of her nativity ; and thanks God not only for holy hearts, but also for her facilities for mental culture. Nevertheless, she has always put the heart in advance, maintaining her orthodoxy by her spirituality, rather than her 7 98 THE SERVICE OF SONG. spirituality by her orthodoxy. Essentially mis- sionary in her inception and in her progress, she claims the world for her parish, and stands pledged to active, aggressive movements until all hearts are aglow with love to God and man. With such an esprit de corps^ could it be ex- pected that she would march out to battle silently, or with soulless songs ? Might we not rather count on hearing in the van of her armies the grandest and most stirring notes ? Go with Whitefield to Hannam Mount, at Kings- wood, England. Fifteen thousand people are lis- tening attentively and solemnly to the burning words which fall from the lips of the prince of pulpit orators. The sun shines brightly. The trees and hedges are full of people. " Hundreds after hundreds " are convicted of sin, and many of these poor colliers rejoice in a knowledge of pardon through Christ. There is joy on earth, and joy in heaven. Survey the multitude and listen to their songs. Whitefield himself says that " to behold such crowds standing together, and to hear the echo of their singing resounding over the mighty mass, suggested to him the scene of the general assembly of the spirits of just men made perfect when they shall join in singing the song of Moses and the Lamb in heaven." Go with this devoted man of God to Kennington Common in London. Besides the immense num- bers who come in carriages and on horses, thirty V THE SERVICE OF SOXG. 99 or forty tliousand on foot gatlier around liim. Listen to the powerful voice of the preacher. The message of mercy may be heard at the distance of a mile from the place where he stands. When the hymn is announced, hear " The tides of music's golden sea, Setting toward eternity." Those who are two miles off pause to listen ! Such were the scenes which the Wesleys and "Whitefield witnessed in London, Bristol, New- castle, and in many other places. The uproar of the furious mob was frequently calmed into silence by the songs of the multitude rising above the harsh dissonance of Satan's hosts. On the 12th of May, 1739, the corner-stone of the first Methodist Church in the world " was laid at Bristol, England, with the voice of praise and thanksgiving." So generally were the Methodist tunes known that Mr. Wesley, as he traveled, frequently heard them sung or whistled by the children of Roman Catholics. The Wesleyan singing was a great power to early Methodism. Charles Wesley's hymns, with simple but effective tunes, spread everywhere among the Wesle}' ans ; and hundreds of hearers who cared not for the preaching were charmed to the Methodist assemblies by their music. It se- cured them much success among the susceptible Irish. A curious example of its j^ower is told by 100 THE SERVICE OF SONG. one of the Irish preachers. At Wexford the so- ciety was persecuted by Papists, and met in a closed barn. One of the persecuters had agreed to conceal himself within it beforehand, that he might open the door to his comrades after the people were assembled. He crept into a sack hard by the door. The singing commenced, but the Hibernian was so taken with the music that he thought he would hear it through before dis- turbing tlie meeting. He was so gratified that at its conclusion lie thought he would hear the prayer also. But this was too powerful for him. He was seized with remorse and trembling, and roared out with such dismay as to appal the congregation, who began to believe that Satan himself was in the sack. The sack was at last pulled off of him, and disclosed the Irishman, a weeping penitent praying with all his might. He was permanently converted." " A tavern-keeper, relishing music, went to one of the meetings merely to hear the singing. He was afraid of the preaching, and that he might not hear it, sat with his head inclined, and his fingers in his ears. But a fly lit upon his nose, and at the moment he attempted to drive it away with one of his hands, the preacher uttered with power the text: 'He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.' The word took hold upon the pub- lican's conscience, and he found no relief till he became a converted man." THE SERVICE OF SONG. 101 Of course tlie chief cliarm of the early Methodist singing was to be found in its earnest, popular, congregational character. The people sang well. God has dealt very graciously with this Church, in giving to it not only John Wesley, the theo- logian and ecclesiastical legislator, but also Charles Wesley, the poet and songster. Nor did the former attach less importance to devotional singing than did the Asaph of Methodism. They delighted greatly in social as well as congrega- tional singing. In Charles Wesley's Journal, page 100, we read of his meeting with three friends at Islington, fall- ing into spiritual conversation, and receiving an account of the great blessing vouchsafed to one of them: then rejoicing with them in singing and prayer, and leaving the rest of the company ''much stirred up to wait for the unspeakable gift." On the 115th page he says : " We met, a troop of us, at Mr. Sims'. There was one Mrs. Harper there, who had this day received the Spirit by the hearing of faith, but feared to confess it. We sang the ' Hymn to Christ.' At the words, " 'Who for me, for me hast died,' she burst into tears and outcries : ' I believe, I be- lieve ! ' and sank down." At page 131 we find him singing hymns on faith, when on a journey to Oxford. His conversation and prayers were blessed as the means of bring- 102 TIIE SERVICE OF SONG. ing a fellow- traveler to a knowledge of tlie love of God. On page 136 he says : " We were warmed by reading George Wliitefield's Journal. I walked with Metcalf, etc., in great joy, wishing for a place to sing in, when a blacksmith stopped ns. We turned into his house, sang a hymn, and went on our way rejoicing." At page 162 we find him singing in the garden with a little company of like-minded ones, while the sweetness of their melody draws others to them to receive the benefit of instruction and prayer. The Journals of the brothers abound with such entries as the foregoing, which have been taken nearly at random. As has already been intimated, the excellency of the early Methodist singing resulted from the great importance which was attached to a personal, happy experience of Divine things ; and also^from the piety, and musical, and poetical talent and taste of the Wesleys, displayed in their unceasing and painstaking efforts in the department of praise. They issued their first Hymn-book as early as 1738, the year in which they were brought to a saving knowledge of Christ. Many other publica- tions of a similar character were brought out in quick'succession. In the year 1742 John Wesley issued "A Collection of Tunes set to Music, as THE SERVICE OF SONG. 103 svng at the Foundry." A work on " The Grounds of Vocal Music" was published by him shortly afterward. Then followed, at intervals, three other publications on " Sacred Harmony." The people were urged to study the science of music, and many collections of hymns, mostly from the pen of Charles Wesley, were issued at different times. Thus the Methodists were amply supplied with a poetical liturgy, and with the means of learning to sing. The liveliness of the Wesleyan Church music was, to a considerable extent, the result of the stirring character of the hymns. " The Methodist hymn music early took a high form of emotional expression. It could not be otherwise with a com- munity continually stirred by religious excitement. It was also a necessity of the rapturous poetry of Charles Wesley ; for, with it, a tame or common- place music would be absurd. Handel found in the Methodist hymns a poetry worthy of his own grand genius, and he set to music those beginning ; " ' Sinners, obey the gospel word I ' ' 0 Love Divine, how sweet thou art I ' " ' Rejoice I the Lord is King.' " In the early days of Methodism, Mr. John "Wes- ley was delighted to find that the constant and persevering efforts which had been put forth in the department of psalmody had not been in vain. Speaking of the singing of the Wesleyans, he says • " Their solemn addresses to God are not 104 THE SERVICE OF SONG. interrupted either by the formal drawl of a parish clerk, the screaming of hoys, who bawl out what they neither feel nor understand, or the unreason- able and unmeaning im]3ertinence of a voluntary on the organ. When it is seasonable to sing praise to God, they do it with the spirit and with the un- derstanding also ; not in the miserable, scandalous doggerel of Hopkins and Sternhold, but in psalms and hymns which are both sense and poetry, such as would sooner provoke a critic to turn Christian than a Christian to turn critic. What they sing is, therefore, a proper continuation of the spiritual and reasonable service, being selected for that end, not by a poor, humdrum wretch who can scarcely read what he drones out with such an air of importance, but by one who knows what he is about; not by a handful of wild, unawakened striplings, but by a whole serious congregation ; and these not lolling at ease, or in the posture of sitting, drawling out one word after another, but all standing before God and praising him lustily and with a good courage." In the matter of praise, as well as in other things, theWesleys immortalized themselves as reformers. As one of its earliest and noblest achievements, Methodism furnished Great Britain with the best model of devotional singing known to the world since the time of the primitive Christians. It very far surpassed the singing of the Protestant Churches in the days of the Reformation, in the THE SERVICE OF SONG. 105 excellence of the hymns, the suitableness of the tunes, and in the spirituality which pervaded the music. At this point we may appropriately consider the Rules of the Methodist Churches in regard to congregational singing. We take the following question and answers from the Discipline : " Question— Ko-^ shall we guard against for- mality in singing ? " Answer 1. By choosing such hymns as are proper for the occasion. " 2. By not singing too much at once ; seldom more than five or six verses. " 3. By suiting the tune to the words. " 4. By often stopping short when the words are given out and asking the people, ^ Now ! do you know what you said last ? Did you speak no more than you felt ? ' " 5. In all our congregations, let the people learn to sing, and use our own hymn and tune-books. " 6. Exhort every person in the congregation to sing ; not one in ten only." It is a little remarkable that all these directions were originally given by Mr. Wesley to his Socie- ties, which constituted the germ of the Methodist Churches. Having been thoroughly tried on the other side of the Atlantic, they were adopted by the Conference which organized the Methodist Episcopal Church in America, at its session in the city of Baltimore, in the year 1784, and they have 106 THE SERVICE OF SONG. received General Conference approval from tliat time to tlie present. They come down to ns as venerable monuments of tlie wisdom, piety and zeal of the founder of Methodism, and, on account of their antiquity and intrinsic excellence, they deserve to be carefully considered and faithfully practiced. Some of Mr. Wesley's rules have, at different times, been left out of the Discipline, and among them the one which directed the preachers to " preach frequently on the head " of congregational singing. It is to be regretted that a recommenda- tion so eminently judicious should have disap- peared from the Discipline. This fact, however, need not prevent us from acting in accordance with the advice given. Let it be borne in mind that John Wesley directs all his contemporaries and successors in the ministry io 'preach frequently on the subject of singing. It would be difficult for the minister to find a more important theme, and one fuller of inspira- tion. If he turns to the Atonement itself, he will find that the subject of praise is closely connected with it. Can anything be of greater interest and concern to man than the worship of God ? And is not singing recognized both in the Scriptures and in the Discipline as an integral part of Divine worship ? It is gratifying to know that prayer is a common theme of pulpit discourse. On that subject the THE servicp: of song. 107 people are instruct(^d, admonished, encouraged. On prayer, books, tracts and sermons have been written and widely circulated. It is the prominent topic for exhortation in the prayer- meeting from week to week. The subject of prayer, both as a privilege and a duty, has, from time immemorial, been considered of prime importance, both by the ministry and the laity. In regard to praise, the interest manifested by preachers and people has by no means been so intense and uniform. Many of our ministers never preached a sermon on that subject. Many of the members and friends of the Church never heard or read a sermon on singing. Of course, the gen- eral subject of gratitude and thanksgiving has not been ignored ; but, on the other hand, praise as a legitimate department of Divine worship has not generally been made prominent in the pulpit ; and to this cause, more than to any other, perhaps, the remissness of the people may be traced. It is a startling fact that not one-half of the members of the Protestant Churches in America unite in the " service of song in the house of the Lord." In some Churches, the singing is confined almost exclusively to the few who occupy the gallery or organ loft in the capacity of choristers. In other churches, a few of those who sit near the pulpit sing, aided by a voice here and there through the congregation. It is a fact, which no one will dispute, that there are now in the different Churches 108 THE SERVICE OF SOITa. thousands of members of both sexes who have naturally good voices, and who seldom or never attempt to unite with the people in praising God in His sanctuary. Are we not loudly called upon to do what we can to bring about a reformation ? And can the laity be expected to go in advance of the ministry in this good work ? If it is not the province of the pulpit to set forth the Scriptural rule on this subject, and to urge all the people to comply with it, then it will be difficult to deter- mine the proper sphere of the preacher. Surely one sermon in each congregation every year on this interesting theme would be eminently proper. But we ought not to satisfy ourselves until we have carried our point. Sermon must succeed sermon ; private conversations must give force to public exhortations, until the whole Church is fully awake to the importance of the subject. Of course, it is expected that the laity will co-operate with the ministry in promoting this much needed reform ; but the " heralds of the Cross " must first summon the people to the rescue. "All the counsel of God" must be declared. Every doctrine of the Bible must be explained ; every duty must be enforced. How, then, can the ministry be blameless if the greater portion of the membership continue to neglect an integral part of Divine worship without being admonished as to their delinquency, and without being encour- aged to perform a duty which would soon become a delight ? THE SERVICE OF SONG. 109 CHAPTER II. ALL SHOULD SING — {Continued.) The Great Power of Song in the Reformation — Luther — Clement Marot and Theodore Beza — Priests Sung Down by the Peo- ple — Papists Imitate the Protestants — Reformation in England — Influence of Ministers — All should Sing — Dr. Olin — Bishops Coke and Asbury on Singing — George Dougherty in Charleston, S. C. — Felix Neff — What Chrysostom says — Augustin — Mel- vill — Luther — Cotton Mather's Remark — What McCheyne says — Furber's Remarks to Ministers — The Orator — The Ant — The Word of God — His Works. Since tlie days of tlie Apostles we have liad some forcible examples of ministerial effort in the department of song, both before and after the suc- cessful efforts of the Wesleys. The devotion of Martin Luther to sacred song furnishes a fine example for the consideration of , all ministers of the gospel. He says : " jN'ext to theology, it is to music that I give the highest place and the greatest honor." " After the long night of the dark ages, the light of returning day in Germany was ushered in with song. Its approach had been heralded by song a century before this, in Bohemia, in the time of J ohn Huss and J erome ; and even in the fourteenth century, while ' the Morning Star of the Reform a- \ 110 THE SERVICE OF SONG. tion' was still visible, praise broke tlie silence of the waning watcl^es in England. " As in the morning of the long days in summer, a few woodland notes may be heard here and there in the groves in advance of the general chorus which hails the day, so there were voices before Luther, both in England and on the Continent, which anticipated the melodies of his time. But when the empire of the night was fairly broken, and this great chorister of the Reformation arose, he awoke the whole forest into harmony. " One of the first efforts of Luther, in fulfilment of the great mission of his life, was to publish a psalm-book. Both hymns and tunes were com- posed mainly by himself. About sixty hymns were written by him at a time when the history of fifteen centuries could not furnish more than two hundred hymns that had been used in Chris- tian congregations. In this great undertaking he had a twofold object — first, to restore to the peo- ple their ancient and long-lost New Testament right to the use of psalms in public worship in their own tongue ; and, secondly, by the graces of verse and the charms of melodj^, to lodge the word of God effectually in their memory. He took care to embody in his verse the great foundation truths of the Bible, that, being sung over and over by the people, they might never be forgotten So successful was he in this endeavor that priestly influence might in vain have attempted to check THE SERVICE OF SONG. Ill the progress of tlie Reformation by destroying the Bible. Its doctrines were the soul of his songs, and the songs were embalmed in the people's memory.'- ^ About this time Clement Marot, a French poet, assisted by Theodore Beza, gave to France and Germany a collection of metrical versions from the Hebrew Psalter. These, with the productions of Luther and others, were widely circulated, and produced a powerful effect in favor of Protestant- ism. Luther in Germany, and Calvin at Geneva, were determined to put down the practice of anti- phonal chanting, and to introduce congregational singing in its stead. The effect of this new movement was elec- tric : " The Scriptures, which had long been shut up in a dead language, were thus released, in part, to the understanding and heart of the worshipers, in metrical forms, which, however rude, were not so to the taste of the age. They were welcomed with unbounded enthusiasm. That cardinal principle of the Reformation, by which responsibility was individualized, was thus infused into the theory and practice of worship, and the heart of the people opened to receive it gratefully. " France and Germany were instantly infatuated with a love of Psalm-singing The energetic hymns of Geneva exhilarated the con- vivial assemblies of the Calvinists ; were commonly * Rev. D. L, Furber. 