Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-21
THE HEAVENLY MUSIC.
Rev. DR.. Talmage breaches About
Organs, Harps and Songs,
he OBJECTS TO CHOIR FIGHTS.
The Tabernacle Congregation Will Continue
to Do Its Own Singing.
An INTERESTING SERMON IN BROOKLYN


BEooKLYN, y. V, Sept. 2a.-The mag
nifceHt organ of the New Brooklyn
Tabernacle was dedicated to-day The SER
vices were veritable musical festivals
While the regular musical programme at
the Tabernacle is always attractive, that of
today was exceptionally beautiful, the Con-
gregational singing, offertories and inter
ludes being rendered with marvellous vol
ume and expression. Er. Talmage's sermon,
which was appropriate to the occasion, was
on the text, Genesis " :21: ellis brothers
name was Jubal: he was the father of all
such aS handle the harp and organ"
Iamech had two boys, the one herds
man and the other 4 musician. Jubal, the
Younger son, as the first organ builder
He started the first sound that rolled from
the wondrOuS instrument which has so
much to do with the worship of the ages.
But what improvement has been made
under the hands OF organ builders such as
bernhard, Sebastian Bach, and George
Hoggrth and Joseph Booth and Thomas
RobiChn, clear on down to George ana Ed
ward Jardine of our own day. do not
wonder that when the first full organ
that we read of as given in IoI
by an Emperor of the East to
4 King Of France. sounded forth Its 1ull
grandeur n woman fell into delirium from
which her reason was never restored ire
majesty of great organ SEllltuliy played is
almost too much for human endurance, but
how much the instrument has done IN the
reinforcement OF divine service 1t VIII take
a. time and all eternity to celebrate. Last
April when we dedicated this church to the
service OF Almighty God our organ was not
more than hall done. 1t has now come so
near completion that this morning preach
2 sermon dcdicatory of this mighty throne
Of sacred SOund. 1t grcetS the eye aS we'll as
hn snsyT IRpnnlu mountain anthems
This forest OF hOsannahs! Its history is pc
Cuiar
There has been much discussion as to
where music was born. | think that at the
beginning, when the morning stars sang to-
gcthCr, and all the suns of God shouted for
JOY. that the earth heard the echo. The
cloud on which the angels stood to celebl ut.
the creation was the birthplace of song. In
animate nature is full of Gods stringed and
wind instruments. Silence itself-perfect
sllencc-iS only a musical res in Gods great
anthem of worship. Wind among the leaves,
insects hummiUT in the sumner air, the
IRISH Of hillOw upon beach, the ocean far out
sounding it's everlasting psalm, the bobo-
link on the edge of the forest the quail
whiStlinE uD frCm tile grass, are music.
EVEN THE INSANE MAKE MUSIC.
on Blackwell'S Island l heard, coming
from a window of the lunatic asylum a very
sweet song. Il WAS sung by one who had
lost her reason, and have come to believe
that even the deranged and disordered eie-
mCutS OF nature would make music to our
ear if we only had acuteness enough to
listen. ! suppose that even the sounds in
nature that are discordant and repulsive
make harmony in Gods ear. You know that
You may come so near to ar orchestra that
the sounds are painful instead of pleasur-
able: and think we stand so near devastat-
ing storm and frightful whirlwinG, we can
not hear that which makes to Gods ear and
the ear of the spirits above u.s. a music as
complete as il Is tremendous.
I propose this morning. in setting apart
this organ for sacred use, to speak about
sacred music: first showing You its import
ance, and then stating some of the obstacles
TO its advaucem st. / draw the first argu-
lucnt for the Importance of sacred music
from the fac that God commanded it.
Through Paul he tells US TO admonish one
another in pSalns and hymns and spiritual
songs: and through David he cries out: "Sing
We 10 God, all ye Kingdoms OF the earth"
And there are hundreds of other passages 1
might name proving that it is as much a
mans Gutv to sing as it is his duty to pray.
J draw another argument for the impor-
tancc OF this exercise, from the impressive
ness Of this exercise. Ioa know something
OF what secular music has achieved. You
know il has ade its impression on govern
mcntS, upon laws, upon literature, upon
whole generations. One inspiring national
air is worth 10000 men as standing army.
There comes time IN the battle when one
hE-le Is worth l,00g musketS / have to tell
You that no nation Or church can afford to
severely economic in music. There was a
Scotch minister came in to give him the
consultations of the Gospel. The man turned
over ON his pillow and said: Don't talk to
me about religion" Then the Scotch min
lister began to sing familiar hymn of Scot
land, that was composed by David Dicken-
son, beginning with the words:
oh mother dear Jerusalem,
When shall / come TO thee?
TIE SOLDIER REMEMBERED HIS MOTHER.
lie sang it to the tune OF Dundee" and
everybody in Scotland knows that; and as
lie began to sing the dying soldier turned
over on his pillow, and said to the minister
"Wucrc did YOU learn that?'' why" re-
piled the minister, my mother taught me
that. so did mine" said the diving Scotch
soldier: and the very foundation o. his heart
wRs upturned, and Their and there he yielded
himself 20 Christ
in addition to the inspiring music of our
own day We have glorious inheritance of
ChuT h p>almody which has come down fra
grant with the devotions of other genera
Tons-tnneS no more worn out than they
were when our great grandfathers climbed
mp on them from the church pew to glory.
Dear old souls how they used to sing! When
they were cheerful, our @randtathers and
Ersndmothers used to sing colchester"
When they were very meditative, then
the board meeting house rang WITH
Were taev struck through with great
tenderness, they sang Woodstock" Were
they wrapped in visions of the glory of the
horne with the love and glory of Christ, they
san" 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 di-
vorce them. "W Al Goo hatc Joined to-
Eethcr let no man puS asundec." But how
hard-hcartcd we must be if all this sacred
music OF the past, and all the sacred music
OF the present does not start us heavenward |
\ singing church is always triumphant
church! i a congregation is silent during
the exercise, or partially silent, it IS the 81
lence OI death. Ii, when the HYMN is given
out. yoU near the faint hum of here and
thcrC q father and mother in Israel while
tie vast majority are silent that minister of
Christ who Is presiding needs to have a very
strong constitution ii he does not yet the
ChiliS. 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 be-
lievc that ii the Church of Christ could rise
uD and sing as it ought TO sing that where
Y have 4 hundred souls brought into the
kingdom Of Christ there would be thou
sand
THE ADVANCEMENT OF SACRED MUSIC.
But l must now speak of some of the OBJ
stacles in the way of the advancement of
this sacred music; ard the first is that it has
been impressed into the service OF supersti-
ton. am far from believing that music
ought always 70 be positively religious. Re
fined art has opened places where music has
been Sccular.Zed, and lawfully so. The !
dr2 V ing ROOM the musical club, the CrcheS-
ira. the concert, by the qualification OF pure
taste, and tho production of harmless amuSc- |
nlent and tie Improvement OF talent, have /
become great forces in the advancement of !
our civilization. Music has as much right TO |
.augh ~ surrey Gardens as il has to pray in !
81 lau'>. In the Kingdom of nature We |
have the glad 1ifing of the wind as well as |
the long metre psalm of the thunder But |
While tEis is so every observer has noticed |
thai ms art, which God intended for the |
III