Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1891-10-01


the church. the harp. the iuts the trum-
pet and all the Instruments Of music,
whether they have bren "a the service Of
righteousness or ~Iu. Eill b. brought by
their masters and liiI down at the feet Of
Christ. and tiieu -nuar-i ia the church's
triumph. on her WAY from suffering into
glory 'Pra - We the l.ordr Praise him
with your voices Praise him with stringed
instruments and with organs
draw another -umeul for the impor-
tance Of this exercise from the impressive
ness Of this exercise You know some
thing Of what secular music has achieved.
You know it has made us impression on
governments. upon laws. upon literature
| upon whole generations One inspiring
national air is worth thirty thousand men
as a standing army There comes a tims
in the battle when one bugle is worth a
thousand muskets have to tell you that
no nation. nochurch can afford to severely
economize in music
THE MOTHERS SONG.
| Many OF you are illustrations Of what
sacred song can do Through it you were
/ brought into the kingdom of Jesus Christ
/ You stood out against the argument and
the warning Of tue pulpit, but when, in
the sweet words of Isaac Watts or Charles
/ Wesley or John Newton or Toplady the
! love Of Jesus was sung TO your soul
then you surrendered as armed castle that
could not he taken by host lifts its win
dow to listen to II harp's trill There WIS
Scotch soldier dying in New Orleans and
Scotch minister came in to give him the
constitutions OF the Gospel The man
y IN Al nd
talk to me about religion" Then the
Scotch minister began to sing familiar
hymn of Scotland that was composed
by David Dickenson beginning with the
words
Oh, mother, dear Jerusalem.
When shall come to thee2
He sang it to the tune of Dundee" and
everybody in Scotland knows that; and as
he began to sing the dying soldier turned
over on his pillow and said to the minister
Where did you learn thatp why" re
piled the miHster, my mother taught me
that" 80 did mine," said the dying
Scotch soldier; and the very foundation of
his heart was upturned and then and there
he yielded himself to Christ Oh, it 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 archangel's
trumpet shall bring about that very day
which the hymn celebrates | would to
God that those who hear me today would
take these songs of salvation as messages
from heaven, for just as certainly as the
birds brought food to Elijah by the brook
Cherith, so these winged harmonies, God
sent, are flying to your soul with the bread
Of life. Open your mouths and take it. oh.
hungry ElijahsI
In addition to the inspiring music of ouI
own day we have glorious Inheritance Of
church psalmody which has come down
fragrant with the devotions Of other gen
erations-tunes no more worn out than
they were when our great grandfathers
climbed up on them from Me church pew
to glory Dear old souls, how they used
to singl When they were cheerful our
grandfathers and grandmothers used to
sing Colchester. When they were very
meditative then the board meeting house
rang with South Street" and "St. Ed
mond's." We're they struck through with
great tenderness they sang "Woodstock 4"
Were they wrapped in visions of the glory
of the church they sang Zion" Were
Christ they sang Ariel" And in those
days there were certain tunes married to
certain hymns, and they have lived in
peace 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.
IT CHARMS THE MELANCHOLY
have also noticed the power of sacred
song to sooth perturbation. You may have
come in here this morning with great
many worriments and anxieties, yet per
haps in the singing of the first hymn you
lost all those worriments and anxietieS
You have read in the Bible of 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
He sat in the darkness Nothing could
bring him forth until Faraneli came and
discoursed music for three or four days to
him. On the fourth day he looked up and
wept and rejoiced, and the windows were
thrown open, and that which all the spIen
song accomplished If you have anxietie4
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.
1t also arouses to action. A singing
church is always a triumphant church
II a congregation is silent during the exer
else, or partially silent, it is the silence of
death. If, when the hymn is given out,
you hear the faint hum of here and there a
father and mother in Israel while the vast
majority are silent, that minister of Christ
who is presiding needs to have very
strong constitution If he does not get the
chills He needs not only the grace of
God, but nerves like whalebone. 1t 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 if the church of Christ
could rise up and sing as it ought to sing,
that where we have a hundred souls
brought into the kingdom of Christ there
would be a thousand.
But must now speak of some of the OBJ
stacles in the way of the advancement of
this sacred music; and the first is that it
has been impressed into the service of
superstition. am far from believing that
music ought always to be positively re
Egious. Refined art has opened places
bring no dissonance to the ears OF riies,
who can calmly listen; although it be as
when some great performer is executing
boisterous piece of music, he sometimes
breaks down the instrument on which he
plays; SO it may be on that last day that
the grand march of God, played by the
fingers of thunder and earthquake and
confagration, may break down the world
upon which the music is executed
Not only is inanimate nature full of
music but God has xunnderfI1llu orcran aniznd