The times., 1897-09-27
PRAISES To COD IN SONG
Doctor Talmage Discourses o
Melody in the Churches.
TRIUMpHS OF SACRED MUSIC
To Stand Up in the Pews and Throw
Voice Into Acciamations of Vic
tory Is the Prerogative of Wor-
shippers No Sleep at the Divine
Coronation

DR.. TaImage, nrefacing his sermon at
the First Presbyterian Church yesterday
morning, gave notice that he would next
Sunday resume preaching in the evening
as in the morning.
The subject OF Dr. TalInage's discourse
yesterd ay morning was Music in
Churches, the tex being from second Chron
| fcIes, fifth ana thirteenth verses 1T came
even to pass, as the trumpeters and sing
| ers were as one, 10 make one sound TO be
heard in praising and banking the lord
To an overfIowing audience the preacher
said
There las been much discussion as To
where music was born l think that at
the beginning when the morning stars
sang together and all the sons of God
shouted for JOY" the earth heard the
echo. The cloud on which the angels
| stood to celebrate the creation " as the
birthplace OF song. The stars that glitter
st night are only SO many keys Of celestial
pearl on which God S fingers play the
music of the spheres. Inaninate nature is
full OF God . stringed and wind instru-
| meuts. Silence itself perfect silence-is
only a musical rest in Cod S great anthem
of worship. Wind among the leaves, in
sect hum ming in the summer air, the rush
OF bIllow upon beach, the ocean far out
sounding It's everlasting psalm, the bobo-
Ink on the edge OF the forest, the quail
whistling up from the grass, are music.
i propose to speak about sacred music,
frs showing you It's Importance and then
stating some of the obstacles to its ad-
Sancement.
! II "a
portance Of sacred music from the fact
that God commanded 1t. Through Paul
he tells us to admonish one another in
l psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
through David he cries out: sing ye to
God, all ye kingdoms Of the earth" And
there are many other Passages l might
name proving that 1t is as much mans
duty 70 sing as IL is his duty to pray.
Indeed, | thiak there are more commands
IN the Bible to sing thai there are To pray.
I draw another argument for the i'm
portance OF this exercise from the Inn
pTessiYcness of the exercise. You know
something of what secular music has
achieved. You know it has made It's i'm
preston upon governments, upon laws
upon literature, upon6iwhole generations.
One inspiring ma tfonal air Is worth 10000
men as a standing army. There comes
time in the battle " hen one buisle is worth
a thousand musSets. In the earlier part Of
our civil war the Government proposed to
econonize in hands OF music, and many of
them were sent home; but the generals
Ia the army sent word to Washington.
You are making a very great mistake.
We are falling back aud falling back We
have not enough music" / have TO tell you
that no nation or church can afford to
, severely cconUmize ia music.
Why should we rob the programs or
worldly gaietY when We have so inauy ap-
prcpriatc songs aud tunes composed in our
own day, as wen as that magnificent in
hertance OF church psalmody, which has
come down fragrant with the deyotIuns of
other generations tunes no more worn ont
than when our great -grandfathers climbed
up on them from the church pew to glory?
Dear old souls, hUw they used to sing!
And in those days there were certain tunes
married to certain hymns, and they have
lived n pence great while, these two old
people, and We have no right TO divorce
, uheE Born as We have been amid this
, great wealth OF church music, augmented
by the compositions of artists in our day.
we ought not to be tempted ouU OF the
sphere OF Christian harmony, and try to
seek unconsecrated sounds.
Do you not know that a singing church
is always a triumphant church? If a
congregation is silent during the exercise
or partially silent, 1t is the silence of
deatn. Ii wBen the hymn is given out
you hear the faint hum of here and there
a father and mother In Israel, while the
vast majority are silent, that minister
/ of Christ who is presiding needs to have
very strong constitution if he does not get
the chills. He needs not only the grace
of God, but nerves Ike whalebone. 1t is
amazing how some people w1thyoice enough
to discharge all their duties in the world,
when they come into the house of God
have no voice to discharge this duty
I really believe that If the Church of
Christ could rise up and sing as it ought
l to sing, where We have q hundred souls
brought into the kingdom of Christ there
would be q thousand
There is nothing makes me so ner-
, Gus as to sit III pulpit and
look off on an audience with their
/ eyes three-fourths closed and their lips
! almost shut. mumbling the praises of God
:, During my recent absence l preached to a
vast audience, and all the music they
+, made together did not equal one skylark
I People do not sleep at coronation. Do
[ not let lis sleep when we come to Sa-
viour's crowning. In order to proper
discharge of this duty, let US stand up,
, save as age or weakness or fatigue ex-
cuscs US. Seated in an easy pew We can
not do this duty half so well as when, up
: right, we throw our whole body into it.
; Let our song be like an acclamation of
9 victory. You have right to sing. Do not
] surrender your prerogative,
7 We want to rouse all our families upon
= this subject. We want each family OF
our congregation TO be singing school.
Childish petulance, obduracy and intract-
ability would be soothed If we had more
singing in the household, and then our lit
, tie ones would be prepared for the great
congregation on Sabbath day, their voices
unitiag with our voices in the praises Of
tie Lord. After a shower there are scores
Of streams that come down the mountain
side with voices rippling and slvery pour
ing into one river, and then rolling in
united strength to the sea. So 1 would
lave all the families in our church send
forth the voice of prayer an praise, pour
ing it into the great tide Of public worship
that rolls on and ON to empty into the
great, wide heart of God. Never can we
have our churches sing as they ought until
our families sing as they ought.
There will be great revolution on this
subject in all our churches. God viii come
. down by his SDirit and rOuge I'm the old