The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1893-06-15
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
The Harp and the Javelin, the SYM
bols of Good and Evil.
The Power of Music to Alleviate Mehtai
and Bodily IIIs-The Javelln OF
Envy, Hatred and Malice to
to Be Avoided.


the text being:
And David played with his hand as at other
tunes, and there was javelin in Sauls hand.
And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, Will
smite David even to the wall with it. Ana Da-
vid avoided out of his presence twice. sam
uel xviii, 10f1
What spectacle for all ages! Saul
a giant, and David a dwarf. An I'M
fortunate war ballad had been com
posed and sung eulogizing David above
Saul. That song threw Saul into
paroxysm of rage, which brought on
one of his old spells of insanity, to
which he had been subject. If one IS
disposed to some physical ailment, and
he gets real mad, it is very apt to bring
on one of his old attacks. Saul is
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 rhythm from
the vibrated strings. Thrum! Thrum.
Thrum! No use. The king will not
listen to the exquisite cadences.
He let's 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, subdue Saul's bad spirit by mu-
sic. Again the javelin is flung and
David lodges it and departs. What a
contrast? Roseate David with harp
and enraged Saul with a javelin. Who
would not rather play the one than
fling the other? But that was not the
only time in the worlds history that
harp and javelin met. Where their
birthplace was l can not declare. 1t
is said that the Tyre was first suggested
by the tight drawing of the sinews OF a
tortoise across its shell, and that the
flute was first suggested by the blow
ing of the wind across 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 uE
from the pit.
The oldest stringed instrument of the
world is the harp. Jubal sounded his
harp in the Book of Genesis. DaviC
played many of his psalms on the harI
while he sang them. The captives il
Babylon hung their harps on the viii
lows. Josephus celebrated the inven
ton OF the ten-stringed harp. limo
theus, the Milesian, was imprisoned fol
adding the twelfth string to the harp
because too much luxury of sounc
might enervate the people. Egyptian
harps, Scottish harps, Welsh harps
Irish harps have been celebrated
What an inspiring triangle! Everlast
ing honors to Sebastian Erard, who, b,
pedals invented, called the foot as wei
as the hand to the harp. When tn
harpsicord maker for whom he works
discharged him for his genius, the EN-
ployer, not wanting to be eclipsed by hi
subordinate, Erard suffered from tn
same passion of jealousy that threy
Saul of my text into the fit durin
which he flung javelin at the harpist
The harp is almost human, as you fin
when you put your finger on it's pulse
Other instruments have louder voice
and may be better for battle charge
but exquisite sweetness slumbers bt
tween the harp strings, waking at tn
first touch of the tips of the finger
1t can weep, 1t can plead. 1t ca
soothe. 1t can pray. The flute
more mellow, the trumpet is MOI
startling, the organ is more majesti
the cymbals are more festive, the drul
is mere resembling, but the harp has
iehness of its own, and will continr
its mission through all time and the
take part in celestial symphonies, ft
st. John saws he heard in Heaven IL
harps of God.
But the javelin of my text is just /;
old. 1t is about five and one-half fe,
long, with wooden handle and ste,
point, keen and sharp. But it belong
to the great family of death-dealer
and is brother to sword and spear an
bayonet, and first cousin to all the in
plements that wound and Stay. 1t b;
cut its way through the ages. 1t w;
old when Saul, in the scene of my tex
tried to harpoon David. 1t has gasht
the earth with grave trenches. I
keen tip is redeemed with the blood
American wars, English wars, Germa
wars, Russian wars, French war
Crusader wars, and wars of all nation
and of all ages. The structure of Il
javelin shows what it was made fo
The plowshare is sharp, but aimed
cut the earth in preparation for ha
vests. The lightning rod is sharp, b,
aimed to disarm the lightnings ar
secure safety. The AK is sharp, b,
aimed to fell forests and clear the wa
for human habitation. The knife
sharp, but aimed to cut the bread fl
sustenence. But the javelin is shal
only to open human arteries and e
tinguish human eyesight and take h
man life and fill the earth with Il
cries of orphanage and widowhood al
childlessness Oh, am so glad tn;
my text brings them so close togeth
that we can see the contrasts b
tween the harp and the javelin. TT
one to soothe, the other to hurt; Il
one to save, the other to destroy; IL
one Divine, the other diabolic; the OF
to MA T. the other To hurl. the ono