The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1886-05-12

February Ia, 1897
if yoa utter your voice you are iuterfer
| ing There they stand, the four, with
opera glass dangling at their side. sing
ing Rock Of Ages, Cleft for Me- with
the same spirit that the night before, on
the stage. they took their part IA the
Grand Duchess" or "Don Giovanni"
Nv Christian friends, have we a right
% deiegate to Others the discharge Of
this duty which God demands OF Us?
Suppose hat four wood thrushes propose
| to do all the singing some bright day
T hen the woods are ringing with bird
voices II is decided that four wood
thrushe5 shall do all the singing of the
forests Let all other voices keep silent.
Hos beautiful the four warble! 1t Is
really fine music. BHt how long will
you keep the forest still? Why, Christ
would come into that forest and look up
as ne looked through the olives, and he
would wave his hand and say:
Let everything that hath breath
praise the Lord ;" aud keeping time
with the stroke Of innumerable wings
there would be 5000 bird voices leapiag
into the hsrAOny. Suppose this deiegi-
rlOn Of musical performers were tried in
heaven; suppose that four choice spirits
should try to do the
SINGING OF THE UPPER TEMPLE
Hush now. thrones aud donations and
principalities David, be still, though
you We're the sweet singer of Israel.
Paul, keep quiet, though yoa have come
% that Gown of rejoicing. Richard
Btxter. keep still, though this is the
Saints Everlasting Rest" Four spirits
| now do all the singing. But how long
| would heaven be quiet? How long?
"HAllelujah,' wDuld cry Some glOritied
NethOdi4 At from under the altar. Praise
the Lord" would sing the martyrs from
| among the thrones Thanks be unto
God, who giveth us the victory" a great
multitude of redeemed spirits would cry
-myrisds of voices coming into the
harmony and the one hundred and
| forty and four thousand breaking
| forth into one acclamation. Stop
that loud singing! Stop Oh, no:
| they cannot hear me. You might as
Tell try To drown the thunder of the
| sky or beat back the roar of the sea, for
every soul in heaven has resolved TO do
| its own singing. Alas, that we should
have tried on earth that which they
cannot do IL heaven, and instead 0.
| Joining all cur voices in the praise Of
The Most High God, delegatiug, perhaps
| to uncOnsecrated men and women, this
| most solemn aud most delightful ser
vice.
Now, ia this church, we have resolved
upon the plan of conducting the music
by precentor. We do it for two rea-
sons. One is that by throwing the
whole responsibility upon the mass of
the people, making the multitude the
choir, we might rouse more heartiness
Fhe congregation coming on the Sabbath
day feel that they cannot delegate this
part OF the great service to any one else,
anu 50 they themselves assume it. We
have glorious congregational singing
here. People have come many miles to
hear il. They are not sure ABOUT the
preaching, hut they can always depend
on the singing. We have heard the
sound coming up like "the voice of
| many waters" but il will be done at
better rate after awhile, when we shall
realize the height and the depth and the
imneasity Of this privilege
Another reason why we adopted this
plan We do not want any
CHOIR QuABRELs
You know very well that in scores of
the churches there has been perpetual
conten ion in that direction. The only
church fight that ever occurred under
my ministry was over melOdeon in my
first settlement. Have you never been
in church on the Sabbath day and heard
the choir sing aud YOU said "rhat is
splendid music?' The next Sabbath
you were in the church and there was
| no choir at all Why? The leader was
mad, or his assistants were mad. or they
were all mad together. Some of the
choirs are made up of our best Christian
people! Some of the warmest friends
have ever had have stood up in them,
Sabbath after Sabbath. c0nscientiously
aud successfully leading the praises of
| God. But the lnaj j1rity of the choirs
| throughout the land are not made up Of
| Christian people, and three iourths of
the churcn fights originate in the organ
loft. | take that back and say nine
tenths. Many of our churches are dy-
ing of choirs.
Let us as church give sill more at
| tention to the music Ii man with
voice enough to sing keep silent during
this exercise, he commits crime against
God and insults the Almighty.
Music ought to rush from the audi
ence like the water from a rock-clear,
bright, sparkling. IL all the other part
of the church service is dull do not have
the music dali. With so many thrilling
things to sing about, away with all
| drawing and stupidity. There is moth
ing shat makes me so nervous as to sit
in a pulpit and look off on an audience
with their eyes three fourths closed and
| their lips almost shut, mumbling the
praises of God. During my recent alb
sence ! preached to a large audience and
all the music they made together did
not equal one skylarkl People do not
sleep at coronation. Do not let US
sleep when we come to Saviour's
crowning. In order 20 proper dis.
charge of this duty
LET Us STAND
up save rs age or weakness excuses us
Seated in an easy pew we cannot do this
duty half so well as when, upright, we
throw our whole body iuto it. Let our
song be like an acelau,ation OF victory.
You have a right to sing. Do not sur