The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1891-10-02

pulpit proclamation OF their dogmaS-
Tartini, the musical composer, dreamed
one night that Satan snatched from his
hand an instrument and played upon
it something very sweet-a dream that
has often been fulfilled in our day. the
voice and the instruments that ought
to have been devoted to Christ. cap
tured from the church and applied TO
purposes of superstition.
Another obstacle has been an fnor-
dinate fear of criticism. The vast ma
jority of people, singing in church.
never want anybody else to hear them
sing. Everybody is waiting for some
body else TO do his duty. If we all
sang, then the inaccuracies that are
evident when only few sing would
not be heard at all; they would be
drowned out. God only asks you to do
as well as you can, and then. if you get
the wrong pitch. or keep wrong time,
He will forgive any deficiency of the
ear and imperfection of the voice. An
gels will not laugh if you should lose
your place in the musical scale, or come
in at the close a bar behind. There are
three schools of singing, am told-the
German school, the Italian school, and
the French school of singing. Now,
would like to add a fourth school.
and that is the school of Christ
The voice of a contrite, broken heart,
although it may not be able to stand
human criticism, makes better music to
Gods ear than the most artistic per.
Torrance when the heart is wanting. !
know it is easier to prea IN on this than
it is to practice; but l sing for two rea-
sons-first, because / like it, and next,
because want to encourage those who
do not know how. / have but very lit
tie faculty in that direction, yet / am
resolved to sing. God has commanded
it, and / dare not be silent. He calls
on the beasts, On the cattle, on the
dragons, to praise Him, and we ought
not to be behind the cattle and the
dragons.
My Christian friends. have we right
to delegate to others the discharge Of
this duty which God demands of us?
Suppose that four wood-thrushes should
propose to do all the singing some
bright day when the woods are ringing
with bird voices. It is decided that
four wood-thrushes shall do all the
singing of the forest. Let all other
oices keep silent How beautifully
the four MARBLE! 1t isreally fine music.
But how long will you keep the forest
still? Why, Christ would come into
that forest and look up as He
looked through the olives, and He
would wave His hand and say: "Let
everything that hath breath praise
the Lord;' and. keeping time with the
stroke of innumerable wings, there
would be five thousand bird voices
leaping into the harmony. Suppose
this delegation of musical performers
were tried in Heaven; suppose that four
choice spirits should try to do the sing
ing of the upper temple. Hush, now,
thrones and dominions and principali-
ties. David be still, though you were
1.-THE sweet singer of Israel" Paul!
keep quiet, though you have come to
crown of rejoicing. Richard Baxter!
keep still, though this is the Saints
do all the singing. But how long
would Heaven be quiet? How long?
"Hallelujahr' would cry some glori-
fed Methodist from under the altar
Praise the Lord!'' would sing
the martyrs from among the thrones.
Thanks be unto God who giveth US
the victoryI'' great multitude of re-
deemed spirits would cry. Myriads OF
voices coming into the harmony, and
the hundred and forty and four thou
sand breaking forth into one ac-
clamation. Stop that loud singing'
stop! Oh no, they can not hear me.
You might as well try to drown tho
thunder of the sky, or beat back the
roar of the sea, for every soul in
Heaven has resolved to do its own sing
ing. Alas! that we should have tried
on earth that which they can not do
in Heaven, and, instead of joining
all our voices in the praise OF the
most high God, delegating perhaps to
unconsecrated men and women this
most solemn and most delightful service
There will be great revolution on
this subject in all our churches. God
will come down by His spirit and rouse
up the old hymns and tunes that have
not been more than half awake since
the time of our grandfathers. The ST.
lent pews in the church will break
forth into music, and when the con-
ductor takes his place ON the Sabbath
day there will be great host of voices
rushing into the harmony. My Chris
tian friends, if we have no taste fer
this. service on earth, what will we DO
in Heaven where they all sing, and sing
for ever?
/ want to rouse you to 2 unanimitY in
Christian song that has never yet been
exhibited. Come, nowi clear your
throats and get ready for this duty, or
you will never hear the end of this. /
never shall forget hearing Frenchman
sing the '.Marseillaise' on the Champs
Elysees, Paris, just before the battle of
Sedan in 1870. / never saw such
enthusiasm before or since. As
he sang that national air, oh,
how the Erenchmen shoutedl Have you
ever, in an English assemblage, heard a
band play ''God Save the Queen?"
Ifyou have, you know something about
the enthusiasm of national air. Now,
/ tell you that these songs we sing
Sabbath by Sabbath are the national
airs of Jesus Christ and of the King
dom of Heaven, and if you do not learn
to sing them here, how do you ever exI
pect to sing the song of Moses and the
Lamb? | should not be surprised at all
if some of the best anthems of
Heaven were made up of some
of the best songs of earth.
May God increase our rever-
ence fer Christian psalmody and keep
us from disgracing it by our indiffer-
ence ard frivolity. When Cromwell's
T..