Democratic messenger., 1893-05-20
AT THE TABERNACLE.
REV. DR.. TALMAGE'S ELOQUENT SER.
MON ON THE HARP AND JAvELiN.

REV. DR.. TALMAGE'S ELOQUENT SER.
MON ON THE HARP AND JAvELiN.
An Extremely Vivid Word Picture-PeriI.
That Can Be Avoided-JaveIins OF wit,
! Of Irony. Of sophistry and Of Diaboiie
Hostility.
BROOKLYN, May l4.-1n his sermon this
forenoon in the Brooklyn Tabernacle Rev
DIR. Talmage brought in a novel and prac
tical conjunction that is suggested by n
text perhaps never before chosen. The
opening hymn. led by organ and cornet
and joined in by thousands of voices. was:
Before Jehovah's awful throne
Ye nations bow with sacred joy.
The subject announced was Harp and
Javelin," the text being Samuel, eight
eenth chapter. tenth and eleventh verses:
And David played with his hand as at
other times, and there was a javelin in
Saufs hand. And Saul cast the javelin,
for he said. will smite David even to the
wall with it. And David avoided out OF
his presence twice"
What n spectacle for all ages! Saul, n
giant, and David, dwarf. An unfortunate
war ballad had been composed 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
get real mad. it is very apt to bring on one
OF his old attacks Saul Is n raving maniac,
and he goes to initiating the false prophets
AsI IL
wildly when they pretended to be foretelling
events.
Whatever the physicians Of the royal
staff may have prescribed for the disor-
dered king ] know not, but David pre-
scribed music. Having keyed up the harp,
his fingers began to pull the rhythm from
the vibrating strings. Thrum! Thruml
Thruml No use. The king will not listen
to the exquisite cadences. He lets fly n
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 music.
Again the javelin is flung, and David
lodges it and departs. What a contrastl
Roseate David with harp and enraged
Saul with a javelin. Who would not rath-
er 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 ] cannot declare II
Ii 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
Pythagoris 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 instrument of the
world is the harp. Jubal sounded his harp
in the book Of Genesis. David played maAy
OF his psalms on the harp while he saug
them. The captives in Babylon hung their
harps on the willows. Josephus celebrated
the invention Of the i0-stringed harp.
Timotheus the Milesian was imprisoned
for adding the twelfth string to the harp,
because too much luxury Of sound might
enervate the people Egyptian harps, Scot
tish harps. Welsh harps, Irish harps have
been celebrated. What an inspired tri-
anglel
Everlasting honors to Sebastian Erard,
who by pedals invented called the foot as
well as the hand to the harp. When the
harpsicord maker for whom he worked dis
charged him for his genius. the employer
not wanting to be eclipsed by his suboi
dinate. Erard suffered from the same pas
sion of jealousy that threw Saul Of my text
into the fit during which he flung javelin
at the harpist. The harp is almost human.
rs you find when you put your finger on its
pulse.
Other Instruments have louder voice
and may he better for battle charge, but
what exquisite sweetness slumbers between
the harp strings. waking mt the first touch
of the tips Of the fingers. II can weep. IL
can plead. IL can sooth IL can pray The
flute is more mellow, the trumpet is more
startling. the organ IL more majestic, the
:ymbals are more festive. the drum is more
resounding. but the harp has richness q.
its own and will continue its mission
through all time and then take part in ce-
lestial symphonies, for st. John says he
heard in heaven the harps of God.
But the javelin Of my text is just as
old. IL in about 5ls feet long, with wooden
handle and steel point. keen and sharp.
But it belongs to the great family Of
ieath de: lers and is brother to sword and
spear and bayonet, and first cousin TO all
the implements that wound and slay. Il
has cut its way through the ages. II was
old when Saul. in the scene of my text.
tried to harpoon David. II has gashed the
Earth with grave trenches. Its keen tip is
reddened with the blood OF American wars.
English wars. German wars. Russian wars,
French wars, Crusader wars and wars of
all nations and of all ages.
The structure Of the javelin shows what
it was mare for. The plowshare is sharp.
but aimed to cut the earth in preparation
for harvests. The lightning rod is sharp.
but aimed 20 disarm the lightnings and
secure safety The AK is sharp, bu: aimed
to fell forests and clear the way for human
habitation. The knife is sharp, but aimed
to cut the bread for sustenance But the
javelin is sharp only to open human arteries
and extinguish human eyesight and take
human life and I'LL the earth with the cries
of orphanage and widowhood and childless-
ness
Oh. am so glad that my text brings
them SO close together that we can see the
contrast between the harp and the javelin.
The one TO soothe, the other to hurt; the
,ne to save, the other to destroy; the one
iivine, the other diabolic: the one to play.
Tho other to hurl; the one in David's skill
tul hand, the other in Saul's wrathful
clutch. May God speed the harp; may God
grind into dullness the sharp edge of the
javelinl
Now what does all this make you think
,f1 IL suggests to me music as medicine
for physical and mental disorders. David
took hold of the musical instrument which
he best knew how to play and evoked from
il sounds which were for King Sauls diver
Jon and medicament. But you say the
treatment in this case was n failure. Why
was it failure? Saul refused to take the
medicine. A whole apothecary shop of
curative drugs will do nothing toward
healing your illnesses il you refuse to take
the medicine. 1t was not the fault OF
David's prescription. but the fault of Saufs
obstinacy
David. one of the wisest and best of all
ages, stands before us in the text admins
tcring music for nervous disorder and cere-
bral disturbance. And David was right.
Music is the mightiest force in all thera-
peutics. Its results may not be seen as
suddenly as other forms of cure. but 1t Is