The Brookhaven leader., 1886-05-13


It came even to pass, as the trumpeters
and singers we're rs one. TO make one sound
% be heard in praising and thanking the
kord-fII Chronicles, V, l3l
The temple was done. 1t was the very
chorus of all magnifceuce 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 or
pure gold, every thing was as complete as
the Cod directed architect could make it,.
1t seemed as If vision from Heaven, had
atghted on the mountains. The day for
dedication came. Tradition says that
there were in and around about the temple
on that day 100000 silver ,trumpets, 10000
harps, 10000 timbrels and zoe, 900 singers;
so that fll modern demonstrations at Dus.'
seldorf or Boston seem nothing compared
with that. As this great sound surged
mp 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 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 cloud Of
glory SO overpowering that the officiating
priests we're obliged to stop in the midst
of the services.
There has been much discussion as to
where music was born. l think that at
che 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-
mehts Silence itself-perfect silence-is
only a musical rest in Gods great an.
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 whstling up
from the grass, are music. While visiting
Blackwell's Island heard coming from
sweet song. 1t was sung by one who had
lost her reason, and have come to believe
that eve the deranged and disordered ell
ements of nature would make music to our
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 sc near to an orchestra
that the sounds are painful instead of
pleasurable; and think that we stand so
near devastating storm and frightful
whirlwind we can not hear that which
makes to Gods ear and the ear of the spir-
it's above us a music as complete as 1t is
treRendous.
The day of Judgment, which will be a
day of tumult and uproar, suppose, will
bring no dssonance to the ears of those
who can calmly listenS although it will-be
as when some great performer, in execut-
ing a boisterous piece Of music, he some-
times breaks down the instrument upon
which he plays; so 1t may be on that last
day that the grand march of God, pla yed
by the fingers of thunder and earth
quake and conAagration, 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, so that in the
plainest throat and lungs there are FOUR
teen direct muscles which can make over
5000 different sounds! Now, there are
thirty indirect muscles which can make,
it has been estimated, more than lT3, 900 900
of sounds Now, l say, when God has so
tructed the human voice, and when he
has filled the whole earth with harmony,
and when He recognized it in the ancient
temple, have right to come to the con-
clusion that God loves music.
propose 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.
draw the first argument for the i'm.
portance of sacred music from the fact
that God commanded it. Through Paul
He tells US to admonsh one another in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs;
through David He cries out: Sing ye to
God all ye kingdoms of the earth" And
there are hundreds of other passages /
might name, proving that it is as much
mans duty to sing as it is 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 instruments of music. He asks
for the cymbal, and the harp, and the
trumpet. And l suppose that, in the last
days OF the church, the harp, the Lutte, the
trumpet, and all the instruments of music
that have given their chief aid to the the
ater and bacchanal, will be brought by
Al. - - 4.
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 stringed
instruments and with organs.
draw another argument for the impor-
tance of this exercise from the impressive
ness of the exercise. You know something
of what secular music has achieved. You
know it has made its impression upon
governments, upon laws, upon literature,
upon whole generations. One insprting
National air is worth thirty thousand men
as standing army. There comes a time
in the battle when one bugle is worth a
thousand muskets. In the earlier part of
the civil war 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 Washington: "You
are making a great mistake. Weare fall
ing back and falling back. We have not
enough music" Then the Government
changed its mind; more bands of music
were sent to the ieldn and the day of
shameful defeat terminated. have to tell
ousthat no nation or church can afford to
severely economize in music.
Why should we rob the programmes Of
worldly gayety when we have SO many
appropriate songs and tunes composed in
our daY. as well as that magnificent in.