St. Paul daily globe., 1892-10-31
Rev. DR.. Vail Draws a Rather
PeSsimiStic Picture of
CID Times.
The Patriarch Was Without a
. Scarcely Worthy Ide az
III Of God.
But He Was the Only Man
So Moved to Find Higher
- Things.
And Christ Came to Fulfill
:. the Promises Made to
- Him.

aRev. w. S. Vaillbegan his sermon in
the Grand opera house yesterday morn
ing by quoting the words of Christ, Il
came not to destroy, but to fulfill" He
characterized his intention as an at
tempt to give a realistic picture OF the
patr larcnal age. in order to contrast its
ideas with the developed conceptions
of the Christian ideal.
In making the realistic picture he
first sketched the physical character of
the land, then the social life; then he
followed with ali account of marriage
and burial customs, and Of social life
and many of its particular features.
Having made these preliminary sketch
es, he then proceeded to give an ac-
co unit of the larger movements of
thought ana life embracing the higher
ranges of the mind.
From the social life we proceed to
their sorrows and their sense of justice.
The mournerS acted with the greatest
-vehemence and kept mp their wailing
for many days. If the cause of death
was violence by the hand of another
person, the man who stood next i'll kim
snip to the dead person armed himself.
and, pursuing the criminal with all
haste, prepared to wreak vengeance on
him the moment the other was over
taken. A parallel may be found to this
III Mlller's picture of the COmanche
sweeping down Oh the settlers cabin in
New Mexico, leaving flame and blood
and death behind, then riding for the
mountains. But as they ride in the
night like black spirits of evil over the
salt-white plain, they are followed by
the rangers, who watch them disap-
pear i'll their mountain. But as
they disappear the leader of the
rangers realizes that the swift
river shuts in two sides of this mount
ain, that a fire kindled will either de-
Stroy or drive them out at the one ford.
and that waiting there in the light of
the white moon, they shall see the saw
age come by one way or the other to
death. And the thought of kindling
the fire only precedes the action by
moment, and then the rangers. stand
ing Ill the silver landscape bathed in
moonlit glory,
Leaned Upon Their Swords
and waited for the sun. And as they
waited there was grim satisfaction in
the expression of each, for he felt him.
self the accredited instrument Of venge-
ance. So was the kinSman of oiden
time law embodied to take the place
OF the law that is now represented by
the state; and so was he the waiting In-
Strument of rude idea of justice, pre-
pairing to strike in the name of venge-
ance.
From social ideas we pass to religion.
In, religion the patriarch held ideas that
were extremely crude. The crudeness
betouged mostly to association and in
heritance. for they had belonged to an
ldolatrous people, and they we're now
getting out from under a cloud that had
oyerShadowed their forefathers for
generations, and still they were only
one degree moved from idolatry. and
their ideas of God were of the rudeSt
kind. This idolatrous tendency is seen
in the attempt of Rachel to steal the
teraphim from her father, for the
teraphim were small household idols.
And the worship of the teraphfm was
but one degree removed from the eStab-
llShmeut of pillars in groves and mount
aims. for here the people believed that
God would come down and sit and re-
ceive worship at the hands of man.
And when Jacob out Of the gratefulness
prompted by religious sentiment
reared the pillar at Bethel, it WAS to
him the house of God, and the gate of
heaven. They a people looking for
light. That light broke upon them by
slow degrees. 1t
little by little. And. as it gained larger
areas it became more spiritual; but in
the period of the patriarch little can be
said for the advancement OF ideas; COM
pared with the teaching of Christ the
development was TIE rudest outline
with the most artistically perfect and
finished picture. From religion it is
but step to music. There is q Sug-
gestiveness in the music of this period
that seems to me of profound impor-
tance. The Importance comes in part
from the constitution of man. For in
the constitution of man there is a cord
chat responds to the melodious strains
of music which are the most efficient
means of moving even the physical life
of man. | say the physical life of mau,
for no one would undertake to recruit
an army without a fife and drum; and
Napoleon would not undertake the
long marches in the most difficult parts
of the Alps without playing the
quickstep on his military bands;
for martial music does have the
effect of physical stimulation, and this
characterized to large degree this
early music of the Hebrews. If you
want to get at the full meaping OF the
times remember that the professional
pieces introduced early in their history
l9U Il uiICCl lHuuciiCc Ol Lie PHYSICAL
life of the people. and YOU will then see
why Miriam took timbrel and went out
with her sisters, and, dancing to the
rattle of Instruments, shaking the
| iingling bells of headdreSS and robe as
she sang praise to the Lord who had
conquered, glOriouSly casting horse and
rider into the sea. Only by doing this
will you understand why another singer
gives the ''Song of the Bow''-the song
of the bow that Jonathan had~ carried
and the one that had served him so we'll
aud by keeping this fact in mind you
will understand the resemblance that
comes TO the other Song of the Bow''
that was sung by the wanderer when he
found his family eXterminated and
sought the aid OF magic influence to lead
him
On to Vengeance.
Removed one degree higher, is the
fact that music speaks most directly to
the soul. That it so speaks gives rise
to the fancy OF the poet, who calls a
wanderer home by the tones of a song
he loved SO well. Because it moves the
feelings we are always stirred by simple
songs that call back our associations of
noble days, and we are reconstructed
again into that noble self we lost with
our passing oylood, that self that
every nOtuer heepS Storeu away some
where i'll memory. And. again, this
power TO mold the ideal by music ex-
plains why SO many have been moved to
better life. have been melted to tender
ness when all else failed. And SO while
the music OF the time was primitive, while
it appealed largely To- the physical life of
men. while il was accompanied by pro-
cessions and timbrels, it was also
promise Of the higher national develop
inent. and promised much of what music
will do for the development of man on
his higher and better side.
And now think we have reviewed
some of the elements that belonged to
the early man of the Bible. In viewing
these we have tried to make hin what
he was-no greater and no less. In