The Minstrel

Delivered on Lord's-Day Morning, August 7th, 1881, by

C. H. SPURGEON,

At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington

The text is a somewhat singular one, but I hope it will suggest a
profitable idea.

But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel
played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.''2 Kings 3:15.

ELISHA needed that the Holy Spirit should come upon him to inspire him
with prophetic utterances. Holy men of God spake as they were moved by
the Holy Ghost.' We need that the hand of the Lord should be laid upon
us, for we can never open our mouths in wisdom except we are under the
divine touch. Now, the Spirit of God works according to his own will.
The wind bloweth where it listeth,' and the Spirit of God operates as
he chooseth. Elisha could not prophesy just when he liked; he must wait
until the Spirit of God came upon him, and the Spirit of God could come
or not even as he pleased. Elisha had noticed that the Spirit of God
acted upon him most freely when his mind was restful and subdued. He
found himself best prepared for the heavenly voice when the noise
within his soul was hushed, and every disturbing emotion was quieted.
Having ascertained this fact by observation he acted upon it. He could
not create the wind of the Spirit, but he could set his sail to receive
it, and he did so.

At the particular time alluded to in the text Elisha had been greatly
irritated by the sight of Jehoram, the king of Israel, the son of Ahab
and Jezebel. In the true spirit of his old master, Elijah, the prophet
let Jehoram know what he thought of him; and having delivered his soul,
he very naturally felt agitated and distressed, and unfit to be the
mouthpiece for the Spirit of God. He knew that the hand of the Lord
would not rest upon him while he was in that state, and therefore he
said, Bring me a minstrel.' The original Hebrew conveys the idea of a
man accustomed to play upon the harp. Listening to the dulcet tones
which were produced by a skilful harper, who very likely sang one of
David's psalms to the music, the prophet waited awhile, and then the
hand of the Lord came upon him. Under the influence of minstrelsy his
mind grew quiet, his agitation subsided, his thoughts were collected,
and the Spirit of God spake through him. It was a most commendable
thing for him to use the means which he had found at other times
helpful, though still his sole reliance was upon the hand of the Lord.
It would seem from a passage in the First Book of Samuel that Elisha
was not the only prophet who had found music helpful, for we read, Thou
shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a
psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they
shall prophesy.' Elisha, like his predecessors, only used a natural
means for putting himself into readiness for receiving supernatural
help.

Let us see if we can bring forth the practical lesson which this
incident may teach us.

I. First: here is a lesson to those who wish to serve God, and to speak
in his name. LET US STRIVE TO BE IN A FIT STATE FOR THE LORD'S WORK. If
we know of anything that will put our mind into such a condition that
the Spirit of God is likely to work upon us and speak through us, let
us make use of it. Elisha cried, Bring me a minstrel'; let us also
say''bring me that which will be helpful to me.' The harper could be of
no service to Elisha for bringing him inspiration; but by putting him
into a calm, equable state of mind he prepared him for the heavenly
communication, and removed from his soul that which would have hindered
the divine working.

It is very evident that we, too, like the prophet, have our hindrances.
We are at times unfit for the Master's use. Our minds are disarranged,
the machinery is out of order, the sail is furled, the pipe is blocked
up, the whole soul is out of gear. The hindrance in Elisha's case came
from his surroundings. He was in a camp; a camp where three nations
mixed their discordant voices; a noisy, ill-disciplined camp, and a
camp ready to perish for thirst. There was no water, and the
men-at-arms were perishing; the confusion and clamour must have been
great. Prophetic thought could scarcely command itself amid the uproar,
the discontent, the threatening from thousands of thirsty men. Three
kings had waited on the prophet; but this would not have disconcerted
him had not one of them been Jehoram, the son of Ahab, and Jezebel.
What memories were awakened in the mind of Elijah's servant by the
sight of the man in whom the proud dame of Sidon and her base-minded
consort lived again. Naboth's vine-yard must have come to his mind, and
the stern threat of Elijah''The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of
Jezreel.' For there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to
work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred
up.'

