The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-05-18
Our Contributors.
The Organ.
BY REV. R. L. DABNEY, D. D.


land and Ulster, for and against instru-
mental music in divine worship, may be
said to have ended here by the utter de-
feat of the opponents. Few presbyters
In our Church would advocate an, appeal
to church discipline to exclude or expel
an organ out of a Presbyterian church
The most of our people jump to the con-
clusion, that this being conceded, the
propriety of their introducing one follows
of course. 1t does not follow. Every
reader of the Bible should know, that
there are acts which it might be sinful
for him to do, although Christ gives the
Church no authority to discipline him
therefor. Thus, it would be a great sin
for Christian to drink wine under such
circumstances that chs weak brother
thereby .stumbleth, or is offended, or is
made weak" But if this Christian did
not drink it Unexpectedly, he could not
be disciplined therefor; because God has
not made the drinking of wine sin in it
self This class of duties are duties; the
neglects of them are sins; but being mat
tiers of Christian liberty, God has left the
remedy to the conscience Of Christians,
and not to the church court. The use of
instruments obviously falls into this class:
under the New Testament, it is unscrip-
tural; but the use of instruments in one
department of the worship of the Old
Testament shows that it is not neces-
sarily sin in itself, and so cannot be pro-
perly checked by church discipline.
DIR. Robert j. Breckenridge would now
be considered an extremist on this SUBJ
ject. But his pamphlet on it has never
been answered, and cannot be. Begin
ming with the impregnable position of
Calvin, of Presbyterianism, of the West
minister Confession, and of the Bible, that
an Gods worship, whatever is not author
ised by Him is thereby excluded and for
hidden; he cited these admitted facts {:
That no instrumental music is ever heard
OF in the worship of the New Testament
Christians as such that no instrumental
music was known in the worship of the
primitive Church, for long time after
the Apostles. This would absolutely set
tie the matter against it, but for the fact
that it was used by authority in the wor-
ship of the altar, under David. But the
force of that fact DR.. Breckenridge sought
to offset by this reasoning That the law
against will-worship was just as stringent
under the Levitical economy (Deut. w.
2; xii: 32) as it is now; that Moses au-
thorised no instrumental music in even
the service Of the altar; that hence, it's
introduction by David was either an I'M
authorised corruption, (Which all of us
would be loath to CHARGE or else mere
political and civic ordinance, such as
royal, secular authority might be COM
petent to. But if so, instrumental music
never was a jus divinana part of worship !;
and is no more precedent for the Church,
than David's other civic acts.
Another ground remains, which seems
stronger The instrumental music was
made a part only of the typical ordi-
nances of sacrifice never of the spiritual
worship of the synagogue, which is the
scriptural model of the Christian congre-
cation. But all the typical ritual is abol-
ished, by reason Of it's fulflment in the
sacrifice of Calvary. The vail is rent,
the altar destroyed, the fire extinguished,
the shadow forever abrogated, because
the true priest has gone to the heavenly
sanctuary, the antitype Of the earthly.
Hence, the instrumental music, if pro-
per part of the temple-ritual, no more
authorises its imitation in the Christian
synagogue, than the burning of the lamb
authorises that rite in our churches. The
only attempt to break the force of this
argument is, to say that Davids musical
worship was not that of the altar, but
that Of the common congregation. This
position is attempted, on the ground that
according to the law of Deut. xii there
could be but one place where the typical
worship could regularly go on. But that,
in David's day, before the temple was
built, this was at Gideon. Now, it is
true, that 1t was lawful to sacrifice only