The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1886-05-19
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
A Discourse On the Subject OF Con.
gregetional Singing.

me Argumsu For aud Against 1.-THE
Inauencs 81 OAurch Music-Ths Meth.
DDS. Past and PreSent-Prs.
: y ssators sad Cheirs.
hsv. +. Dewitt Talmags took for the
subject of . recent sermon delivered at the
Brooklyn Tabernacle, congregational
taking for his text:
and singers were a. one. 10 make one sound
70 he heard In praising ana thanking the
Lord III Chronicles, v, 1871
The temple was done. It was the very
chorus Of all magnidcence and pomp. |
Splendor crowded against splendor. 1t
From the huge pillars crowned with leaves
OF flowers and rows of pomegranate
wrought out in FURNISHED metal, down
even to the tongs and shutters made out Of
pure gold, every thing was as complete a.
the God directed architect could make it.
1t seemed as IL q vision from Heaven had
alighted on the mountains. The day for
~oubSuoAOh SoAuOs 4AOuiOiVu b0yh t46t
there were in and around about the temple
on that day 100000 silver trumpets, 10000
harps, 10000 timbrels and zoo, 900 singers;
so that all modern demonstrations ut Dus.
seldorf or Boston seem nothing compared
with that. As this great sound. surged
up amid the precious stones Of the
temple, it must have seemed like the
River Of Life dashing against the
amethyst Of the wall Of heaven. The
sodnd arose and God, a. IL to show that
he was well pleased with the music which
his children make in oil ages, dropped
into the midst Of the temple q cloud of
glory so overpowering that the officiating
priests were obliged to stop In the midst
of the services.
There has been much discussion as to
where music was born. I think that at
the beginning, when the morning stars
sang together and all the suns Of God
shouted for Joy, that the earth heard the
echo. The cloud on which the angels stood
t. celebrate the creation was the birth
place Of song. The stars that glitter at
night are only SO many keys Of celestial
pearl on which Gods fingers play the mu.
sic of the spheres. Inanimate nature Is
full of Gods stringed and wind instru.
ments. Silence itself-perfect silence-is
only a musical rest in Gods great an.
them Of worship. Wind among the
leaves, insect humming in the sum.
mer air, the rush of billow upon
beach, the ocean far out sounding
its everlasting psalm. the bobolink on the
edge of the forest, the quail whistling up
from the grass, are music.
The day of judgment, which will be q
day Of tumult and uproar, suppose, will
bring no dissonance to the ears of those
who can calmly listen, although IL will be
rs when some great performer, In execut.
ing boisterous piece Of music, he some.
times breaks down the instrument upon
which he plays; 90 1t may be on that last
day that the grand march of God, played
by the fingers of thunder and earth.
quake and conAagration, may break
down the world upon which the music
is executed. Not only 10 insnimate ma.
ture full Of music, but God has wonderfully
organized the human voice, so that in the
plainest throat and lungs there are four.
teen direct muscles which can make over
1900 different sounds! Now, there are
thirty indirect muscles which can make
1t has been estimated, more than ia, OO0, 0OC
of sounds. Now, say, when God has SC
constructed the human voice, and when hi
has filed the whole earth with harmony
and when He recognized it in the ancient
temple, have right to come to the con
clusion that God loves music.
Ipropose this morning to speak abou
sacred music. FIRST showing you its i'm
portance and then stating some Of the oh
stacles to it's advancement.
draw the 6rst argument for the i'm
portance Of sacred music from the fac
that God commanded II. Through Pau
He tells us to admonish one another il
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs
through David He cries out: Sing We Il
God all ye Kingdoms Of the earth" An,
there are hundreds Of other passages
might name, proving that IL Is as much
mans duty to Stag as II Is to pray. In
deed think there are more commands Il
the Bible to sing than there are to pra,
God not only asks for the human voice, bu
for the instruments Of music. He ask
for the cymbal, and the harp, and tn
trumpet. And I suppose that, in the las
days Of the church, the harp, the lutte, tn
trumpet, and all the instruments of must
that have given their chief aid to the the
ater and bacchanal, will be brought b,
theiv masters and laid down at the feet o
Christ and then sounded In the church
triumph on her way from suffering int
glory. "Praise ye the LordW Praise hir
with your voices. Praise him with stringe
instruments and with organs.
/ draw another argument for the impor
lance of this exercise from the impressive
ness OF the exercise. You know somethin
of what secular muaic has achieved. Yo
know it has made its impression upo
governments, upon laws, upon litsratur,
upon whole generations. One inspiritin
National air is wor tn thirty thousand me
.asa standing army. There comes q tim
In the battle when one bugle Is worth
thousand muskets. In the earlier part
the civil war the Government proposed I
economixe in bsnds of music. and many {
them were sent home; but the Generals
the army sent word 70 Washington: "Yo
are making great mistake. We are fall
tng back and falling back. We have NJ
enough music" Then the Governmer
chsnged it's mind; more bands of mu.
were sent to the field, aud the day (
shameful defoat terminated. Ihave to te
you that no nation or church can afford |
severely economise in music.
Many Of you are illustrations Of viii
sacred song can do. Through 1t you wei
brought into the Kingdom Of Jesus Chris
You stood out against the warning IN