The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1893-05-31

understand any more than they could under
stand mine.
But after the grand band had, out OF COM
pnment to US, played our two great Ameri,
can airs, stepped on the platform ana SAID
to the bandmaster: "Russian air Russian
air ~ and then he tapped with his baton on
the music rack, and with splendor and
majesty of power that almost made us quail
the full band poured forth their National
anthem. They understood our American
music, and we understood their Russian
music. It is a universal language, and 80
good for universal cure.
should not wonder II In the day Of judg-
me1t it should be found out that more souls
have been saved by music than by preaching.
I should not wonder if out Of the one hun
dred and forty and four thou3and ransomed
souls that John foresaw before the throne OF
God at least 130, 900 had been saved by sweet
song. Why does not the church on earth
take the hint2 Heaven Is the great musical
center Of the universe, the place Of doxolo-
giles and trumpets and harps, and In preparac
zion for that place We ought to make more OF
music on earth.
The band Of music at Waterloo played the
retreat Of the Forty-second Highlanders back
to their places, and sacred music has re-
turned many q faltering host Of God into the
Christian conflict with as much determine
and dash as Tennyson's "Six Hundred" "
Who can tell what has been accomplished by
gregatonal singing of his tina, which could
be heard two miles OFF, When my dear
friend Dio Lewis Ozone to rest all too soon)
conducted q campaign against drunkenness
At the West, and marshaled thousands OF the
noblest women OF the land in that magnif-
cent campaign, and whole neighborhoods and
villages and cities shut up their grog shops,
do you know the chief weapon used? It was
the song.
Nearer, my God; to Thee,
Nearer to Thee.
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 che saloon shut up.
At the first verse of "Nearer, My God, to
Thee the liquor dealers laughed, at the
second verse they looked solemn, at the third
verse they began to cry, and at the fourth
verse they got down on their knees. You
say they opened their saloons again. Yes.
some OF them did. But it is grest thing to
have hell shut up If only for a week. Give
full swing to good gospel hymn, and 1t
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 o crazy madrigal, or
q senseless ditty, or q sweep OF strings sug-
gestive of the melodrama, but elevated music,
God given music, inspired music, religious
music, q whole heaven Of 1t encamped under
q harpstring. No wonder that wicked Saul
hated it 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 hddles, though am glad
the Ole Bulls have 6natched up the charmed
strings frola their desecration, 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
or 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 q 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, he
would gain his greatest achievement. When
the millennial song shall rise-and 1t is be-
ing made ready-there will be such a roll OF
voices, such concentrated power OF stringed
and wind instruments, such majesty, such
unanimity, such continental and hemisphere
and planetary acclamatiop, that 1t will be i'm
possible to know where earth stops and
heaven begins. Roll on, roll in, roll up, thou
mIllennial harmony! i -
See also tn;my subject rejected oppor-
tunity Of revenge. Why did not David pick
so,,a lin b1r hao aO1ino
David had skillful arm. He demonstrated
on another occasion he could WELD a sling,
and he could have easily picked up that
javelin, aimed 1t at Saul, the would-be
assassin, and left the foaming and demented
monster as ifeless under the javelin as he
bad left Goliath under sling. Oh, David,
now Is your chance. No, no. Men and
women with power oftongue or pen or hand
to reply to an imbittered antagonist, better
initiate David and let the javelin 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 rs
am not ignorant Of the tate which you re-
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 or
hand Is inapt and more damage to the one
who employs it than the one against whom
1t is employed. What! A iavelin hurled at
you and fallen at your feet, and you not hurl
It back again? Yes. have tried the plan.
l learned It from my father and have prac-
ticed it oil my life. and it worko well, and by
the help Of God and javelins not picked up
have conquered all my foes and preache
funeral sermons in honor OF most OF them.
The bestthing 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 lavalin IS not
by the sharp edge, but at the dull end OF the
handle to him who wields it. leave 1t to
you to say which got the best OF that fight In
the palace-Saul or David.
See also in my subject that the fact that q
man sometimes dodges Is not against his
courage. My text says that when Saul as-
sailed him, David avoided out OF his pres
ence twice"-that is, when the iavelin was
flung, he stepped out OF its direction or bent
this way or that-in other words, he lodged.
But all those who have read the Life OF David
know that he was not lacking In proWess.
David bad faults, but cowardice was not one
OF them.
When David, who was, guess, about four
and q half feet high, went out to meet the
giant, who was, Iguess, about 10 feet high,
It was big undertaking, and the 1nequal-
ties OF the struggle were so great that It
struck the giants idea of the ludicrous, and
he suggested to the little fellow that he would
make fine dinner for O buzzard or jackal
-"Come to me, and will give thy flesh unto
the fowlN Of the air and to the beasts OF the
field"
When David went out to meet that giant
and conquered him, he demonstrated, as he
did on other occasions, his courage Cut