Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1893-05-19


God at least $50, 900 had been saved by sweet
song. Why does not the church on earth
take the hint? Heaven is the great musical
center OF the universe, the place OF doxolo.
gies and trumpets and harps, and in prepare.
ton for that place we ought to make more OF
music on earth.
The band of music at Waterloo played tn.
retreat of the Forty-second Highlanders bacs
to their places, and sacred music has re-
turned many faltering host of God into tn,
Christian conflict with as much determina
and dash as Tennyson's "Six Hundred
Who can tell what has been accomplished by
Charles Wesley's 1000 hymns. or by the con
gregational singing OF his time, which could
be heard two miles OFF, When my dear
friend Dio Lewis (gone TO rest all too soon)
conducted a campaign against drunkenness
at the West, and marshaled thousands Of the
noblest women of the land in that magnifl-
cent campaign, and whole neighborhoods and
villages and cities shut up their grog shops,
do you know the chief weapon used? 1t was
the song.
Nearer, my God, 10 Thee,
Nearer to Thea.
They sang 1t at the door OF hundreds Of
LIQUOR saloons which had been open for
years, and either at the first charge of the
campaign or the second the saloon shut up.
At the first verse of Nearer, My God. -
Thee the liquor dealers laughed AT the
second verse they looked soleran. at the third
verse they begann. t9 Cry, and at the fourth
verse 'ney; GOT down on their knees. You
,S,av they opened their saloons again. Yes.
some Of them did. But II is great thing to
have hell shut up II only for a week. Give
full swing to a good gospel hymn, and it
would take the whole world for God
But when in my text see Saul declining
this medicine of rhythm and cadence and ac-
tually hurting javelin at the heart Of David,
the harpist, bethink myself Of the fact that
sin would like TO kill sacred music. We are
not told what tune David was playing on the
harp that day, but from the character of the
man we know 1t was not a crazy madrigal OF
a senseless ditty. or a sweep OF strings sug
gestiye of the melodrama, but elevated music,
God given music, inspired music, religious
music a whole heaven OF it encamped under
a harpstring. No wonder that wicked Saul
hated 1t and could not abide the sound and
with all his might hurled an instrument OF
death at it.
know there are styles OF music that sin
admires, and YOU hear 1t as you pass the
casino or the dance hall, and the devil has
STOLEN most OF the fddles, though am glad
the Ole Bulls have snatched up the charmed
strings from their Dissertation, but 1t is fact
that sin has javelin for sacred sounds. In
many churches the javelin of criticism has
killed the music, javelin flung from organ loft
pr from adjoining pew OF the supersensitive.
Saul's javelin aimed at David's harp. Thou
sands of people so afraid they may not sing
scientifically, they will not sing at all, or sing
with such low tone that no one hears them.
In many church the javelin OF criticism
has crippled the harp Of worship. If satan
could silence all the Sunday-school songs
and the hymns of Christian worship, be
would gain his greatest achievement. When
the millennial song shall rise-and it is be-
ing made ready-there will be such roll OF
voices such concentrated power OF stringec
and wind instruments, such majesty, such
unanimity, such continental and hemisphere
and planetary reclamation, that it will be i'm
possible to know where earth stops and
heaven begins. Roll on, roll in, roll up, thou
millennial harmony.
See also in my subject a e,ected oppor-
tunity of revenge. Why did not David pick
up Saul's javelin and hurl it back againH
David had a skillful arm. He demonstrated
on another occasion he could WELD a sling,
and he could have easily picked up that
iavelin, aimed it at Saul, the would-be
assassin, and left the foaming and demented
monster as lifeless under the javelin as he
had left Goliath under sling. Oh, David,
now is your chance. No, no. Men and
to reply to an imbittered antagonist, better
initiate David and let the jayelin lie at your
feet and keep the harp in your hand. Do
not strike back. Do not play the game OF
tit for tat
Gibbon, in his history, tells Of Bajazet, the
great Moslem General who was brought
captive to the tent of Timur. He had at
tempted the massacre Of Timur and his men.
Timur said to him Had you vanquished us
4 80 ba fafa i,h
served for myself and my troops, but dis.
dain to retaliate. Your life and honor are
secure, and shall express my gratitude to
God by my clemency TO man." Beautiful.
Revenge on Christians tongue or pen OF
hand is inapt and more damage to the one
who employs it than the one against WHOM
1t is employed. What A jayelin hurled al
you and fallen ct your feet, and you rot hurl
It back again2 Yes. have tried the plan.
learned it from my father ami have prac-
ticed it all nv life and it works well, and by
The help Of God and jayelins not picked up
have conquered all my foes and preache
funeral sermons in honor Of most OF them.
The st thing you can do with javelin
hurled at you is TO let it lie where 1t dropped
or hang it up in your museum as curiosity.
The deepest wound made by a Javalin Is not
by the sharp edge, but at the dull end OF the
YOU TO say which got the best OF That nght III
the palace-Saul or David.
See also in my subject that the TACT that a
man sometimes lodges is not against MS
courage My text says that when saul as
sailed him David avoided ont OF his pres
ence twice"-that is. when the javelin was
flung. he stepped out Of IFS direction or bent
this way or that-in other words, he dodged:
But all those who have read the life OF DaNd
know that he was not lacking IN proWess'
David had faults, but cowardice was not one
OF them.
When David. who was, guess about four
and a half feet high, went out to meet the
giant. who was. Iguess. about 10 feet high,
il was big undertaking, and the nequan-
flies of the struggle were so great that IL
struck the giants idea OF the ludicrous and
he suggested to the little fellow that he would
make fine dinner fO- buzzard or lacKal
Come to me. end will give thy flesh unto
the fowls OF the air and to tho beasts OF the
field.
When David went out to meet that giant
and conquered him, he demonstrated, as ne
did on other occasions, his courage But y
Am so glad that when Saul flung thar iavehn
David lodged it. or the c''ief work Of his life
would never have been dcIc What lesson
this is to those who go into useless danger
and expose their lives or their regulations OF
their usefulness unnecessarily. When duty
demands, 90 ahead, though all earth and hell
oppose. Dodge not one inch from the right
position. But when nothing is involved step
back or step aside
Why stand in the way Of peris that you
can avoid2 Go not into quixOtic battles to
fight windmills You will be OF more use to
the world and the church as an active Chris
han man than as target for javelins. There
are Christians always in fight, ii they 60
into churches, they fight there. II they &c
into presbyteries or conferences or consocia-
tons, they fight there. My advice to you Is,
II anything is to be gained for God or the
truth, stand out of the way OF the javelin.
| Samuel, xviii, II, David avoided out OF
bis presence twice.
Washington was as mighty in his retreats
as in his advances. His army would several
times have been destroyed If he had not
lodged. He lodged on Long Island he
lodged on New Jersey heights. Lincoln on
his way to Inauguration at Washington was
waited for by assassins. but he took another
train and lodged the desperedoes We have
high example OF the fact that sometimes man
will serve God best by disappearing from this
or that place. this or that environment.
mob brought Christ to the top OF the
rocks back Of Nazarrah. They did not like
His preaching, and they proposed TO hurl
Him down the precipice But while they
were getting ready for the massacre Christ
darted into the crowd and amid the confu-
sion escaped TO Capernaum and continued