Elisha acted rightly, and bravely. When he saw Jehoram coming, to him
for help, he challenged him thus''What have I to do with thee? Get thee
to the Prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother.' When
the king, humbly and with bated breath confessed that he saw the hand
of Jehovah in bringing the three kings together, the prophet scarcely
moderated his tone, but exclaimed, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before
whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of
Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see
thee.' It was fit that he should be in that temper; the occasion
demanded it. Still it was not a fit preface to the inward whisper of
the Spirit of God, and the prophet did not feel ready for his work: the
circumstances were not soothing or elevating, and so he said, Bring me
a minstrel.' Do you not occasionally find yourself in an unhappy
position? You have to preach, or to teach a class in school, or to
carry an edifying word to a sick person; but everything distracts you.
What with noise, or domestic trouble, or sinful neighbors, or the
railing words of some wicked man, you cannot get into a fit frame of
mind. You have had a duty to do which has caused you much pain and
disquietude, and you cannot get over it, for everything conspires to
worry you. Little things grieve great minds. The very sight of some
individuals will throw a preacher off the rails. I know that the height
of the pulpit, the thinness of the audience, the sleepiness of a
hearer, or the heaviness of the atmosphere, may put the preacher's
heart out of tune, and incapacitate him for the blessing. Yes, we have
our hindrances even as Elisha had.

Elisha's hindrances lay mainly in his inward feelings: he could not
feel the hand of the Lord upon him until the inner warfare had been
pacified. He burned with-indignation at the sight of the son of
Jezebel, and flashed words of flame into his face, and, as I have
already said, he was justified in so doing; but still the excitement
marred the holy peace in which he usually lived, and he did not feel in
a right condition to speak in the name of the Lord. Anger, even if it
be of the purest kind, is a great disturber of the heart; it ruffles
all our garments, and makes us unfit to minister before the Lord. I
know of nothing that is more likely to put a man out of order for the
communications of the Spirit of God than indignation. Even though we
may be able to say, I do well to be angry,' yet it is a very trying
emotion. The unruffled lake reflects the skies, but if it be tossed
with tempest even the purest water becomes a broken mirror; even thus
in the quiet of the soul the thoughts of God's Spirit are reflected,
while in the rush of indignation they are broken and confused.

Doubtless, also, the prophet's spirits were depressed. He saw before
him the king of Edom, an idolater; the king of Israel, a votary of the
calves of Jeroboam; and Jehoshaphat, the man of God, in confederacy
with them. This last must have pained him as much as anything. What
hope was there for the cause of truth and holiness when even a godly
prince was in alliance with Jezebel's son? This burdened the heart of
the man of God. Everything was wrong, and going worse and worse. The
warnings of Elijah and his own teachings seemed to go for nothing; the
honour of God was forgotten, and the cause of evil triumphed.

Moreover, the servant of God must have been the subject of a fierce
internal conflict between two sets of thoughts. Indignation and pity
strove within his heart. His justice and his piety made him feel that
he could have nothing to do with two idolatrous kings; but pity and
humanity made him wish to deliver the army from perishing by thirst.
Like a patriot, he sympathised with his people; but, like a prophet, he
was jealous for his God. The men of Judah and Israel, whatever they
might be in character, were the Lord's people by covenant; he could not
let them die: yet they had broken that covenant, and how could he help
them? The prophet was perplexed, and his heart grew heavy. How can we
do the Lord's work when we are cast down in spirit? The joy of the Lord
is our strength, and when we lose it our hands are feeble. When the
heart is torn with inner conflict how can we speak words of comfort to
those who are weary? We have need to escape from this inward strife
before we can become sons of consolation to others. While rent with
conflicting feeling, there was no rest in the prophet's spirit; and the
hand of the Lord did not come upon him. Most wisely he did not attempt
to speak in the name of the Lord, but sought for a means by which his
excitement could be allayed. In the face of many hindrances we shall be
wise if we imitate him. When we feel ourselves cumbered with much
serving we shall act discreetly if we pause in it, and take Mary's
place, for awhile, at least, and sit at Jesus' feet; or, if the service
must be done at once, it will be well to use the readiest means for
preparing the mind for doing it. It may be that some simple natural
means will be helpful, and if so, we must not be so ultra-spiritual as
to disdain to cry, Bring me a minstrel.' It is often pride which makes
us decline the use of natural means. David went against Goliath in the
name of the Lord, but he took his sling and his stone with him; even
our Lord, who could open men's eyes with a word, did not refuse to use
clay, or to send his patient to the pool of Siloam to wash. If you and
I are out of order we must do our best to get right. If I go to do the
Lord's work with a vexed or distracted mind, I shall do it badly.
Perhaps I shall do more harm than good. I shall spill the cup of
consolation if I am all in a tremble myself. God's servants should
serve their Master well: the best we can render falls short of his
deservings; but it would be a pity to do less than our very best.
Occasionally we are quite out of form, cannot think, or feel, or speak
aright; we have to confess that we are all in confusion, and, what is
worse, we dare not even expect God come and help us till we are in a
less excited condition. I know what I mean better than I can tell you.
Some of our brethren are always even and calm, but others of us go
dangerously up and sadly down, and are at times unfit either to receive
the heavenly word or to convey it to others. At such times let us
remember our text. The prophet said Bring me a minstrel. And it came to
pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon
him.'

