National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1886-05-03

The morning light is breaking,
The darkness disappears:
The sons Of men are waking
To penitentlal tears.
Before the sermon DR.. Talmage ex-
pounded one Of the jubilant psalms OF David,
and then took his text from III Chron. v.
13: at came even TO pass, as the trumpeters
and singers were as one, to make one sound
to be heard in praising and thanking the
Lord.n Following is the sermon in full
The temple was done. IL was the very
chorus OF all magnincence and pomp.
splendor crowded against splendor It was
the diamond necklace Of the earth. From
the huge pillars crowned with leaves Of
flowers and rows Of pomegranate wrought
out In FURNISHED metal, down even to the
tongs and enuffers made out OF pure gold,
everything was as complete as the God
directed architect could make IL. 1t
seemed as II vision from heaven had
alighted on the mountains. The day for
dedication came. Tradition says that there
were in and around about the temple on
that day two hundred thousand silver
trumpets, forty thousand harps, forty thou
sand timbrels, and two hundred thousand
eingers; 60 that all modern demonstrations
Mt Dusseldorf or Boston seem nothing COM
pared with that. AS this great sound
surged up amid the precious stones OF the
temple, II must have seemed like the river
Of life dashing against the amethyst of the
wall Of heaven. The sound arose and God,
as II to show that He was well pleased with
the music which His children make IN all
ages, dropped into the midst Of the temple
cloud Of glory so overpowering that the
officiating priests were Obliged to stop In
the midst OF the services.
There has been much discussion rs to
where music was born. think that at tie
beginning, when the morning stars sang
fOnpthar md a1l tha nj (tOh ahnlItal
for Joy, that the earth heard the echo. The
cloud on which the angels stood TO celebrate
the creation was tho BIRTHPLACE OF song.
The stars that glitter at night are only SO
many keys Of celestial pearl on which Gods
fingers play the music Of the spheres. Imam
innate nature is full Of Gods stringed and
wind Instruments. Silence itself-perfect
silence--is only musical rest In Gods
great anthem OF worship. Wind among the
leaves, insect humming in the summer air,
the rush Of blllow upon beach, the ocean
far out sounding It's everlasting psalm, the
bobollnk on the edge OF the forest, the quail
wfistling up from the grass, are music.
While visitlng Blackwell's Island heard
coming from the window Of the lunatic
asylum very sweet song. 1t was sung by
one who bad lost her reason, and have
come TO believe that even the deranged and
disordered elements OF nature would make
music TO our ear, II we only had acuteness
sounds in nature that are discordant and
repulsive make harmony in Gods ear. You
know that you may come so near to an
orchestra that the sounds are painful In
stead Of pleasureable; and think that we
stand so near devastating storm and fright
ful whirlwind we cannot hear that which
makes to Gods ear and the ear OF the spirits
above US a music as complete as II is ire
mendOus.
The day Of judgment, which will be day
of uproar and tumult, suppose will bring
no dissonance TO the ears OF those who can
calmly listen; although It will be as when
some great performer is executing bOis-
ferrous piece Of music he sometimes breaks
down the instrument on which he plays, 8 o
IL may be on that last day that the grand
march of God, played by the fingers OF
thunder and earthquake and confiagratlon
may break down the world upon which the
music is executed. Not only is inanimate
nature full of music, but God has wonder
fully organized the human voice, so that In
the plainest throat and lungs there are
fourteen direct muscles which can make
over sixteen thousand different soundg.
Now, there are thirty indirect muscles,
which can make, II is estimated, more than
one hundred and seventy-three millions Of
sounds. Now, say, when God has so con-
etructed the human voice, and when he has
filed the whole earth with harmony, and
when he recognized 1t in the ancient tenn
pie, have right to come to the conclu-
zion that God loves music.
propose this morning to speak about
sacred music, first showing you its i'm
portance, and then stating some of the OBJ
stacles to its advancement.
/ draw the first argument for the import
nnce OF sacred music from the fact that
God commanded 1t. Through Paul he tells
us to admonish one another In psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs; through David he
aFfpa put. NtSinO " IN (rnH all KINGDOM
OF the earth.n And there are hundreds OF
other passages | might name proving
that II Is as much mans duty TO sing as II
is his duty to pray. Indeed think there
are more commands In the Bible to sing
than there are to pray. God not only asks
ments OF music. He asks for the cymbal
and the harp and the trumpet. And | sup
pose that, In the last days OF tho church
the harp, the lutte, the trumpet, and all the
instruments Of music that have given their
chief aid to the theater and bacchanal, Will
be brought BY their masters and laid down
at the feet Of Christ and then sounded IL
the churohs triumph on her way from suf
fering into glory. "Praise ye the Lordl'
Praise him with your voices. Praise him
with stringed Instruments and with organs
draw. another argument for the Import
ance of this exercise from the impressive
ness OF the exercise. You know something
know II has made Its impression upon gov
ernments, upon laws, upon literature, upor
whole generations. One inspiriting ma
tional air is worth 10000 men as a standing
army. There comes time In the battl,
when one bugle is worth 1000 muskets. Ii
the earlier part OF our civil war the govern
ment proposed to economlze bands o
music, and many Of them were sent home
but the generals In the army sent word Il
Washington "You are making a very grea
mistake. We are falling back and fallinl
back. We have not enough music.n TheI
the government changed its mind; NOR,
bands of music were sent to the field ant
the day OF shameful defeat terminated. !.
have to tell you that no nation or churcl
can afford TO severely economize In music
Why should we rob the programmes oil
worldly gayety when we have so many APP
propriate songs and tunes composed In on
own day, us well as that magnificent inheri
tanee OF church psalmody which has com
down fragrant with the devotions OF othe
generations-tunes no more worn out thar
when our greatgrandfathers climbed up OF
them from the church pew TO glory. Dear
old souls, how they used to singl Whei
they were cheerful, our grandfathers ant
grandmothers used to sing Colchester.
When they were very meditative, then the
Westinghouse rang with "South Street
and asst. Edmondsn Were they struck
through with great tenderness, they sanl
"Woodstock." Were they wrapped Ii
visions OF the glory Of the church, they SAM
"Zion.n Were they oyerborne with TIL
love and glory Of Christ, they sang ''Ariel.
And in those days there were certain tune
married to certain hymns, and they hav
lived In peace great while, these two oil
people, and We have no right to dlvorc
them. "What God hath Joined togetherl 10
no man put asunder." Born as we hay
been, amid this great wealth Of churc
music augmented by the compositions o
artists In our day, we ought not TO b
tempted out OF the sphere of Christian
harmony and try 10 seek uncopseerate,