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THE BASS STRING.

Written for the Otago Daily Times. By the Bev. D. Gardner Miller. Said Great-heart: ‘'There are two sorts of reasons for it. One is, the wise God will have it so; some must pipe, and some must weep. Now, M. Feuring was one that played unon this bass. He and his fellows sound the sackbut. whose notes are more doleful than the otes of other musi are; though, indeed, some say, the bass is the ground of music. And for my part, I care not at all for that profession that begins uot in heaviness of mind. The first string that the musician usually .touches is the bass, when he in- I tends to put all in tune. God also plays ; upon this string first, when He sets the soul in tune for Himself. Only here was the imperfection 'T M. Feuring; he could play upon no other music but this till towards his latter end.” M. Feuring has a arge progeny. They are always twanging the bass string. They believe in a one-strmgcd instrument. One does not question their right to grind out doleful music, tlough one wishes they were far enough away at times. Isn’t it curious that religion sometimes turns otherwise cheery pagans into | DOLEFUL CHRISTIANS? i To hear them you would think that to smile, or cracK a joke, or otherwise exhibit a healthy levity, you were booking a passage (single ticket) to Gehenna. The world to them is not the garment of a fatherly God; it is the Devil’s gridiron—- “ Thou shalt not” is both the preface and , epilogue of their faith. | I read this morning in a London paper of an American revivalist who, with I great unctiousness, said that smokers ■ could never hope to get to Heaven. The j retort of the newspaper, that at anyrate the smokers would not need to bother about matches, was well deserved. Why is it that good men exhibit religion in terms of negations! What possible joy can they get out of life in this continual strumming on the bass string? Innocent amusement, modern views on the Bible, the refusal to be constantly thinkingon the end of life, all come under the ban of a certain type of Christian. The Christian Church won’t tumble in ruins, nor will Christianity become extinct, because people won't dance (no, that’s wrong; I should have said "icspond”) to their doleful music. The drift in the religious life won’t be retarded or prevented by presenting the service of Christ as merely an escape from Hell. The worldly person does not read the Bible but he reads, and sometimes with deadly accuracy, the life stories of professing Christians as revealed in their actions and attitudes. No, religion is a many-stringed instrument, and if I have read my Now Testament aright, often all the strings are vibrating at one and the same time, producing music that must make glad the heart of God. Jesus was no melancholy person. He took a living interest, not only in grown-up men and women, but also in little children, flowers, games, social events, occupations, etc. True, He often spoke of, and dealt with, the darker things in life and made no mistake in revealing the destiny that awaited men who sinned against “light, ’’ but to over-emphasiso this aspect of Christ’s work is to throw His whole teaching out of perspective. The striking thing in the New Testament is THE JOY OF JESUS.

He had a rich fund of humour and enjoyed a battle of words with His opponents. Many a time He must have • greatly delighted the crowd when He “took off’ tho portentious Pharisees in gn inimitable pun or made them look ridiculous with a mastcrly stroke of irony. More than that, Jesus was convinced that God had a happy heart. To Jesus God was not a strict disclplin arian, but a Father Who knew how to rejoice with His children. Read again the account in the fifteenth chapter o) Luke. There you have a picture of God. Music and merriment, gladness and joy abound in His presence. TTu. angels in Heaven sing—you never read of them weeping. The laughter of the saints is as dear to God as the tears of the penitents. What says that old hymn, “Rescue the Perishing, which jou seldom hear-more;s the pity—» n regular church service? Chords that are brookn chall vibrate once more. It means that the rescued sinner, because he is rescued, finds that music has come bach into his life.

For perfect strains may float Neath Master hands, from instrument* defaced. A baptifm of joy is what the doleful Christian needs. Assurance of Heaven is not incompatible with abounding happiness ° n and ye shall receive, that your joymay be full." said Jesus and H.s own words are an epitome of Hia own l te. After all. God is reponsible for the vo d. and wo can help Him make it worth ing in by recognising that there are other strings on life’s instrument than tho bass.

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Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT19261113.2.164

Bibliographic details

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19946, 13 November 1926, Page 23

Word Count
841

THE BASS STRING. Otago Daily Times, Issue 19946, 13 November 1926, Page 23

THE BASS STRING. Otago Daily Times, Issue 19946, 13 November 1926, Page 23