112 THE SERVICE OF SONG. heard in the streets, and accompanied the lahors of the artificer They found their way to the cities of the low countries, and under their inspiration, many of the weavers and woollen manufacturers of Flanders left their looms and entered into the ministry of the gospel. German, Dutch, Bohemian, and Polish versions of the Psalms, in metre, and both French and German hymns, were soon multiplied to an almost fabulous extent. The enthusiasm of Luther in the work is well known ; and the popularity of his sixty-three hymns may be inferred from the fact that spurious collections were hawked about the cities of Ger- many under his name. Hymns in the vernacular dialects became a power in the Reformation co- ordinate with that of the pulpit. Upon the masses of the people they were far more potent than any other uninspired productions of the press. At Augsburg, in 1551, three or four thousand singing at a time was but a trifle. The youth of the day sang them in the place of ribald songs ; mothers sang them beside the cradle; journeymen and servants sang them at their labor, and marketmen in the streets, and husbandmen in the fields. At length the six thousand hymns of a single poet, Hans Sach, bore witness to the avidity of the de- mand and the copiousness of the supply." ^* In the year 1529 a Romish priest was preaching at Lubec, and as he was concluding, two boys * Hymns and Choirs. THE SERVICE OF SONG. 113 commenced singing one of Luther's liymns, when the whole assembly joined as with one voice ; and if at any time any one of the priests ventured to inveigh against Luther's doctrine, the congrega- tion would answer him, and drown his voice by singing one of Luther's hymns. At Heidelberg the Reformation was sung into the people's hearts. Fearing the Emperor, the Elector Frederick did not suppress the saying of mass so soon as the people desired ; therefore, on a certain occasion, just as the priest was about to begin the service at the high altar, a solitary voice led off in the singing of Sporatus' famous hymn, " Est ist das Heil uns kommen her." The vast assembly instantly joined, and, the Elector taking the hint, mass was said no more. It was not by preachers nor by religious books and tracts that the Reformation was introduced into the city of Hanover, but by the hymns of Luther, which the people delighted to sing. A contemporary of Luther says : "I doubt not that the one little hymn, ' i^ow rejoice. Christians, all,' (the first one that Luther published,) has brought many hundred Christians to the faith. The noble, sweet language of that one little song has won their hearts, so that they could not resist the truth ; and, in my opinion, the spiritual songs have contributed not a little to the spread of the gospel." The Papists saw, with surprise and dismay, the 8 114 THE SERVICE OF SONG. success which crowned these noble efforts of the Reformers, and their hrst impulse was to fight with the same weapons. These hymns, however, although a little altered to suit Komish views, still contained seeds of truth which promised to germi- nate and produce spiritual fruit. Hence, about the middle of the sixteenth century, all Papists were prohibited from singing them, and from that time the name, " psalmodist," or " psalm-singer," was applied to the Protestants, in derision. It be- came synonymous with Reformer, Huguenot, Cal- vinist. Heretic. Congregational singing was, as has been inti- mated, a most potent instrumentality for the ad- vancement of the Reformation in England. About the time the good leaven began to work in Great Britain, six thousand persons of all ages might have been heard singing the new songs at St. Paul's Cross in London, and this, it is said, was " sadly annoying to the mass-priests and the devil." The following is the language of George Wither, who, in 1623, published a volume of " Hymns and Songs of the Church," for which he obtained a royal patent : " The Divell is not ignorant of the power of these divine Cliarmes, that there lurks in Poesy an enchanting sweetness that steals into the hearts of men before they be aware ; and that (the subject being Divine) it can infuse a kind of heavenly THE SERVICE OF SONG. 115 Enthusiasm^ sucli deliglit into the soule, and beget so ardent an affection unto the purity of God's Word, as it will be impossible for the most power- ful Exorcisms to conjure out of them the love of such delicacies, but they will be unto them (as David saith) siceeter than honey or the honey- comibe. And this secret working which verse hath is excellently expressed by our drad Sovereigne that now is (James I.) in a Poem of his long since penned : " 'For verse's power is sike, it softly glides Through secret pores, and in the senses hides, And makes men have that gude in them imprinted, Which by the learned work is represented.' " By reason of this power, our adversaries fear the operation of the Divine Word expressed in numbers ; and that hath made them so bitter against our versified Psalms ; yea (as I have heard say), they term the singing of them in our vulgar tongues, the Witch of Heresy.'^'' The power of ministers to effect a salutary change in the style and spirit of Church singing has been twice illustrated in the history of the American Churches. About the year 1720, the degeneracy was so great that but few congrega- tions could sing more than three or four tunes, and these were sung so badly as to be intolerable to those who had any degree of musical culture. The wisest and best ministers exerted them- selves to effect a reformation. Edwards, Symes 116 THE SERVICE OF SONG. of Bradford, Mather, Wise, Stoddard, Dwiglit, Thatcher, Walter, Prince, Woodstock, and others, took the lead in this matter. They wrote and preached sermons on the subject, and associations of ministers were formed to farther the object in view, by preparing and reading essays, and by other means. In the year 1720, Mr. Walter pub- lished his singing-book. The preface to it was signed by fourteen distinguished men, most of them ministers of the gospel, and among them two who had been college presidents. This pre- face called upon all "to accomplish themselves with skill to sing the songs of the Lord." Stern resistance was offered to these efforts for reform. Singing by note, or "regular singing," as it was called, was popish — " the old way was good enough." " The singing of two or three tunes at the same time by different portions of the con- gregation, either ignorantl}^ or intentionally ; or, what was no uncommon thing, the singing of some one tune, professedly, in almost as many different ways as there were voices, according to each one's caprice or fancy for embellishment, so that it sounded ' like five hundred different tunes roared out at the same time,' did not offend the blunted musical sensibilities of the age." But at length the reform was accomplished, and after ten years or more of intense excitement in the Churches, * See Gould's History of Church Music in America. THE SEKVICE OF SOKG. 117 there was " a great calm," and mucli spiritual prosperity. A second period of great degeneracy in Church music in America occurred about the "beginning of the present century. It was not the result of the total neglect of musical education, "but was occasioned by the introduction of the " coarse, noisy tunes " of Billings. William Billings was one of the first composers of music in America, if not the very first. He was born in New England, of humble parentage ; occupation, a tanner ; " deformed in person ; blind in one eye ; one leg shorter than the other ; one arm somewhat withered ; with a mind as eccentric as his person was deformed." He died in the year 1800. He had genius and energy, but was almost totally destitute of education. Although his crude compositions did much damage to the cause of congregational singing, yet such was his zeal and enthusiasm that many were aroused from their lethargy to consider the importance of music ; and in this way, doubtless, much good Avas done. After having been continued in use for about thirty years, the tunes of Billings were driven from the Churches, mainly through the influence of min- isters of the gospel. Chief among these were Drs. Worcester, Prince, and Pierce, of Brookline, and Dr. Dana, of Newburyport. The latter, in a sermon preached at Boxford, in the year 1803, said : " Our country has been for years overflow- 118 TnE SERVICE OF SOIs^G. ing with productions, not destitute of spriglitliness, perhaps, but composed on no plan, conformed to no principles, and communicating no distinct or abid- ing impression — fugitive, unsubstantial things, which fill the ear and starve the mind." Dr. Worcester said : " The influence of psalm- ody in respect to religion is vastly important. Genuine psalmody tends to promote genuine religion; spurious psalmody tends to promote spurious religion How different in all respects from what it ought to be is a great part of the music in our Churches ! It is low, it is trivial, it is unmeaning ; or, if it has any mean- ing at all, it is adapted to sentiments and emotions altogether different from those of pure and elevated devotion It is a mere rhapsody of sounds, without subject, without skill, without sen- timent, and without sense." The reaction was sudden and violent, and led to the adoption of tunes so stiff, slow, and dull that the spirit and life of singing could scarcely co- exist with them. For the last half century, how- ever, there has been a gradual improvement in this respect, which, it is to be hoped, will be con- summated by the present generation. We have taken this little detour through Ger- many, France, and England, and w^e have called attention to the early and later history of music in some of the Churches west of the Atlantic, to THE SEKVICE OF SONG. 119 sliow tliat all should unite zealously and under- standingly in singing the praises of God, and that where there is a failure to do this, there is gener- ally power enough in the pulpit, if used with energy and prudence, to correct the evil. It will be remembered that the Discipline, as already quoted, makes it the duty of the ministers to " exhort every person in the con- gregation to sing ; not one in ten only." This, as we have seen, is one of the original Wes- leyan rules, adopted by the American General Conference of 1784, and still a constituent part of the Discipline. Its history is suggestive. From the fact that it was inserted at so early a day, we may infer that, although the original Methodist singing was such as met the approval of even Mr. Wesley himself, yet the partial neglect of this part of Divine worship was soon observed in many places, and hence the injunction to the preachers to stir up the people. The remissness in question still prevails to a very great extent, and the preachers are still called upon to take the matter in hand. It will be observed that only exhortation