The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1891-10-02
MUSIC'S BIRTH.
Gods Ear Is Tuned 10 the Harmony Of
Stringed Harps
And Great orsans-Insnimate Instru'
ments, Like Nature. Are Pun OF
Iory Music-Sermon by Rev.
r. Dewitt Taimagc,
ID ID.

of all such as handle the harp and or
gan"
| Lamech had two boys, the one q
herdsman and the other q musician.
Jubal. the younger son, was the first
| organ. builder. lie started the first
sound that rolled from the wondrons
instrument which has had so much to
do with the worship of the ages. But
| what improvement has been made nm
der the hands of organ builders, such
MS bernhard. Sebastian Bach, and
Gorge Ilogarth and Joseph Booth and
! Thomas Robjohn, clear on down to
George and Edward Jardine of our own
| day. | do not wonder that when the
first full organ that we read of as
given in T57 by an emperor of the east
20 king of France sounded forth
its full grandeur woman fell into
delirium, from which her reason was
never restored The majesty of
great organ skillfully played is
almost too much for human endur-
ance, but how much the instrument has
done in the reinforcement of divine SER
vice 1t will take all time and all eter-
nifty to celebrate Last April when we
dedicated this church to the service of
Almighty God our organ was not more
than half done. 1t has now come so
near completion that this morning ]
preach a sermon dedcatory of this
mighty throne of sacred sound. II
grcets the eve as we'll as the ear Be
hold this mountain of anthems.
This forest of HoSannahS. Its
history is peculiar. The late Mr.. Geo
Jardine recently made a tour of the
organs of Europe. lie gathered up in
his portfolio an account of all the ex.
ccllenccs of the renowned instruments of
music on the other side of the Atlantic
and all the new improvements, and
brought back that portfolio to America
declaring that Brooklyn Tabernacle
should have the full advantage of all
ae had obtained. and although he did
sot live to carry out his idea his SON.
Mr.. Edward Jardine, has introduced
into this great organ all those
improve and grandeurs, and
while you hear this organ you hear all
that is notable in the organs of Lucerne,
and Friebourg, and HARLEM. and ST
Paul and Westminster Abbey, and 9TH
err great organs that have captured the
world In il are banked up more har-
monies than | can describe, aud all for
God and the lighting of the soul
toward him. Its four banks of keys.
its 40 stops, its 4.51o pipes, its chime
of thirty-seven bells, its cathedral dia-
pason and pedal double diapason, its
song trumpet and night horn and vox
humana, all. all. we dedicate to God
and the soul II will, I believe. under
the divine blessing, lead uncounted
thousands into the kingdom. Its we'd
ding marches, its thanksgiving an
| thems, its requiems will sound after ali
| the voices that follow it to-day shall
have sung their last song. To God the
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Ghost, we dedicate IL!
There has been much discussion as to
where music was born. / think that
at the 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 celebrat the crea-
tion was the birthplace of song. IMAM
innate nature is full of Gods stringed
and wind instruments. Silence itself
perfect silence-is only a musical rest
in Gods great anthem of worship.
Wind among the leaves, insects hum
ming in the summer 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 whistling up from
the grass. are music. On Blackwelrs
Island heard, coming from window
OF the lunatic asylum, very sweet
song. II was sung by one who had lost |
her reason. and have come to believe |
that even the deranged and disordered |
elements ofnature would make music TO |
our ear. II we only had acuteness
enough to listen suppose that even
the sounds of nature that are discord- |
ant and repulsive make harmony in |
Gods ear. You know that you may |
come so near to an orchestra that the |
sounds are painful instead of pleasur-
able; and think we stand so near dc. |
storm and frightful whirl-
wind, we can not hear that which |
makes to Gods ear and the ear of the |
spirits above us, a music as complete as
II is tremendous.
The day of judgment, which will be
n day of uproar and tumult, suppose,
will bring no dissonance 20 the ears OF |
those who can calmly listen; although |
II be as when some great performer is |
executing boisterous piece of music |
he sometimes breaks down the instru- |
ment on which he plays, SO IL may be |
on that last day that the grand march |
of God played by the fingers OF thun- |
der, and earthquake, and confiagration,
may break down the world upon which |
the music is executed. Not only is in
animate nature full OF music, but God |
has wonderfully organized the human
voice, SO that in the plainest throat |
and lungs there are fourteen direct |
which can make over 10, 900 !
different sounds, and there are thirty |
indirect muscles which can make, IL has |
been estimated, more than ! 73, 600, 900 of |
soundsl Now, say, when God has SO
the human voice, and |
when He has filed the whole earth |
with harmony, and when lie recognized |
III ~ thc uhciche tcthpic. nave u TlRnt |
70 come to the conclusion that God
loved music.
propose this morning. in setting
apart his organ for sacred music, to
speak about sacred music; first showing
you its Importance, and then stating
some of the obstacles of its advance
ment.
draw the first argument for the i'm
portance of sacred music from the fact
that God commanded 10. Through
Paul lie tells us TO admonish one
another in psalms, and hymns, and
spiritual songs; and through David He
cries out; Sing We to God, all ye king
doms of the earth" And there are
hundreds Of other passages ! might
name, proving that IT is as much
mans duty TO sing as IL is his duty to
pray. Indeed, think there are more
in the Bible to sing than
there are TO pray. God not only asks
tor the human voice but for instru-
ments of music lie asks for the Gym
bal, and the harp, and the trumpet as
well as the organ. And suppose that,
In the last days Of the church, the
Al