The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1886-06-11
TALMAGES SERMON.
A Discourse On the Subject Of Con-
gregational Singing.
The Arguments For and Against 1.-THE
Influence Of Church Music-The Meth
DDS, Past and Present-Pre-
centors and Choirs.

DDS, Past and Present-Pre-
centors and Choirs.
Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage took for the
subject of recent sermon delivered at the
Brooklyn Tabernacle, congregational
Singing" taking for his text:
It 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.-TIL Chronicles, v, t..
The temple was done. 1t was the very
chorus of all magnifcence and pomp.
Splendor crowded against splendor. 1t
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 snuffers made out of
pure gold, every thing was as complete as
the God-directed architect could make it.
1t seemed as il vision from Heaven had
alghted on the mountains. The day for
dadication came. Tradition SAYS that
there were in and around about the temple
on that day 100000 silver trumpets, 4O, 900
harps, 10000 timbrels and 20O,0 singers;
SO that all modern demonstrations at Dus-
seldorf or Boston seem nothing compared
with that As this great sound surged
up amid the precious stones of the
temple, it must have seemed like the
River of Life Ndashing against the
amethyst Of the wall of heaven. 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 oyerpowering that the officiating
priests were obliged to stop in the midst
of the services.
There has been much discussion as to
where music was born. I think that at
the beginning, 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 angels stood
to celebrate the creation was the birth
place of song. The stars that glitter at
night are only so MANY keys of celestial
pearl on which Gods fingers play the mu-
sic Of the spheres. Inanimate nature Is
full of Gods stringed and wind instru-
ments. Silence itself-perfect silence-is
VhAy q HuoiS0A iCSt III oOu-S KT66b 0U-
them Of worship. Wind among the
leaves, insect humming in the sum-
mer air, the rush Of billow upon
beach, the ocean far out sounding
its everlasting psalm, the bobolink on the
edge Of the forest, the quail whistling ND
from the grass, are music
The day of Judgment, which win be a
day of tumult and uproar, I suppose, will
bring no dissonance to the ears of those
who can calmly listen, although it win be
as when some great performer, in execut-
ing boisterous piece Of music, he some
times breaks down the instrument upon
which he plays; so it may be on that last
day that the grand march Of God, played
by the fingers of thunder and earth
quake and conhagration, may break
down the world upon which the music
is executed. Not only is inanimate ma
ture full of music, but God has wonderfully
organized the human voice, 50 that in the
plainest throat and lungs there are four
teen direct muscles which can make over
1900 different sounds! Now, there are
thirty indirect muscles which can make,
1t has been estimated, more than la, 900 900
OF sounds. Now, say, when God has so
constructed the human voice, and when he
has filled the whole earth with harmony.
and when He recognized it in the ancient
temple, have a right to come to the con.
clusion that God loves music.
1propose 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.
Idraw the first argument for the i'm
portance of sacred music from the fact
that God commanded It. Through Paul
He tells us to admonish one another in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs:
through David He cries out: Sing We to
God all ye kingdoms Of the earth" And
there are hundreds Of other passages I
might name, proving that it is as much q
mans duty to sing as it Is to pray. In.
oeed think there are more commands in |
the Bible to sing than there are to pray
Tod not only asks for the human voice, but |
TOR the instruments of music. He asks |
Tor the cymbal. and the harp, and the |
trumpet. And suppose that, in the last !
days OF the church, the harp, the lutte. the |
and all the instruments of music |
that have given their chief aid to the the. |
Ater and bacchanal, will be brought nv
their masters and laid down at the feet Of /
Christ and then sounded in the church,s
triumph on her way from suffering into
glory. "Praise ye the Lord!" Praise him
With your voices. Praise him with strineed
and with organs.
idraw another argument for the impor.
ance OF this exercise from the impressive.
less OF the exercise. You know something
u what secular music has achieved. You
now it has made ito Impression upon
governments, upon laws, upon literature.
lpon whole generations. One inspiritinr
National air is worth thirty thousand men
'sa standing army. There comes . time
a the battle whom one bugle 10 worth :
housand muskets. In the earlier part Of
he civil war the Government proposed TO
conomize in bands Of music, and MANY Of
hem were sent homo; but the Generals n
he army sent word to Washington: "You
re making great mistake. We are fan.
ng back and falling back. We have NOT
nough music" Then the Government
hanged it, mind; more bands Of music
'ere sent 70 the field, and the dsy Of
namefui defeat terminated. Ihavs to tell
on that NO nation or church can Afford "a
sverely economic in music.