The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-05-09
CONGREGATIONAL SINGING.
Birth Of Sweet Sounds at the Creation,
When the Stars Sang Together.
The Commands of God Making Tt as Impera-
tive to Sing as 1t Is to Pray-Some OF the
Advantages of Congregational Music.
lBermon at Brooklyn, May 2.

Bermon at Brooklyn, May.
Rev. r. DEWITT Talmage preached this NOR n
ing on the subject of Congregational singing
Services were opened by the congregation sing
ing hymn Before the sermon DR.. Talmage
explained one of the iubilant psalms Of David,
and took his text from III Chronicles v, Is:
SIT then came to pass, the trumpeters and
singers were as one to make one sound to be
heard in praising and thanking the Lord Fol-
lowing is the sermon in full.
The temple was done. 1t was the very chorus
Of all magnfceuce and pomp. Splenjor crowd
ed against splendor. 1t was the diamond neck
lace 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 shutters made out of pure gold
everything was as complete as the God-directed
architect could make it. Il seemed as if Wis
ion from heaven had aiighted on the mountains
The day for dedication came. Tradition
says that there were in and around
about the temple on that day 200, 900 silver
trumpsts. 40. 900 harps. 40 1000 tmbres, and 2OO,-
GOO singers, so that all modern demonstrations
At Dusseldorf Boston seems nothing COM
pared 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 sound
arose. and God, as If to show that He was we'll
pleased with the music which His children make
In all ages, dropped into the midst of the temple
cloud of glory 80 oyerpowering that the offici-
ating priests were obliged to stop in the INSIST of
the services.
There has been much discussion as to where
musc was born. think that at the beginning
when the morning stars sang together and all
khe sons Of Cod shouted for joy, the earth heard
the echo. The cloud on which the angels stood
80 celebrate the creation was the birthplace Of
song. The stars that glitter at night are only
81 many keys of celestial pearl on which Gods
fingers play the music of the spheres. In
f.1 ia
and wind instruments Silence itself-per
feet sience-is only musical rest
In Gods great anthem of worship Wind
among the leaves, insects humming In the sum-
sner air, the rush Of billow upon beach, the ocean
far out sounding its everlasting psalm. the bob
blink on the edge of the forest, the quail whis
fling up from the grass. are music. While
visiting Blackwells island heard coming from
n window of the lunatic asylum very sweet
song. It was sung by one who had 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 enough to listen suppose that
even the sounds in nature that discordant
and repulsive make harmony in Gods ear. You
know that you may come so near to an orchestra
that the sounds are painful instead of pleasur-
able; and think stand devastating
storm and frightful whirlwind we cannot hear
shat which makes to Gods ear and the ear of
rhe spirits above US a music as complete as it Is
tremendous.
The day or 1uQgment, Wnlcn Will De q DAY or
upYoar and tumult, ] suppose will bring no dis
sonance to the ears of those who can calmly lis
ten, although it will be as when some great per-
former is executing boisterous piece of music
he sometimes breaks down the instrument on
which he plays; so it may be on that last day
that the grand march of God played by the
fingers of thunder, aud earthquake and confa-
grafton. may break down the world upon
which the music is executed: Not
only is nanimate nature full of music.
but God has wonderfully organized the human
voice. so that in the plainest throat and lungs
there are fourteen direct muscles which can
make over 600 different sounds. Now, there
are thirty indirect muscles which can make, it
has been estimated, more than $4,000. 900 of
sounds. Now, say, when God has so construct
ed the human voice. and when He has filled the
whole earth with harmony, and when He recog-
nized it in the ancient temple, have right to
come to the conclusion that God loves music.
propose this morning to speak about sacred
music, first showing you It's Importance and then
stating some of the obstacles to its advancement.
draw the first argument for the Importance
of sacred music from the fact that God COM
snanded 1t. Through Paul he tells us to admon-
ish one another in psalms. and hymns, and
spiritual songs; through David he cries out:
Sing ye TO God all We Kingdoms of the earth
And there are hundreds Of other passages I
might name, proving that 1t is much Of
mans dxty to sing as it is his duty to pray. In
deed. think there are more commands in the
Bible to sing than there are to pray. God not
only asks for the human voice, but for the instru
Ynents of music He asks for the cymbal. and
the harp. and the trumpet And / suppose
that in the last days Of the church the
harp. the lutte. the trumpet. and all the instru-
ments 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 IN the ehurchs triumph on her
way from suffering into glory praise We the
1yordw Praise Him with your voice. Praise
Him with stringed instruments and with organs
1 draw another argument for the Importance
of this exercise from the impressiveness OF the
exercise. You know something of what secular
music has achieved. You know it has made its
suppression upon governments, upon laws, upon
literature, upon whole generations One nspirt-
Tag national air is worth thirty Thousand men as
standing army. There comes time In the bat
tie when one bugle is worth a thousand mus.
kets. In the earlier part of our civil the
government proposed to economic in bands of
music, and many of them were sent home; but
the generals in the army sent word TO Washing
ton; ssYou are making great mistake. We
are falling back and falling back. We have not
enough music" Then the government changed
its mind; more bands of music were sent to the
lield, and the day of shameful defeat terminated.
lhave to tell you that no nation or church can
afford to severely economize in music.
Why should we rob the programmes of worldly
EAyety when we have so many appropriate songs
and tunes composed in our own day, as we'll as
that magnificent inheritance of church psalm
Ody which has come down fragrant with the de-
yosions of other OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES no moro
worn out than when our great-grandfathers
climbed up on them from the church pew to
eSory9 Dear old souls. how they used to sing!
When they were cheerful our grandfathers
and grandmothers used to sing .Col-
chester" When they were very meditative
then the meeting house rang with "Sourh
Street and ..St Edmonds." Were they struck
through with great tenderness they sang Wood
stock" Were they wrapped in visions of the
glory OF the church they sang Zion" Were
they overcome with the love and glory, of Christ
they sang Ariel And in those days theis were
certain tunes married TO certain hymns, and they
have lived in peace great while these two old
people, and we have no right to divorce them.
What God hath Joined together let no man put
asunder.n Born as we have been amid this great
wealth of church music, augmented by the COM
positions of artists in our day, we ought not to
he TAINTED OFT of the snhera of Christian har-