News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1891-09-24

very well that in scores of churches
there has been perpetual contention in
that direction The only church fight
that ever occurred under my ministry
was over a melodeon, in my first settle
ment. Have you never been in church
on the Sabbath day and heard the
choir sing, and you said, That is
splendid music" The next Sabbath,
YOU were in that church, and there was
no choir at all. Why! The leader was
mad, or his assistants were mad. or
they were all mad together. Some OF
the choirs are made up of our best
Christian people. Some OF the warmest
friends have ever had have stood up
in them. Sabbath after Sabbath, con
scientiously and successfully lead
ing the praises of God. But the
majority of the choirs through
out the land are not made up OF
Christian people and three-fourths
of the church fights originate in the or
gan loft. l take that back and say
nine-tenths. A great many OF our
are
We want to rouse all our families to
the duty of sacred song. We want
each family of our congregation to be
a singing school. Childish petulance'
obduracy and intractability would be
soothed if we had more singing In the
household, and then our little ones
would be prepared for the great con
gregration on the Sabbath day, their
voices uniting with our voices in the
praises of the Lord.
After a shower there are scores OF
streams that come down the mountain
side with voices ripping and silvery,
pouring into one river and then rolling
in united strength to the sea. So would
have all the families in our church
send forth the voice of prayer and
praise, pouring it into the great tide OF
public worship that rolls on and on to
empty into the great, wide heart OF
God. Never can we have our church
sing as it ought until our families sing
as they ought.
There will be a 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 81,
lent pews in the church will break forth
into music, and when the conductor
takes his place on the Sabbath day
there will be great host of voices rush
ing into the harmony. My Christian
service on earth, what will we do in
heaven, where they all sing. and sing
forever2
want to rouse you to a unanimity
in Christian song that has never yet
been exhibited. Come, nowl clear your
threats and get ready for this duty or
you will never hear the end Of this.
never shall forget hearing a Frenchman
sing the 'Marseillaise" on the Champs
Elysees, Paris, just before the battle OF
Sedan in 1870 never saw such en-
thusiasln before or since AS he sang
that national air, OIL how the French
man shoutedI Have you ever in an
English assemblage heard the band
play God Save the QueenT If you
have, you know something about the
enthusiasm of a national air.
Now, tell you that these songs we
sing Sabbath by Sabbath are the ma
tional airs of Jesus Christ and of the
kingdom of heaven, and if you do not
learn to sing them here, how do you ever
expect to sing the song of Moses and
the Lamb2 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 reverence for Christian psalnody
and keep US from disgracing it by our
Indifference and frivolity. When
Cromwells army went into battle, he
stood at the head of them one day,
and gave out the long meter doxology
to the tune of the ''Old Hundredth, >
and that great host, company by com
pany, regiment by regiment, battalion
by battalion, Joined in the dOxolOgy;
Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise him, all creatures here below;
Praise him above ye heavenly host,
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
And while they sang they marched,
and while they marched they fought
and while they fought they got the vic
tory. Oh, men and women of Jesus
Christ. let us go into all our conflicts
singing the praises of God, and then
instead of falling back, as we often do,
from defeat to defeat, we will be
marching on from victory to victory.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the
beginning, is now and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.