on the subject is now required. It is taken for granted that the doctrine in regard to singing is under- stood and admitted, and that it is only necessary to urge the people to practice what they know. This may be the case in some places, with some persons ; but we apprehend that the masses need instruction 120 THE SERVICE OF SONG-. in regard to devotional singing as much as on any otlier subject. They certainly have not had extra facilities for obtaining knowledge in this direction. We are, therefore, disposed to give a liberal construction to the word "exhort,'^ as it is found in the rule. It is said that John the Baptist, on a certain occasion, " preached many things in his exhortation." So, the preacher who observes this great point in the Discipline, and exhorts all the people to sing, repeatedly, earn- estly, affectionately, will find that the best way to enforce the exhortation will be to exhibit the teachings of the Scriptures on the subject, ex- plaining the nature of the duty to be performed, the manner and spirit in which it should be at- tended to, the authority by which it is enjoined, and the benefits to be derived from its observance. The preacher is directed to exhort etjer^/per- son in the congregation to sing." Of course, the believer should unite in rendering homage and praise to his great Creator and Benefactor. How can he whose heart burns with love to God and man remain silent when those around him lift up their voices in the worship of the great I Am ? As well might an angel stand mute before the throne when all the rest of the heavenly host are vying with each other in the loftiest songs of praise. The penitent should sing. He should sing of his guilt, condemnation, and sorrow. He THE SERVICE OF SOI^G. 121 should sing of Bethleliem, Olivet, and Calvary. And while he dwells upon the incarnation, the teachings and miracles, the unutterable love, the unparalleled sufferings, the vicarious death, the triumphant resurrection, and the ceaseless inter- cessions of the Son of God, his sins may be par- doned, and his mourning be turned into joy. The unconverted, whether penitent or not, should be encouraged to uni te with the congregation in singing. Stephen Olin led in the morning and evening prayers at Tabernacle Academy, in South Carolina, and by this means was convinced of sin ; and there is no reason why an effect equally salu- tary might not be produced upon other impenitent persons through the medium of song. Let no one be silent when the name of the Most High is cele- brated; but let ''every person" in the congrega- tion — saint or sinner — raise his voice in praise. " The singing of psalms, hymns, and spirit- ual songs in the congregation has been allowed by all the Churches of God in all ages (one modern society excepted) to be a part of Divine worship, and, from its xery nature^ it evidently belongs to the whole congregation. It would be unseemly for the minister alone to sing : but if it be the duty of one member of the congregation, it must be the duty of all who have voices for singing ; and there are very few who may not join in the air, as it is called, all the defects of their voices being lost in the general sound. Few things can be more pleas- 122 THE SERVICE OF SONG. ing to tlie Lord than a congregation witli one heart and one voice praising His holy name. It is, in- deed, to be feared that there is seldom a large congregation where every individual is sincere. However, all who do in sincerity desire a blessing, should strive to join in the general chorus — we mean in every part of the hymn. If one part of it be above the experience of the singer, he should adjoin a silent prayer, that the Lord may give him the grace he needs ; for the Lord listens to hear what the heart speaks, and takes all as noth- ing if the heart be silent. Again, when his ex- perience rises above the hymn, his secret prayer should be in behalf of that part of the congrega- tion it suits ; but, in the proper hymns of praise, he may throw off all reserve, for we are all in- finitely indebted to our good God." ^ In the various departments of ministerial labor, much may be done by precept ; more by example. It is important that the minister preach and exhort on the subject of singing; but, to give point and force to his teachings and entreaties, he must, if possible, himself sing, and so lead the flock into this green pasture. By the memorable General Conference of 1784, the following question and answer were inserted in the Discipline : " Question. How shall we reform our singing ? * Bishops Coke and Asbury, in their Notes appended to the Disciphne of 1796. THE SERVICE OF SONG. 123 Answer. Let all our preachers wlio have any knowledge in the notes improve it by learning to sing true themselves, and keeping close to Mr. Wesley's tunes and hymns." Many of our brethren in the ministry have passed the age at which scientific knowledge may be acquired with ease ; but the majority of them, by a little application for a year or two, might obtain a good and valuable knowledge of the principles and practice of vocal music. Many of them already have some " knowledge in the notes." A little attention to the subject on their part would revive their taste for good singing, and would enable them to lead the people correctly and suc- cessfully in this department of worship. There is here opened to the minister a wide and inviting field of usefulness ; let it be entered and assidu- ously cultivated. There has been committed to "US by the Master a very useful talent ; let it not be hidden in the earth. It is expected that the preachers will be able to sing ; that they will be able to sing well, insomuch that they may lead the congregation whenever it may be necessary ; and only those who can not sing are excused. AYe would very humbly, but very earnestly, urge all ministers of the gospel to a serious considera- tion of the great power for good which resides in holy song. If the hearts of the people are hard, melt them by sacred melody, and you will have access to them. 124 THE SERVICE OF SONG. On a certain occasion the Rev. Geo. Dougherty, of precious memory, entered a church in Charles- ton, S. C, to fill an appointment for preaching. Many of the people were greatly prejudiced against him, and his personal appearance was by no means prepossessing; but after engaging silently in prayer for a short time, he arose from his knees and commenced singing. As he pro- ceeded, the attention of the congregation was arrested by the beautiful tune and appropriate wwds, sung in a smooth, clear voice ; and before the conclusion of the song, many were affected to tears, opposition gave way, and the word was heard with gladness. If you would have thoughts of business and pleasure banished from the minds of your auditors, and if you would secure them against lassitude and drowsiness, induce them all to unite heartily in the singing. There is nothing so well calcu- lated to raise the soul above this sordid world and to plume it for its homeward flight as a spiritual participation in the service of praise. A congre- gation whose hearts and voices have thus been engaged, will listen with eager interest to him who, in faith, proclaims the everlasting gospel. Singing was regarded as a pow^erful instrumen- tality for the propagation of the gospel, by Felix Neff", in his labors in the south-east of France among the high Alps ; and by Eliot, in his labors in New England among the native tribes. THE SEKYICE OF SONG. 125 Clirysostom, speaking of the power of song over Christian hearts, says : " Nothing so much as this lifteth up and, as it were, wingeth the soul ; so freeth it from earth and looseth it from the chains of the body ; so leadeth it unto wisdom and a con- tempt of all earthly things." Augustin, discoursing on the power of music on the occasion of his baptism, says : " Oh ! how freely was I made to weep by these hymns and spiritual songs, transported by the voices of the congregation sweetly singing ! The melody of their voices filled my ear, and Divine truth was poured into my heart. Then burned the sacred flame of devotion in my soul, and gushing tears flowed from my eyes, as well they might." Melvill says : " When many voices join heartily in praise, it is hardly possible to remain indifferent. Every one feels this. In a congregation where few attempt to sing, how difficult it is to magnify the Lord! But who can resist the rush of many voices ? Whose bosom does not swell as old and young, rich and poor mingle their tones of adora- tion and thankfulness ? " You may tell me there is not necessarily any religion in all this emotion. I know that ; and I would not have you mistake emotion for religion. But we are creatures so constituted as to be acted on through our senses and feelings ; and while emotion is not religion, it will often be a great step toward it. The man who has imbibed, so to speak, 126 tup: seFwVice of so:n-g. the spirit of prayer and of praise from the sur- rounding assembly, is far more likely to give an attentive ear to the preaclied word, and to receive from it a lasting impression, than another whose natural coldness has been increased by that of the mass in which he found himself placed." Good congregational singing is as necessary for the preacher as it is for the people. The languid drawling of a few undevout singers is not unfie- quently so completely soporific in its effect upon the minister as to unfit him for the delivery of his message of glad tidings ; but the inspiring strains of many voices, all blending in harmony and bespeaking the gratitude and joy of believers, charm the preacher's ear, quicken his intellectual faculties, and warm his heart. Animated by the Holy Spirit and uplifted by the song, he is ad- mirably prepared for the great work. Music," says Martin Luther, " has ever been my delight. It has always excited me so as to give me a greater desire to preach." It has been well said that God answers praise as well as prayer. This was forcibly illustrated at the dedication of the temple built by Solomon. It was not during the prayer, although it may have been to some extent in answer