Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-05-21

victory! ~ a,great multitude Of redeemed
spirits would cry-myriads of voices COM
Ing into the harmony, and the one hun.
dred and forty n four thousand break
ing forth into one reclamation. Stop that
loud singing! Stop! Oh, no; they can not
hear me. You might as we'll 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 can not do in Heaven, and in
stead of joining all our voices in the praise
OF the most high God, %delegating per-
haps to uncohsecrated men and women
this most solemn and most delightful SER
vice!
Now, in this church, we have resolved
upon the plan of conducting the music by
a precentor. We do it for two reasons:
one is that by throwing the whole respon-
sibility upon the mass of the people, maxi
ing the great multitude the choir, we
might rouse more heartiness. The con-
gregation coming on the Sabbath day
feel that they can not delegate this part of
the great service to any one else, and so
they themselves assume it. We nave glori-
GUS congregational singing here. People
have come many miles to hear it. They
are not sure about the preaching. but they
can always depend on the singing. We
nave heard the sound coming UP like "the
voice of many waters" but it will be done
at a better rate after a while, when we
shall realize the height and the depth and
the immensely of this privilege.
Another reason why we adopted this
plan: We do not want any choir quarrels.
You know very vel that in 8 cores of the
churches there has been perpetual conten-
ton in that direction. The only church
fight that ever occurred under my minis
try wa over a melodeon in my first settle-
ment. Have you never been in church on
the Sabbath day and heard the choir sing
and you said: THAT 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 mad altogether. Some
of the choirs are made up of our best
Christian people! Some of the warmest
friends I have ever had have stood up in
them, Sabbath after Sabbath, consider
tiously and successfully leading the praises
of God. But the majority of choirs
throughout the land are not made up of
Christian people, and three-fourths of the
church fights originate in the ~organ.loft.
I take that back and say nine-tenths.
Many of our churches are dying of choirs.
Let us, as a church, give still more atten-
tion to the music. IT a MAJ with voice
enough to sing keep silent during the exer-
else he commits a crime against God and
insults the Almighty.
Music ought to rush from the audience
like the water from a rock-clear, bright,
sparkling. If all the other part of the
church service is dull, do not have the
music dull. With so many thrilling things
to sing about, away with all drawing and
stupidity! There is nothing that makes
me so nervous as to sit in a pulpit and
look off an audience with their eyes three
fourths closed and their lips almost shut,
mumbling the praises of God. During my
recent absence / preached to a large audi
ence, and all the music they made together
did not equal one skylarkl People do not
sleep st a coronation. Do not let us sleep
In order to a proper discharge of this duty
let us stand up, save as age or weakness or
| fatigue excuse us. Seated in an easy pew
we can not do this duty half so we'll as
when, upright, we throw our whole body
into it. Let our song be like an acclama-
ton of victory. You awe a right to sing.
Do not surrender your prerogative.
There will be a great revolution on this
subjects in all our churches. God will
come down by his spirit and rouse up the
old hymns and tunes that nave not been
more than half awake since the time of
our grandfathers. The silent pews in the
church will break forth into music, and
when the conductor takes his place on the
Sabbath day there will be a great host Of
voices rushing into the harmony. MY
Christian friends, if we nave no taste for
this service on earth, what will we do in
Heaven, where they all sing and sing for
ever? Let me prophesy in regard to any
here who has no delight in the worship Of
Heaven, if you do not sing the praises Of
| God on earth l do not believe you will ever
sing them in glory. I would that our sing
ing to-day might be like the Saturday
night rehearsal for the Sabbath morning
in the skies, and might begin now by the
strength and by the help of God, to dis
performed.
Let those refuse to sing
Who never knew our God;
But children of the Heavenly King
Should speak their joys abroad. 20
The hill of Zion yields
A thousand sacred sweets,
Before we reach the Heavenly fields,
Or walk the golden streets.
Then let our songs abound.
And every tear be dry;
We're marching through Emanuel's ground
To fairer worlds on high.
Come, now, clear your throats and get
ready for this duty or you will never hear
the end of this. never shall forget hear
ing a Frenchman singing the Marseillaise
hymn on the Champ Elysees, Paris, just
before the battle of Sedan. l never saw
such enthusiasm before or since as he sang
that National air. Oh, how the French
man shoutedl Have you ever in an En-
gligh assemblage heard a band play 'God
Save the Queen" If you have you know
something about the enthusiasm of a ma
tional air. Now, l tell you that these songs
we sing Sabbath by Sabbath are the ma
tional airs Of Jesus Christ n of the
- ,~l1 80 II,a-@~ yul.. .