The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1896-11-05
1 PERFECT HARMONY
oey OR. TALMAoE DRAWS A LESSON
FROM MUSIC.
~. rake, "The Chant Of the Stars" For
,,. subject Of Sermon of Great Beauty
.., povcr-The Final Harmony.

n
.,a powcr-Thc Final Harmony.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 1.-The musical
..sources OF all nations seem drawn
.,on BY DR.. Talmage in this sermon
80 illustrate most practical truth. His
,rhiect was 1.-THE Chant Of the Stars" p"
.rd the text Job xxxviii, Q, z. "Who
,a;d the cornerstone thereof, when the
,norniug stars sang togetherH"
We have all seen the ceremony at the
,,v;ng OF the cornerstone OF church,
asvlum or Masonic temple. Into tho
scllow Of the stone were placed scrolls
of history and important documents, to
10 suggestive il. 100 or 400 years after.
,bo building should be destroyed by fire
or torn down. We remember the silver
,rouol or iron hammer that smote the
srrare niece OF granite into sanctity.
Wo remember some venerable man who
nresidcd welding the trowel or ham,
ner We remember also the music as
,be choir stood on the scattered stones
and timber Of the building about to be
constructed. The leaves Of tho notebooks
catered in the wind and were turned
over with q great rustling. and we re-
momber how the bass, baritone, tenor.
cor,ralto and soprano voices commin-
eled. They had for many days been re-
bearsing the special programme that il
might bo worthy Of the cornerstone lay
ing.
LAYING the Cornerstone.
In my text the poet of Uz calls us to
n erander ceremony-the laying Of tho
foundation Of this great temple of n
world. Tho cornerstone was block Of
light and tho trowel was Of celestial
crystal. All about and on the embank-
ments Of clouds stood the angelic choris-
tefs unrolling their librettos of overture,
and other worlds clappod shining Gym.
balls whilo tho ceremony went on, and
God the Architect, by stroke Of light aft
or stroke Of light, dedicated this great
| cathedral Of world, with mountains
| for pillars, and sky for frescoed ceiling,
| and towering fields for floor, and sun
rise and midnight aurora for upholstery.
"Who laid the cornerstone thereof, when
the morning stars sang together?"
Tho fact is that the whole universe
was o complete cadence, an unbroken
dithyramb, n musical portfolio. The
great sheet Of immensity had been spread
out. and written ON it were the stars,
the smaller Of them minims, the larger
Of them sustained notes. The metcors
marked tho staccato passages, the whole
heov,ns gamut with all sounds, in
tona' 1nH, modulations, tho space be-
tween tho worlds musical interval,
trem, .ag Of stellar light quaver, the
thunder u bass clof the wind among
trees treble clef. That is the way God
made al things perfect harmony.
But ono day harp string snapped in
the great orchestra One day voice
sounded out Of tune. One day discord,
harsh and terrific, grated upon the glo-
rious antiphon. 1t was sin that made
the dissonance, and that harsh discord
has been sounding through the centuries.
All the work of Christians and philan-
thiopists and reformers of all ages is to
stop that discord and get all things back
into the perfect harmony which was
heard at the laying Of the cornerstone,
when tho morning stars sang together.
Before / get through, if am divinely
helped, will make it plain that sin is
discord and righteousness harmony.
That in general things are out Of tune
Is as plain as to musicians ear is the
unhappy clash Of clarinet and bassoon
in an orchestral rendering.
Out of Tune.
Tho worlds health out Of tune; weak
lungs and tho atmosphere in collision,
rlsordCrcd eye and MONDAY light in
quarrel, rheumatic limb and damp
Weather in struggle, neuralgias and
PheumoDias and consumptions and cpl
epsies IN fiocks sweep upon neighbor-
poods and cities Where you find one
person with sound throat and keen eye
ight and alert ear and easy respiration
hd regular pulsation and supple limb
hd primo digestion and steady nerves,
ou lind hundred who have to be very
retul because this or that or tho other
hysical function is disordered.
The human intellect out Of tune; the
"AShbiy oNtiNtu, oI tHt
pemory ieaky, or tho will weak, or tho
mper iniiammable. tho we'll balanced
IND exceptional.
domestic life out Of tune; only here
nd there conjugal outbreak of incom-
Anoiiity of temper through the divorce
Purts' or q filial outbreak about a ia
erswill through the surrogate court,
case OF wife beating or husband
iSoning through tho criminal courts,
thousands Of families with June
.side and January within.
oociety out Of tune; labor and capital
er hands on each others throat
ifit OF caste keeping those down in
social scale who are struggling to
up and putting those who are up in
Aie'y lest they have to come down.
wonder the old pianoforte of society
AZ ~ out OF tune, when hypocrisy and
70 and subterfuge and double dealing
syeophancy and oharlatanism and
onge have for G,000 years been bang.
away at tho keys and stampinp tho