The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-06-11
OUR RnL1G1oUs COLUMN.
CHRlSTIAN SONG.
LEcTURE-RooM TALK BY REV. HENRY wARr
BEECUER.

A LECTURE-ROoM TALK BY REV. IENRY WARD
BEECHER.
Many think song is a luxury which they have
a right to deny themselves If they please. Few
have thought it duty that they should be In
structed in Christian song themselves, and
should teach it to their families; and yet the
command to sing is explicit as the command
TO pray; and we do not think of neglecting to
teach our household to pray. You will bear wit
ness the greatest trouble Of Christian experience
is what we may call the llquelaction of thought
into emotion. The Greek method of culture was
philosophical, and we have followed largely in
che same direction. This is an important ee-
ment in the education of the people, but we find
It difficult to express the vine of emotion from
the cluster of thought. Particularly those of us
who have been trained in New England, under
catechism and preaching in dogmatic and
phiosophic form, find it difficult to take the
doctrines and reduce them to practical reali-
cation.
Thus we often hear persons say:-'I know
am sinful, but don't feel it: l believe Christ
died Tor me, but l have no realization of it;
believe he atoned for my sins, but can't bring
it home" We have propositions, but can't
comminute them to bread or liquefy them to
wine. The Hebrew came to truth on the side of
emotion ana moral intuition, and afterwards
seem to lie between these, and singing is that
natural way in which thought is reduced to
feeling.
The wings God has given us to fly up to Him
are the wings of song The lyrical element is
the best expression of feeling. All forms of ex-
perience have been touched in the poetry of
chant and song. Why should we neglect these
gatherings of expression? Why should you try
by thought to get to God, when you can sing
your way to Him with half the effort? ? There is
q railroad up Mount Washington. man who
sings through life is like the man who ascends
the mountain in the car; the man who does not
sing is like the traveller who pants on foot up
the steep ascent. Many say, first reason, emo
ton last. But in the hymn the same truth may
touch all hearts-Lord Bacon, and as well the
slave on the plantation. Singing is the process
by which intellectual propositions can be con-
verted into emotion and heart expression.
Those who sing a good deal will be warm
hearted Christians. These are the Methodists
and the Presbyteriaus-the one would sing the
people all to heaven, and the other would
preach them all there Which will bring them
up quicker? They say the one side educates,
while the other excites the people. Why don't
you combine the two?
On Sunday morning, when have been jaded
in despair-sad, at any rate, before the organ
voluntary was completed have been changed
as if taken out of January and pumped down
into May-winter all gone and spring come in
its place
Many time the Friday might meeting has
helped me through to Sunday. | set my foot
down from the first, there should be singing in
this congregation. Every year there was a new
committee. 1t was eight or ten years before the
church would let me have my own way, and
xrOt,fxy erpt all
like If, and that is one reason why the church is
so So ial and why you all love each other so
mucl. always thi nix church that don't sing
is like sleigh ride with no BELLS garden with
no flowers A church with four singers Four
whole singers A thousand pair of ears-only
four mouths. When singing is made to open
up mems hearts, thousand people get four
folk to do it for them. Four singers have TO
sing for show; it is possible for them to sing de-
votionally; all things are possible in the Lord.
don't believe a singing family can quarrel
much and If people are ugly (and at times
suppose all people are ugly-I ann, l don't
think they can have hymn in the mouth and
an ugly feeling in the heart. If two persons
have a quarrel and sit down near each other
and sing, don't believe they can feel disposi-
tion to quarrel and sing.
I've known man of humble talent, in a coun-
try village, do as much good as the minister.
Having a tenor voice and good memory, he
would be sent for to the sick and dying, to sing
the Lords message to them. A plain man. who
has good voice, and sings from house to house,
is preacher and a good one. All denomina-
tions come together in hymns. Arminian and
Calvinist here agree in regard to Gods
sovereignty, mans snfulness, hepfulness of
men, and the power of the Holy Ghost.