The Child's Book of THE SONGS OF THE WE have read the wonderful story of David. WE WORLD Now we are to listen to some of his music-the music that has come down with man on the river of Time ever since David first sang these songs; the music that will flow on till the river of Time empties itself into the great ocean of Eternity. It is itself eternity. One of the greatest writers of all time, Thomas Carlyle, wrote these words, which we do well to remember here: "David's life and history, as written in those Psalms of his, I consider to be the truest emblem ever given of a man's moral progress and warfare here below. All earnest souls will discern in it the faithful struggle of an earnest human soul towards what is good and best. Struggle often baffled, sore baffled, down as into entire wreck ; yet a struggle never ended; ever with tears, repentances, time-unconquerable purpose, begun anew." PSALMS OF KING DAVID THE the story that CONTINUED FROM 1484 David had a harp All Now, before we listen to these exquisite and immortal words, think for a moment what such fame means. Why have all the ages sung these Psalms, and why have all the generations loved them? It is because David said in beautiful language what we all feel. The least of us, reading these Psalms, feels as if the hand of God were sweeping his own heart. They are so intimate, so real, so true to the secret thoughts of our own hearts. No man, not even Shakespeare, has written so truthfully of the human heart's yearning after the power and the glory and the love of God. It is the sublime fame of David that he put into words the deepest feelings of the human heart. He is the singer of humanity. He gave to the heart of the saddest sinner, and to the lips of the most unlettered beggar, language in which they may address the Creator of the world. When you grow a little older, you must buy and keep on the lower shelf in your library a book entitled The Psalms in Human Life," written by Mr. Rowland Protheroe. From this affectionate and gentle book you will learn in how marvellous a manner the songs of this shepherd boy, who became a king, have entered into the history of the whole world, and into the lives of humanity's greatest eroes. Mr. Protheroe calls the Psalms "the breviary and the viaticum of humanity"; that is to say, they are the heart's prayerbook, and the soul's provision for the great march on which we all are setthe march from birth to death. There is scarcely an event in history which has not been in some way touched by the Psalms; and when you have read Mr. Protheroe's book, you will find that in reading the Psalms you are reminded at almost every verse of some great hero or some important occurrence. In every country, he tells us, the language of the Psalms has become part of the daily life of nations, passing into their proverbs, mingling with their conversation. All of us, kings and beggars, have been touched by the songs of David. "With a Psalm," says Mr. Protheroe, we are baptised, and married, and buried; with a Psalm we begin, and realise to the full, and end our earthly existence." Is it not a wonderful thing that words uttered by the Shepherd King of Israel, thousands of years ago, should now be said over every child who is baptised, every man and woman who is married, and over every mortal body committed to the quiet of the grave? Christ died with the words of a Psalm upon His lips: "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" THE 'HE FOUNDATIONS OF The United STATES WERE LAID TO THE MUSIC OF DAVID "With the Psalms upon their tongues," says Mr. Protheroe, " myriads have died; now in quiet sick-rooms, surrounded by all who loved them best in life; now alone, and far from home and kindred; now hemmed in by fierce enemies howling for their blood. Thus in the Psalms there are pages which are stained with the life-blood of martyrs and wet with the tears of saints; others which are illuminated by the victories of weak humanity over suffering and fear and temptation; others which glow with the brightness of heroic constancy and almost superhuman courage.' The verse Save me from the lion's mouth for Thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns," is the inspiration of our nation's royal arms, the lion and the unicorn. Our national anthem of "God Save the King" is built upon the Psalms; and our kings are all crowned with ceremonies taken from the Psalms. . In one of his greatest speeches to Parliament, Cromwell spoke of Psalm 46, and said: "If Pope, and Spaniard, and devil, and all, set themselves against us-yet, in the name of the Lord, we shall destroy them. The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge." The body of John Hampden was borne to its grave by his troopers, who chanted the 90th Psalm. "To the singing of the Psalms the sails of the Mayflower' were set to catch the winds that wafted the Pilgrim Fathers to the white sandbanks of Cape Cod; to their music were laid the foundations of the United States of America." HOW DAVID'S SONG GAVE HOPE TO A STRICKEN CITY John Locke, the great philosopher, died while his friend, Lady Masham, was reading aloud to him, at his request, the Psalms of the day. Humboldt, the great man of science, declared that the 104th Psalm presents a picture of the entire Universe: We are astonished to see, within the compass of a poem of such small dimension, the universe, the heavens, and the earth, thus drawn with a few grand strokes." Livingstone parted from his family. after reading the 121st and 135th Psalms. When Stanley discovered him, "a living skeleton," the great traveller wrote in his diary: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy name. Amen." In 1842 grave news was brought to a British garrison in India, which looked as if destruction was about to fall upon it. On the next Sunday all the people and soldiers assembled in one of the squares for Divine worship. "There was no chaplain, but the Church service was read to the officers and men by a grey-haired captain, of slight, well-knit figure, whose clean, strong voice made every word audible. Instead of the Psalms appointed for the day, he chose the 46th Psalm, 'God is our refuge and strength,' which, as he said, Luther was wont to use in seasons of peculiar difficulty and depression." That grey-haired captain was Havelock, a name which to this day is like magic in India. He became the hero of the Mutiny, the darling of his nation. THE COMFORT OF THE PSALMS TO MEN IN ALL TIMES AND PLACES Whether we look among the histories of statesmen, soldiers, sailors, poets, men of science and preachers, or study the wide pages of the great movement of the nations of the earth from servitude and superstition to freedom and truth, we find at every turn some reference to the eternal Psalms of David. "To weary travellers of every condition and at every period of history, the Psalms have been rivers of refreshment and wells of consolation; they alone have known no limitations to a particular age, country, or form of faith." It would take the whole of our book to tell of every epoch and every heroic life consecrated by the Psalms of David. Read them with the remembrance that great men and noble women have found their consolation