Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1891-09-26

that the devil of care may be brought
out of you
1t also arol,ses to action. A singing
church is always q triumphant church
fla congregation issilent during the ex.
ercise or partially silent, it is the silence
OF death. II, when the hymn is given
out, you hear the faint hum OF here
and there father and mother in Israel,
while the vast majority are silent. that
minister Of Christ who is presiding needs
to have u very strong constitution if he
does not get the chiAs. He needs not
only the grace Of God. but nerves like
wllalebolie 1t is Amazing low some
people. who liaveevoicc enough To dis
charge all tlleir duties in the world.
when they CONE into the house Of God
lave no voice 10 discharge tl!is duty. |
really beIicve that If the cilnrch Of
Christ could rise up and sing Us it ought
to sing. tlllt where we have IL hundred
souls brought into tie Kingdom Of
Christ there would be q thousand.
ALL PuRE MUSIC Is WHOLESOME.
hut must HOW speak oi SOME OF the
obstacles in tile way Of the advance
mens ofsttis sacred music. and tile first
ks that its llassbee! Impressed lnro the
service Of superstition. | nm far from
believing that music ought always to
be positively religious. Refined art has
opened places where music has been
secularized. and lawfully 80. The
drawing room. the musical club. the
orchestra. the concert. by tile grattica-
ton of pure taste, and the production
of harmless amusement, and the ilii-
provement Of talent. have become
great forces in the advancement of our
civilization Music has rs much right
to laugh in Surrey gardens as it has to
pray in ST. Paul's
III the kingdom of nature we have
the glad filing Of tile wind as well rs
the long meter psalm Of the thunder;
but willie all this is so. every observer
las noticed that this art. which God in.
tended for thu. Improvement OF the ear.
and the voice. and the Head. and rhe
heart. has often been impressed into
tile service Of false religions False re-
ligions lave depended more upon the
llynning OF their congregations than
upon the pulpit proclamation Of their
doglnas. Tartiri. the musical COLL
poser, dreamed one night that satan
snatcIIed from his hand all 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, captured from the
church and applied to purposes of SUI
perstition.
Another obstacle has been an inor-
dinate fear of criticism. The vast ma
jority OF people singing in churcl, never
want anybody else to hear them sing.
Everybody is waiting for somebody
else to do his duty. If we all sang,
then the inaccuracies that are evident
when only Il few sing would not be
heard at all; they would be drowned
out. God only asks you to do as we'll
as you can, and then. If you get the
wrong pitch. OF keep wrong time,
he will forgive any deficiency of the ear
and i,nperfection OF the voice Angels
will not laugh if YOU should lose your
place in the musical scale, or comein at
the close q harsbehinl.
Tliereare three schools of singing +
am told-the German school, the Ital-
ian school and tile French school Of
singing Nov. would like to add a
fourth school. and that is ri" 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 car than
the most artistic performance when the
heart is wanting. know it is easier
to preach on this than it is to practice.
but Esing for two reasons-tlrst, be.
cause Mike it. and next, because want
to encourage those who do not know
how have but very little faculty in
that direction. yet am resolved to sing.
God has commanded it. and dare not
be silent. He calls OH the beasts, on
the cattle, OH the dragons to praise
him, and we ought not to be behind
the cattle and the dragons.
TIMIDITY AND CAPTIoUsNESS.
Another obstacle that has been in
the way OF the advancement of this
holy art has been the fact that there
has been so much angry discussion Oh
tile subject Of music. There are those
who would lave this exercise conduct
ed by musical instruments. In the
same church there are those who do
not like musical instruments, and SO it
is organ and no organ. and there is a
fight. In another church it is u ques-
ton whether tile music shall be con-
Quoted by Il precentor or by drilled
choir Some want IL drilled choir and
some want precentor, and there is a
fight Then there are those who would
like in the church to have the organ
played in a dull, lifeless dronlng way,
while there are others who would have
it wreathed into fantasies. branching
out in Jets and spangles of sound. roll
ing and tossing i'll marvellous convolu-
tions. as when, in pyrotechnic display
after you think piece is exhausted. it
breaks out in wheels. rockets, blue
lights and serpentne demonstrations
Some would have the organ played
in almost inaudible sweetness. and
others would have it full of staccato
passages that make the audience jump,
with great eyes and hair on end. as
though by a vision Of tile Witch OF
n 4 oil