But what are our helps when we are pressed with hindrances? Is there
anything which in our case may be as useful as a harp? Bring me a
minstrel,' said the prophet, for his mind was easily moved by that
charming art. Music and song soothed and calmed, and cheered him.

Through every pulse the music stole,

And held high converse with his soul.'

On the wings of melody his mind rose above the noisy camp, and floated
far away from the loathed presence of Jehoram; the melting mystic
strain laid all his passions asleep, and his soul was left in silence
to hear the voice of the Lord. Well did Luther say, Music is the art of
the prophets, the only art that can calm the agitations of the soul; it
is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given
us.'

Among our own helps singing holds a chief place; as saith the apostle,
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing
and making melody in Your heart to the Lord.' Note how he connects it
with peace in his epistle to the Colossians: Let the peace of God rule
in your hearts . . . . teaching and admonishing one another in psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the
Lord.' I cannot sing,' says one. You need not sing as sweetly as Asaph
and Heman, and other sweet birds of paradise whose names we read in
Scripture; but we should all sing better if we sang more. Those with
cracked voices would be kind if they would not sing quite so loudly in
the congregation, for they grievously disturb other people; but they
might get alone and have good times with themselves, where nobody could
complain of their strong voices and lusty tones. It is good to sing
praises unto the Lord, and a part of its goodness lies in the comfort
which it brings. It is not without significance, that after supper,
before our Lord went to his great sacrifice, he sang a hymn. Did not
even he find refreshment in that holy exercise? My mind dwells sweetly
on a season which I have often mentioned to you when a new lie had been
forged against me, a lie of peculiar bitterness, and it vexed me. I was
never particularly pleased at being slandered, though I have had my
fair share of it. Well, I went alone awhile, and sung over to myself in
my own poor way,'

If on my face, for thy dear name,

Shame and reproaches be,

I'll hail reproach, and welcome shame,

If thou remember me.'

By that means the sting was removed, and I felt merry again. Bring me a
minstrel:' the restoring means may be a little thing, but if you do not
look to the linchpin of a cartwheel the wheel may come off, and down
will go the cart, and what is the poor horse to do then? If you can get
your mind right again by such a simple thing as singing, pray do not
neglect it.

Suppose, however, that singing has no such power over you; let me
recommend to you the quiet reading of a chapter of God's word. Go
upstairs and open the Book, and think upon a few verses. If you are
much perplexed, read that blessed chapter which begins, Let not your
heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.' Those verses
act like a charm upon many minds: many and many a time a storm has
subsided into a calm by the reading of those words. Some such passage
read quietly will often operate as the harper acted upon Elisha. If
time be pressing, see what is the text for the day in the almanac; or
choose out some one precious promise which in other days was sweet to
you. It is wonderful the effect of a single verse of Scripture when the
Spirit of God applies it to the soul. There is music to a miser in the
jingling of his money bag: but what music can equal this''All things
work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose'? If you are in poverty, what melody
lies in this: Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in
the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.' What power would come upon the
soul to calm and quiet it, and make it ready for the hand of God, if we
would grasp a single line of Scripture and suck the honey out of it
till our soul is filled with sweetness.

