Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1893-05-26
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
fhs Eminent Brooklyn Divine's Sun
day Sermon.
Subject; "Harp and Javelin."

TEXT "And Darid played Nth has hand as
at other times and there ocas jaUelir' IN Sduts |
hand. And Saul cast the jauetin, for he SAID,
I aoiU sn,ite DdUid ecen to The acoR Nth H. Ana
Dauid avoided out of his presence ts01ce' -
Samuel xviii, tO-11.
What spectacle for all ages! Saul,
giant, and David, dwarf. An unfortunate
war ballad had been composed and sung
eulogizing David aboye Saul. That song
threw Saul into a parc&vm of rage, which
brought on one of isemspells of insanity to
which he had been subject If one Is disposed
to some physical ailment and he get reai
mad, it is very apt to bring on one OF ms GU
attacks. Saul is raving maniac, and ne
goes to initiating the false prophets or sloyls,
who kicked and gesticulated wildly when
thew pretended to be foretelling events.
Whatever the physicians Of the royal stau
NAV have prescribed for tho disordered KING
7 know not, but David prescribed music
Having keyed up the harp, his fingers oegan
TO pull the rhythm from the vibrating Strings.
Thrum Thrum'! &Thrum! No use. Inc
king will not listen TO the exquisite cadences.
He let's fv iavelin, expecting to pin the
minstrel to the wall, but David uodged the
weapon and kept on for he was confident
that he could as before, subdue Sauls pad
spirit by music. -,
Again the javelin is flung, and David
lodges it and departs. What contrast
Roseate David with hsrp and enraged saul
with a iavelin. Who wouh not rather play
the one than fling the other? But that was
NOT the only time in the worlds history that
herp and isvelin met Where their birth
| Mace was cannot declare. 1t is said tina.
the lvre was first suggested by the ugnt
drawing of the sinewS OF a tortoise across lls
J oholI, and that tue flute was 1rst suggested
| by the blowing of The wind across ped Oh
reeds, and that the ratio Of musical intervals
was first suggested to Pytpn2oras py tue 4ll-
ferent hammers on the anvil OF tho smlthy,
but the harp seems to me to have dropped out
of the sky and the javelin to have peen thrown
up from the pit.
The oldest stringed instrument ofthe world
is the harp. Jubal sounded his harp in the
book of Genesis. David played many OF his
| psalms on the harp while he sang them. Inc
captives in Babylon hung their harps on the
willows. Josephus celebrated the invention
of the 1O-stringed harp. Timotheus, the
Milesian was imprisoned for adding the
twelfth string to the harp, because too mucn
luxury of sound might enervate the people.
Egyptian harps. Scottish harps, Welsh harps,
Irish harps have been celebrated. What an
inspi-ed triangle
Everlasting honors to Sebastian Erard,
who by pedals invented called the foot az
|
harpiscord maker for whom he worked dis
charged him for his genius, tie employer
not wanting to be eclipsed by his subordl-
nate Erard suffered from the same passion
of jealousy that threw Saul of my text into
the At during which he flung iavelin at the
harpist. The harp is almost human, as you
find when you put your finger on its pulse.
Other instruments have louder voice and
NAV be better for battle charge, but what
I cl1 NH
harp strings, waking at the first touch OF the
tins of the fingers. II can weep. 1t can
plead. It can soothe. 1t can pray. Inc
flute is more mellow, the trumpet is more
startling, the organ is more majestic, tue
cvmbals are more festive, the drum is more
resounding, but the harp has richness OF lts
own and will continue its mission through
all time and then take part in celestial sym
phonies, for st. John says he heard In heaven
the harps Of God.
But the javelin of my text is Just Us oid
It is about five and half feet long, with
wooden handle and steel point, keen and
sharp. But it belongs to the great family q
death dealers and is brother to sword and
spear and bayonet, and first cousin to Gil tni
implements that wound and STAY, 1t mas Guy
its way through the ages. 1t was OLD wne1
Saul, in the scene OF my TEX, trleo W nar
noon David. 1t has gashed the earth WITH
grave trenches. Its keen tip is reddeneS
with the blood of American wars, EngnsE
wars. German wars, Russian wars, Frencn
wars Crusader wars and wars OF all ages.
The structure of the javelin shows what
it was made for. The plowshare is sharp
but aimed to cut the earth in preparation tol
harvests The lightning rod is sharp, bul
aimed TO djsarm the lighthings and secure
/ safety The ak Ii sharp, but aimed to fell
forests and clear the way for human haol.
tation, The knife is sharp, but aimed to cut
the bread for sustenance. But the Javeln IS
sharp only to open human arteries and extln;
cuish human eyesight and take human hfa
and 1ll the earth with the cries OF orphanage
and widowhood and childlessness
Oh, am so glad that my text brings tnen
80 close together that we can see the contrast
between the harp and the javelin. The one
to soothe, the other to hurt; the one to save
the other to destroy the one divine, the otnel
diabolic the one to play, the other to hurl
the one in Dayid's skilful hand, the other IL
Saul's wrathful clutch. May God speed thu
harp. may God grind into dizziness the SHARP
edge of the javelin. .
Now what does all this make you think OF
II suggests TO me music as medicine fol
phvsical and mental disorders. David tooi
hold OF the musical instrument which he bes
knew how to play and. evoked from 1t SOUNDS
which were for King Saul's diversion an(
medicament. But, you say, the treatment II
this case was failure. Why was it failure
Saul refused to take the medicine. who'll
apothecary shop of curative drugs will d.
nothing toward healing your illnesses if yo'
refuse to take the medicine. 1t was not tn
fault of Davids prescription, but the fault o
Saul's obstinacy.
David, one OF the wisest and best OF al
ages, stands before us in the text administer
ing music for nervous disorder and cerebra
disturbance, and David was right Music
:. the mightiest force in all therapeutics 1t
l results NAV not be seen as suddenly as othe
u forms of cure, but it is just as wonderful
7 You will never know how much suffering an
sorrow music has assuaged and healed.
soldier in the United States army said the
on the days the regimental band played nea
: the hospitals all the sick and wounded r.
vived, and men who were so lame they coul
not walk before got up and went out and So
in the sunshine, and those so d1splrlted tina
they never expected to get home began l
pack their baggage and ask about Timetable
on steamboat and rail train.
u Theodosius, the emperor, wrathful al tn
behavior of the people OF Antioch, VINO, Q
some sudden provocation tore down Cd
statues OF emperor and empress, resolve
severely to punish them, but the BISHOP
knowing that the emperor had group
boys to sing to him while eating at the tabl
taught the boys plaintive song in which IL
people lamented their bad behavior, and IL
. king under the pathos OF the music cried on
= ''The city of Antioch is forgiven" The rag
of Achilles was assuaged by q harp. Asci
piades swayed rebellious multitudes by
Y harp.
After the battle of Yorktown, when
No. rfofs on