The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-03-18
Sunday Services.

| Sunday Services.
FREE STREET BAPTIST CHURCH.
Church Music was announced in the news
papers as the subject of Rev. Mr.. Small's fore
noon discourse yesterday-a theme suggested
by the first use of the organ just put into the
Free street Baptist church for devotional pur
poses. The preacher took for his text the
words, ''Praise him with stringed instruments
and organs '-Ps. c; 4. The two main ideas
of public devotion are, what constitutes scrip
| tural worship, and what is the most acceptable
| method God must be chief in our worship.
| the highest praise is to acknowledge Him as
God; secondly, God is most praised by having
| His own plans honored; and He is most hon
ored when His truth is wildly proclaimed. The
| difference between Protestant worship and that
of the powers thai have perverted the truth is
| that one is the preached word and the other
| formal service.
When the pulpit gives place to the altar wor-
ship becomes lifeless. The minister loses the
spirit and power of his calling when he becomes
priest Temples affairs and priests belong to
past age of symbolism What would have
been the result of the mission of Paul and
Massillon and such preachers if they had sunk
themselves in the priestly Office Passing to
consider the true position of music in pubic
worship, the speaker remarked that God had
given man the highest capabilities for worship
the discriminating eye, the trained ear and vo-
cal organs that emotional nature might have
the fullest play. But sin has endeavored to
turn to its own use that which God had ordained
for His special worship; and it is not surprising
that the Reformers had, in their pious zeal,
gone to the other extreme, and reduced the
music of their sanctuaries to the simplest and
severest style. Worship, to be acceptable, must
be hearty; and he who brings his whole soul to
the service of the Sanctuary gladly accepts the
assistance of music to rouse his soul to an ex-
preston of love and faith If soul cannot be
reused by strains of sacred music doubt if he
has a soul to worship with.
The speaker then traced the history of must
cal instruments from the rude pipes of the an
cient Jewish musicians; their early combina
tons and growth into formal organs, and gave
pleasant description of the instrument before
the congregation-withi its groups of pipes, from
the tiniest to the largest, with the intricate ma
chinery that controls them-the gathering of
the elements from distant quarters of the globe,
and the final assignment of each part to its
proper office; none so insignificant that they
are forgotten or useless; none so large and cum
brous that they cannot blend their great voices
in the harmony of praise. Is it too much of
you and /, he said to stop with wonder and ad-
mire this almost divine power; and is it not
more wonderful that He has made an organ
that controls it all-the hand of His musical
child. The building of this organ is typical of
the slow, mysterious building up of the Church
of Christ. God gives to each the place for his
best capacity. The little tiny member, away
back in the corner has his duty as well as the
great, ornamental pipes that stand in the front
ranks. The happy results that we wait for are
long delayed because SO many refuse to take
their proper places How many of the pipes in
this organ are public characters? just about
enough to make officers for well-organized
church. If there is no other place for you you
can carry message like one of these little rods
that telegraphs the will of the keyboard to the
pipes. @s~& sS8 ESG
Another difficulty is illustrated by little
mouse that got into the boxes and injured some
of the machinery of this organ. There are
church mice-the little venial sins that get into
a society and injure the harmony. Turning again
to the subject of music, the speaker remarked
the changes that had occurred latterly in the
musical department of churches and condemn
ed the practice of transferring the singers of
the Saturday night opera or theatre to the house
of God to exhibit musical tricks. BY this the
worship of God is hindered Men who have
money to give will pay literally for good music
in the church rather than have their cultivated
sensibilities wounded by the harsh or unframed
IF raio ay,d a. OIL, no
will gather near the fresh sweet voice that sings
from the heart. The trouble is that those who
sing best sing least; and if we understood the
speaker, he meant to rebuke them for not tax
ing more active part in this feature of worship.
The grand realization of music in worship is
the harmonious blending OF well-tuned hearts
and voices. e,f a
In the evening the rite of baptism was adj
ministered to ten candidates in the presence of
very large congregation rsss,or., 81 $50
swEDENBoRGIAN.y fA
AT the New Jerusalem Temple yesterday
morning, Rev. William. B. Hayden delivered
a sermon on the somewhat singular subject of
s'The dew ON Gideon's fleece of wool" The
text was taken from Judges, 6; 81, So, 80 and
10th verses, ''Behold, I will put fleece of wool
in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece
only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside,
then shall know that thou wilt save Israel by
mine hand, as thou hast said, &C." -
u HIGH STREET CHURCH.
AT this church yesterday afternoon, Prof
William M. Barbour of Bangor, delivered an
eloquent and powerful sermon on the infinite
power of Christ to save all classes of sinners.
The text was taken from Isaiah, SO; 1, ''Who is
this that cometh from Fdom, with dyed gar
ments from Bozrah, &C." The sermon was
characterized by all the vigor, power and vivid
word-painting for which the speaker is SO we'll
known, and it was listened to by a large and in
terested congregation.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL. ~ a
Yesterday being st. Patrick's day Bishop
Bacon, at the Cathedral on Congress street.
preached on the life and labors of the Apostle
to Ireland. He eulogized the Irish nation for
its firm adherence to the faith of the Romish
church under prosecution and recognized the
glorious religious freedom which is accorded to
all men in the United States. The Bishop had
only partially recovered from somewhat Sc
we're illness and spoke to his people in sitting
FUNERAL OF CAPT. THOMAS MEANs-The
funeral of Capt. Thomas Means took place at
his late residence on Pearl street at one o'clock
Sunday afternoon. The concourse of people
that gathered on this solemn occasion was very
large, many of our merchants and business
men, as well as the residents ia the immediate
vicinity, being present to pay the last sad tri-
butte of respect to one who was so generally es-
teemed for his public and private virtues. The
officers of the Ocean Insurance Co., with