The Progress., 1896-09-19

churches that are hnilt-ComparatlVeiy
few Of them are fully occupied. Inc
average attendance in the churches Oh
the United States today is not four
hundred. N@;, in tho glorious time OF
which | speak. there are going 10 &c
vast churches, and they are going 20 De
all thronsed with worshippers. On.
what rousing songs they will sing. On,
what earnest sermons they will preach'
Oh, what fervent prayers they Will Oh
fer! Now, in our time, what Is ca'led
a fashionable church is a place where
a few people having attended very
carefully to their toilet, come and SIT
down-they do not want to be crowded;
thew like a whole seat to themselves
and then. if they have any time left
from thinking of their store, and from
examining The style of the hat in front
of them, they sit and listen to sermon
warranted to hit no man S sins, and lis
ten to music which is rendered by n
choir warranted to sing tunes that no.
body knows. And then after an hour
and half of indolent yawning they go
home refreshed. Every man feels bet
ter after he has had good sleep.
In many Of the Churches of Christ
in our day the music is simply a mock
cry. | have not a cultivated ear, nor a
cultivated voice, yet no man can do my
singing for me- | nave nothing to say
against artistic music. The two or five
dollars | pay to hear any of the great
queens Of song are a good investment.
But when the people assemble in reli-
gious convocation. and the hymn is
read. and the angels of God step from
their throne to catch the music on
their wings, do not let us drive them
away by our indifference. l have
preached in churches where vast .ums
of money were employed to keep up the
music, and it was as exquisite as any
heard on earth, but l thought, at the
same time, for all matters practical
would prefer the hearty, outbreaking
song of a backwoods Methodist camp
meeting.
Let one of these starveling fancy
songs sung in church get up before the
throne of God, how would it seem
standing amid the great doxologies of
the redeemed? Let the finest operate
air that ever went up from the Church
of Christ get many hours the start, 1t
would be caught and passed by the
hosanna of the Sabbath School chill
dren. I know church where the choir
did all the singing, save one Christian
man, who, through perseverance OF
the saints" went right on, and, after
ward, a committee was appointed to
wait on him and ask him If he would
not please stop singing, as he bothered
the choir.
Let those refuse to sing
Who never knew our God;
But children Of the Heavenly King
Should speak their Joys abroad
praise we the Lord: let everything
with breath praise the Lord" In the
glorious time coming in our cities, and
in the world, hosanna will meet hosan-
ma, and hallelujah. hallelujah.
In that time also Of which / speak,
all the haunts Of iniquity and crime
and saualor will be cleansed and will
be illuminated. How is it to be done
You say, perhaps, by one influence.
Perhaps say by another l will tell
you what Is my idea, and | know am
right in it: The Gospel Of the Son of
God is the only agency that will ever
accomplish this.
A gentleman in England had a theo-
ry that if the natural forces of wind
and tide and sunshine and wave were
rightly applied and rightly developed
1t would make this whole earth a para
disc. In a book Of great genius. and
which rushed from edition to edition
he said: "Fellow-men / promise to
show the means Of creating a paradise
within ten years, where everything de-
sirable for human life may be had by
every man in superabundanc without
labor and without pay-where the
whole face of nature shall be changed
into the most beautiful farms, and man
may live In the most magnificent pal
aces, In all imaginable refinements OF
luxury. and in the most delightful gar
dens-where he may accomplish with
out labor in one year more than hith-
erto could be done in thousands Of
years. From the houses to be built will
be Afforded the most cultured views
that can be fancied. From the CALLER
les, from the roof, and from the tur-
rets, may be seen gardens as far as
the eye can see, full Of fruits and fow-
ers, arranged In the most beautiful or
der. with walks, colonnades, aque-
ducts. canals, ponds, plains, amphi-
theatres, terraces, fountains, sculptur-
ed works, pavilions, gondolas, places
OF popular amusement, to lure the eye
and fancy. All this to be done by urg-
ing the water, the wind, and the sun
shine to their full development"
IN that day OF which / speak, do you
oelieve there will be any midnight
carousal? Will there be any kicking