and strength in these words, and that the music of David is interwoven with the history of the human race, as closely as the threads that tell the story of a tapestry. A SELECTION FROM THE FROM THE PSALMS OF DAVID The master-note of the Psalms is Happiness. To obtain happiness we must think. Praise of God is not given by merely singing and praying, but chiefly by thought. We should think about God, and get into the habit of thinking constantly about His power, His eternity, His delight in beautiful things, His kindness and His love. Sit quite still, and with closed eyes think that this wonderful world, with its rolling waters, its high mountains, its green pastures, and its pageant of scented flowers, is the work of One who existed before the earth was made, and will exist when you are laid in the grave. David was the great thinker. He thought about God, and God became real to him. If you do not think of God often and quietly and for a long space at a time you will never know the chief happiness of existence, which is the certainty that the great Creator cares for you and has prepared for you everlasting pleasures. David's message to the world is: Think about God. We give here a selection from his Psalms. PSALM 24. PSALM 1. In this song David teaches the great lesson that only those people who think of God in all things can be happy; and that sooner or later people who live as if there were no God will find out their dreadful mistake. The good man is wise; the godless man is foolish. BLESSED is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 4. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. 5. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous but the way of the ungodly shall perish. PSALM 23. David was a lover of Nature. He knew the green earth thereof; THE earth is the Lord's, and the fulness 3. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? 4. He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. 5. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. 7. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. The Lord 8. Who is this King of glory? strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. 9. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the This is the perfect song of faith. We are all like sheep, and King of glory shall come in. watching over us is a Shepherd, who knows our wants and will protect our weakness from the wolves. David had thought so much of God's kindness and the beauty of God's world, that he felt certain God was leading him to even greater joy and peace. "I shall not want." Every man who loves the earth, and feels the beauty of God's work, knows that he will never want. THE Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me ; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. 10. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. PSALM 27. Here again is a noble utterance from a soul safe under God's overshadowing wings. David felt the nearness of God because he felt the beauty of the earth and the power of the universe. He was sure of God. In that faith he felt that nothing could hurt him. His last word is "wait." If not in this world, then in the next, God will make all things plain. THE Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 2. When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. 3. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear though war should rise against me, in this will I be con fident. 4. One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. 5. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. 6. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord. 7. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. 8. When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. 9. Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. 10. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. 11. Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. 12. Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. 13. I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 14. Wait on the Lord be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. PSALM 34. How can Here is noble music: "O taste and see that the Lord is gracious." People do not think about God, or they would know that there is no happiness like that which comes from realising the eternity and the power of the great, kind, gentle God. He is a fool who does not fear God, mortal man, who must die, do anything but feel reverence for a Being who is eternal and almighty? To fear God is to trust Him; to trust Him is to be unafraid of death. WILL bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. 3. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. I 4. I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5. They looked unto him, and were lightened and their faces were not ashamed. 6. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. 7. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. 8. O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. 9. O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. 10. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. 11. Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 12. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? 13. Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. 14. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. 15. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. 16. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17. The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth and delivereth them out of all their troubles. 18. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. 19. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. 20. He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. 21. Evil shall slay the wicked and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate 22. The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate. 2. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. 3. Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. 4. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the most High. 5. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. 6. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved he uttered his voice, the earth melted. 7. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. 8. Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. 9. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. 10. Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. 11. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. PSALM 90. This mighty Psalm brings home to every sensible and thoughtful person the shortness of man's life, and the eternity and power of High God. Generations pass away like waves moving to the shore. God remaineth. If anyone will but "number his days"--that is to say, if he will think how every day of his life he is but hurrying towards the mystery of death, surely he will bow himself before a Power which exists for ever and ever and is omnipotent. Compare the grandest buildings of London with a single weed in the garden. Then think of the pageant of the stars, the march of the worlds in space. Let the beauty of God be upon you. LORD, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. |