Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-09-11
OF MUSIC IN HEAVEN.
THE TOPIC OF DIR. TALMAoE's
SUNDAY SERMON.

Living Faith IN the Giories That WIN
Be Celebrated In the Home of the BIest
In the Lambs New Song.
Rev. T. De. Witt Talmage's sermon for
Sunday Sept. z, in the Brooklyn Taber-
nacle, was a glowing description of the
melodies of the Celestial land. His text
was, "And they sang new song" Rev.
W. Following is the sermon:
Nearly all the cities of Europe and
America have Conservatives Of music
and associations whose object IL 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 fiist-class performers,
who gave their services gratuitously to
the masses, who came in with free tickets
and huZzaed at the entertainment. At
Berlin at IL O'Clock daily, the military
band, with sixty or a hundred instru-
ments, discourses ut the royal opera
house for the people. On Easter Sunday
in Dresden the boom of cannon and the
ringing Of bells bring mnltitudes to the
churches to listen to the organ peals and
the exciting sounds Of trumpet and
drum. When the great fair day of Leip-
sic comes the bands of music from far
and near gather in the street and be-
wilder the ear with incessant playing of
flute and horn, violin and bassoon. At
Dusseldorf, once a year, the lovers of
music assemble and for three or four
days wait upon the great singing festi-
walls and shout at the close of the
choruses, and greet the successful COM
petitors as the prizes are distributed
cups and vases of silver and gold. All
our American cities at times resound
with orchestra and oratorio. Those who
can sing well or play skillfully upon in
struments are greeted with vociferation
and garlanded by excited admirers.
There are many whose most ecstatic
delight 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 transporting harmonies. 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 streets of Heaven
we hear from the temple of God and the
Lamb the breaking forth of magnificent
jubilate. We may not yet enter in among
the favored thrOng, but God will not
deny us the pleasure of standing while
on the outside to hear. John listened to
it great while ago, and "they sang
new song" g
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 transpiring in Gods world,
and the ever accommodating triumphs of
the Messiah, that was the last half hour
that Heaven will ever be silent.
Mark the fact that this was a new
song. Sometimes have in church been
fioated away upon some great choral, in
which all our people seemed to mingle
their voices, and 1 have in the glow of
my emotions said: ''Surely this is music
good enough for him." Indeed do not
believe that "Luther's Hymn" or "Coro-
nation" or ''Old Hundred" or ''Mount
Pisgah" would sound ill if spoken by
sainted lips or thrummed from seraphic
harps. There are many of our fathers
and mothers in glory who would be slow
to shut Heavens gate against these old
time harmQnies. But this, we are told,
is new song. Some of our greatest an
thems and chorals are compositions from
other tunes-the sweetest parts of them
gathered up into the harmony; and 1
have sometimes thought that this ''new
song" may be partly made up of sweet
strains of earthly music mingled in
eternal choral. But it will, after all, be
a new song. This I do know, that in
sweetness and power it will be some
thing that ear never heAd. All the
skill of the Oldest harpers of Heaven
will be flung into it. All the love of
Gods heart will ring from it. In its
cadences the floods will clap their hands,
and it will drop with the sunlight of
everlasting day and breathe with odors
from the blossoms of the tree of life. "A
new song"-just made for Heaven.
Many earthly songs are written by
composers just for the purpose of MAX
ing tune, and the land is flooded with
note books in which really valuable
tunes are the exception. But once in a
while man is wrought up by
some great spectacle, or moved
by some terrible agony, or trans
ported by some exquisite glad
ness, and he sits down to write tune or
hymn, in which every note or every
word is a spark dropped from the forge
of his own burning emotions. So Men
delssohn wrote, and so Beethoven and SO
Charles Wesley. Cowper, depressed with
misfortunes until almost insane, resolved
on suicide, and asked the cab driver to
take him to certain place where he ex-
pected 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: F
God moves in mysterious way
His wonders toperform;
He plants his footsteps in the see,
And rides upon the storm
Ye fearful saints, fresh 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
to do, but Christ, in memory of cross ant
crown, of manger and throne, of eartf
and Heaven, and wrought upon by tht
raptures of the great eternity, pourct
this from His heart, made it for the al
mics of Heaven TO shout in celebration o.
victory, for worshipers to chant in theil
temple services, for the innumerablt
L ]. L..