Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1893-10-16
HELPFUL CHURCHES.
ELOQUENT SERMON BY THE GREAT
BROOKLYN PREACHER.

BROOKLYN, Oct. 15.-The character of
the hymns given out by Rev. DR.. Tai
mage In the Brooklyn Tabernacle this
forenoon called for the unusual power
of congregational singing. Organ and
cornet and the voices of the thousands
of worshipers made the place resound
with music. The subject was Helpful
Churches" the text being Psalms Xxx. 2,
"Send thee help from the sanctuary"
If you should ask 80 men what the
church is, they would give you so differ
ent answers. One man would say, "It is a
convention of hypocrites." Another, at
is an assembly of people who feel them
selves great deal better than others" 4"
Another, ut is a place for gossip, where
wolverine dispositions devour each 9th
er." sApother, "It is place for the cul-
tivation of superstition and can't" An
other, 1T is an arsenal where theologians
go to get pixies and muskets and shot"
Another, 1T is an art gallery, where men
60 to admire grand arches, and exquisite
fresco, and musical warble, and the
Dantesque in gloomy imagery" An
other man would say: "It is the best
place on earth except my own home. If
forget thee, o Jerusaleml let my right
hand forget her cunning"
Now, my friends, whatever the church
is, my text tells you what it ought to be
"a great, practical, homely, omnipotent
help. Send thee help from the sanctu-
ary." The pew ought to yield restfulness
to the body. The color of the upholstery
ought to yield pleasure to the eye. The
entire service ought to yield strength for
the mol and struggle of everyday life.
The Sabbath ought to be harnessed to
all the six days of the week, drawing
them in the right direction. The
church ought to be magnet, visibly
and nightly affecting all the homes of
the worshipers. Every man gets roughly
jostled, gets abused, gets cut, gets in
suited, gets slighted, gets exasperated.
BY the time the Sabbath comes he has
an accumulation of six days of annoy
ance, and that is starveling church
service which has not strength enough
to take that accumulated annoyance and
hurl it into perdition. The business man
sits down in church headachey from the
weeks engagements. Perhaps he wishes
he had tarried at home Oh the lounge
with the newspapers and the slippers.
That man wants to be cooled off and
graciously diverted. The first wave of
the religious service ought to dash clear
over the hurricane decks and leave him
dripping with holy and glad and heav-
cnly emotion. "Send thee help from
the sanctuary"
SABBATH SONGS.
In the first place, sanctuary help ought
to come from the music. A woman dy-
ing in England persisted in singing to
the last moment. The attendants tried
to persuade her to stop, saying it would
exhaust her and make her disease worse.
She answered: II must sing. am only
practicing for the heavenly choir" Mu-
sic on earth is a rehearsal for music in
heaven. If you and are going to take
part in that great orchestra, it is high
time that we were stringing and thrum-
ming our harps. They tell us that Thai
berg and Gottschalk never would go into
concert until they had first in private
rehearsed, although they were such mas
ters of the instrument. And can it be
that we expect to take part in the great
oratorio of heaven if we do not rehearse
here? But am not speaking of the next
world. Sabbath song ought to set all the
week to music. We want not more har-
mony, not more artistic expression, but
more volume in our church music.
Now | am no worshiper OF noise, but
l believe that if our American churches
would, with full heartiness of soul and
full emphasis of voice, sing the songs OF
Zion this part of sacred worship would
have tenfold more power than it has
now. Why not take this part of the sa-
cred service and lift it to where it ought
TO be? All the annoyances of life might
be drowned out of that sacred song. DO
Won tell me that it is not fashionable to
sing very loudly? Then, say, away
with the fashion. We dam back the
great Mississippi of congregational sing
ing and let few drops Of melody tricklc
through the dam. ! say, take away the
dam and let the billows roar on then
way to the oceanic heart OF God
Whether it is fashionable to sing loudly
or not, let us sing with all possible EN-
phasis.
We hear great deal of the art o
singing, of music as an entertainment
of music as q recreation. 1t is high tim'
we heard something Of music as help
a practical help. In order to do this w
must only have few hymns New
times and new hymns every Sunday
make poor congregational singing. Fifty
HYMNS are enough for so years. The
Episcopal church prays the same pray
ers every Sabbath. and year after yeai
and century after century. For that
reason they have the hearty responses.
Let us take hint from that fact. and
let us sing the same songs Sabbath after
sabbath. Only in that way can we come
10 the full force of this exercise. Twen-
~ thousand years will not wear out the
HYMNS of William Cowper and Charles
Wesley and Isaac Watts.
Suppose now each person in TINS Su'
dience has brought all the annoyance'
OF the last 1855 days. Fill this room u
the ceiling with sacred song, ana yO'
Ill thosa auuOyalcel