You will find it equal to bringing a minstrel, and perhaps even more
efficient, if you will get alone to pray. That horrible Rabshakeh's
letter'you read it, and then you wished you had never seen it. You put
it behind the glass, but you fetch it out again, and read it again, and
cry, What a trial is this! who can bear it?' There is a kind of
basilisk power in an abominable letter, so that you feel compelled to
read it again and again. Can you not break the spell? What is the
wisest course? Go upstairs, open it wide, spread it before the Lord,
and say, O Lord, thou hast seen letters like this before; for thy
servant Hezekiah showed thee one.' I would say of every sorrow, Pray
over it.' An old divine, after he had heard a young minister preach a
poor discourse, said to him, Sir, I beg you to try and pray that sermon
over.' He replied that he could not pray it over. Now, a sermon that
cannot be prayed over ought never to be preached at all, and a trouble
that you cannot pray over is a trouble which you ought not to have. It
must be a grief of your own making; it cannot be a trial of God's
sending. Tell the Lord your affliction, and the bitterness of it will
be past, and you will go back to your daily service calm and quiet,
fitted for the hand of the Lord to be laid upon you. Men will wonder
whence your joy has come, and what makes your face to shine. The secret
is that you have waited upon the Lord, and renewed your strength.

It may be you will find fittest help in Christian association. I
commend this to those believers who are seldom fit for God to use
because they are morose and fault-finding. You ought to say, Bring me a
minstrel:''find me some praying sister whom I may talk with, or find me
some genial brother who rejoices in the Lord, and let me converse with
such.'It may be that the Master will join you and make a third, and
then shall your heart be glad. Much misery is caused by Christians
attempting to go to heaven alone. You remember how Mr. Bunyan describes
Christian as journeying alone at first; he soon picked up with Hopeful,
and then he was more cheery. As for Christiana and Mercy, and the
family, they scarcely could have gone on pilgrimage at all if it had
not been for Mr. Greatheart: but when they all went in company, with
Mr. Greatheart to lead the band, they could sing all the way to the
gates of the Celestial City. You, my friend, who are hindered in the
service of Christ, might often be put right, so that God could use you,
if you would become a companion of all them that fear God, and of them
that keep his precepts. Holy converse acts as a minstrel to the spirit.

What is the duty that arises out of this? It is this: if you get into a
bad state, don't stick there. Ah,' says one, it is very close weather,
and I feel depressed, so that the Spirit of God does not work upon my
mind.' Then cry at once, Bring me a minstrel.' Do not say I cannot help
being stupid.' You need not be: at least, not more so than you are by
nature. You may get out of your dullness by making an effort, and you
ought to make it. Did I not hear you say Everybody has gone away for a
holiday, and I cannot leave my work. Trade is dull, and so am I'? But
you need not be dull. Why should you always be heavy? You say, I do not
feel fit to go to my class,' or, I do not feel fit to preach.' Should
you, therefore, cease from the work of the Lord? By no means. Rouse
yourself. Think of the way in which God has aforetime helped you, and
use the same means again. While you are helping yourselves God will
help you, and the hand of the Lord will come upon you.

Do not give way to feelings which unhinge you. Fight against them and
cry with David, Why art thou cast down, O my soul?' Still, do not rush
into God's service in an unfit condition. Resort to such means as are
within reach for calming the lower faculties, and the Spirit of God
will move upon your higher powers. Act rationally. Use your best
judgement and most prudent endeavours, or we shall suspect that you
have no particular wish to do the Lord's work, or fancy that anything
is good enough for your God. Say to yourself, Being in an unsuitable
condition, I cannot expect God to use me. I must therefore get right.
Here is my harp, but every string is out of tune. I cannot expect the
Holy Spirit to play upon it until it is put in order. What can I do to
help myself in this matter, for that I will do, and thus prove the
sincerity of my prayer when I ask God the Holy Spirit to help me.'

This, then, is the first lesson, and I am sure there is real practical
teaching in it, though some superior persons may despise it.

II. My second word is to those who have not yet found the Lord. WE
SHOULD USE EVERY MEANS TO OBTAIN THE TOUCH OF THE DIVINE HAND. There
are some here present who do not yet know whether they are believers in
Christ or not: and I am sure I cannot tell them. I hope they are
believers, for they are sincerely desirous of eternal salvation, but
sometimes I am afraid they are not, for they do no appear to understand
the meaning of the finished work of Christ. What are those, who are
earnestly seeking the Lord, to do? There is but one answer, Believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.' Faith is the one and
only course commanded. But some one replies, Alas, I cannot get at
that.' But, my friend, you must get at it, or perish. Without faith it
is impossible to please God.

