The harp has long been considered the oldest stringed instrument of music, with the ancients attributing its invention to the gods. In fact, it was named along with the organ or shepherd's pipe in Genesis 4:21, three hundred years before Adam's death. A specimen of song to be sung to it can also be found in the same period (Gen. 4:23-24).
Special Celebration of God's Exalted Strength
The twenty-first Psalm introduces a special celebration of God's exalted strength in connection with the shooting of the Almighty's arrows against His enemies. It represents all His holy ones as singing and praising His power when His right hand finds out and His wrath swallows up His enemies, so that their fruit shall be destroyed from the earth and their seed from among the children of men.
Similarly, in the Apocalyptic visions of the destruction of the destroyers of the earth, the twenty-four elders in heaven fell upon their faces and worshipped God, saying, "We give Thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who wast, because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned ie. entered on Thy dominion."
The First Decan of Sagittarius - The Constellation of Lyra
The first Decan of Sagittarius is the constellation of Lyra, the Harp, marked by one of the brightest stars in the northern heavens. Its placement as the first Decan of Sagittarius connects pre-eminent gladness, joy, delight, and praise with the action of this great Archer with his bow and arrows. There is but one such sign in all the ancient constellations, and that is associated with the going forth of this double-natured Bowman aiming horns and seven eyes - all the firmness of regal, intellectual, and spiritual power and almightiness - and in the act of lifting the title-deed of the alienated inheritance to take possession again of all that sin has disponed away.
Orpheus and the Harp
The most renowned performer on the harp or lyre in the classic myths is Orpheus, often identified with Apollo. He is called the father of songs and the particular helper of the Argonauts, the noble ones seeking for the Golden Fleece. His art is everywhere associated with religion, prayer, prophecy, and all sacred services, teachings, and anticipations, especially with the joyous element in holy things. At the instance of Apollo and the muses, it is said that God Himself placed the Harp of Orpheus among the stars, where it has ever since been gladdening the celestial sphere with brightness and song.
The placing of that harp as the first Decan of Sagittarius is therefore wonderfully appropriate, with the brightest star in the northern heavens representing this harp and the name Vega signifying "He shall be exalted, the warrior triumphant" - the very name from which our own word "victory" has come. This constellation is marked by the figure of an eagle or hawk in some of the old uranographies, the enemy of the serpent who darts forth upon his prey from the heavenly heights with great suddenness and power. This eagle is in the attitude of triumph, much like the Mexican eagle presented victoriously grasping the serpent in its claws. It is the same idea, the triumphant overwhelming of the enemy.
From this, many modern atlases represent the figure of this constellation by an eagle holding the harp, or a harp placed over an eagle, expressing triumphant song springing from the eagle - that is, from the vanquisher and destroyer of the serpent. Whatever the variations of the figure, the same idea is retained, showing the true intention in the marking of this constellation and the tenacity with which the original thought has clung to it in all ages and in all nations. It is the sign of the Serpent ruled, the Enemy destroyed, the triumphant fulfillment of the sublimest of hopes and sacred promises.
Symbol of Joy, Praise, and Exaltation
The depth, splendor, volume, pathos, and universality of sacred ardor and portentous outpouring in connection with the harp and its significance is tremendous. All the extravagances of the mythic records do not reach halfway to the profoundness of its meaning. Heaven contemplated the act of the great Archer with awe and grew breathless as it gazed. A thrill went through the universal heart of living things, and a new song broke forth from the living ones and elders around the throne of Deity, which rolled sublime through all the heavenly spheres. Far in the depths of space, the voices of angelic myriads took it up, and every creature in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and upon the sea, and all things in these realms, were heard singing and saying, "To Him that sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb, be the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the dominion for the ages of the ages!"
In conclusion, the harp represents the triumph of good over evil and the fulfillment of sacred hopes and prayers. It is a symbol of joy, praise, and exaltation, and its placement in the constellation of Lyra as the first Decan of Sagittarius is wonderfully appropriate. Its significance has resonated through the ages and continues to inspire and uplift us today.