"When first in ancient time, from Jubal's tongue,
The tuneful anthem filled the morning air,
To sacred hymnings and Elysian song
His music-breathing shell the minstrel woke--
Devotion breathed aloud from every chord,
The voice of praise was heard in every tone,
And prayer and thanks to Him the Eternal One,
To Him, that, with bright inspiration touched
The high and gifted lyre of everlasting song,
And warmed the soul with new vitality.
"To the element of air," says Bishop Horne, "God has given the power of
producing sounds; to the ear the capacity of receiving them; and to the
affections of the mind an aptness to be moved by them, when transmitted
through the body." The philosophy of the thing is too deep and wonderful
for us; we cannot attain to it! But such is the fact; with that we are
concerned, and that is enough for us to know.