Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1893-10-27
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUN
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "HeIpfuI Churches"

ton Of hypocrites. Another. at is an as
semby Of people who eelthemselves great
deal better than others" Another, sit is
place for gossip, where wolverine disposi-
tions devour each other" Another at is a
place for the cultivation OF superstition and
can't" Another, st is An arsenal where
theoogians 90 to get pixies and muskets and
shot" Another. at is en art gallery, where
men go to admire grand arches and exquisite
fresrO. and musical warble and the Dan
tesque in gloomy imagery" Another man
would say. "It is the best place on earth ex
cept my own home" If l forget thee, o
Jerusalem let my right hand forget her cum
ming"
Now. my friends. whatever the church is,
my text tells you what it ought to he-a
great, practical homely. omntpotent help.
"Send thee help from the sanctuary" The
pew ought to yield restfuness to the body.
The color of the upholstery ought to yield
pleasure to the eye. The enti., service ought
10 Weld strength for the mcctly struggle of
everyday life. The SaRhcrs WHIT to be har-
ban in m tbe sriId peanuts tbe te cbnrsh
ought to be a mag nightly
affecting all thg the wOrshipers.
Every man gets tboy1Iy iostle1. gets abused,
gets cut, gets insulted, gets slighted, gets
exasperated.
BY the time the Sabbath comes he has an
accumulation Of six days of annoyance. and
that is starveling church service which has
not strength enough to take that accumulat-
ed 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 on 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 hurri-
cane decks and leave him dripping with holy
and glad heavenly emotion. ''Send thee help
from the sanctuary"
In the first place, sanctuary help ought to
come from the music. A woman dying in
England persisted in singing to the last mo-
ment. The attendants tried to persuade her
to stop, saying it would exhaust her and
make her disease worse. She answered II
mast sing. | am only practicing for the
heavenly choir" Music on earth is a re-
hearsal for music in heaven. If you and
are going to take part in that great Or3hes-
ira, it is high time that We were stringing
and drumming our harps. They tell us that
Thalberg and Gottschalk never would GO into
a concert until they had first i'll private re-
hearsed, although they were such masters of
the instrument. And can it be that we
pect to take a 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 harmony, not more artistic
expression, but more volume in our church
music.
Now | am no wOrshiper OF noise, but he.
ieve that if our American churches would,
with full heartnesS 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 sacred service and lift it to where
it ought to be? All the annOyances of life
might be drowned out of that sacred song.
Do you tell me that it is not fashionable to
sing very lou Ily? Then, | say, away with
the fashion. We dam back the great Mis-
sissppi of congregational singing and let a
few drops OF melody triCkle through the
dam. | say. take away the dam and let the
hiliOws roar on their way to the oceanic
heart Of God. Whether it is fashionable to
sing loudly or not, let us sing with all pos
Sibie emphasis.
We hear Il great deal of the art of singing,
of music as entertainments of music a
recreation. 1t is high time we heard some
thing of music as elp-a practical help.
In order to do this we must only have few
hymns. New tunes and new hymns every
Sunday make poor congregational singing.
Fifty hymns are enough for fifty years. The
Episcopal Church prays the same prayers
every Sabbath, and year after year and
century after century. For that reason they
have 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 to the tull force Of this
exercise. Twenty thousand years will not
wear out the hymns of William Cowper and
Charles Wesley and Isaac Watts.
Suppose now each person in this audience
has brought all the annOyanceS of the last
365 days. Fill this room to the ceiling with
sacred song. and you would drown out all
those annOyanceS of the 365 days. and you
would drown them out forever Organ and
cOrnet are only to marshal the voice. Let
the voice fall into line. and in companies. and
in hrigades. by storm take the ODduracy and
sin of the world If YOU cannot sing for
or Pv 70 civ
others good cheer you will bring good cheer
to your own heart. When Londonderry,
Ireland. was besieged. many years ago, the
people inside the city were tamishing, and a
vessel came up with provisions. but the ves-
sci ran or the river bank and stuck fast. The
enemy went down, with laughter and de-
risiOn, to board the vessel, when the vessel
gave a broadside fire against the enemy. and
by the shock was turned back into the stream,
and all was well.
Oh, We who are high and dry on the rocks
Of melancholy, give brQadstde fire of song
against your spiritual enemies, End by holy
rebound YOU will come out into the calm
waters If we want to make ourselves
happy, we must make others happy.
Mythology tells US of Amphian, who played
! his Tyre until the mountains were moved and
| the walls of Thebes arose. but religion has 6
misatiss 500 ta=isA OF 10Y AaSlssaans sons
may build wsioie felnpIes OF eternal JOY ane
| lift the round EARTH into sympathy with tn'
| skies. tarried many nights in London, an'
| l used to hear tho bells-the small bells
the city-strike the hour of niGht.one two
three. four. and after they were done strik II,
| inc the hour of night, then the great 81
Paurs Cathedral would come in to marx IN
| hours making all the other sounds seem Ut
| terIv insipnificant as with mighty tongue i
! announced the hour or the nlght-9Vefo
stroke an overmastering boom.
NV friends. it was intended that all IN
| lesser sounds of the world should be droWhe
out i'll the mighty tongue OF cohSFeS
sono heating against the gates OF HEAVIER
Do You know how they mark the hours
heaven? They have no clocks, as they hay a,
no candles, but great pendulum of halle
luiah swinging across heaven from eterni'
to eternity.
Let those re use to sing
| who never knew our God
| But children of the heavenly king
| Should speak their joys abrca1