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

selves assume It We have had a glorious
congregational singing here. People have
come many miles 20 hear it. They are not
sure about the preaching, but they can al
ways depenl on the singing. We have
heard the sound coming up like 'the voice
Of many waters" but il will be done at a
better rate after awhile when we shall
realize the Lsight and the depth and the
mmensity or this privilege.
forgot u 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 a melodeon in
my first settlement Have you never been
in church on the Sabbath day and heard
the choir sing, and you said, That is splen
did music" The next Sabbath you were
in that church and there was no choir at
all Whyi 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 people. Some of the
warmest friends have ever had have stood
up in them Sabbath after Sabbath con
scientiously and successfully leading the
praises of God But the majority of the
choirs throughout the land are not made
up of Christian people, and three-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
chOirs
We want to rouse all our families to the
duty of sacred song We want each fam
lily Of our congregation to be a singing
school Childish petulance, obduracy and
intractability would be soothed if we had
more singing in the household, and then
our little ones would be prepared for the
great congregation 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 rippling and
silvery, pouring into 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 and praise
pouring it into the great tide of public
worship that rolls on and on to empty into
the great wide heart of God Never can
we have our church sing as it ought until
our families sing as they ought.
There will be a great revolution on this
subject in all our churches God will come
down by his spirit and rouse up the old
hymns and tunes that have not been more
than half awake since the time of our
grandfathers, The silent pews in the
church will break forth into music, and
when the conductor takes his place on the
Sabbath day there will be a great host of
voices rushing into the harmony. My
Christian friends, if we have no taste for
this service on earth, what will we do in
heaven, where they all sing, and sing for
everi
want to rouse you to a unanimity III
Christian song that has never yet been ex
hibited. Come now, clear your throats
and get ready for this duty, or you will
never hear the end of this | never shall
forget hearing a Frenchman sing tho
"Marseillaise" on the Champs Elysees,
Paris, just before the battle of Sedan in
1870 never saw such enthusiasm before
or since. AS he sang that national air. oh,
how the Frenchmen shouted! Have You
ever in an English assemblage heard a
band play "God Save the Queen?" If you
have you know something about the en-
thusiasm Of national air Now, | tell
you that these songs we sing Sabbath by
Sabbath are the national airs of Jesus
Christ and of the kingdom of heaven, and
If you do not learn to sing them here, how
do you ever expect to sing the song of
Moses and the Lamb? Ishould not be sur
prised at all if some of the best anthems of
heaven were made up of some Of the best
songs of earth May God increase our rev
erence for Christian psalmody, and keep
us from disgracing it by our indifference
and frivolity When Cromwelps army
went into battle, he stood at the head of
them one day and gave out the long meter
doxology to the tune of the "Old Hun
dredth," and that great host, company by
company, regiment by regiment, battalion
by battalion, joined in the doxology:
Praise God from whom all blessings fiow
Praise him, all creatures here below;
Praise him above, ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
And while they sang they marched, and
while they marched they fought, and while
they fought they got the victory. Oh, men
and women of Jesus Christ, let us go into
all our conflicts singing the praises of God,
and then, instead of falling back, as We
often do, from defeat to defeat, we will be
marching on from victory to victory.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and
to the Holy Ghost as it was in the begin
ming is now and ever shall be. world with
out end Amen.