The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1893-05-17
"HARP AND JAVELIN."
Theme Of Sermon by Rev. Z
Dewitt Talmage, D. D.
The Javelin of the Worlds Hatred Against
the Harp Of Heavenly Love-What
Music Has Done for the Worlds
Evangolization = Its Power
Over Mental and Physi-
cal Diseases.

"a novel and practical conjunction
thoughts suggested by text perhaps
never before chosen. The subject an.
nounced was: Harp and Javelin," the
text being l. Samuel, xviii, 1o-11:
"And David played with his hand as at Other
times, and there was javelin in Sauls hand
And Saul cast the javelin; for he said; L will
smite David even to the wall with it. and David
avoided out OF his presence twice"
What spectacle for all agesl Saul,
a giant, and David, dwarf. An un.
fortunate war ballad had been com.
posed and sung eulogizing David above
Saul That song threw Saul into a
paroxysm of rage, which brought on
one of his old spells of insanity, to
which he had been subject. II one is
disposed to some physical ailment, and
he get real mad, it is very apt to bring
on one Of his old attacks. Saul is a
raving maniac and he goes to initiating
the false prophets or sibyls, who kicked
and gesticulated wildly when they pre-
tended 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 began to pull the rvthm from
the vibrated strings. Thruml Thrum
Thruml No use. The king will not
listen to the exquisite cadence. He
lets fly a javelin, expecting to pin the
minstrel to the wall, but David lodged
the weapon and kept on, for he was
confident that he could, as before, sub.
due Sauls bad spirit by music. Again
the javelin is flung and David lodges IL
end departs. What contrast Roseate
David with harp and enraged Saul
with javelin. Who would not
rather play the one than fling the
otherP But that was not the only time
in the worlds history that harp and
jsvelin met. Where their birthplace
was | cannot declare. 1t is said that
the Tyre was first suggested by the
tight drawing of the sinews of tor
toise across its shell, and that the flute
was first suggested by the blowing Of
the wind across a bed of reeds, and
that the ratio Of musical intervals was
first suggested to Pythagoras by the
different hammers on the anvil of the
smithy, but the harp seems to me To
have dropped out of the sky and the
javelin to have been thrown up from
the pit. The Oldest stringed instru.
ment of the world is the harp. Jubal
sounded his harp in the book of Gene.
sis David played many of his psalms
on the harp while he sang them. The
captives in Babylon hung their harps
on the willows. Josephus celebrated
the invention Of the ten-stringed harp.
Timotheus, the Milesian, was impris-
oned for adding the twelfth string To
the harp, because too much luxury OF
sound might enervate the people.
Egyptian harps, Scottish harps,
Welsh harps, Irish harps, have
been celebrated. What an Inspired
trianglel Everlasting honors to Sc
bastian Erard, who, by pedals in
vented, called the foot as well as the
hand TO the harp. When the harpis-
cord maker for whom he worked dis.
charged him for his genius, the EN-.
ployer not wanting to be eclipsed by
his subordinate, Erard suffered from
the same passion Of jealousy that threw
Saul of my text into the fit during
which he flung a javelin at the harpist.
The harp is almost human, as you find
when you put your finger on It's pulse.
Other instruments have louder voice,
but what exquisite sweetness slumbers
between the harp strings, Weakening
at the first touch of the tips OF
the fingers. 1t can weep. II can plead.
II can soothe. 1t can pray. The flute
is more mellow, the trumpet is more
startling, the organ is more majestic,
the cymbals are more festive, the drum
is more resounding, but the harp has a
richness of its own, and will continue
its mission through all time and then
take part in celestial symphonies, for
St. John says he heard in Heaven the
harps of God.
But the javelin Of my text is just as
old, II is about five feet and half long,
with wooden handle and steel point,
keen and sharp. But II belongs TO the
great family of death-dealers, and Is
brother TO sword and spear and bayo.
net, and first cousin TO all the imple.
ments that wound and slay. II has cut
its way through the ages 1t was old
when Saul, in the scene Of my text,
tried to harpoon David. 1t has gashed
the earth with grave trenches. It's
keen tip is Redeemed with the blood OF
American wars, English wars, German
wars, Russian wars, French wars, Cru.
sader wars, and wars OF all nations and
of all ages. The structure of the jave.
lin shows what 1t was made for. The
plowshare is sharp, but aimed to cut
the earth in preparation for harvests.
The lightning rod Is sharp, but aimed
to disarm the lightnings and secure
safety. The ak is sharp, but aimed Ia
fell forests and clear the way for hu.
man habitation. The knife is sharp.
but aimed to cut the bread for susten.
ance. But the javelin is sharp only te
open human arteries and extinguish
human eyesight and take human life
and fill the earth with the cries Of or.
phanage and widowhood and childless-
ness. o, | am so glad that my text
brings them so close together that we
can see the contrast between the harr
and the javelin. The one TO soothe, the
other to hurt; the one to save, the other
to destroy; the one divine, the other
diabolie; the one TO play, the other te
hurl; the one in David's sltillful hand
the other in Saul's wrathful clutch. May
God speed the harp, may God grind intt
dullness the sha;p edge Of the javelin
Now what d9es this all make you