solemnity of the occasion that they sing so softly that their tones lose all musical value. Couple with it an excessive tremolo, so often affected by half-cultivated singers, and you have a combination revolting to the really sincere and musical soul. When an aged Christian dies, his work well done, his life's battles gloriously won, and goes to his crowning at the hands of his blessed Master, what occasion is there for lugubrious strains? Do we not at our funerals too often practically deny the very doctrine that ought to be our chief comfort at such a time? What little hope we have in Christ seems to be in this life only, and when death comes to our homes we are of all men most miserable.

The minister ought to have an active voice in the selection of funeral music. To leave it to the whim and ignorance of the friends of the departed often leads to rank absurdity. At the very best, their limited knowledge of appropriate songs confines their selection to the half dozen already named, which impress them as the conventionally proper thing. Let the minister assume that he is to select his own hymns. Let him look as much surprised when the friends dictate what hymns shall be sung, as he would if they gave instructions regarding music in the regular service. He need not refuse, he need not be discourteous or unsympathetic, but his surprised look will discourage a repetition of the thoughtlessness. Then when he has won the victory over this tyranny of grief that takes a solemn pleasure in contemplating itself, let him have his quartet or soloist sing" Jerusalem, the Golden," "There is a land of pure delight," "I will sing you a song of that beautiful land," "Bringing in the Sheaves," "Give me the wings of faith to rise," "Blest be the tie that binds," the first two verses

of Bickersteth's "Till He Come," "How firm a foundation," "Jesus, Saviour, pilot me," the range of selection of really appropriate hymns is too large that I should exhaust it and make the service no less sympathetic, but much more Christian and inspiring.

Moreover, why should not the preacher, incidentally in a sermon, or directly in an address upon the ideal Christian funeral, brush away these pagan cobwebs that still hang about the minds of professed believers in Christ and His resurrection? Why should these false conceptions of funereal "good form" continue to degrade our memorial services into occasions of heathen wailing in utter denial of the cardinal doctrines of Christianity?

The needed instruction cannot be given at the time of the funeral. To criticise plans, to argue against certain details, to oppose even the foolish wishes of the afflicted, would be consummate tactlessness, betraying utter heartlessness. Instruction upon the important and delicate subject must be given apart from any funeral service, and must avoid sharp and severe criticism lest tender memories of scenes of parting from loved ones that have gone before be rudely disturbed, letting positive instructions how things ought to be done take the place of condemnation of things that have been done.

If the minister himself will make less of the grass that withereth, and the flower that fadeth away, and more of the hope that is laid up for us in heaven, where this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and of the glory which shall be revealed in us incomparably be. yond the sufferings of the present time, the people will be readier to sing hymns of victory and triumphant faith when their Christian friends are promoted to the tabernacle not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

A

V

EVANGELISTIC MUSIC

N evangelistic campaign is not usually organized for mere instruction. There may be a striking review of the instruction already given in the home, in the Sunday-school, in the regular service and by the printed page, but that review is not with a view of impressing the memory so much as to reach the heart, the conscience, and the will. Primarily the whole purpose is to compel a definite decision on the part of persons who know their duty, but have not done it.

To reach a decision three things are necessary: to appeal to the judgment with living, concrete truth; to stir the emotions that normally follow the clear apprehension of such truth and normally precede the action of the will; to create a definite, unescapable occasion and opportunity to make a decision.

The wills of ninety-nine men are moved by mere emotion where one man is moved by an abstract thought. Sacred music expressing and creating religious emotion is therefore an immense force in evangelistic work. The sincere feeling of a hundred devout souls is concentrated by a properly rendered Gospel song, and creates an atmosphere of religious interest and emotion that surrounds and impresses and affects in an intangible but invincible way the minds and hearts of the unsaved persons present, and rouses feelings never experienced before, giving vital force to facts and ideas that never seemed real until now.

On the merely human side there is a psychic force here, unmoral in itself, it is true, but, like any other capacity of our nature, available for the highest moral and spiritual uses. If one will study God's methods of winning the unsaved, as exemplified in definite cases happening before our eyes, we shall find Him using the most trivial occurrences, the most unpromising lines of influence. It is not surprising, therefore, that He takes the exercise of song, with the attendant psychic force it generates, and, filling it with His spirit and using it for His purposes of salvation, makes it a mighty engine of power to lift men out of sin. When God takes the shallowest ditty with no body of thought in its text and no dignity or strength in its music and cleanses it by His spirit for effective use, no modern Peter may call it common or unclean. God has laid His seal of acceptance upon the singing of the Gospel of salvation just as surely as He has upon its preaching.

Indeed, so valuable is the service of song in its varied forms and applications that if properly managed it may produce immense results without any regular preaching at all. I should expect the blessing of God on a series of song sermons, properly planned and conducted, as certainly as upon equally spiritual discourses. A singing evangelist, who is fertile in spiritual comment as well as a good leader of song, may be the very best helper a regular pastor can secure. If he is able, devout, discreet, the pastor can afford to shorten his own sermonic contributions to the work and give the singer the larger place in the campaign.

Ninety-nine out of every hundred church hymnals have in view only the solemn convocation of the saints on Sunday morning. Hence it is necessary, when getting

down to practical, effective, personal work, to secure a small collection of songs and hymns written and gathered expressly for this purpose. These books can be found by various authors and in many styles and of diverse standards. Not only the congregation by which the work is being done, but the character of the unsaved whom it is desired to influence, must be taken into account. To use a cheap, light class of music in a conservative, well educated community is as unwise as to use a heavy sedate style in a rude, unlettered one.

Such a book need not contain over a hundred selections. Really, a score of well selected revival numbers would be sufficient under ordinary circumstances, as a few favourites will naturally be sung over and over, while the less attractive songs will have less power to impress and incite less general participation.

An evangelistic song-book should contain three classes of songs the old standard hymns, the current popular Gospel songs, and an assortment of attractive new pieces. A new song that is really attractive is a wonderful force in a meeting, a force even greater than that of a better song already well used. It arrests attention; the people will sing a new song at home, on the streets, about their work, thus linking their thoughts abidingly with the meeting and advertising it and creating interest in it. "Tell Mother I'll be There," "It's Just Like Him," and "Oh, That Will be Glory," have done more to characterize Dr. Torrey's evangelistic tour about the world, and to give it notoriety, than any other human factor.

In analyzing the character of books considered for this use, care should be taken to exclude mere haphazard collections of the editor's favourites, having no completeness of provision for all the varied exigencies of a meet