William and his sister Jane were returning home. They were singing as they walked along. At a turning of the road they saw a gentleman sitting upon the bank; he was writing in his pocket book.

“My dears,” said the gentleman, “you are singing very merrily.”

The children stopped and were silent.

G. Do not let me stop your singing: go on, I shall like to hear you.

“Oh, Sir,” said William, “the song is not worth your hearing.”

G. Why not, it pleases you, so perhaps it may please me. What was it about?

J. It was a song which one of our cousins taught us yesterday.

G. How does it begin?

William then sang the first verse of a song. It was foolish though not wicked.

G. I am sorry it is not about something better. God has given you a good voice, and a good memory. Cannot you employ them better?

W. Why, Sir, there is no harm in the song. Surely we may sing sometimes.

G. Yes, my boy, singing is as lawful to man as to the lark yonder: but ought not the songs we sing to be different from those of a bird?

J. O, Sir, the birds sing because they are pleased. I do not know that they mean any thing. They sing to amuse themselves.

G. Well, but we have sense and reason which birds have not. Should not our songs be different from theirs?

W. Yes, Sir, our songs are about something.

G. Do you suppose the sweet song which you hear from the lark has no meaning?

W. I do not know, Sir; it is not like our songs.

G. Certainly not; but do not the beautiful notes of the bird lead you to think of him who made the bird, and who gave it that sweet voice?

W. Yes, Sir; we know that it was God who made the birds, and beasts, and all things, and enabled them to sing.

G. And is it not God who gave you the ability to sing? Your powers, as well as those of the birds, came from God, who created all things. You know this, but the lark does not: this makes a great difference between you and the bird.

W. But we do not sing as he does: what we sing has a meaning.

G. Where is the great difference? The bird sings for its pleasure; I think you only sing to amuse yourselves.

J. But we need not sing for sorrow.

G. There are sorrowful songs; but we generally sing to express our joy. Still there should be a difference between our joy and that of birds. If we know God, and love him with our hearts, we shall remember him in our joy, for we are his work and belong to him. We should do all things for his glory; the Bible tells us so. The Apostle says: “You are bought with a price, (meaning the sufferings which Christ endured for his people,) therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Cor. vi. 20. see also Eph. ii. 10. 2 Cor. v. 17.)

W. But, Sir, how can a song be to the glory of God? Do you mean psalms? they are so long and so dull.

G. Let us suppose that the lark knew who made and who loved it. Would it sing differently from its usual manner?

W. Is not that its proper way of singing, Sir?

G. Yes; but you spoke of its song as being merely to please itself. Now, if the lark knew its Maker, would not it address its songs to him; perhaps it may do so more than we are aware.

J. Ah, Sir, I think I know what you mean. You mean that when we sing, we should remember God sees us, and never sing any thing which may be displeasing to him.

G. Yes, that is what I mean; for as we ought not to say any thing that is wrong, it is very plain we ought not to sing any thing improper. But it is not enough merely to abstain from what is wrong; we ought also to do what is right.

W. Then we ought to sing about God?

G. Are you surprised at that, my boy? Should not those beings whom God has made, live to his glory? Our Lord himself said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” (Matt. xxii. 37. see also Deut. xiii. 3.) Then is it not right that we should sing to the praise and glory of his grace?

J. But, Sir, we are not always at church? and when we are merry and gay, it would be very strange to sing as we do at church.

G. My dear children, when we are at church, it is to worship God, and hear his word, and for that reason the psalms are solemn and grave. But there are other songs, which we may sing to the praise of God.[C]

W. What are they, Sir? I never heard any such.

G. The Bible tells us: “Is any merry? let him sing psalms;” (James v. 13.) but it also says, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord.” (Eph. v. 19.) There are hymns as well as psalms which you may sing.

J. Can you tell us one of them, Sir? Are they pretty?

G. I will read you one which I have just written.

J. Oh, Sir, pray do; what is it about?

G. Do you see the shepherd down in the meadow yonder, under the oaks?

J. He lives at that farm-house under the hill.

G. When I saw him taking care of his sheep and lambs, I thought of what the Scriptures tell us about our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, whom the prophet Isaiah (ch. xl. 11.) thus describes: “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom.”

J. And did you write a song about it?

G. Something like it, my girl. I have said how happy the lambs belonging to this good shepherd should be under his care; and I have written it as if He were a shepherd speaking to his sheep.

W. Why, Sir, you said our song was silly because it was about a dog.

G. If your song had spoken of the faithfulness of the dog to his master, as reminding us of our duty to God, I should have been better pleased with it. You will find that what the shepherd in my song is represented as saying, is to remind you of the loving-kindness of Christ the good shepherd, and how attentive we should be to his word, if we belong to his flock.

J. I should like to hear the song. Do read it to us if you please, Sir.

G. Listen then to

THE SHEPHERD’S SONG.

W. I think, Sir, I know what you mean. It is prettier than our song; and what it tells us is of great consequence: it is very different from what I expected.

J. Sir, it is prettier than any song I ever heard; I like the last verse very much indeed.

G. Do you really like that verse the best?

J. Yes, Sir; it is about our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Son of God: he is the best of shepherds.

G. Certainly he is: but if you really think so, you will like to sing about him, instead of the common foolish songs. Those who love Christ will delight to sing to his praise and glory.

W. Jane, I have made up my mind; we will not learn any more of cousin Sally’s foolish songs; at least I will not.

J. Nor I.

G. But you are able to sing, and you like to sing: what will you do?

J. Sir, if you will let us have that song about the shepherd, we will learn it.

G. Yes, my dears, you shall have it, and here is a little book with a great many pretty hymns or divine songs; but before you begin to learn any, you must ask your parents’ leave.

J. Sir, I am quite sure our mother will like them, for she told us yesterday, that she did not think the songs our cousin was teaching us were pretty ones, and that she would rather we learned to sing psalms.

G. I am glad to hear this, and if you come to my house some day, I shall be well pleased to find that you can sing some of the pretty hymns in that book; and there is a lady at my house who will teach you the tunes if you are at a loss.

W. Thank you, Sir; are all the songs in this book as pretty as that one about the shepherd?

G. Some of them are more serious, my boy; and it is right to learn hymns of various sorts, if they all tell us of the Saviour.

J. Are they all hymns?

G. Yes, my girl, they are all written to praise God; for all things should glorify Him.

W. Sir, we thank you very much indeed, and we will ask leave to come and see you next week, if you will let us, and we shall have learned some of these hymns by that time.

Perhaps this dialogue may interest some of our readers, and they, like William and Jane, may be inclined to learn hymns or divine songs, which, by the blessing of God, may make them wise unto salvation. There are many books suitable for them: we will particularly remind them of “Dr. Watts’s Divine Songs,” and the “Cottage Hymns,” but particularly the “Family Hymn Book;” a very beautiful little book published by the “Religious Tract Society.” They will find hymns which tell them of the love of Christ to poor sinners, and such as ought to be fixed in the memory, and to be heard from the lips of all the children of God.