Still, to help you, let me urge you to do this which lies near at hand
if you cannot feel that the Spirit of God will bless you as you are,
call for some minstrel, who may aid you in your search after the
blessing. If there be any subordinate means which may be helpful, use
it with a view to the higher and better thing. I would first say'If you
feel that you have not the faith which you ought to have, use what
faith you have. It is wonderful what an immense amount of possibility
lie in a mustard seed of faith. It is a very small, tiny thing; but sow
it and it will grow. You have not enough faith to believe that Christ
will save you, but you have enough to feel sure that Christ can save
you. That is something: hold to it and follow it out to its fair
conclusions. If a man has not money enough to pay for a week's
provisions, let him not starve; but let him spend what he has, hoping
that more will come. Have you a small dust of faith? use that, and it
will multiply.

If you want to feel the hand of the Lord, I would next say, Go and hear
a sound, earnest, lively preacher. I am advising you to do as I acted
myself. I was muddled, and could not exercise faith, and so resolved to
obey that other precept, Hear, and your soul shall live.'

If you long for faith, listen to the preacher who preaches the gospel
most simply and most forcibly. Perhaps you say, I have been listening
to a very clever minister, a very intellectual minister, and his word
has never been blessed to my soul.' Then shift your place, and say.
Bring me a minstrel;' for then it may be that the hand of the Lord may
be upon you. It is better to go a hundred miles to hear a faithful
minister than to listen to a man from whom you get no good because he
happens to preach near you. Men go many miles to a skilful physician,
or a healing fountain. When we are in earnest to find Christ we shall
have the sense to go where he is most honoured and most spoken of.

But suppose I have attended such a ministry, and have found no good;
what shall I do?' Why, the Scripture says, Believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ and thou shalt be saved.' Still, if you cannot get at this for
the moment, attend earnest meetings where souls have been converted,
and many have been brought to Jesus' feet. Trust not to preachers or
meetings; but, still, go where the rain is falling, and there may be a
drop for you. If a ministry is blessing others, resort to it, praying,
O Lord, bless me.' Our immediate need is the hand of the Lord, and we
may be made ready to receive it by hearing the gospel; therefore let us
diligently incline our ear to the heavenly word.

Let me also advise you to read gracious books. Ask Christian people
what writings were blessed to their conversion, and carefully study the
same. There is no book for saving souls like the Bible. Say, Bring me a
minstrel,' and read the Scriptures again and again. The Lord Jesus
feedeth among the lilies: get among the beds of lilies, and you will
find him there. Oh, how many have found Christ when they have been
searching the Scriptures to see whether those things were so.'

I would also strongly recommend you to get a good deal alone. You poor
souls, who cannot find Christ, and do not seem to understand what it is
to believe in him, should think much, and meditate much, upon Jesus and
his cross. David said, I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto
thy testimonies.' If you want a minstrel, think of your sin, your sin
against your God, till it breaks your heart; then think of Christ, his
nature, his work, his love, his deeds of mercy: think of the Holy
Spirit, and his power to renew, regenerate, comfort, sanctify: think
over those precious truths of the word of God, which are set there on
purpose to be beacons to light souls to Christ, and while you are
thinking of these it shall be to you as when the minstrel played, and
the hand of the Lord came upon his prophet. Get much alone; but still
recollect there is no hope for you if you trust in being alone, or
trust in reading the Scriptures, or trust in hearing, or trust in
anything but Christ. What you want is the hand of Jesus laid upon you:
one touch from him, and you will be made whole. If you can but touch
the hem of his garment, virtue shall come out of him to you. I am
merely mentioning these things because sometimes they lead up to the
one thing, and when a man is in earnest to obtain the one thing
needful, he will be willing to attend to anything by which he will be
likely to attain it, and to attend to any secondary means which God has
blessed in the case of others. He will be willing to be taught by a
child, if peradventure God will bless him in that manner. He will say,
Bring me a minstrel;' Bring me a good book;' Bring me a godly
minister;' Bring me a Christian man accustomed to speak to troubled
hearts;' Bring me an aged Christian whose testimony shall confirm my
spirit, and be the means of working faith in me: for I must get to God;
I must get salvation. Tell me, tell me, where Christ is to be obtained,
and I will find him if I ransack the globe to discover him.' I do not
believe any person who has desires to find Christ will seek in vain. I
am certain that when people hunger and thirst after Christ they shall
be filled, and when they say, We will do anything by which we may be
led to Jesus,' they are not far from the kingdom of heaven, and the
Holy Spirit is at work in them.