to it, that the Divine presence was manifested; but "it came to pass when the priests were come out of the holy place, ... as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising THE SERVICE OF SOXG. 127 and thanking the Lord, saying, For He is good ; for His mercy endureth forever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord ; so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud ; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God." Doubtless, one reason why God was pleased to honor this song with an answer so direct and won- derful, w^as the unanimity with which it was sung and performed. The individuals composing that vast assembly were all, it would seem, devotion- ally engaged. " The trumpeters and singers were as one^ to make one sounds to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord." A distinguished minister in England has said that "congregational singing and united prayer always accompany a revival." Cotton Mather said, in the year 1721 : "It is remarkable that, when the kingdom of God has been making any new appearance, a mighty zeal for the singing of psalms has attended it and assisted it." The "heavenly-minded" McCheyne said: "My dear flock, I am deeply persuaded that there will be no fall, soul-filling, heart-ravishing, heart-satis- fying outpouring of the Spirit of God till there be more praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. Learn, dearly beloved, to praise God heartily ; to sing with all your heart and soul in the family, and in the congregation ; then am I persuaded that God 128 THE SERVICE OF SONG. will give His Holy Spirit to fill the house — to fill every heart in the spiritual temple." ^ " By an instinct as strong as it is infallible, the Church has always indicated a quickened life by a larger use of psalms and hymns." f Have you, then, under your pastoral charge a Church that is " twice dead ?" Do not despond : there is power in preaching, power in prayer, power in praise. Let the law thunder its anathe- mas : let the promises speak in accents of love : let the throne of grace be besieged in faith ; and let the house be filled with the voice of praise. If the lukewarmness of the people be such that they have no heart to sing, let the preacher, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, arouse them from their deadly slumber. Let him sing to a spirited tune the words following : Awake, and sing the song Of Moses and the Lamb; Tune every heart and every tongue To praise the Savior's name. Sing of His dying love; Sing of His rising power; Sing how He intercedes above For those whose sins He bore. ** His faithfulness proclaim, While life to you is given; Join hands and hearts to praise His name Till we all meet in heaven." Let both the minister and his congregation * Some of the quotations in this connection are from "Hymns and Choirs." tAUon. THE SERVICE OF SONG. 129 adopt the emphatic language of the Psalmist: "I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs." The effect of a little self-examination at this point may be salutary. As ministers, have we done our duty in the department of song ? Have those of us who are the descendants of Wesley paid sufficient heed to our own rules ? Have we, as individuals, properly appreciated this means of grace ? Have we experienced in the use of it that spiritual benefit which it is so admirably fitted to confer ? Have we done what v/e could, both in pri- vate and in public, to induce all to unite in this delightful part of Divine w^orship? Have w^e striven to make these "low grounds of sorrow" vocal with praise, so that we might have " the days of heaven upon earth?" Having seen " the morning spread upon the mountains," have we an- ticipated the joyful day when the far- streaming rays of the Sun of Righteousness shall illumine the pathway of those who have long dwelt in the " region and shadow of death ?" " Then shall the voice of singing Flow joyfully along, And hill and valley, ringing With one triumphant song, Proclaim the contest ended. And Him who once was slain, Again to earth descended, In righteousness to reign. 9 130 THE SERVICE OF SONG. ** Then from the craggy mountains The sacred shout shall fly, And shady vales and fountains Shall echo the reply : High tower and lowly dwelling Shall send the chorus round, The hallelujah swelling In one eternal sound." The Rev. D. L. Furber says: "Let ministers find, in the precepts of the New Testament upon the subject of praise, a duty and a privilege for all Christians ; let them consider how much this privilege has been worth to the Church in its most flourishing periods — what a help to devotion, what a means of grace, what a source of spiritual enjoy- ment it might now be — and they may address an appeal to the consciences and hearts of those who love the Redeemer's kingdom, which, with the blessing of God, will not be in vain. And both ministers and Churches will be surprised to dis- cover how greatly the services of the sanctuary are enriched by the change, and how much it will contribute to the religious benefit of men." Let the Christian minister consider the account which he is finally to render, and the reward which he hopes to receive ; and let him adopt the Apos- tolic motto, " As MUCH AS IN ME IS." But if, as has been already intimated, it is the duty of the minister to exhort " every person" to sing, it is the duty of the people to heed the ex- hortation : if he is bound to set a good example THE SERVICE OF SOXG. 131 before liis people, it is tlieir duty to follow tliat example. If, as a general rule, all are required to sing, then it follows that, with but few excep- tions, all have the ability to sing. Duty implies feasibility. But, alas for us! in the American Churches, the dereliction is very great : the people generally do not sing. Upon all those who are remiss must rest the responsibility of this failure to comply with the Scriptural rule. Of course impossibilities are not required : those who can not sing are exempt ; but this vague idea of inability is the unfortunate anodyne which has quieted the consciences of thousands. It may be that the reader of these pages is among the number. If so, we would say — " Come and let us reason to- gether." There is, in almost every individual, if not in all without exception, a native fondness for both melody and harmony, insomuch that we are almost ready to conclude with Shakespeare that he who has no music in himself, and is not sus- ceptible of its charms, " is fit for treasons, strata- gems, and spoils. " This innate love ot music, of which you are conscious, is presumptive evidence of ability to acquire and practice the science. Again, you have breath, and you have power to give it an impulse, and power to vocalize it : the organs of speech and the organs of song are identical, and the fact that you have power to modulate your voice, is conclusive evidence that you are not laboring under any prime physical 132 THE SERVICE OF SOIfO-. defect. Singing is but little more than the pro- longation of the sounds which are made in speak- ing. But you have tried and failed, and your friends tell you that success in your case is impossible. Still it may be that you have never addressed yourself to this work with earnestness and perse- verance. In this, as in every other branch of learning, while a few are endowed with rare gifts, and are able to pass the boundaries of mediocrity, and even to achieve distinction with comparatively little exertion ; yet, with respect to the great mass of learners, untiring diligence is the only condi- tion of success. Nature does but little more than give us the ability to improve. How long did it take you to acquire the power of articulation ? How long did it take you to learn to read correctly and impressively ? If these at- tainments were secured only by years of assidu- ous application, shall we grow weary of vocal music and abandon the science because a few short lessons, and a few feeble attempts to practice what was imperfectly learned, have failed to make us accomplished musicians ? 'No science can be mastered in a day ; no art can be practiced with ease by a novitiate. "We have heard of a renowned orator of antiquity who declaimed every day under the point of a sus- pended sword to correct an ungraceful movement of the body. We have heard of one who delivered THE SERVICE OF SONG. 133 orations on the sea shore with pebbles in his mouth that he might remedy a defect in his articulation. We have heard of the ant which, for sixty-nine times, failed to ascend the wall with its burden, but succeeded the seventieth time. So it has been, in a thousand instances, in the department of mu- sic : those who at one time almost despaired, have, by dint of energetic and continuous exertion, taken position among the best singers in the Church. Let us add to our convictions of duty as Christians a little of the old Roman firmness of purpose: Nil Mortalihus Desperandum est/^ Perseverando mnces.f Rest assured that there is only one in thousands who can not sing; that most persons learn to sing with great facility, and that positive inability to sing can only be demonstrated by months, and perhaps we might say years, of fruitless effort. Those who are most gifted need culture. The voice must be educated. If it is feeble, exercise will strengthen it; if it is harsh, practice will make it smooth and melodious ; if it is intractable, training will bring it into subjection, and it will go " whithersoever the governor listeth ;" if it is contracted and monotonous, frequent use will give it compass and variety. The ear must be educated. Why is it that the veteran mariner in mid-ocean has around liim a * Nothing is to be despaired of by mortals, t By perseverance we conquer. 