September 3

Music under pressure

“Thy hand presseth me sore” (Psa. 38:2).
“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time” (1Peter 5:6).

God knows what keys in the human soul to touch, in order to draw out its sweetest and most perfect harmonies. They may be the minor strains of sadness and sorrow; they may be the loftiest notes of joy and gladness. God knows where the melodies of our nature are, and what discipline will call them forth. Some with plaintive song, must walk in the lowly vales of life’s weary way; others, in loftier hymns, shall sing of nothing but joy, as they tread the mountain tops of life. But they all unite without a discord or jar, as the ascending anthem of loving and believing hearts finds its way into the chorus of the redeemed in Heaven.


God presses me hard, but He gives patience, too!
And I say to myself, “’Tis no more than my due,”
And no tone from the organ can swell on the breeze
Till the organist’s fingers press down on the keys.

It does not matter how great the pressure is, it only matters where the pressure lies; whether it comes between you and God, or whether it presses you closer to His heart.
—Hudson Taylor.

In the still air the music lies unheard;
In the rough marble beauty hides unseen:
To wake the music and the beauty, needs
The master’s touch, the sculptor’s chisel keen.

Great Master, touch us with Thy skillful hand,
Let not the music that is in us die;
Great Sculptor, hew and polish us, nor let
Hidden and lost, Thy form within us lie.

Spare not the stroke, do with us as Thou wilt;
Let there be nought unfinished, broken, marred;
Complete Thy purpose, that we may become
Thy perfect image, O our God and Lord!
—Horatius Bonar.

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