I shall behold Him, but not nigh;
There shall come a Star out of Jacob,
And a Scepter shall rise out of Israel....
Out of Jacob shall come He that shall have dominion.”[[254]]
Sacred Song
The melody of praise is the atmosphere of heaven; and when heaven comes in touch with the earth, there is music and song,—“thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.”[[255]]
Above the new-created earth, as it lay, fair and unblemished, under the smile of God, “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.”[[256]] So human hearts, in sympathy with heaven, have responded to God’s goodness in notes of praise. Many of the events of human history have been linked with song.
The earliest song recorded in the Bible from the lips of men was that glorious outburst of thanksgiving by the hosts of Israel at the Red Sea:—
At the Red Sea