"The deeper our troubles, the louder our thanks to God, who has led us through all, and preserved us until now. Our griefs cannot mar the melody of our praise, we reckon them to be the bass part of our life's song, 'He hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad.'" -- Charles Spurgeon
I read this quote by Spurgeon in a little devotional.1 I wondered, what did he mean when he said our griefs are the bass part of our song? It inspired me to learn more about the bass part (also called bass line or bassline) in music.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines the bass as "the lowest range of musical notes." The American Heritage Dictionary defines the bassline as "[a] musical part consisting of a sustained series of the lowest pitched notes in the piece or composition."2
Hmmm, if the bass part is our troubles, sometimes it seems that the low part has been sustained for a very long time. But look at this quote from an 1880 book on the history and science of music:
"the bass part… is, in fact, the foundation upon which the melody rests and without which there could be no melody." -- by Robert Challoner3
Wow, if you think of the melody as our praises and the bass part as our afflictions, "the bass part of our life's song," that is a startling thought. There could be no melody without the bass part. It is the "sturdy foundation."
"Our basslines have to provide the rhythmic and harmonic foundation; the bassline provides the high-end with the structure and foundation to create interesting melodies... A bassline is the foundation on which the melody rides. With the sturdy foundation of the bass and other rhythm section instruments, the melody is free to do all sorts of things." -- Andrew Pouska4
Esther Murimi goes even further, saying that the bass completes the music, adding a fullness:
"Try listening to music without bass and one with it and you'll notice the difference. For more clarity, if you have a sound system, you will notice that the music is complete when the bass is enhanced and sounds hollow without it." -- Esther Murimi5
Finally, Wikipedia notes that the bassline bridges a gap:
The bassline bridges the gap between the rhythmic part played by the drummer and the melodic lines played by the lead guitarist and the chordal parts played by the rhythm guitarist and/or keyboard player. -- Wikipedia, Bassline
"[T]he rhythmic part played by the drummer" to me is like the part played by the Holy Spirit. We are encouraged to keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). "[T]he melodic lines," Spurgeon would say, are the melody lines of our praise. The bassline bridges the gap between these two. When you think about it, this intimate connection and teamwork between the Spirit (beat/step) and the bass (afflictions) makes sense. We come to know God through our afflictions. Our praise would be rote, would be hollow without having known His Presence and comfort through our afflictions.
The hard times in our lives are the times that God has allowed to refine and purify us and to make us the place where His glory dwells. The baseline working with the (heart)beat of God gives the music of our lives richness, fullness, the reason to sing the melody, the joy, the with-all-my-heart passion.
And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy' Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:2-5
Do you hear the beat? … suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Still using the metaphor provided by Spurgeon, I see that the love of God is the heart/drum beat and our sufferings are the bassline. And from these, through the knowledge of the character of God and trust in His goodness, the assurance that He is with us always – from these come our hope, and from that hope rises a pure melody of praise.
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:25
But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest (sits down, settles, consummates the marriage, dwells, abides in) the praises of Israel. Psalm 22: 3 (KJV)
For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me. Psalm 63:7-8 (NAS)
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Yet take thy way; for sure thy way is best:
Stretch or contract me thy poor debtor:
This is but tuning of my breast,
To make the music better. -- George Herbert, from The Temper (I)
1Devotional Classics of C. H. Spurgeon, June 9, by Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
2American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
3History of the Science and Art of Music: Its Origin, Development, and Progress
By Robert Challoner, 1880. Full text available on Google Books https://books.google.com/books?id=dwctAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q&f=false
4StudyBass https://www.studybass.com/
5The Scientifically Proven Importance Of Bass In Musical Performances, Merriam School of Music https://www.merriammusic.com/school-of-music/importance-of-bass-in-performances/
Image, detail from How Firm a Foundation, hymn attributed to George Keith 1787.
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