The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1891-10-02

4
church can afford TO severely economic
In music
Many of you are illustrations OF what
sacred song can do Through IL you
were brought into the kingdom of Jesus
Christ You stood out against the ar
gument and the warning of the pulpit;
but when, in the sweet words of Isaac
Watts, or Charles Wesley, or John New
ton, or Toplady. the love of Jesus was
sung To your soul, then You surrender
ed as the armed castle, that could not
be taken by host, lifts its window to
listen to harp's trill.
There was Scotch soldier dying in
New Orleans. and Scotch minister
came In to give him the consolation Of
the Gospel The man turned over on
his pillow and said Don't talk TO M
about religion" Then the Scotch
minister began TO sing familiar hymn
of Scotland. that was composed by
David Dickinson, beginning with the
words:
Oh, mother. dear Jerusalem.
When shall come TO thee,
lie sang il TO the tune of Dundee.
and every body in Scotland knows that
and as he began to- sing the dying 50,
der turned over on his pillow and sail
to the minister; where did you lean
that?" Why" replied the minister
my mother taught me that" $50 dil
mine" said the dying Scotch soldier
and the very foundation of his heart
was upturned, aud then and there b.
4 II. III 4.
Oh, 10 has an irresistible power
Luther's sermons have been forgotten.
but his Judgment Hymn" sings on
through the ages, and will keep on
singing until the blast of the archan-
gels trumpet shall bring about that
very day which the hymn celebrates l
would to God that those WIN hear me
to-day would take these SOM of saliva
ton as messages from Heaven; for just
as certainly rs the birds brought food
to Elijah, by the brook Clerith, so
these winged harmonics, GOD sent are
flying TO your soul with the bread Of
life Open your mouths and take IL o,
hungry Elijahs!
In addition to the inspiring music Of
our day we have glorious Inheritance
of church psalmody which has come
down fragrant with the devotion OF
other generations-tunesn no more worn
ont than they were when our great
grandfathers climbed up on them from
the church pew 10 glory!
Dear old souls. how they used TO singl
When they were cheerful our GRANDPA
Tiers and grandmothcrs used to sing
Colchester When they were very
mediative then the board meeting house
rang with "South Street" and ''St Ed
mond's" Were they struck through
with great tenderness they sang
Woodstock. We're they wrapped in
visions of the glory OF the Church they
sang Zion" We're they overborne
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 no right to divorce them.
what God hath joined together let no
man put asunder" But how hard
hearted we must be If all this sacred
music of the past and all the sacred
music of the present does not start us
Heavenward.
I have also noticed the power of
sacred song to soothe perturbation
You may come in here this morning
with great many worriments and
anxieties yet perhaps in the sing
ing of the first hymn, you lost
all those worriments and anxietss.
Saul and how he was sad and angry.
and how the boy David came in and
played the evil spirit out of him A
Spanish king was melancholy. The
windows were all closed lie sat in
darkness. Nothing could bring him
forth until Faraneli came and dis
coursed music for three or four days TO
him. On the fourth day he looked up,
and wept, and rejoiced, and tho win
dows were thrown open, and that which
all the splendors OF the court could not
do, the power of song accomplished
IL you have anxieties and worriments.
try this heavenly charm upon them.
Do not sit down on the bank Of the
hymn, but plunge in, that the devil of
care may be brought out of you.
II also arouses to action. A singing
church is always a triumphant church!
II congregation is silent during the
exercise. or partially silent, it is the
silence of death II, when the hymn
is given out. you hear the great hum OF
here and there father and mother in
Israel, while the vast majority is silent,
that minister of Christ who is presid-
ing needs TO have a very strong consti-
tuition IL he does not get the chills. He
needs not only the grace of God, but
nerves like whalebone. II is amazing
how some people who have voice
enough TO discharge all their duties in
the world, when they come into the
house OF God have no voice to discharge
this duty. really believe that IL the
Church of Christ could rise up and sing,
that where we have hundred souls
brought into the kingdom of Christ
there would be thousand.
But ] must now speak of some OBJ
stacles in the way of the advancement
of this sacred music; and the first is
that IL has been impressed into the
service of superstition. | am far from
believing that music ough. always to
be positively religious Refined art has
opened places where music has been
secu!arizcd, and lawfully so. The
drawing room, the musical club, the
orchestra, the concert. by the gratifca-
ton of pure taste, and the production
of harmless amusement and the inn
provement OF talent have become rrsat
forces in the advancement of our civiii-
cation. Music has as much right to
laugh in Surrey Gardens as IL has to
pray in St Paul. In the kingdom of
nature, we have the glad fling 81 the
wind as well as the long meter psalm of
the thunder
But while all this is so, every observ-
err will notice that this art, which God
intended for the improvement Of the
ear ard the voice, and the head. and
the heart, has often been impressed into
the service OF false religions. False re-
ligions have depended more upon the
of their congregations han
upon the pulpit proclamation of their
dogmas Tartini, the musical compos-
err, dreamed one night that satan
snatched from his hand an instrument