The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1881-08-18
A TIME TO DANCE.
When is the Time?-A Scriptural
Search .or It.
Reformed Presby terian.

~
been suspected of having improp-
erly intertered in influencing some
of the young people under his
charge to absent themselves from a
bali that took place in the parish,
received, In consequence, the follow
ing anonymous note:
SIR-Obey the voice of scripture.
Take the following for your text,
and contradict it. Show in what
consists the evil of that innocent
amusement of dancing: "a tine
to weep, and time to laugh, u
time to mourn, and time to dance "
-Eccles. iii; 4. Signed "a True
Christian, but no Hypocrite."
The minister wrote the following
reply, which he inserted in a peri
odical publication:
MY DEAR SIR OR MADAM: Your
request that should preach from
Eccles. iii; 4, l cannot comply with
at present, since there are some
Christian duties more important
than dancing which a part of my
people neglect. Whenever 1 per-
ceive, however, that the duty of
dancing is too much neglected, l
shall not fail to raise a warning
voice against 50 dangerous an
omission. In the meantime there
are certain difficulties in the text
which you recommend to my no.
Cice, the solution of which should
receive with gratitude from "a true
chr: stian." My first difficulty res
poets the time for dancing; for al
:hougg the text declares that there
is time to dance, yet when that
time is It does not determine
Now, this point l wish to ascertain
exactly before ] preach upon the
subject; for it would be as criminal,
| conclude, to dance at the wrong
time as to ne glect to dance at the
right time. have been able to
satisfy myself, in some particulars,
when it is not a time to dance. We
should agree, should presume,
that on the Sabbath day, or at a
funeral, or during the prevalence OF
a pestilence, or the rocking of an
earthquake, or the roaring of a
thunder storm, it would be no time
to dance. If we were condemned to
die, and were waiting in prison for
the day of execution, this would be
no time for dancing; and if our
feet stood on slippery place be-
side a precipice, we should not
dare to dance. But suppose the
very day to be ascertained-is the
whole day, or only part, to be
devoted to this amusement? and if
a part of the day, only, then which
part is "the time to dancer from
the notorious evil effects of might
meetings." in all ages, both upon
morals and health, no one will pre-
tend that the evening is the tine to
dance, and perhaps it may be i'm
material which portion of the day
light Is devoted to that innocent
amusement. But, allowing the
time to be ascertained, there is
still an obscurity IN the text. is it
a command to dance, or only a per
mission? or is it merely a declars-
tion OF the fact that, as men are
constituted, there is a time when
all the events alluded to in the
text do, in the providence of God,
come to- pass. If the text be a
command, is it OF universal obliga
tion, and must old men and mai
dens, young men and children,
dance obedience2 If a permission,
does it not imply a permission
also to refrain from dancing if any
were so disposed2 Or, if the text
be merely declaration that there is
time when men do dance, as there
is 9 time when men die, then |
might as well be requested to take
the first eight verses of the chapter
and show in what consists the evil
of those innocent practices of hat
ing, and making war, and killing
men; for which it seems there is a
time as well as for dancing. There
is another difficulty in the text.
which just now occurs 10 me. What
kind Of dancing does the text in
tend, for it is certainly matter of
no small. consequence to a true
Christian to dance in a scriptural
way, as well as at a scriptural time.
Now to avoid mistakes on q point
of such Importance, 1 have con
suited every passage in the bible
which speaks of dancing, the most
important of which permit me to
submit to your inspection: "And
Miriam the prophecies, the sister
of Aaron, took q timbrel in her
hand, and all the women went out
after her, with timbrels and with
dances.-Ex. iii; 20. This was on
account of the overthrow of the
Egyptians in the Red Sea. "The
daughter of Jepthah came to meet
him with timbrels and dances. -
Judges. xi; 81. This was also on
account of a victory over the enc
mics of Israel. The yearly feast in
Shiloh was feast unto the Lord,
in which the daughters of Shiloh
went forth in dances; Judges xxi
81. This was done as an act of re
hgious worship. "And David
danced before the Lord with all his
might" But the irreligious Mi
chael "came out to meet David, and
said, how glorious was the king of
Israel to-day, who uncovered him
self in the eyes of the landmarks
of his servants, as one of the vain
fellows shamelessly uncovereth
himself."2 Sam. vi; IA 20.
Dancing, it seems, was a sacred
rite, and was usually performed by
women. At that day it was per
verted from its sacred use by none
but "vain fellows" destitute o.
shame. David vindicated himself
from her irony by saying: ut was
before the Lord" admitting that, !
had this not been the case, her re
buke would have been merited. |
On account of the victories of Saul |
and David over the Philistines, |
the women came out OF all the cit
les Of Israel, singing and dancing /
l Sam. xviii;-6. Let them praise |
his name in the dance, Ps. cxlix. |
Thou hast turned for me my mourn
ing into dancing.-Ps. Xxx; IL.
The de iverence here spoken of was
3 recovery from Sickness, and the
u