The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-05-15
HARP VERSUS JAVELIN.
TalmagG breaches on a Famous
Biblical Incident.

btoOhlSl, May l4.--lu ms sermon inns
forenoon in the Brooklyn Tabernacle, Rev.
DR.. Talmage brought in a novel and prac-
tical conjunction thoughts suggested by
a text perhaps never before chosen. The
opening hymn, led by organ and coruet,
and Joined in by thousands Of voices, was;
BEFORE Jehovah's awful throne
Ne nations, bow with sacred Joy.
The subject announced was: Harp
and Javelin," the text being ]. Samuel:
xviii, 10-1l: "And David PLAYED with his
hand as at other times, and there was q
iavelin in Saul's hand. And Saul cast the
lavelin; for he said, will smite David
even to the wall with it, And David
avoided out of his presence twice"
What q spectacle for all agesl Saul, a
giant, and David, dwarf An unfortu-
nate war ballad had been composed and
sung eulogizing David above Saul That
song threw Saul into paroxysm of rage,
which brought on one OF his old spells OF
insanity, to which he had been subject,
IL one Is disposed to some physical ail-
ment, and he get real mad, il is very apt
TO bring on one Of his old attacks. Saul
is raving maniac and he goes to imitat-
ing the false prophets or sibyls, who
kicked and gesticulated wildly when they
pretended to be foretelling events. What
ever the physicians Of the royal staff may
have prescribed for the disordered king,
| know not but David prescribed music.
Having keyed up the harp his fingers be-
gan to pull the rhythm from the vibrated
strings. Thrm, Thruml Thruml No
use. The king win not listen TO the ex-
quisite cadences. He lets hy a iavelin ex-
pecting TO pin the minstrel to the wall,
but David lodged the weapon and kept on
gg,. I 4
fore, subdue Sauls bad spirit by music.
Again the iavelin is flung and David
lodges it and departs What a contrastl
Roseate David with harp and enraged
Saul with n iaYelin. Who would not
rather play the one than fling the otherf
But that was not the only time i'll the
worlds history that harp and Javelin met.
clare. 10 Is said that the Tyre was first
suggested by the tight drawing of the
slnews Of a tortoise across its shell, and
that the flute was first suggested by the
blowing Of the wind across o bed of
reeds and that the ratio of musical
intervals was first suggested to Pythag-
oras by the different ham mers on the
anvil Of the smithy, but the harp seems to
me to have dropped out ofthe sky and the
javelin to have been thrown up from the
pit. Tho oldest stringed instrument of
the world is the harp. Jubal sounded his
harp in the book Of Genesis, David played
many of his psalms on the harp while
he sang them. The captives in Babylon
hung their harps on the willows. Jose
phus celebrated the invention of the ten
stringed harp. TimOtheus, the Milesian,
was Imprisoned for adding the twelfth
string to the harp, because too much
luxury OF sound might enervate the peo-
pie. EgyptiOn harps, Scottish harps,
Welsh harps, irish harps have been celc-
brated What an inspired trianglei Ey-
erlasting honOrs TO Sebastian Erard, who
by pedals invented, called the foot as well
as the hand to thr harp. When the harp
sicord maker for whom he worked dis
charged him for his genius the employer
not wanting 10 be cclipsed by his subordi-
nate, Erard suffered from the same pas
sion of jealousy that threw Saul Of my
text into the fit during which he flung u
iavelin at the harpist. The harp is al
most human, as you find when you put
your finger on its pulse. Other instru-
ments have louder voice, and may be bet
ter for battle charge, but what exquis-
ite sweetness slumbers between the harp
strings, waking at the first touch OF the
tips Of the fingers. IL can weep. 1t can
plead 1t can soothe II can pray. The
flute is more mellow, the trumpet Is more
startling, the organ is moro majestic, the
cymbals are more festive, the drum is
u
ness Of its own and will continue its mis-
sion through all time and then take part
in celestial symphonies, for St. John says
he heard in heaven the harps Of God.
But the savelin Of my text is just as old.
1t Is about five feet and half long, with
wooden handle and steel point, keen ard
sharp. But il belongs 20 the great fam
lily of de9th-dealers, and is brother to
sword and spear and bayonet, and first
cousin 10 all the implements that wound
and slay 1t has cut its way through the
ages. 10 was old when Saul, in the scene
of my text, tried to harpoOn David. 10
has gashed the earth with grave trenches.
Its keen tip is Redeemed with the
blood of American wars English wars
German wars, Russian wars, French
wars, Crusader wars, and wars of all ma
tious and Of all ages. The structure OF
the javelin shows what IL Yves made for.
The plowshare Is shOrp, but aimed to cut
the earth in preparation for harvests. The
lightning rod is sharp but rimed to dis
arm the lightnings and secure safety.
The AK is sharp, but aimed TO fell forests
and clear the way for human habitation.
The knife is sharp, but aimed to cut the
bread for sustenance. But the iayelin is
sharp only to open human arteries and
human eyesight and take
human life and fill the earth with the
cries of orphanage and widowhood and
., j am so glad that my
text brings them so close together that we
can see the contrast between the harp and
the iavelin. The one to sOothe, the other
TO hurt; the one to save, the other to de-
stroy; the one divine, the other diabolic;
the one to play, the other to hurl; the one
in David's skillful hand, the other in
Saul's wrathful clutch. May God speed
the harp, may God grind into dullness the
sharp edge of the layelinl
Now, what does all this make you think
of IL suggests 10 me music as a medi-
cine for physical and mental disorders.
David took hold Of the musical iustru-
ment which he best knew how 20 play
and evoked from ii sounds which were
for King Saul's diversion and medica-
ment.' But, you say, the treatment ia
this case was a failure. Why was it a
failure, Saul refused to take the medi-
cine. A whole apothecary shop Of cura-
tive drugs will do nothing toward heal
ing your illnesses If you refuse TO take the
medicine. 10 WAS not the fault OF David's
prescription, but the fault OF Saul's
David, one OF the wisest nnd
best Of an ages. stands before as ln tho
text administering music for nervous
disorder and cerebral disturbauce And
David was right Music is tae uiighiieaf
force ia ali Therapeutics ita results HaE
not % % seen IS suddenly H0otber iorUa
of cure, bat 4 Is just IS wonderful tou
VIII itINaf fn049 h0W nls4ttn SUFFERING 4u44