134 THE SERVICE OF SONG. wider horizon than the landsman who has but lately stepped on board? Why is it that the ear of the Indian can detect sounds where all is silent to him v/ho has just entered the wilderness ? Why does the voice of the untutored vocalist grate upon the ear of the experienced preceptor while the singer himself is charmed with the sound ? The ready reply is, that the voice, the ear, the eye, and, in fact, all our faculties, are susceptible of tuition. We have all heard voices, naturally good voices, which, ever and anon, failed to strike the proper key with precision ; they were nearly right, but sufficiently out of tune to seriously mar the music. The intonation was incorrect, i. e., the voice was not formed to the notes of the scale with clearness and precision. The ear was untaught and un- practiced. I^othing in music is so important as time. Time is measured by a slight vibration of the hand or foot ; or, in the case of experienced singers, men- tally, without any physical movement whatever. But it is no easy matter to keep time with precision without the aid of clock, watch, or dial ; the habit must be acquired by long practice. He who des- pairs of success because it can not be achieved in a day or a week, is like an apprentice who aban- dons his trade because he can not, at once, become a master workman. Dr. Lowell Mason, the veteran teacher and pub- lisher of vocal music, says : " As it is with the THE SERVICE OF SONG. 135 voice, so it is with the ear : its very best natural condition is imperfect, and needs cultivation." The Rev. F. Freeman says: "By application and perseverance, many who, at first, were scarcely able to appreciate musical sounds, have, at length, by the aid of an instructor, arrived at very com- mendable perfection in the science and in its performance. It would be very difficult to find a person in the possession of the natural senses, who has not a general fondness for musical sounds : all who have this fondness — all who are capable of receiving pleasure from musical combinations, may, doubtless, improve the talent that is in them, and learn to worship God in songs of praise." A writer in the Cliristian Spectator says : "Among the Germans and Moravians, all without exception are taught to sing : the same is true of the Indians of every tribe, and of the children of our infant schools. Having visited many of these schools in different parts of the country, we have never yet found a child w4io was unable to sing after he had been in the school a proper length of time. We would say, then, let every person, young and old, be encouraged to learn to sing ; the duty w^ill soon become pleasant, and the languid fire of devotion will be lighted up to a flame by the music of the skies." In view of what has just been said, the writer congratulates his non-musical reader upon his ability to sing. Of the multitudes who throng 136 THE SERVICE OF SONG. our American Churclies from Sabbath to Sabbath, without attempting to unite in the service of praise, nearly every individual may perform the duty, and enjoy the inestimable privilege in ques- tion. He whose eye is now tracing these lines may rely upon it that the chances of his being able to sing are, against him, one ; in his favor, ten thousand. Is it so, then, that we have hitherto neglected, either totally or partially, a prominent Christian duty ? Has our failure to appreciate this means of grace made us, comparatively, barren and un- fruitful ? Has our example exerted a deleterious influence upon others ? Is it reduced almost to a certainty that our pretexts for not joining with the congregation in singing have been delusive ? Do we hope ultimately to spend a happy eternity in the noble employment of praising God ? By our uniting heartily and faithfully in this part of Di- vine worship, would the glory of Grod be promoted ? Then let us ask ourselves, what meaneth that Scripture which saith, " To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin?" In closing our reply to the question — Who should sing? — we would listen with reverence and docility to the voice of God as uttered in His word and in His works. It is said : ^' Sing unto the Lord, all the earth." " Ye that fear the Lord, praise Him ; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify Him." THE SERVICE OF SONG. 137 " Let tliem exalt Him also in the congregation of tlie people and praise Him in the assembly of the elders." " Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord." " 0, praise the Lord, all ye nations : praise Him all ye people." " Kings of the earth, and all people ; princes, and all judges of the earth : both young men and maidens ; old men and children : let them praise the name of the Lord : for His name alone is ex- cellent ; His glory is above the earth and heavens." " Let the people praise Thee, 0 God ; let all the people praise Thee. 0 let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for Thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Let the people praise Thee, 0 God ; let all the people praise Thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase ; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him." In unison with these sublime teachings is the voice of God in nature : " All Thy works shall praise Thee, 0 Lord ; and Thy saints shall bless Thee." Why has God so made all things that they praise Him ? We are constrained to believe that He has surrounded us with myriads of preachers and exhorters, both celestial and terres- 138 THE SERVICE OP SONG-. tiial, that we, hearing their voices and following their example, might " bless Him." " Sun, moon and stars convey His praise Round the whole earth, and never stand." A glittering host — a countless multitude of unwearied songsters— they roll on, Forever singing as they shine, 'The Hand that made us is Divine.'" Turning to the globe on which we live, we hear voices innumerable, and are constrained to acknowledge that we are urged to unite in Jehovah's praise by "Earth, with her ten thousand tongues." How impressive and fascinating are many of these utterances ! " The lark mounts up the sky With unambitious song; And bears her Maker's praise on high. Upon her artless tongue." The grove is vocal with the mellifluous notes of the winged warblers. The streamlet, as it hastens onward, sings softly and sweetly of Him who bids its waters flow. The waves of old Ocean rejoice to sound " the base in Nature's anthem," and rest not day nor night. The voice of Niagara is heard afar, proclaiming the majesty and glory of God. And what shall we say of the whisperings of vernal breezes ; the sighings of zephyrs ; the wail- ings of the storm ; the roar of the tornado ; the peal from the overhanging cloud, and the awful THE SEKYICE OF SOXG. 139 detonations of the more distant thunder? Do they not call upon us in soothing strains, as well as in terrific tones, to praise God, not only for His goodness and mercy, but also for His truth and justice ? Shall we speak of sights as w^ell as sounds? The lily in the valley, the rose by the wayside, and the wild flower on the mountain crag, display their enameled leaves, gorgeously or delicately dyed, and emit their delicious fragrance in honor of Him whose praises we are called upon to cele- brate. Green meadows, blooming gardens, bend- ing orchards, leafy woods, and fields crow^ned with golden harvests, all invite us to join with glad hearts in the general song. The glory of God is displayed by the fish of the sea and the beasts of the earth ; it is mirrored in every fountain, lake, and river ; it is heralded by the falling rain, and it is written upon all the rocks ; it is reflected by every particle of dust beneath our feet, and it is ' illustrated by the glowing clouds which pavilion the rising and setting sun. Every object above, beneath, around — all the Creator's works — are forever united in one grand chorus of praise to their Divine Orii^inal. O, man I gifted with intelligence and immor- tality ; redeemed by Christ and capable of bear- ing His image, can you stand mute in the midst of this universal adoration ? O, woman ! repre- sentative of the women-singers of the olden time — 140 THE SERVICE OF SONG. earth's angel — expectant of celestial honors and joys — can you listen to the anthems which echo and re-echo through the world without mingling your voice in the grand and never-ceasing concert ? Warmed with holy fire, shall we not, as Chris- tians, rather be leaders in the song ? Shall we not, with the poet, go in advance, and call upon all men and all things to join us in our worship? " Praise ye the Lord, y' immortal choirs, That fill the worlds above : Praise Him who formed you with His fires, And feeds you with His love. ** Shine to His praise, ye crystal skies, The floor of His abode; Or veil in shade your thousand eyes Before your brighter God. ** Thou restless globe of golden light, Whose beams create our days. Join with the silver queen of night To own your borrowed rays. Winds, ye shall bear His name aloud Through the ethereal blue ; For when His chai-iot is a cloud. He makes His wheels of you. " Thunder and hail, and fire and storms, The troops of His command, Appear in all your dreadful forms. And speak His awful hand. ** Shout to the Lord, ye surging seas, In your eternal roar : Let wave to wave resound His praise, And shore reply to shore : THE SEKVICE OF SONG. 141 *' While monsters, sporting on the flood, In scaly silver shine. Speak terribly their maker. God, And lash the foaming brine. ** But gentler things shall tune His name To softer notes than these : Young zephyrs breathing o'er the stream, Or whispering through the trees. ** Wave your tall heads, ye lofty pines. To Him that bids you grow : Sweet clusters, bend the fruitful vines On every thankful bough. ** Let the shrill birds His honors raise, And climb the morning sky : WTiile grov'ling beasts attempt His praise, In hoarser harmony. ** Thus while the meaner creatures sing. Ye mortals, take the sound : Echo the glories of your King Through all the nations round. " 142 THE SERVICE OF SONG. SECTION II.