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


When shall como to thee
He sung IL the tune Of "Dundee" and
everybody in Scotland knows that; and as
he began to sing the dying soldier turned
over on his pillow and said TO the minister:
"Where did you learn thatP "Why,n re-
piled the minister, "my mother taught me
that.n $50 did mine,n said the dying
Scotch soldier; and the very foundation OF
his heart was upturned, and then aud there
he Welded himself to Christ. Oh, IL has an
irresistible power Luther's sermons have
been forgotten, but his Judgment Hymn"
sings on through the ages, and will keep
on singing until the blast Of the archs
angels trumpet shall bring about that very
day which the hymn celebrates. | would
to God that those who hear me to-day
would take these songs OF salvation as
messages from Heaven; for, Just as certainly
as the birds brought food to Elijah by the
brook Cherith, 80 these winged barmouies
God sent are flying to your soul with the
bread OF life. Open your mouth and take
| IL, o hungry Elijah.
have also noticed the power Of sacred
song to soothe perturbation. You may have
come In here with great many worrlmouts
| and anxieties, yet perhaps In the singing OF
the first hymn you lost all those worri-
ments and anxieties. You have read in the
Bible Of Saul, and how he was sad and an
cry, and how the boy David came In and
ish king was melancholy. The windows
were all closed. He sat In the darkness.
Nothing could bring him forth until Franeli
| came and discoursed music for three or four
days to him. On the fourth day he looked
up and wept and rejoiced, and the windows
were thrown open, and that which all the
| splondors OF the court could not do, the
| power OF song accomplished. II you have
anxieties and worriments try this heavenly
charm upon them. DO not sit down on the
bank Of the hymn, but plunge In, that the
| devil Of care may be brought out OF you.
II also arouses to action. Do you not
know that singing church is always a
triumphant churchP IL congregation Is
silent during the exercise or partially
Silent, It is the silence Of death. II when
the hymn Is given out you hear the faint
hum Of here and there father and mother
| In Israel while the vast majority is silent,
that minister OF Christ who Is presiding
needs to have avery strong constitution II
he does not get the chllls. He needs not
only the grace Of God, but nerves like
whalebone. 1t Is amazing how some peo-
| pie with voice enough to discharge all their
duties in the world, when they come into
the house OF God have no voice to discharge
this duty. really believe that II the Church
| Of Christ could rise up and sing as 1t ought
to sing, that where we have hundred
souls brought into the kingdom Of Christ
there would be a thousand. How was It in
olden timer 'Cajetan said "Luther con-
quered us by his songs"
| But must now speak OF some Of the
obstacles In the way Of the advancement Of
this sacred music, and the first Is that IL has
been impressed into the service Of supersti-
ton. / am far from believing that music
ought always to be positively religious.
Refined art has opened places where music
has been secularized, and lawfully 80. The
/ ha nh ha
orchestra, the concert, by the qualification
OF pure taste and the product IN Of harm
less amusement and the Improvement OF
talent, have become very forces In the adj
vancement Of our civilization. Music has
as much right to laugh In Surrey Gardens
as 1t has to pray in st. Pauls. In the king.
dom Of nature we have the glad fling OF
the wind, as well as the long meter psalm
Of the thunder. But while all this is SC
every observer has noticed that this art
which God intended for the improvement OF
the ear, and the voice. and the head, aud
the heart, has often been impressed into
the service Of error. Tartini, the musical
composer, dreamed one night that Satan
snatched from his hand an instrument and
played upon II something very sweets
dream that has often been fulfilled In oui
day, the voice and the instruments that
ought to have been devoted to Christ cap
tured from the church and applied to pur
poses Of sin.
Another obstacle has been an inordinatC
fear Of criticism. The vast majority Of PEG
pie singing In church never want anybod,
else TO hear them sing. Everybody is wait
ing for somebody else to do his duty. L
we all sang, then the inaccuracies that ar
evident when only few sing would b.
drowned out. God asks you to do as wei
as you can, and then II you get the wronl
wrong pitch or keep wrong time, he will
nj 1afiaiannU nf m
perfection Of the voices. Angels will no
laugh II you should lose your place in tn
musical scale, or come in at the close q ba
behind. There are three schools Of sing
ing, am told-the German school, tn
Italian school, and the French school o
singing. Now, would like to add a fourth
school, and that Is the school OF Christ
The voice Of q contrite, broken heart, al
though II may not be able to stand human
criticism, makes better music TO Gods ca
than the most artistic performance whel
the heart is wanting. know 1t is easier h
, preach on this than 1t is to practice; but
sing for two reasons--1rst, because like II
AID, next, because want to- encourag
, those who DO not know how. / have bu
very little faculty In that direction, and N,
culture at all, yet 1 am resolved to sing
though every note should go of like Chi
, nese gong. God has commanded 1t, and
dare not be silent. He calls on the beasts
on the cattle, on the dragons, to praise him
j and We ought not TO be behind the cattl
: and the dragons.
| Another obstacle that has been In the wa
Of the advancement OF this holy art has bee
so much angry discussion on the subject o
music. There are those who would hay
this exercise conducted by musical instru
ments. In the same church are those VIII
do not like musical instruments, and SO II
organ and no organ, and there Is fight
t.. ~. q IL ,xtFI,a he
the music shall be conducted by precento
, or by drilled choir Some want drllle
choir and some want precentor, and ther
Is fight. Then there are those who woul
like In the church to have the organ playe
, in dull, lifeless, droning way, while ther
i are others who would have II wreathed int
fantasies, branching out injets and spangle
! OF sound, rolling and tossing in marvelou
convolutions as when In pyrotechnic die
, play you think piece is exhausted 1t break
J out in wheels, rockets, blue lights, and ser
4 pentine demonstrations. Some would hay
: the organ played In almost inaudible swee
I ness, and others would have 1t full of STAG
!, cato passages that make the audience jun
with great eyes and hair on end, as thoug
{ confronted by a vision OF the witch of Endor
Z and he who tries to please all will succee
4 in nothing. Nevertheless you are to adm
0 the fact that this contest which is going o
/ In hundreds of the churches Of the Unite
/ States to-day is mighty bindrance to tn
a advancement Of this art. In this way score
and scores OF churches are entirely cripple
/ as to all influence, and the music is dan
age rather than praise.
r Another obstacle In the advancement Q
: this art has been the erroneous notion tha
Q this part of the service could be conducte
+ by a delegation. Churches have said; "0t
a what an easy time we shall have. Th
a minister win do the preaching, and I'll
choir win do the singing, and we will hav
. nothing to do" And you know as we'll 0
1 that there are a great multitude {
! churches all through this land where th