T.T. Shields - Christ the Musician

God is the incomparable theme of His melody, and He leads the great choir of human and angelic voices: He plays the organ of many manuals and unnumbered combinations; the "great organ" with notes of trees and flowers, of birds and brooks, of mountain and plain, of land and sea, and its matchless human diapason; and the "swell organ" of suns and systems of brilliant stars and circling planets; the "choir organ" of all the constellations; the "echo organ" of invisible worlds; He plays the deep-toned "pedal organ" of dark clouds, and reverberating thunder, and rolling billows, "when He maketh the clouds His chariot, and walketh upon the wings of the wind," when "his way is in the sea and His path is in the great waters, and His footsteps are not known"; this organ of numberless combinations, this choir of innumerable voices, the Master plays and leads in rendering in faultless harmony His oratorio of praise. But all the leading parts are rendered by human voices, each proclaiming some glorious but distinct attribute of Deity; and while singing different parts, each contributes to the sweetly flowing harmony of the universal chorus of praise to God.

There is one, a leading soprano, who was called to the choir in the house of Simon the Pharisee, and was known as "a woman who was a sinner in the city," it is her joy to sing in praise of divine mercy. She sings of other glories, which her enlightened understanding has apprehended, in concert with all the redeemed, but she is at her best when the praise of mercy is on her tongue. I hear her voice ring out in clear and bell-like tones in perfect consonance with the Master's accompaniment:

"The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger and plenteous in mercy.
He will not always chide;
Neither will He keep His anger forever.
He has not dealt with us after our sins;
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as the heaven"

(and the vaults of heaven ring as she sings it):

"For as the heaven is high about the earth, So great is His mercy toward then that fear Him."

(and the voice rings out until it girdles the world with its melody):

"As far as the east is from the west,
So far hath He removed our transgressions from us."

And here a soulful tenor, it is the voice of one known as "Saul of Tarsus," the persecutor of the Church, takes up the song:

"This, is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,
Of whom I am chief."

And again the voice of a Magdalene soars aloft in praise of grace divine:

"But God who is rich in mercy,
For His great love wherewith He loved us,
Even when we were dead in sins,
Hath quickened us together with Christ,
(By grace ye are saved,)
And hath raised us up together,
And made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus;

That in the ages to come
He might show the exceeding riches of His grace
In His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
For by grace are ye saved through faith;
And that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God;
Not of works, lest any man should boast."

And when the "great organ" has sounded forth a few harmonious strains of interlude, in expression of the wealth of their inheritance, who are children of God, to whom belongs the earth and the fullness thereof; another (he was wont to lean of the Master's breast) bursts forth in praise of love:

"Behold what manner of love the Father
Hath bestowed upon us,
That we should be called the sons of God."

"Behold, now are we the sons of God,
And it doth not yet appear what we shall be;
But we know that, when He shall appear,
We shall be like Him;
For we shall see Him as He is."

And, while still far voices sing of everlasting love, the Master's finger sweep the keys, and the full organ peals forth, accompanying the voices of a multitude, which no man can number, who sing in praise of justice divine:

"For there is no difference: for all have sinned,
And come short of the glory of God;
Being justified freely by His grace
Through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood,
To declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past,
Through the forbearance of God;
To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness:
That He might be just and the justifier
Of him who believeth in Jesus."

But there is a holy jealousy among the members of the choir, for each thinks he or she is best qualified to sing His praise who is "mighty to save" David sing of power:

"God hath spoken once;
Twice have I heard this;
That power belongeth unto God.
Also unto Thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy."
"I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined unto me and heard my cry.
He brought me up also out of an horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay;
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my goings.
And He hath put a new song in my mouth,
Even praise unto our God:
Many shall see it and fear.
And shall trust in the Lord."

And still the tide of song rolls on is praise of the Redeemer's faithfulness:

With my mouth will I make known Thy faithfulness
To all generations."
"And the heavens shall praise Thy wonder, O Lord;
Thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints."
"O Lord God of hosts,
Who is a strong Lord like unto Thee?
Or to Thy faithfulness round about Thee?

And then shall all the works of His hands articulate His praise, and as the Master's fingers touch the keys, inspired by His presence, and ever taught anew by a view of the prints of the nails, the thorns, and spear, like the noise of many water, the voices of the redeemed shall swell and flood the throne of God with harmony in praise of the Creator's holiness, singing:

"Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was and is,
And is to come.
Thou are worthy, O lord, to receive glory and honour, and power.
For Thou hast created all things, and for
Thy pleasure they were and are created."

Thus, through sanctified human lives and lips, in consonance with the worlds where God's will is done as it is in heaven, the Master will fulfill the promise of the text: "I will sing praise unto thee."