Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1909-07-23
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soNG-L1FE OF THE SOUL.
BY Rev. F. T. Bens

greatly reJO1ceth; and with my song
will l praise Him.-Psalms 28:7.
The song-life is the highest and best
life Of the soul 1t is the joy-life, the
peace-life.
the song-life There may be righteous
ness and truth, and even love, where
there is no song. Righteousness may
be found in company with fear, and
truth with prejudice, and love with
anxious, fretting care, All these are
fatal to the song-life, for the song-life
must be care-free.
The song-life Is the life-beautiful.
A man may live in a howell, beset with
fear, and stained with the defilement
of mother earth, with no comforts, and
with nothing to feed his yearning for
the lovely and the good But he can
not live the fe-beautiful in such an
atmosphere
Give such man pure heart, lead
him into the halls Of culture, let him
drink from the fountains of wisdom,
bring him into the association of the
noble and the good. Put such a soul
into the congenial surroundings Of
cleanliness and beauty, and, 10! the
beautiful spirit, domiciled in the home
of beauty, will begin to live the life
beautiful. There Is great difference
between the life of ignorance and
boorlshness and that of culture and
proon Whi1o bo ovforp oil
surroundings have an unmistakable
effect on the soul-life to destroy its
beauty, it is possible to live the life
beautiful without the external en-
vironment which seems appropriate to
the housing Of beautiful spirit. For
after all, the beautiful life is the life
of beautiful spirit. Doors may be
found in the luxurious refnements of
palaces, and divine beauty is often
found in the homes Of the humble
poor.
But wherever found there is an in
finite difference between the beautiful
life and the life devoid of beauty, a
difference as wide as that between a
clod Of earth and a golden sunbeam
1t is the song of life that makes it
beautiful. And the life differs from
other spiritual states as the sunset
differs from the dull gray mist that
slumbers upon the summer sea.
A practical question that presses at
this point Is, How can we come into
this song life? It must first be said
that 1t is life that is born of perfect
harmony of the soul with God. The
song must first be in the heart before
it can be formed upon the lips. In
deed, 1t may never reach the lips at
all, and yet f1ll the soul with mysteri-
Gus and exquisite music.
The birth Of the song life is from
above. 1t Is the life that Jesus Christ
came to earth to give to men, The
organ Of spiritual harmony, the soul
Of man, was out Of harmony with
God. When the instrument is out Of
harmony the divinest master can get
no music out of it. The soul was put
out Of harmony in Eden by the intro
duction Of sin into 1t. The discord is
borne upon the same ether, and pro-
duces the same physical phenomena
as the most perfect tone The trou-
Bile, therefore, Is not with the ether,
but with the instrument So with the
soul. The same spiritual atmosphere
has always surrounded it, and there
was the possibility of the most re-
freshing harmony, but the soul was
out Of tune with God. In Jesus Christ
the soul was born into a new life. 1t
was set to the tune of Divine harmo-
MES. Now as the Master directs the
song in the realm of loves harmonies,
no nightingale sings so sweetly and
gloriously as does the new nature of
redeemed manhood.
The song-life Is beautiful and strong
because 1t has cast it's cares on God
Israel hung her harps on the willows
Of Babylon, and could not sing, be-
cause sin had separated between her
and God. Since she would not have
Gods leadership, she must bear her
own burdens. It must not be so with
us. The song says of our cares, II
have left them all with Jesus, long
ago" Such soul is stayed with
the fagons, and comforted with the
apples" of Gods. grace. In a condi-
tion like this, whichever way the
wind blows, God Is on His throne and
all Is WELL" Joy Is there because God
has hold of US, and He will not let us
go. We can trust God, and In that
trust we steal into His bosom and find
our rest.
If trouble comes to such a life, it is
not disturbed. The notes may be a
little subdued. They may lack the
thrill of ecstasy, but in subdued and
minor strain they will fit into life's
song with a relieving and heightening
harmony-co coming as they do after the
exhilaration of long continued major
strains. The lullabies that calm the
infant to sweet slumber are mostly
coft ond low Not infroouoDt1v 1ifo'S