Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1892-05-19

lOluu On, llC drummer boyb hhhiii5
against II stump and dead.
ION, FOR a THoUs-iND TONGUES"
That hymn, ooh. for Il Thousand Tongues
to Sing" was suggested to Charles Yves
ley by Peter Boiler, who, after his CONVEX
sion, said, 81 had better keep silent about |
it." NO." said Wesley, "if you had ten |
thousand Tongues you had better use
them for Christ" And then that angel of
hymnology pcnned the words;
Oh. for a thousand tongues to sing
My dear Bcdecmor's praise,
The glories of my God and hing.
The triumphs of his grace
Jesus, the name that Gains our fears,
That bids or SORROWS cease;
Wis music in the sinners ears,
IT'S life and health and peace.
While much Of the modern music is n
religious doggerel, a consccrated nonsense.
a sacred tomfoolerv, | would like to see
some great musician of our time lift the
baton and marshal Luther's Judgment
Hymn Yarmouth, Dundee, Ariel, Brattle
Street, Uxbridgc, Plcyel's Hymn, Harwell,
Antioch, Mount Pisgah and Coronation,
with few regiments of mighty tunes made
in our own time, and storm ASIA Africa
and America for the kingdom of God.
But the first thing to do is to drive out
the dumb devil of the text from all our
churches.
DO not, however, let us lose ourselves in
generalities. Not one of US but has had
our lives sometimes touched by the evil
spirit of the teXt--this awful dumb devil.
We had Just one opportunity of saying
Christian word that might have led Il man
or woman into a Christian life. The OPP
portunity was fairly put before us. The
word OF invitation or consolation or warn
= IN,,
but there it halted. Some hindering power
locked the jaws together so that they did
not open. The tongue lay fat and still in
the bottom of the mouth as though struck
with paralysis We were mute.
Though God had given us the physiology
| cal apparatus for speech, and our lungs
| we're filled with air which, by the com
mand of our will, could have made the
| laryngeal muscles move and the vocal or
| gans vibrate we were wickedly and fatally
| silent. For all time and eternity we missed
| orr chance. Or it was n prayer meeting,
and the service was thrown open for prayer
and remarks, and there was IA dead halt
| everything silent as Il graveyard at mid
| night. Indeed it was a graveyard and
| midnight An embarrassing pause took
place that put Il wet blanket on all the
meeting. Men, bold enough on business
eyes as though they were praying in 81
lence, but they We're not praying ut all
They We're busy hoping somebody else
would do his duty.
The women flushed under the awful
pause and made their fans more rapidly
iiutter. Some brother with no cold
! coughed, by that sound trying to fill up
the time, and the meeting was slain But
what killed it? The dumb devil. This is
the way ! account for the fact that the
stupidest places on earth are some prayer
| meetings | do not see how a man keeps
any grace If he regularly attends them.
They are spiritual relrigerators Religion
kept on ice How many of us have lost oc-
casiOus of usefulness!
In a sculptor's studio stood n figure Of
the god Opportunity. The sculptor had
made the hair fall down over the face of
the statue so as to completely cover it, and
there were wings to the feet. When asked
why he SO represented Opportunity, the
sculptor answered, The face Of the statue
is thus covered mp because we do not rec
ognize Opportunity when it comes, and the
wings to the feet show that Opportunity is
swiftly gone"
THE DUMB DEVIL IN POLITICS.
| But do not let the world dcride the
church because of all this, for the duml
devil is Just as conspicuous in the world
The two great political parties will sool
assemble to build platforms for the presi
Dental candidates to stand on. a commit
tee of each party will be appointed to make
the platform, After proper deliberatiol
the committees will come in with a ring
ing report "W hereas" and "Whcrcas" anC
"Whcrcas." Pronunciamentoes all SHAPED
! with the one idea of getting the most votes
A Nin ~ n no
, moral evils of the country ignored. NO ex
: preston about the liquor traffic, for tina
! would lose the rum vote No expression
in regard to the universal attempt at thu
demolition of the Lords day. No reCoGni
ton OF God in the history of this nation
for that would lose the vote OF the atheists
But "Whereas" and "Whereas' anC
"Nhcrcas" Nine cheers will be given 70
! the platform. The dumb devil Of the tex
+. viii put one wing over the Republican
, platform and the other wing over tn
J., Democratic platform. There is nothin
involved in the next election except Office,
:. The great conventions will be opened wit
y prayer by their chaplains.
4 If they avoid pattudes and tell tn
e honest truth in their prayers, they vii
say: 20 Lord, we want to be postmaster
and consuls and foreign ministers an
i United States district attorneys For tina
4 we are here and for that we will strive II
- the election next November. Give us o.
:. flee. or we die, forever and ever Amen
n The world, to say the least, is no bette
=, than the church on this subject Of sieuc
:. at the wrong time, In other words, IS
&, not time for Christianity TO become pro
o nounced aud aggressive aS never before
/, Take sides lor God and sohriety aud righ
- cousuess. III the Lord be God, lollu'
him; if Baai, then follow him. HAY
n you opportunity OF rebukiug sinf RI
y, buke il. Have YOU a chance to cheer
disheartened soul, Cheer il. Have you
- useful word to speak, Speak it.
70 BE out and out, up and down for RICH