Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1893-10-16
'HELPFUL CHURCHES
An ANALYTICAL SERMON BY REV. DR.
TALNAGA
What The Different People Say About the Church
and What tbs Church Really b-An Eloquent
and Timely Discourse.

BRooKIYN, n. Y, October .15.-The
character Of the hymns given out by
Rev. DR.. Talmage 10 the Brooklyn Tab
ernacle this forenoon, called for the I'M
usual power Of congregational singing,
organ and cornet, aud the voices Of the
thousands Of WOrshippers made the
place resOund with music. The subject
was, helpful Churches, the text be-
ing 20: .; ''Send thee help from the
sanctuary"
II you should ask fifty men what the
church Is, they wsuld give you fifty
different answers. One man would say,
at is a convention Of ~hypOcrites." An
other, at Is an assembly Of people who
fell themselves q great deal better than
others" Another, lit Is q place for
gossip, where wolverine dispositions de-
YOUR each other" Another, AZ Is an
arsenal where t|heologians go to get
pixies and muskets and shot" Another,
sit is an ART gallery, where men 90 20
admire grand arches, aud exquisite
fresco, and musical MARBLE, and the
DantesQue in gloomy imagery" An
other man would say, ut is the best
place on earth except my OWL home. II
u AULkHN AAGEt ~ UNA 4eAAa4Aa A0a nAg
right hand forget her cunning"
Now, my friends. whatever the church
IS, my text tells you what 10 ought 10
be; q great, practical, homely, omnipo-
tent help. ''Send thee help from the
sanctuary" The pew ought to yield
r~estiulness 70 the body. The color OF
the upholstery ought 20 yield pleasure
to the eye. The entire service ought
20 yield strength for the mOil and Strug-
gle Of everyday life. The Sabbath
ought TO be h~arnessed 10 all the six
days OF the week, drawing them Ia the
right direction. The church
OUGHT To BE A MAGNET,
visibly and nightly affecting all the
homes OF the wOrshippers. Every man
gets roughly jOStled, gets abused, gets
cut, gets iuSulted, gets sighted, gets
exasDerated. Bv tho time the Sabbath
comes, be has al accumulation Of six
days Of annoyance; and that Is . starye-
lag church service which has not
strength enough % take that accumu-
lated annoyance and huIl 10 into perdi-
tiOn. The business nan sits down in
church -headacbey from the weeks en-
gagements. Perhaps be wishes be had
tarried 40 home on the lounge with the
newspapers and the slippers. That man
wants 70 be cOole- OH, aud graciOuSly
diverted. The first wave Of the religious
service ought 20 dash clear over the
hurricane decks, and leave him drip
ping with holy and glad and heavenly
emotion. "SCnd 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 90 the last moment. The az
tendants tried % persuade her TO stop,
saying 70 would exhaust her and make
her disease worse She answered, Il
must sing: ] am only practising for the
heavenly choir" Music on earth is a
rehearsal FOR music in heaven. il you
aud I are going TO take part 10 that
great orchestra, 10 is high time that
we were stringiDR and drumming onr
us taat Thalberg and
r0uld 20 into a con-
] FIRST in private re-
Eh they were such mas
Istrument. And can 10 be
.pect TO take a part In the
1t0rio Of heaven
E WE DO % EEHEAESE
But I am not speaking Of the
world. sabbath song ought
20 an the week 20 music. We want
more harmony, not not artistic eX-
.ression, but more volume in our church
music.
Now, / am no w0rshiper Of noise, out
I believe that 70 our American churches
would with full h%eartiness OF soul and
full emphasis Of voice sing the songs Of
Zion, this part Of sacred worship would
have tenfoid more power thsn IL has
now. Why not take this part OF the
sacred service and lift 10 10 where 10
ought to be? All the ~anuoyances of
life might be drowned outof that sacred
D Do YOU tell me that it is not
fashionable 90 sing very loudly? Then,
] say, away with the fashion. We dam
back the great Mississippi OF cOngrega-
tiOnal singing, and let a few drops OF
melody trinkIe through the dam. /
say, take away the dam, and let the
pillows roar on their way 90 the
oceanic heart of God. Whether it Is
fashionable 10 sing loudly or not, let Us
sing with an possible emphasis.
We hear a great deal OF the art OF
singing, of music as an entertainment,
Of music as q recreation. 10 is high
time We heard something of music as o
help, a practical help. To order 20 do
this, We must only have a few hymns.
New tunes and new hymns every Sun
day 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 century after century. For
that reason they have the hearty re-
ons Let US take q hint from that
fact, and let as sing the same songs
Sabbath after Sabbath. Only 10 that
way can we come 60 the full force OF
this exercise. Twenty thousand years
will not wear cut the hymns Of Will
lam Cowper, and Charles Wesley, and
Isaac Watts. Suppose now each person
10 this audience had brought all the an
aoyances OF the last three hundred and
sf%xty-fye days.
FILL THIS loom
20 the ceiling with sacred song and you
would drown out all those annoYances
Of the three hundred and siXty-hve days,
and YOU would drown them out forever.
Organ and cornet are only 20 marshal
the voice. Let the voice fall into line,
and i'm companies, and in ~brigades, by
storm take the Obduracy and sin Of the
world. If you cannot sing FOR yourself,
sing for others. By trying 20 give
others good cheer you will bring good
cheer to your own heart. When Lon
donderry, ireland, was besieged many
years ago the people inside the city