The Bossier banner., 1891-11-26

ye to God, all We Kingdoms of the
earth" And there are hundreds of
other passages l might name, prov
ing that it is as much a mans
duty to sing as it is his duty
to pray. Indeed, l 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 instru-
ments of music. He asks for the tyu1-
bal, and the harp, and the trumpet as
well as the organ. And l suppose that,
In the last days of the church, the harp,
the Lutte, the trumpet, and the instru-
ments of music, whether they have been
in the service of righteousness or sin,
will be brought by 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 stringed
instruments and with organs,
l draw another argument for the i'm
portance of this exercise, from the inn
pressiveness of this exercise. You
know something of what secular music
has achieved. You know It has made
its impression on governments, upon
laws, upon literature, upon whole gen
erations. One inspiring national air is
worth thirty thousand men as a stand
ing army. There comes a time when in
the battle when one bugle is worth a
thousand muskets. l have to tell you
that no nation or church can afford to
severely economic in music.
Many of you are illustrations of what
sacred song can do. Through it you
were brought into the kingdom of Jesus
Christ. You stood out againt the argu-
ment and the warning of the pulpit;
but when, in the sweet words of Isaac
Watts, or Charles Wesley, or John
Newton, or Toplady, the love of Jesus
was sung to your soul, then you sur
rendered, as armed castle, that could
not be taken by a host, lifts its win
dow to listen to a harp's trill. There
was Scotch soldier dying in New Or
leans, and Scotch minister came in to
give him the consultations of the Cos
pei. The man turned over on his pill
low and said: Don't talk to me about
religion" Then the Scotch minister
began to sing familiar hymn of Scot
land, that was composed by David
Dickerson, beginning with the words:
Oh, mother. dear Jerusalem,
When shall 1 come to thee?
He sang it to the tune of Dundee, ="
and everybody in Scotland knew that;
and as he began to sing the dying SOL
dier turned over on his pillow and said
to the minister: ''Where did you learn
that?" why" replied the miSister,
my mother taught me that" $50 did
mine," said the dying Scotch soldier,
and the very foundation of his heart
was upturned, and then and there he
yielded himself to Christ Oh, it has
an irresistible power. Luther's SER
mons have been forgotten, but his
Judgment Hymn" sings on through
the ages, and will keep on singing un-
til the blast of the archangel's trumpet
shall bring about that very day which
the hymn celebrates. l would to God
that those who hear me to-day would
take these songs of salvation as mes
sages from Heaven; for, just as GER
tainly as the birds brought food to
Elijah, by the brook Cherith, so these
| winged harmonies, God-sent, are flving
to your soul with the bread of life
Open your mouths and take it, o hum
cry Eliiahs!
In addition to the inspiring music of
our own day we have glorious inher
ltance of church psalmody which has
come down fragrant with the devotions
of other generations-tunes no more
worn out than they were when our
great-grandfather climbed up on them
from the church pew to glory? Dear
old souls, how they used to sing! When
they were cheerful, our grandfathers
and grandmOthers used to sing Col
chester" When they were very medi-
tative, then the board meeting
house rang with South Street.
and "St. Edmonds' Were they
struck through with great tender
ness, they sang Woodstock. Were
they wrapped in visions of the glory of
the church, they sang Zion" Were
they everborne with the love and glory
OF Christ, they sang Ariel" And in
those days there were certain tunes
married to certain hymns, and they
have lived in peace a great while, these
two old people, and we have 70 right
to divorce them. "What God hath
joined together let no man put asun-
der" But how hard-hearted we must
be if all this sacred music of the past.
and all the the sacred music of the
present does not start US heavenward.
have also noticed the power of
| sacred song to sooth perturbation. You
may have come in here this morning
with a great many worriments and
anxieties, yet, perhaps, in the singing
of the first hymn you lost all those wor-
riments and anxieties. You have read
in the Bible of Saul and how he was
sad and angry, and how the boy David
came in and played the evil spirit out
of him. A ASpanish king was melancholy.
The windows were all closed. He sat
| in the darkness. Nothing could bring
him forth until Faranell came and dis
coursed n usic for three or four davs to
him. On the fourth day he looked up
| and wept, and rejoiced, and the win
dows were thrown open, and that which
t.aIl %l,x- 4 IL