— HOW SHOULD WE SING? CHAPTER I. CHOIRS. Definition of a Choir — Choirs obtained under the Jewish Dispensa- tion — Choirs not Popish in their Origin — Not necessarily of Judaizing Tendency — Paid Choirs Bearing Burdens — Of the Members of the Choir — Place for the Choir — Illustrative Nar- rative — Putting the Singers in the Gallery — Mostly Plain Tunes should be Sung — Aelredus' Description — Singing of the Col- ored People in Cities — Science in Music — The Precentor — The Effect of Discord — The Choir should Lead while all Sing — Productive of Great Good. Striving still to inculcate the great truth that all should sing, we would now call special attention to the manner in which this part of Divine worship should be conducted. It is evident that we may have the form without the power. There is often a routine of outward per- formances where there is no genuine worship. Hence, having been impressed with the fact that it is both our privilege and our duty to engage in the service of God, it is highly important that we ascertain how this service may be most acceptably rendered. In regard to devotional singing, several particulars claim our consideration. THE SERVICE OF SONG. 143 We may first ask the question : Should there be a Choir in the Church ? By a Choir we under- stand a company of singers charged with the duty of leading in the Church music. From the perti- nacity and bitterness with which choirs have been opposed by some good men, it might be supposed that they are sinful per se — always and necessarily sinful. This, however, can not be the case; for they were allowed a place in the Church under the Jewish dispensation by Divine direction : there is nothing in the arrangement at all repugnant to the teachings of the Scriptures, either of the Old or New Testament, and they are sanctioned in this day by many of the holiest and wisest ministers and members in the various branches of the Christian Church. Choirs are evidently lawful: the question is, are they expedient ? Some may contend that inasmuch as choirs were introduced into the Church in the fourth century of the Christian era, about the commencement of the dark ages, they are Popish in their nature and tendency, and should, therefore, be rejected. But this view is manifestly incorrect. Choirs existed, as we have seen, for nearly one thousand five hun- dred years before the coming of Christ. They were, doubtless, instituted by Moses in the wilder- ness at the time the tabernacle service was estab- lished — the singers, as well as the priests and the other functionaries of the Church, being chosen from the tribe of Levi. It was the abuse of the 144 THE SERVICE OF SONG. clioir institution that disgraced the Church from the fourth to the sixteenth century. Perverted from its original- design, which was to lead in the singing, the choir was made to monopolize that part of the worship. The object of this usurpa- tion was, of course, the aggrandizement of the clergy ; for, as was shown in a preceding chapter, they ultimately claimed the privilege of conduct- ing the Church music to the entire exclusion of the laity. But if choirs have not necessarily a papal savor, some may suppose that, being of Jewish origin, they are not admissible under the gospel dispen- sation. But it must be remembered that, under the Mosaic dispensation, some things, as the offer- ing of sacrifices, were designed to be typical of good things to come, and were, in the nature of the case, transient : other services enjoined by the law, as singing and prayer, being parts of Divine worship, were obviously designed to be permanent. The music of the Temple, if typical at all, was emblematical of the songs of saints and angels in heaven ; and of this symbol, we in these latter times have as much need as the people had pre- vious to the advent of the Messiah. The peculiar office of the choir must still be filled, either by one person or by several singers associated to- gether ; and, if it can be done better by a com- pany than by an individual, it is needless to say that the choir arrangement should be adopted. THE SERVICE OF SONG. 145 Although we thus speak, we are free to admit that the opposition to choirs is, in many instances, well founded. Their tendency to monopolize the singing has been too often seen in modern times, and in Protestant congregations. An erroneous view seems to be entertained by many as to the object of Church music. Xot a few seem to regard it simply as a matter of entertainment — a pleasant recreation from the more arduous portions of the service — a thing not of use but of ornament — a luxury, not a necessity. This being the case, the music must be intricate in kind and exquisite in execution; sound must predominate over sense, and the whole congregation, apart from the choir, must assume the attitude of passive listeners. The idea of worship being well nigh ignored, each one in the assembly sets himself to enjoy the oc- casion as best he can. Some are lolling at ease in their pews lost in reverie ; some are, like Napo- leon, listening to the music that it may aid them to think about other things ; some are delighted with the faultless performance of a favorite piece by the choir, while very few, if any, are spiritually engaged. The persons composing the choir are manifestly prompted solely b}" a desire to excel in their department, and they give the same indica- tions of thoughtlessness and worldliness that they would in a meeting for practice, or at the opera. Even the minister so demeans himself as to con- vince the people that he is not engaged in the act 10 146 THE SERVICE OF SOXG. of religious worship : he is adjusting liis manu- script, turning over the leaves of the Bible, or giving directions to the sexton. D uring the prayer, all are quiet and apparently devout : during the preaching, all are respectful and attentive. Why, then, this utter indifference during the singing ? Can such a sheer mockery be acceptable to God ? Would it not be better to dispense with the music altogether than to desecrate the Church with this miserable counterfeit of true worship ? Would that this idea of singing by proxy could be, at once and forever, banished from the Church. Can we pray by proxy — repent by proxy — believe by proxy — be converted by proxy — render our ac- count at the judgment seat of Christ by proxy? Can we go to heaven and sing there by proxy ? How, then, did we ever get the idea that we might sit silently in the Church while a few friends in the gallery were so kind as to do our singing for us, thus saving us the trouble? How have we managed to get our own consent to neglect a duty positively enjoined upon us by Divine authority? How can we willingly forego one of the most ex- alted privileges vouchsafed to mortals ? To show how some persons think and feel on the subject of choirs and Church singing, we give the following extract from a periodical of recent date: " There is a general idea among the Churches that the music of a paid choir costs too much ; but THE SERVICE OF SONG. 147 a congregation may as ■well pay tlieir money as a choir spend their time. A volunteer choir, with any ambition to sing creditably, assume a great burden. They assume, first, the burden of always being at Church, Avhether they may be sick or well. They assume the expenditure of a great deal of time for rehearsals. They assume a thous- and vexations. They expose themselves to the criticism of those who will not touch their burden with one of their fingers. Who blames free men and free women for refusing to become the slaves of others ? We have known those w^ho voluntarily carried the burden of the music of a Church for many years, as a Christian duty, and we give them all honor ; but we have no right to ask it of them — no more right, really, than to ask a minister to give us his time for nothing and find himself. It is very pretty for a congregation to gather together and hear good singing, and not have it cost them anything; but tlie fact is, all good singing — all singing worthy of the house of God — costs some- body something — nay, costs somebody a great deal. Why should a choir bear the whole of this cost, and the congregation none of it ? " Those who devote their lives to music are those best calculated to perform acceptably the music of the sanctuary. We should add to this class all who, by the expenditure of abundant time and money, have become excellent in this accomplish- ment. To the first of these, music is the instru- 148 THE SERVICE OF SONG. , ment by which, they win their livelihood ; to the last, it has been a costly thing, and they deserve return. It is just as reasonable, and just as legiti- mate, for a man to sing God's praise for a living, as it is to preach God's truth or lead in any other department of Christian worship for a living ; and a Church or a parish which shrinks from assuming its part of the burden of church music can only justify itself by the plea of poverty or constitu- tional meanness." In the remarks made by this writer previous to these utterances, he assumes that in this country, at the present day, good congregational singing is not to be expected, and he attributes the efforts made in that direction to a desire to make money by the sale of music books. As the extract shows, he advocates a paid choir — a choir of professional singers, who are to be exposed to criticism in their performances as one of the burdens which they are to bear. The people are to be exempted from this burden by paying their money freely — hiring others to bear it for them. Those who constitute a voluntary choir are the slaves of the congrega- tion, and the latter come together to hear good singing. Those who devote their lives to music — in the theatre, the ball-room, or the concert-hall — ^ are to sing God's praise for a living ! The Chris- tian heart sickens at the contemplation of such an ti- Scriptural, sordid, God-dishonoring views. How different the judgment of John Wesley, THE SERVICE OF SONG. 149 expressed in his Journal of April 8, 1787. He says : I preached in Bethesda, Mr. Smyth's new chapel Mr. Smyth read prayers and gave out the hymns, which were sung by fifteen or twenty-five singers ; the rest of the congrega- tion listening with much attention, and with as much devotion as they would have done to an opera. But is this Christian worship ? Or ought it ever to be suffered in a Christian Church ?" It must be evident that choirs organized and serving on the proxy principle can be nothing short of a moral nuisance — a grievous hindrance to the worship rather than a