Sing Praises!

How joyfully does David cry, “Sing praises to Grod, sing praises; sing praises unto our King, sing praises; for God is the King of all the earth, sing ye praises with understanding.” Be exhorted, beloved brethren in Christ, during this season of gracious revival, to employ God’s appointed method of psalmody, for setting forth the glory of his name, power and love. It may be a question whether, in the reception of such gifts, our silence has not been guilty.

I. Sing Peaises. Praise does not add to God’s glory, but it glorifies him. “He that offereth praise, glorifieth me,” saith the Lord of Hosts. To show forth the honor of his majesty and his love in Jesus Christ, is the chief burden of Christian song.

n. Sing to God and Cheist. The two are not separate. Behold God in Christ; praise God tlirougli Christ. The soul looks out in this particular direction in praise. It is God and not man, who is generally addressed. PJinj writes to Trajan, that early Christians used to “to sing hymns to Christ, as God.”

in. Sing of Grace and Glory. You have noble themes, and enough to carry you up in song. The Church in all ages has had the same, and has celebrated them; but every new display of condescending love, and every new effusion of the Spirit, shoTild lift and gather more sublime praises. If you have been converted, if your friends have been converted, then sing of grace and power.

lY. Sing in the great Congregation. The swell of a thousand voices is magnificent; and where they utter the high praises of God with the heart and soul, it is “the beauty of holiness.” Even short of this, it is delightful, elevating, and edifying, to join with many voices. Let not yours be silent. The great meetings for prayer and praise, during this revival, are tending to restore to the churches the joint and mighty praises of congregational psalmody. “Let every thing that hath breath praise the L)rd I”

V. Sing in the Meeting of BRErHREN. Whether the gathering be small or great, “sing ye praises.” Why not have meetings for praise, as well as meetings for prayer f The Hebrew Church sang; the Temple worshippers sang, the Lord Jesus sangy

YI. Sing in the Social Group. Young Christians should begin to learn this method of helping one another and honoring Christ. In the days of our ignorance how often have we prostituted our voices to worldly songs; and have we no praises at the fireside for our Redeemer? Henry Martyn was noted for this way of doing good. “He had an uncommonly fine voice, and fine ear;” says Mrs. Sherwood, who knew him in India; “he could sing many fine chants, and a vast variety of hymns and psalms. He would insist upon it that I should sing with him, and he taught me many tunes, all of which were afterwards brought into requisition; and, when fatigued himself, would make me sit by his couch and practise these hymns.” If any think of EiCHARD Baxter as stem, let them read these words of his:” It was not the least

1 Matt. 26: 30.

comfort that I had in the converse of m j late dear wife, that our first exercise in the morning, and the last in bed at night, was a psalm of praise, till the hearing of others interrupted it. Let those who savor not melody leave others to their different appetites, and be content to be so far strangers to their delights.”

yn. SixG IN Family Worship. Take time for it. Eob yourself of ten- minutes* slumber, or of ten morsels of food, but rob not God of his praise. The family is the school of praise, as well as of prayer and doctrine.

YIII. Sing in Private Devotion. Why not? The voice comes back with effect upon the heart. Solitude has witnessed your utterance of love-songs, comic-songs, idle, foolish songs; why should you not sing forth your love to Jesus? The whole book of Psalms may be profitably chanted in the closet, even by one who boasts no musical culture.

IX. Sing when the Soul is joyful. Psalmody is the appointed channel for the outlet and utterance of joy. “Is any merry,” says the Apostle James, “let him sing psalms.” When young converts meet together, they are sometimes liable to fall into light and unprofitable talk; nothing is better suited to prevent this, and otherwise edify their souls, than to unite in spiritual and fervent hymns.

