Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1891-10-01

I END5-J5I
! sing, the whole work is done by delegation OF
\ four or six or ten prisons and the audience
are silent.
In such a church ia Syracuse an old elder
persisted in singing aud 50 tue choir ap.
pointed a COMMITTEES 70 60 aud ask tbs squire
II h5 would not stop, You kaow that in a
great multitude OF churches Ihe choir are ex.
pscted to do all tbs singing aui the great
mass OF tie people arc expected to be silent,
and II you utter Yoar voice you ara interior.
ing. There they stand, the four. with opera
glass dang linz at taeir side sinyiuy
Rock of Ages, Cleft for Ne with ths s1ms
spirit that tbs night before on this stage.
they took their part IN ths Grand Duchess
or Don Giovanni"
My Christian friends. have we right to
delegate TO others the discharge OF this duty
Which God demands Of uS SaDposs that
four wood thrashes should proposs to 10 all
the singing some bright day when the woods
are ringing with Dir voices It is decided
that four woo1 thrGshes shall do all thu
singing OF the forest Let ali the other
voices keep silent. How beautifully the
four warDlel 1t Is really fius music. But
how long will YOU keep thu forest stilti
Why, Christ would come iuto that forest aud
look up as he looked through the olives, AMI
He would wave His hand and say ''I4et
everything that hath breath praise the
Lord, and, keeping tims with the stroke Of
lnnumerable wings there would be five thou
sand bird voices lsaping into the harmony.
Suppose this delegation Of musical per-
formers were tried in heaven; suppose that
four choice spirits should try 10 do the sing
ing OF the upper temple. Hush, now, thrones
and doninions and principalities. Davidl
be still though you were 1.-THE sweet singer
OF Israel" Paul keep quiet. though YOU
have come TO that crown OF rejoicing Rich.
ard Baxter! keep still. though this is the
saints Everlasting Pest" Four spirits now
H.. ILL f.s.,o IL
heaven be quiet? How long2 "Hallelujahp
would cry some glorified Methodist from I'M
der the altar Praise the Lordm would
sing the martyrs from among the thrones.
Thanks be unto God VINO giveth us the vic
tory " a great multitude OF redeemed spirits
would cry.
Myfiads Of voices coming into the har-
mony, and the one hundred and forty and
four thousand breaking forth into ons accla-
nation. Stop that loud singing! Stop Oh
no. they cannot hear me- You might as well
try to drown the thunder OF the sky, or beat
back the roar of the s9a for every soul in
heaven has resolved to do its own singing.
Alas that we should have tried on earth
that which they cannot do in heaven, and
instead OF joining all our voices III the praise
of the most high GOD, delegatiug perhaps
this most solemn and most delightful SER
vice
Now, in this church, we have resolved
u !jpl Ills pau VI CD1idStlug Ltis uiusC ny OF
gan and cornet We do it for two reasons
one is that by throwing the whole RESPONSE
blHty upon the mass of tina people making
the great multitude the choir, we might
rouse more heartiness. fhe congregation
coming on the Sabbath day feel that they
cannot delegate this part OF the great serv-
ice to any one else, au1 SO they Themselves
assume it. We have had a glorious congre.
gational singing here People have come
many miles to hear it. They are not sure
about the preaching. but they can always
depend on the sin ging. We have heard the
sound coming up like the voice of many
waters but it will be done at a better rate
after awhile, when we shall reali2e the height,
and the depth, and the immensely of this
privilege.
/ forgot to state the other reason why we
adopted this plan. That is, we do not want
any choir quarrels. You know 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 meloieon, in my
! first settlement Have you never been in
4 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 tlere was nc 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
I people Some of the warnest friends have
4 ever had stood up IN them, Sabbath after
/ Sabbath, conseientiousiY aud successfully
leading the praises OF GOD. But the majority
of the choirs throughout the land are not
made up of Christian people and threa-
/ fourths of the church fights originate in the
organ loft. / take that back and say nine
/ tenths. A great many of our churches are
/ dying of chors.
We want to rouse all our families to the
4 duty of sacred song We want each family
4 OF our congregation to be a singing school.
Childish pstulance obiuraey and intracta-
4 bility would be soothedit we had more sing
| ing in the household and then our little ones
would be prepared for the great eongraga-
ton 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 in 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 anc
1 praise, pouring it into the great tide OF public
| worship that rolls on and on to empty into
the great wide heart OF Col. Never can we
have our church sing as it ought until Gun
/ families sing as they ought.
| There will be great revolution on this
I subject in ali our churches. God win come
\ down by His spirit and rouse up the old
4 hymns and tunes that have not been more
lAEtil nttIte iilt our
1 fathers. The silent pews i'll the church will
break forth into music, and when the con
/ ductor takes his place on tae Sabbath day
I there will be great host OF voices rushins,
4 into the harmony. My Christian friends. il
we have no taste for this service ON earth
what viii we do in heaven, where they al
sing ana sing forever
want to rouse you to a unaninitv in
/ Christian song that has never yet been ex,
/ hibitea CONS, now, 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 sMarseil-
4 laiss' on the Champs Eysees, Paris, Just
before the battle OF Sedan in 1870. | never
saw such am enthusiasm before or since. AS
he sung that national air, obi how the
Freachaen shoutedi Have You eve- in an
| Engiish asssnbage heard tine ban play
Good Save the Queens lf you have, Won
know something about the enthusiasm OF
a national air.
4 Now, tell you that these songs we sing
4 Saboatn by Sabbath are tue national airs OF
\ Jesus Christ and Of ths kingdom of heaven,
and II you do not learn to stag them here
/ how do you ever expect to sing the song OF
Moses and this Lalahs | sAould not be sur
| prised at all ii 50 ne OF the best anthems of
( heaven We're made up OF soms OF the bast
soags ON earth Nay Gol inc.aass our rev.
erencA for Christian psaimo1y aud keep US
from dsgracins it by our in Inference and
X friyoty. Wnal CrO.uHSii' ) army went into