Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1886-05-21
DR.. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
REPORTED FOR THE PRESS.

Text: SIT came even to pass, as the trun
peters and singers were as one TO make ont
sound to be heard in praising and thanking
the Lord III. Chron V. IL
The Temple was done. 1t was the verJ
chorus Of all magnificence and pomp Splen
dor crowded against splenior 1t was tn.
diamond necklace of the earth. From the
huge pillars crowned with leaves of hower
and rows OF pomegranata wrought out in
FURNISHED metal, down even to the tongs ard
SHUTTERS made out of pure gold, everything
was as complete as the God-direCted
architect could make it. 1t seemed
as if vision from heaven had
alighted on the mountains The day fol
dedication came Tradition SAYS that there
were in and round about the temple on that
day 100000 silver trumpets, 10000 harpS
10000 timbrels and 200, 0OG singers; SO that all
modern demonstrations at Dusseldorf or
Boston seem nothing compared with that
As this great toJnd surged up amid
the precious stones of the Temple, it must
have seeinel like the river of life dashing
against the amethyst of the wall of Haven.
The sound arose and God, as il to show that
He was well Pleased with the music which
His children make in all ages, dropped into
the midst of the Temple a cloud of glory so
overpowering that the officiating prie Is were
obliged to stop in the midst of the services.
There has been much discussion as to whera
IullSlC WIS DDtH JuIllN llslJ at the De9lQ-
ming, 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 angel stood to celebrate the crea-
uon was the birthplace of song The stars
that glitter as night are only SO many keys
of celestial pearl on which Gods fingers play
the music of the spheres. lnanimate nature
is full of Gods Stringed and wind instruments.
Silence ltself-perfoct silence-is only must
cal rnct in Gods GREAT anthem of NVOIsSh in
Wind among the leaves insect humming in
the summer air, the rush of billow upon
beach, the ocean far out sounding its ever
lasting psalm, the bobolink on the edge f the
forest, the quail whistling up from the grass,
are music. While visiting Blackwell's Island
/ heard coming from tle window of the
lunatic asylum, a very sweet song. 1t 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 ours ear, if we only had
acuteneSs enough to listen. | suppose that
even the sounds in nature that are discordant
and repulsive make harmony in Gods ear.
You know that you may come so near to an
orchestra thatthe sounds are painful instead of
pleasurable; and think that we stand so near
devastating storm and frightful whirlwind
we cannot hear that which makes to Gods
ear and the ear of the spirits above us a
music as complete as it is tremendous.
The Day of Judgment, which will be a day
of uprCar 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 bolster
GUS piece of music, he sometimes breaks
down the instrument on which he plays; so il
may be On that last day that the grand march
of God, played by the fingers of thunder and
earthquake and conf1agration may break
down the world upon which the music is
~ ELL
of music but God has wonderfully organized
the human voice, SO that in the plaiuest
throat and lungs there are fourteen
direct muscles which can make over sixteen
thousand different sounds Now, there are
thirty indirect muscles which can make, it
has been estimated, more than one hundred
and seventy-three millions of sounds. Now,
say, when God has so constructed the human
voice and when he has filed the whole earth
with harmony, and when'he recognized it in
the ancient Temple, Ihave a right to come tc
the conclusion that God loves music.
Iproposeths morning tospeak about sacred
music, first showing you its Importance and
then stating some Of the obstacles to its adj
Vancement.
l draw the first argument for the impo,-
lance of sacred music from the fact that God
commanded it. Through Paul He tells lis t.
admonish one another in psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs; through David He cries
out: "Sing We to God all We Kingdoms o. the
earthn And there are hundreds of other pas
sagcs l might name, proving that it is as
much mans duty to sing as it is his d lty &c
pray. Indeed think there are mora com
mands in the Bible to sing than there are to
pray. God not only asks for the human voice
but for the instruments 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 instruments of music that have giver
their chief aid to the theatre and bacchaual
will be brought by their masters and laid
down at the feet of Christ, and then sounded
in the churchS triumph ON her way from
suffering into glory. "Praise we the Lordn
Praise Him with your voices Praise Hin
with stIinged instruments and with organs.
[ draw another argument for the import
ance of this exercise from the improSsivenaS S
of the exercise. You know something o
what secular music has achieved. You know
it has made its impressionupon governments
upon laws upon literature, upon whole gene
rations. One inspiriting national air is wortl
thirty thousand mon rs a standing army
There comes a time in the battle when on
bugle is worth thousand muskets. in th
earlier part of our civil war government pro
posed TO economic in bands of music and many
of them were sent home; but the general
in the army sent word to Washington: "Yol
HiG llltthluS IL very SlttlO llliSldhG. W u u
falling back and falling back. We have NJ
enough music" Then the govcrnncu
changed It's miml more bands of mus
were sent TO the field ami the day of shame
full defeat terminated / have to tel yO
that no nation or church can afford t.
severely economic in music.
Why should we rob the programmes o.
worldly gayety when we have SO many ap
propriate songs and tunes composed in on
dow N,.,ll fhoT i,',n zee,
tance OF church psalmody which has com
down fragrant with the devotions of O lie
generations tune no more worn out thai
when our great grandfathers climbed
up on them from the churcl
pew to glory! Dear old souls, how
they used to sing! When they were cheeift
our grandfatherS and grandmoth,rs u ell t.
sing colchester. When they We're vcl'
meditative, then the meeting house rang witt
"South Street aud "St. EdmohdSn We
they STRUCK through with great tendernc IS
they sang Woodstock We're they wrappa,
in visions of the glory of the church, t6el
sang "Zion." Were they oyerboine with th
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 ole
people, and we have no right to d;rorc,
them. "What God hath joined together lie
no man put asunder" Born as we have Lea
amid this great wealth of church music, aug
mented by the compositions OF artists in ou
day, we ought not to be tempted out OF th
sphere of Christian harmony and try to seel
unconsecrated sounds. 1T is absurd for
millionaire to steal.
Many of you are illustrations of wba
sacred song can do. Through it you wer
brought into the kingdom of Jesus Christ
You stood out against the warning and tn
argument of the pulpit, but when in the swee
words of Charles Wesley or John Newton o
Toplady the love of Jesus was sung to you
soul, then you surrendered, as armed castl
that could not be taken by a host, lifts it
window to listen TO a harp's trill.
There was a Scotch soldier dying in NeJ
Orleans and q Scotch ninistel CANA in L