III. Thirdly, WE SHOULD MORE ABUNDANTLY USE HOLY MINSTRELSY. Saints and
sinners, too, would find it greatly to their benefit if they said,
Bring me a minstrel.' This is the world's cry whenever it is merry, and
filled with wine. The art of music has been prostituted to the service
of Satan. Charles Wesley well said,'

Listed into the cause of sin,

Why should a good be evil?

Music, alas! too long has been

Press'd to obey the devil.

Drunken, or lewd, or light, the lay

Flow'd to the soul's undoing;

Widen'd, and strew'd with flowers the way

Down to eternal ruin.'

It is for us to use singing in the service of God, and to make a
conquest of it for our Redeemer. Worldlings want the minstrel to excite
them; we want him to calm our hearts and still our spirits. That is his
use to us, and we shall do well to employ the harper to that end.

Let us give instances: I will suppose that this morning you were
thinking about coming up to the assembly of God's people, and you felt
hardly up to the mark. It would have been wise to do as I did this
morning. I read at family prayer the eighty-fourth Psalm, How amiable
are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even
fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out
for the living God. Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the
swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine
altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God.'

What a sweet piece of Sabbath minstrelsy it is! How often have we been
quieted and prepared for sanctuary worship by Psalm 84:'

How did my heart rejoice to hear

My friends devoutly say,

In Zion let us all appear

And keep thy holy day!''

When the house is full of trouble, and your heart is bowed down, is it
not well to say''Bring me a minstrel, and let him sing to me the
twenty-seventh Psalm. 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?
When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up
my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against
me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this
will I be confident.'' You need not confine the harper to that one
strain; for David has written many psalms for burdened hearts. It is
wonderful what provision God has made of sacred minstrels to play us up
out of the depths into the heights if we will but make a right use of
them.

I will suppose you are in a state of alarm; it may be there is a
thunderstorm, or possibly a disease is stalking through the land. Did
you ever sing in such times that forty-sixth Psalm: God is our refuge
and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we
fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried
into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be
troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God,
the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst
of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right
early.' Such music is like the breath of heaven. How comforting are the
words of the ninety-first Psalm when diseases are abroad, or when the
thunder rolls through the sky: He that dwelleth in the secret place of
the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say
of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I
trust.' I remember being in a family one night when I was but a lad,
when everybody in the house, strong men though some of them were,
trembled and were afraid. A child was upstairs and must be brought
down, but no one dared pass by the window on the staircase. Well do I
remember fetching the child, awed but not alarmed, and then I sat down
and read aloud the ninety-first Psalm, and saw how it quieted both men
and women. Ah, my brethren, David as a musician is one of a thousand;
we need no other minstrel. The word of God hushes the tempest of the
soul, and refreshes the heart with a celestial dew. Bring me a
minstrel,' but let him sing us one of the songs of Zion.

Do you ever get depressed in spirit, beloved friends? I fear you do;
and are you ever troubled because you seem to have more affliction than
anybody else? Have you watched the wicked and seen them prosperously
sailing while you have been tossed to and fro on a raging sea of
troubles? Do you want to get peace to your mind by the power of the
Holy Spirit? Then say, Bring me a minstrel' and let him sing that
thirty-seventh Psalm, Fret not thyself because of evildoers.' Or if you
would have a change from the thirty-seventh, turn the figures round,
and let him sing the seventy-third, and the notes will run thus: Truly
God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. But as for
me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.' You will
not be long before you will rise to the note''Whom have I in heaven but
thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh
and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my
portion for ever.'