help. On the other hand, let it be distinctly under- stood that all, whether members of the choir or not, are under the most sacred obligations to sing, and that, consequently, there are to be no inactive listeners, no critics. Let the choir lead the con- gregation, on the same principle that the officers in an army lead the soldiers under their command — not to supplant them, but to add to their efficiency. Constructed upon this basis, the choir arrangement may often be greatly beneficial. Most of those who adopt this view will, doubt- less, concur in the opinion that the leader of the choir should be an exemplary member of the Church. We are not now considering what would be best in an extreme case. But, ordinarily, he who is prominent in any part of the Church ser- vice ought, by all means, himself to be a devout 150 THE SERVICE OF SOXG. and spiritual worshiper. This statement sounds too much like a self-evident proposition to admit of argument. That in selecting a chief chorister, or precentor, especial reference should be had to the heart and life as well as to the head and the voice, is a sentiment that need only be uttered to pro- duce conviction of its truth and importance. We are also of opinion that the majority of those under the immediate direction of the leader should be pious. To associate a dozen or a score of irreligious persons together to conduct the Church singing, is a procedure which merits the most emphatic disapproval of all Christians. It would not be proper to scrutinize too rigidly the spiritual condition of those who are expected to compose the choir ; but the general rule that two- thirds or three-fourths of those admitted to this responsible position must be members of the Church, could be easily enforced. Again, the proper position for the choir is not in the gallery, but on the lower floor, the trained singers constituting a visible and integral part of the congregation. The presence of the choir in the very midst of the assembly, the tune being promptly and properly ^^itched and heartily sus- tained by a full volume of voice, would be a powerful stimulus to " all the people " to unite in the worship. " Joy is heard in the modulations of verse, and in the sweet swell and cadence of music. One reason for this is that thus our joy THE SERVICE OF SONG. 151 may be social. The sliout of one warrior animates another. The song of one laborer cheers another as well as himself in their mutual toil. The song of victory in one part of the held stimulates the combatants where the battle is yet doubtful ; and the common chorus heightens the common tri- umph. In heaven all is social, all is action and reaction. There is song in heaven because there is joy there ; joy too strong to be confined to the heart. It must not only be felt, but sung; not only sung, but sung in chorus, rising till the voice is as the voice of many waters, as the voice of a great thunder." ''^ In England and in Scotland," says John Angel James, " at least among Non-conformists, the peo- ple would think themselves almost as much defrauded if they were denied the service of song in the sanctuary as they would if denied the ser- mon. What, for real sublimity and acceptable- ness to God, is the finest music performed by hired solos or the most effective choir compared with the swell of hundreds of human voices, pouring forth in one grand diapason the raptures or the sorrows of hundreds of regenerated hearts ? " The late Rev. Dr. Raffles, of Liverpool, wrote to an American editor : " How is it that your country people do not sing in the house of God ; but leave it to the choir to sing for them, and are thus con- tent to perform the most exhilarating and delight- * Rev. R. Watson. 152 THE SERVICE OF SONG. fill portion of public worship by proxy ? I confess I have often been astonished at this, and have de- plored that loss of high spiritual enjoyment which our trans- Atlantic brethren are willing by reason of such a practice to suffer." A powerful impulse must be given to the people when the choir, sitting in the midst of the assem- bly, act only as the acknowledged leaders in the service of song. This arrangement, which already obtains in some Churches, would also have a happy effect upon the choir. Occupying a remote and secluded position, the temptation to listlessness and levity is frequently yielded to, especially by the young. As an illustration of this remark the following- narrative is given : " Many years ago," says a writer in a 'New York paper, " I boarded, when very young, with a family in the South, the head of which was the organist in the Church. Not being attached to any Church or form, I sometimes attended Divine service with him, and, for con- venience, sat in the organ-loft The loft was railed in, and furnished with substantial, thick, crimson curtains, which, when drawn, were sufficient to exclude vulgar eyes from the hallowed interior. " It was customary, when the excellent ritual of devotion was gone through, and the Rector had named his text, for the singers to draw the curtains around them, and read or sleep as it suited them THE SERVICE OF SONG. 153 best. In very warm weather tliey also took care to be supplied with refreshments ; and thus the tedious half hour allotted to the sermon was pretty easily consumed without much weariness. I recol- lect that on one very warm Sabbath afternoon, the singers had loatermelons and lemonade where- with to console themselves ; and it happened that one of the gentlemen, in handing a slice to a lady singer, overset the pitcher of lemonade. This might not have been of much consequence had the floor of the organ-loft been liquor-tight. But there were many chinks in it, and the lemonade trickled through pretty freely down into the broad aisle, to the discomfiture of the Rector, and such of his congregation as were wakeful enough to notice passing events." We need hardly say that such a scene could not have occurred but for the separation and con- cealment of the choir from the congregation. " The gallery, the modern place of performance, is altogether an innovation of later times, and Popish in its origin. That corrupt idolatry of music which prevailed in Italy, induced the ad- mittance of persons into the choir who were obviously unfit to sit among the clergy, and there- fore, were placed, like mere instruments, in a loft. There is an appearance of theatrical exhibition in this obtrusive elevation of the singers, frequently attracting the gaze of the congregation (perhaps I should say of the audience) below ; who turn 154 THE SERVICE OF SONG. tlieir backs upon minister, altar, and everything sacred, absorbed by that which a savage would actually suppose to be the idol of worship The modern practice cuts off the clergyman from the singers, and gives to the latter an improper elevation." ^' We may further suggest that the tunes sung by the choir should be mostly plain, familiar pieces. The people generally, especially in this country, have but little musical culture, and, hence, they can not be expected to unite in singing new and difficult tunes. A pencliant for new tunes has been the bane of choirs. The indulgence of this fondness for novelty and display generally pre- vents the residue of the congregation from uniting in the service. The supposition that the lighter modern compositions are superior to the old Church tunes which have been in use for ages, is utterly erroneous. Old Hundretli^ and other pieces of like character, will continue to waft the souls of the multitude upward, as on eagles' wings, till time shall be no longer. But we would not impede the march of mind; we would not be forgetful of the excellencies of modern musical productions. New tunes should be introduced occasionally, and they should be sung so frequently that all may learn them per- fectly. * Rev. J. Jebb. THE SERVICK OF SOXG. 155 We want plain singing as well as plain tunes. Those who conduct the Church music should be free from even the semblance of affectation. Any unnataralness of manner, whether exhibited in the movements of the body, the expression of the countenance, or the tones of the voice, is altogether intolerable. On this subject hear Aelredus, Ab- bot of Rivaulx, in Yorkshire, England, w^ho died A. D. 1166: " To what purpose serves that contraction and inflection of the voyce ? This man sings a base, this a small meane, another a treble, a fourth di- vides and cuts asunder, as it were, certaine middle notes. One while the voyce is strained, anon it is remitted, now againe it is dashed, and then againe it is enlarged with a lowder sound. Sometimes, which is a shame to speake, it is enforced into an horse's neighings : sometimes, the masculine vigor being laid aside, it is sharpened into the shrill- nesse of a woman's voyce ; now and then it is w^rithed, and retorted with a certaine artificial cir- cumvolution. Sometimes thou mayest see a man with an open mouth, not to sing, but, as it were, to breathe out his last gaspe, by shutting in his breath, and by a certaine ridiculous interception of his voyce, as it were to threaten silence, and now againe to imitate the agonies of a dying man, or the extasies of such as suffer. " In the meantime, the w^hole body is stirred up and downe with certaine histrionical gestures : the 156 THE SERVICE OF SONG. lips are wreathed, the eyes turne round, the shoul- ders play, and the bending of the fingers doth an- swer every note. And this ridiculous dissolution is called religion ; and where these things are most frequently done, it is proclaimed abroad that God is there honorably served. In the meantime, the common people looke upon the gesticulations of the singers, the meretricious alternations, inter- changes, and inflections of the voyces, not without derision and laughter ; so that a man may thinke that they came, not to an oratory or to a house of prayer, but to a theatre ; not to pray, but to gaze about them ; neither is that dreadful Majesty feared before whom they stand. Thus, this Church singing, which the holy fathers have or- dained that the weake might be stirred up to piety, is perverted to the use of unlawful pleasure, i.