X. Sing amidst the Revival of Keli-GION. “There is a time to mOurn and a time to dance,” that is, to rejoice in God. When should the children of the bridechamber rejoice, if not when the’ Bridegroom is with them? Now it is, that we go “to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with the multitude that keep holy day.” It is the joy of harvest. There is joy in heaven, over repentant sinners; let there be joy on earth; and let it have its rightful expression in high praises. The lofty anthem of united hearts and humbly exultant churches should now glorify our redeeming God, with the swell of harmony.

XI. Sing with Intelligence of the Truth. “God is the King; sing ye praises with understanding,” cries David; which Paul re-echoes thus: “I will sing with the Spirit, I will sing with the understanding also.” Psalmody includes instruction. To reject all hymns which are didactic, were to reject some of the noblest inspired hymns. Thirteen psalms have for their title Maschil, that is, “didactic.” The Divine Word flows from mind to mind in fraternal instruction by means of psalmody. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and ad-Tnonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”^

XTT. Sing with all the Heart. Empty indeed are all songs and praises which do not carry up the affections. The words which holy hymns suggest to iis do often, by the influences of the Holy Spirit, produce or awaken the very graces which they express. But this is more especially done by the influence of melody and harmony, and the electric current to and from numerous worshippers. Yet only the adorable Spirit of God can preserve us from taking mere natural elation for that “joy of the Lord” which is our “strength!”^

Xin. Sing in the Church below, so that you may sing in the Church above. When we think of heaven, it is with the idea of perfect adoration, love, and praise. This glorious outgoing of soul expresses itself best in song. There, in the world of perfection,” they sing the song of Moses, the servant of

i Col. 3: 16. 2Xeh. 8: 10.

God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works. Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.” The ascriptions of rapt souls, throughout the Apocalypse, take the form of musical utterance. Those vocal acclamations of palm-bearing and harp-bearing saints must be regarded as psalms, songs, hymns, or anthems. Thus must we judge of the Four, and the Four-and-twenty.^ They smg a “new song,” saying, “Thou art worthy,” “for thou wast slain!” The subsequent voice of the’ “ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,” is the voice of song. The angels, and elders, and four living ones, who fall before the throne on their faces, and worship God, can not but utter the voice of celestial psalmody when they say: “Amen, Blessing and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto God forever and ever. Amen.”

The nearest approach which we can make on earth to the joy of worship in heaven, is when we unite in hymning God and the Lamb. Oh! let us seek to engage in this service with heart and soul, as feeling that our powers

1 T.ev. 4: S-12; 5:8.

nave no more honorable and exalted use, than when we devote them to the praise of the Almighty Redeemer. This, we believe, is sometimes felt in a humble measure, during those delightful melting seasons, when at sacraments, or the concourse of thousands to hear the Word, or, as has recently been the case, in prayer-meetings of unexampled size, the hearts of believers experience the mysterious ardors of love, and rise in joy, swelling with high praises, for the gift of Jesus, and the conversion of multitudes of souls. May God grant us nearer and nearer likeness in our worship to the song of the redeemed I

Kev. 5: 6.

Behold the glories of the Lamb,
Amidst his Father’s throne,

Prepare new honors for his name,
And songs before imknown.

Let elders worship at his feet,

The Church adore around,
“With vials full of odors sweet.

And harps of sweeter sound.

Those are the prayers of all the saints. And these the hymns they raise;

Jesus is kind to our complaints,
He loves to hear our praise.

Eternal Father, who shall look

Into thy secret will? Who but the Son shall take that book,

And open every seal?

He shall fulfil thy great decrees;

The Son deserves it well:
Lo 1 in his hand the sovereign keys

Of heaven, and death, and hell!

Now to the Lamb that once was slain,

Be endless blessings paid:
Salvation, glory, joy, remain

Forever on thy head.

Thou hast redeemed our souls with blood, Hadt set the prisoners free,

Hast made us kings and priests to God, And we shall reign with thee 1

The works of nature and of grace
Are put beneath thy power,

Then shorten these delaymg days,
And bring the promised hour.