Happily, you are not always depressed: there are times of great joy
with you, and then you long to have communion with God. If you wish to
have fellowship with Jesus, you will find it helpful to say, Bring me a
minstrel;' and when he asks, What shall I sing?' say to him, Sing the
Song of Songs, which is Solomon's.' Then shall you find utterance for
your heart in some such canticles as these: Tell me, O thou whom my
soul lovest, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at
noon; for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of
thy companions?' Possibly your tongue will take up notes like these: As
the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the
sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was
sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his
banner over me was love.' My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth
among the lilies. Until the daybreak, and the shadows flee away, turn,
my beloved and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of
division.' The whole book is full of utterances which may seem strange
to worldly minds, but which exactly suit those who know the
Well-beloved. Read that third verse of the eighth chapter of the Song.
Did you ever sing it? His left hand should be under my head, and his
right hand should embrace me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please.' Many waters
cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would
give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be
contemned.'

When we come to die we will breathe our last breath to music. Then will
we say, Bring me a harper,' and like Jacob and Moses we will sing ere
we depart. Our song is ready. It is the twenty-third Psalm: The Lord is
my shepherd; I shall not want. 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.'

This is the kind of minstrel for me. Say you not so, my brethren? When
you are in trouble or distress, will you not remember your son in the
night? If such be the strain, I am of the same mind as Martin Luther,
whose words I have copied out to read to you. His language is always
strong. Luther speaks thunderbolts. One of the finest and noblest gifts
of God is music. This is very hateful to the devil, and with it we may
drive off temptations and evil thoughts. After theology I give the next
place and highest honour to music. It has often aroused and moved me so
that I have won a desire to preach. We ought not to ordain young men to
the office of preacher if they have not trained themselves and
practised singing in the schools.' That is pretty strong. I fear many
would not have been preachers if they must first have been singers.
Still, there is a power about song; and to sing the praises of God in
psalms such as those I have read to you is most consoling.

Suppose you have done with the minstrelsy which I have now mentioned,
there is next the music of gospel doctrine. I confess to you that, when
depressed in spirit, I love a little of thorough Calvinistic doctrine.
I turn to Coles on Divine Sovereignty, and relish his plain speaking
upon sovereign grace. The doctrine of election is noble music:
predestination is a glorious hallelujah. Grace abounding, love
victorious, truth unchanging, faithfulness invincible: these are
melodies such as my ear delights in. The truth of God is fit music for
angels. The harps of the redeemed never resound with more noble music
than the doctrines of grace. Every truth has its melody, every doctrine
is a psalm unto God. When my heart is faint, Bring me a minstrel,' and
let him sing of free grace and dying love.

If these do not charm you, fetch a minstrel from experience. Think how
God has dealt with you in times of sorrow and darkness long gone by,
and then you will sing, His mercy endureth for ever.' That one hundred
and third Psalm might last a man from now till he entered heaven, he
need not change the strain,''Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is
within me, bless his holy name.' He may keep on chanting it until his
song melts into the hymn of the angels, and he adds another voice to
the chorus of the redeemed above.

If you want music, there is yet a sweeter store. Go fetch a minstrel
from Calvary. Commend me for sweetness to the music of the cross. At
Calvary I hear one piece of music set to the minor key which bred more
joy beneath the skies than all else. Hear it: My God, my God, why hast
thou forsaken me?' Jesus deserted is the comfort of deserted souls:
Jesus crying, Why hast thou forsaken me?' is the joy of the spirit that
has lost the light of God's countenance. That grave and solemn note can
lift despair into delight.

But if you want another hymn of the cross to be sung with the
accompaniment of the high-sounding cymbals, or with trumpet and sound
of cornet, let me commend you to this other song of the cross, IT IS
FINISHED.' All music lies there. Condensed into those three words you
have the harmonies of eternity, the melodies of the infinite. Angels
themselves when on their loftiest key did never sing a canticle so
sweet. Consummatum est' is the consummation of song. It is finished;'
sin is blotted out, reconciliation is complete, everlasting
righteousness is brought in, and believing souls are saved. Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Till the day break, and the shadows flee away,' Bring me a
minstrel,' and let us sing unto him that loved us, and washed us from
our sins in his own blood, to him be glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

PORTIONS OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON'Psalm 136; 2 Kings 3:1-15.

HYMNS FROM OUR OWN HYMN BOOK''136 (Song II.), 166, 229.
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