The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-10-16
CHURCHES AS HELPERS.
DR.. Talma@G Tells What a Church
Ought 70 Be.

TallOr-made ministers anu Jue MIL
listers of the Spirit.
Brooklyn, Oct. 15.-The character of
the hymns given out by the Rev. DR.
Talmage in the Brooklyn tabernacle this
forenoon. called for the unusual power Of
congregational singing, organ and cornet,
and the voices of the thousands of
worshippers made the place resound with
music The subject was, Helpful
Churches" the text being, Psalms 20: 2:
''Send thee Help from the Sanctuary
If YOU should ask fifty men what the
church is, they would give you fifty
different answers. One man would say
1T is a convention of hypOcrites
Another. 1T is an assembly of people
who feel themselves a great deal better
than others" Another, 1t is place for
gossip. where wolverine dispositions de-
YOUR each other" Another, 1t is a place
for the cultivation of superstition and
can't" Another, 1t is an arsenal where
theolOgiaus 90 TO get pixies and muskets
and shot" Another, 1T is an art gallery
where men 90 to admire grand arches,
and exquisite frescO, and musical MARBLE,
and the Dantesque in gloomy imagery"
Another man would say, 1t is the best
place on earth except my own home. If
forget thee, o, Jerusalem! let my right
hand forget her cunning"
Now, my friends, whatever the church
is, my text tells you what it ought to be;
a great, practical, hOmely, Omnipotent
help. Send thee help from the sanctu-
ary." The pew ought TO yield resttulness
TO the body. The color of the upholstery
ought to yield pleasure to the eye. The
entire service ought TO yield strength for
the mOil and struggle of everyday life.
The Sa bbath ought to be harnessed to all
the six days of the week, drawing them in
the right direction. The church ought
TO be a magnet. visibly and nightly af
fecting all the homes of the wOrshippers,
Every man gets roughly jostled, gets
abused, gets cut, gets lnsulted, gets
sighted, gets eXasperated. By the time
the Sabbath comes, he has an accumula-
LiOn of six days of annoyance, and that is
q starveling church service which has
not strength enough to take that accu-
mulated annoyance and hurl it into perdi-
ton. The business man sits down in
church headaChey from the weeks en-
gagements Perhaps he wishes he had
tarried at home on the lounge with the
newspapers and the slippers That man
wants to be cooled OIL, and graciOuSly
diverted. The first wave of the religious
service out to dash clear over the hurri-
cane decks, and leave him dripping with
holy and glad and 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 moment. The attendants tried to
persuade her to stop, saying it would eX-
haust her and make her disease worse.
She answered: II must sing; / am only
practising for the heavenly choir Music
on earth is a rehearsal for music in
heaven. If you and l are going to take
part in that great orchestra it is high
time that we were stringing and thrum-
ming our harps. They tell US that Thai
berg and Gottschalk never would go into
a concert until they had first in private
rehearSed, although they were such mas
tiers of the instrument. And can it be
that we expect to take part in the great
oratorio of heaven if we do not rehearse
herel But ! am not speaking of the next
world. Sabbath song ought to set all the
week to music We want not more har-
mony, not more artistic expression, but
more volume in our church music
Now, am no worshipper of noise. but
/ believe that if our American churches
would with full heartiness 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 SER
vice and lift ii 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 loudly Then, / say, away with the
fashion. We dam back the great Missis-
sippi of congregational singing, and let a
few drops of melody trickle through the
dam. / say, take away the dam, and let
the pillows roar on their way to the
oceanic heart ofGOd. Whether it is fash
ionable to sing loudly or not, let US sing
with all possible emphasis.
We hear a great deal of the art of sing
ing, of music as an entertainment, of
music as a recreation. 1t Is high time
we heard something of music as a help,
practical help. In order to do this, we
must only have a 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 cent fury
after century. For that reason they have
the 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 full force
of this exercise. Twenty thousand wears
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 Gays. Fill this room to the
ceiling with sacred song, and you would
hION IL OuI al LuoSt dNuONduCeS OF bne
three hundred and sixty-fve days, and
you would drown them out forever Or
gan and COrnet are only to marshal the
voice. Let the voice fall into line, and in
companies, and III brigades by storm
take the ObduraCy and sin of the world
If YOU cannot sing for yourself, sing for
others. By trying to give others good
cheer. YOU viii bring good cheer to your
own heart. When Londonderry Ireland
was bcsleged many years ago, the people
inside the city were furnishing, and a
vessel came up with provisions, but the
vessel ran on the river bank and stuck
fast The enemy went down with
laughter and derision 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 O, We who are high and dry on the
rocks of melancholy, give a brOadside fire
OF song against your spiritual enemies,
and by holy rebound you viii come out into
the calm waters. If we want to make
ourselves happy, we must make Others
happy. Mythology tells US Of Amphion,
who played his Tyre until the noun
talus We're moved and the walls of
Ihebes arose: but religion has mightier
story 70 tell of how Christian song may
build whole temples of eternal oy. and
lift the round earth into sympathy with
the skies. / tarried many NIGHTS in on
don, and used TO hear he bells the
small bells Of the city. strike the hour of
Ilvlt=0ue fyyO flrpp fouIs and "a flor