To be near unto God - pagina 339

lands people are endowed with finer voices than in colder regions. In the same country the difference is wide between the discordant sounds of the street and the rythmic, cultivated voice of the But with whatever difference, in artist singer. disposition the human voice is a joyful noise of heavenly origin; and it shall only be heard in all its purity, and wealth of expression in the realm of glory before the throne of God. By itself, however, the human voice leaves a gap for which God supplied an equally wonderA piece of ful complement in the instrument. a tightly-stretched hide, a horn from an animal's head, even a reed cut by the riverside are seemingly insignificant, and yet wonderful means in their effect ordained of God to support the human voice, to unite them in chorus and to bring the human heart to co-operate and to harmonize with the world of sounds that surrounds us. brass,

But even this is not free from sin. The art of music is mainly employed for the sake of man and not for God. It seeks no higher calling than to please the ear, to move the heart with untrue emotions, and to feast upon a wealth of enjoyment that is devoid of higher tendencies. This sin was less evident with the Masters than with a godless public, that uses purely for its own pleasure the master creations which, composed for This the glory of God, inspire holy motives. accounts for the distaste among devout believers for secularized music. And this is fair. Even music is not innocent. Vitiated music is a power that degrades. It counts its victims by hecatombs. But it is not fair that on account of its abuse, vocal and instrumental music should be 881

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