The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1893-05-17

is great thing to have hell shut up II
only for week. Give full swing TO
good gospel hymn, and 1t would take
the whole world for Godl
But when in my text see Saul de-
clining this medicine Of rhythm and
cadence and actually hurling jayelin
at the heart of David, the harpist l be-
think 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 char
acter of the man we know 1t was not
crazy madrigal, or senseless ditty, or
a sweep of strings suggestive OF the
melodrama, but elevated music, Cod
given music, inspired music, religious
music, whole heaven of it encamped
under harp string. 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. 1
know there are styles of music that
sin admires, and you hear it as you
pass the casino or the dance hall,
and the devil has stolen most OF the
fiddles, though am glad the Ole Bulls
have snatched up the charmed strings
from their desecratlon; but 1t is
fact that sin has a javelin for sacred
sounds. In many churches the javelin
of criticism has killed the music; jave-
lin flung from organ loft or from ad-
joining pew of the supersensitive.
Sauls javelin aimed at Davids harp.
Thousands 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 Grip
pied the harp of worship. II satan
could silence all the Sunday-school
songs and the hymns of Christian wor-
chip, he would gain his greatest
achievement. When the millennial
song shall rise land it is being made
ready there will be such a roll OF
voices, such a concentrated power OF
stringed and wind instruments, such
majesty, such unanimity, such conti-
mental and hemisphere and planetary
acclamation, that it will be impossible
to know where earth stops and heaven
begins. Roll on, roll in, roll up, thou
millennial harmonyl
See also in my subject rejected OPP
portunity of revenge. Why did not
David pick up Sauls javelin and hurl
it back again? David had a skillful
arm. He demonstrated on another oc-
casion he could WELD sling, and he
could have easily picked up that jave-
lin, aimed it at Saul, the would-be
assassin, and left the foaming and de-
mented monster as lifeless under the
! javelin, as he had left Goliath under
sling. o, David, now is your chance.
No, no. Men and women with power
of tongue, or pen, or hand to reply To
an embittered antagonist, better imi.
tate David and let the javelin lie al
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 attempted the massacre OF
Timur and his men. Timur said
to him: Had you vanquished us
am not ignorant of the fate
which you reserved, for myself and my
troops, but disdain to retaliate. You
life and honor are secure, and shall
express my gratitude to God by my
clemency to man.F Beautiful Re
.venge on Christians tongue or pen oil
hand is inapt, and more danger to- the
one who employsit than the one against
whom It is employed. What A jave
lin hurled at you and fallen at your
feet, and you not hurl it back againi
Yes, have tried the plan. / learned
1t from my father, and have practiced
It all my life, and it works well, and by
the help of God and javelins not picked
up, l have conquered all my foes, and
preached funeral sermons in honor OF
most of them. The best thing you car
do with javelin hurled at you is to lei
II lie where 1t dropped, or hang it up in
your museum as curiosity, The deep
est wound made by javelin is not by
its keen edge, but at the dull end Of
the handle to him who wields it.
leave IL to you to say who got the best
OF that fight in the palace-Saul oil
David.
See also in my subject that the fact
that a man sometimes lodges is moi
against his courage. My text says thai
when Saul assailed him, David avoid
ed out of his presence twice." that Is,
when the javelin was flung he stepped
out Of its direction or bent this way OF
that; In other words, he lodged. But
all those who have read the life oi
David know that he was not lackingfn
prowess. David had faults, but COW.
ardice was not one of them. When
David, who was, / guess, about foui
feet and half high, went out to meet
the giant, who was, guess, about ten
feet high, it was big undertaking,
and the inequalities 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 buzzard or a jaclSal
"Come unto me and / will give thy
flesh unto the fowls Of the air and tc
the beasts of the field" When David
went out to meet that giant and con
quered him, he demonstrated, as he die
on other occasions, his courage
But 1 am so glad that when Saul
flung that javelin David lodged It
or the chief work Of his life would
never have been done. What a lessor
this is to those who go into useless
danger and expose their lives or theii
regulations or their usefulness unnec
essarilY. When duty demands. &c