Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1890-09-12
"A NEW SONG"
Or. TALMAGE DISC0URSES ON
MUSIC IN HEAVEN.

taken from Rev. 5. o.: "And they sang new
song" He said:
Nearly all the cities of Europe and Amer
lea have Conservatives of music, and asso-
Citations, whose object 1t Is by voice and
instrument, to advance the art of sweet
sounds. On Thursday nights, Exeter Hall
of London used to resound with the music
of tlrst-class performers, who gave their
services gratuitously to the masses, who
came in with free tickets and huzzaed at
the entertainment. At Berlin, at eleven
o'clock daily, the military band with sixty
eor one hundred Instruments discourSeS at
the royal opera house for the people. On
Easter Sunday, in Dresden, the boom of
cannon and the ringing of bells, bring
multitudes to the churches to listen to the
organ peals and the exciting sounds of
trumpet and drum. When the great fair
day of Lcipsic comes, the bands of music
from far and near gather in the streets and
bewilder the ear with incessant playing of
flute and horn, violin and bassoon. At
Dusseldorf, once year, the lovers OF
music assemble, and fsS three or four days
wait upon the great singing festivals, and
shout Mt the close of the choruses, and
greet the successful competitors as the
prizes are observation-disclosures and vases of
silver and gold All our American cities at
times rcsound with orchestra and oratorio.
Those who can sing well or play skilfully
upon instruments are greeted with vocifer-
alton, and garlanded by excited admirers.
There are many whose most ecStatic de-
light is to be found in melodies and all the
splendor of celestial gates, and all the
lusciousness of twelve manner of fruits,
and all the rush of floods from under the
throne of God, would not make heaven
for them If there were no great and trans
porting harmonics. Passing along our
streets In the hour Of worship, you hear the
voice OF sacred melody, although you do not
enter the building. And passing along the
street Of heaven we hear, from the temple
of God and the Lamb, the breaking forth of
magnificent jubilatc. We may not yet
enter In among the favored throng, but God
will not deny us the pleasure of standing
awhile ON the outside to hear John
listened TO it great while ago, and "they
sang new song,
Let none aspire TO that blessed place who
have no love for this exercise, for although
it is many ages since the thrones were set,
and the harps were strung, there has been
no cessation in the song, excepting once for
about thirty minutes and judging from
the glorious things now transporting in Gods
world, and the ever accommodating triumphs
of the Messiah, that was the last half-hpGr
that heaven will ever be silent.
Mark the fact that this was q new song.
Sometimes l have in church been hoated
away upon some great choral, in which all
our people seemed to mngle their voices,
and / have, in tho glow OF my emotions
said, Surely this is music good enough for
heaven Indeed l do not believe that
'Luther's Hymn or Coronation or old
Hundred or Mount Pisge a., would sound
i'll If spoken by sainted li,S or thrummed
from seraphic harps. Thcto are many Of
our fathers and mothers in glory who would
be slow to shut heavens gate against these
old-time harmonies. But this, we are told,
js n new song. Some of our greatest
anthems and chorals are compositions from
other tunes-the sweetest parts of them
gathered up into the harmony; and l have
sometimes thought that this "new song"
may bc partly made up of sweet strains or
earthly music mingled in eternal choral.
But it will, after all, be new song. This
do know, that In sweetness and power 1t
will be something that ear never heard.
All the skill of the oldest harpers OF heaven
will he flung into it, All the love of Gods
heart will ring from IL. In its cadences the
floods will clap their hands, and IL will drop
with the sunlight OF everlasting day, and
breathe with odors from the blossoms Of the
tree of life "A new song'-justi made for
heaven.
Many earthly songs are written by COM
posers just for the purpose of making a
tune; and the land is flooded with note
books In which really valuable tunes are
the exception. But once in while man
IS wrought up by some great spectacle, OF
moved by some terrible agony, or trans
ported by some exquisite gladness, and he
sits down TO write tune or a hymn In
which every note or every word is n spark
dropped from the forge of his own burning
emotions. SO Mendclssohn wrote, and Sc
Beethoven, and so Charles Wesley. Cowper,
depressed with mlsfortuncs until almost in
sane, resolved on suicide, and asked the cal
driver to take him to "a certain place where
he expected to destroy his own life. The
cab driver lost his way. and Cowper began
to think OF his sin, and went back to his
home and sat down and wrote
"God moves in mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
lie plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
Eye fearful saints, frosh courage take,
The clouds you so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head"
Mozart composed his own requiem. and
said TO his daughter Emily, 'Play that:'
and while Emily was playing the requiem,
MoZart's soul went up on the wave OF his
own music into glory. Emily looked around
and her father was dead.
This new song OF heaven was not com
posed because heaven had nothing else e
do, but Christ, in memory of cross and
crown, OF manger and throne, of earth and
heaven, and wrought up by the raptures OF
the great eternity, poured this from His
heart, made 1t for the armies of heaven tC
shout In celebration OF victory for worship
pers TO Grant in their temple services, fol
the innumerable home circles of heaven &c
sing In the house OF many mansions. If q
new tune be started I'm church there is onl y
here and there person that can sing IL. II
is some time before the congregation learns
new tune. But not so with the new songs
of heaven. The children who went up to-
day from the waters Of the Gauges are now
singing 1t. That christian man or woman
who, few minutes ago, departed from thi,
very street has Joined IL. All know it
those by the gates. those by the river bank
those I'm the temple. Not feeling their way
through it, or hating. or going back as Il
they never before had sung IL, but with
full round voice they throw their soul into
this new song IL some sabbath day few
notes OF that anthem should travel dowr
the air, we could not sing 1t. No organ
could roll its thunder. No harp could catcf
its thrill. No lips could announce is
sweetness. Transixed lost, enchanted
dumb, we could not hear 1.-THE falntes
note of the new song. Yet, while l speak
heavens cathedral quakes under IL, and ter
thousand times ten thousand, and thou
sands OF thousands sing 1.-THE new song
Further IL Is commemorative song
We are distinctly told that it makes refer
ence to past deliverances. Oh. how much
have they TO sing about. They sing of tho
darkness through which on earth they
ood md IL L. t..I.t III.