The Penn's Grove record., 1897-10-01
DIR. TALMAGES SERMON.
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE.

aLAl
full Church-Obstacles to Overcom
TExr; at came even to pass, as q
trumpeters and singers were az n
make one sound to be heard In braisii
and thanking the Lord."-Chronicles !
The temple was done, II was the ye
chorus Of NIL magnifcence and pom
Splendor crowded against splendor. II W
the diamond necklace OF the earth. Fro
the huge pillars crowned with leaves an
flowers and rows OF ~pomegranate wrougl
out In FURNISHED metal down even to h
tonRs and shutters made out Of pure gol,
everything was as complete as the God d
fected architect could make It. II SCENE
as II a vision from heaven had aiighted z
the mountains. The day fof dedlcatio
came. Tradition says that there were /
and 0 about the temple on that da
20O 900 silver trumpets, 10000 harps. 40. Oh
timhreis and 200, 900 singers, SO that a
modern demonstrations at Dusseldorf {
Boston seem nothing compared with thai
As this great sound surged up amid th
precious stones Of the temple 1t mus
have seemed like the river OF life dashin
against the amethyst OF the wall Of heaven
Inc sound arose. and God, as II to sho,
that He was we'll pleased with the must
which His children make In ali apes
dropped into the midst OF tho temple
cloud OF glory so overpowerIng that thu
ofhciatlng priests were Obliged TO stop Ii
the midst OF the services.
There has been much discussion As I,
where music was born, I think that at th,
beginning. when the morning stars SAM
!ogetncr and all the sons OF God shouted
Tor Joy" the earth heard the echo. The
cloud on which tho angels stood to ceie
brate the creation was the birthplace oI
song. The stars that glitter at night are
only SO many keys OF celestial pearl or
Whicn Gods fingers play the music of ths
spheres: Illuminate nature Is full OF Gods
stringed and wind Instruments. silence
it~seli-perfect silence--is only a musical
rest In Gods great anthem OF worship.
WIND among the leaves, insect hummine In
the summer air, the rush Of billow upou
beach, the ocean far out sounding It's ever
lasting psalm, the boboliHk on the edge of
the forest, the quail whistling IN from the
grass, are music. While visiting Blackwell's
Island l heard, coming from a window Of
the lunatlc asylum, a very sweet n II
was sung by n who had lost her reason,
and l have come to believe that eyen the
deranged and disordered elements Of ma.
ture would make music TO our cars IL we
only had a~cuteness enough to listen. I
suppose that even the sounds in nature
that are dlscordant int repulsiye make
harmony In Gods ear. You know that Won
may come so near to an orchestra that the
sounds are painful instead OF pleasurabie.
ana 1 think that we stand so near devastat-
Ing storm and frightful whirlwind we can
not hear that which makes to Gods ear and
the ear OF the spirits above US a music as
complete as 1t Is tremendous.
1 propose to speak about sacred music.
hrst showing you its Importance and Their
stating some OF the obstacles to its advance
ment.
| draw the first argument for the impor-
tance OF sacred music from the fact that
God commanded 1t. Through Paul he tells
as to admonish one another In psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs. Through David
ne cries out, Sing We to God, all We king
OF the EARTH" And there are him.
nreds OF other passages I might name. prov
ing thai 1t Is as much a mans duty to sing
as 1t is bis dutyto pray. Indeed I think
mere are more commands in the Bible TO
ing than there are to pray. God NOT only
asks for the human voice, but for the IN,
OF music, He asks for the cym-
pal and the maryland the rumpet And 7
suppose that In the last days of the church |
harp, the flute, the trumpet and ali the
Instruments of music that have given their
MET aid to the theater and baechanal, will
'e brought by their masters and laid down
y the feet OF Christ and then sounded IN
ne church's triumph on her way from suf-
ering into glory. PRAISE ye the Lordp,
raise Him with your voices. Praise Him
WITH strtnged instruments and with or
rams.
l draw another argument for the import
nee OF this exercise from the impressiye-
less Oh the exercise. You know something
! what secular music has achieved. You
now II mas made Its impression upon gov
rnments upon laws, upon literature nj on
mole generations. One inspiring national
II Is worth. $4,000 men as q standing army.
here comes a time in the, battle when oISI,
Is worth 1000 muskots. Inthe earifsr n
art Of our Ui,n waEfhe Government pro.
osed to economize % bands OF music, and
ANY Of them were sent home. but the gem
rails In the army sent word to washington
You are making a very great mistake. We
re falling back and falling back. We have
enough music" / have to tell you that
o nation or church can afford to severely
conomize in music. Il
Why should we rob the programmes OF
gayety when we have so many APP
roprIate songs and tunes composed In our
wn day, as well as that magnificent inher-
Of church psalmody which has come
fragrant with the devotions Of other
enevations-tunes no more worn out than
yhen our greatgrandfathers climbed up on
from the church pewto glory? Dear
I'D souls, how they used to singh And IN
hose days there were certain mar
led to certain hymns, and they have lived
n peace a great while, these two old peo-
pie, and we have no right to divorce them.
Born as we have been amid this great
wealth OF church music, augmented by the
compositions OF artists in our day, we
not to be tempted out Of the sphere OF
Christian harmony and try to seek uncon-
,ecrated sounds. 1t Is absurdfor q million
aire to steal.
MANY Of you are illustrations OF what q
sacred sons can do. Through 1t you were
brought into the kingdom OF Jesus Christ.
\ "a stood out against the warning and ar
eument of the pulpit, but when, In the
sweet words OF Charles Wesley or John
Newton or Toplady, the love OF Jesus
was sung to your soul, then you sur
rendered as an armed castle that could not
be taken by a host lifts Its window to listen
to harp's thrill.
There was a Scotch soldier dying In New
Orleans, and a Scotch minister came In to
give him the consultations OF the gospel.
The man turned over on his pillow and
said, "Don't talk TO me about religion"
Then the minister began to sing Q familiar
HYMN that was composed by David Dicken-
son, beginning with the words:
oh, mother dear, Jerusalem,
When shall / come to thee?
He sang 1t to the tune OF Dundee" and
everybody in Scotland knows that, and as
he began to sing the dying soldier turned
over On his pillow and said to the minister
where did you learn that2" why, re-
piled the minister, my mother taught me
that" $50 did mine,s said the dying sol.
dier, and the very foundation of his hear
was upturned, and then and there he yielded
himself to Christ, Oh. 1t has an irresisti'
bio powerl Luther's sermons have beer
forgotten, but his Judgment Hymn" sings
on through the ages and will keep on sing
Ing until the blast of the archangel's trum,
pet shall bring about that very day which
the hymn celebrates. / would to God tha
messages from heaven, for Just as certainl!
as the birds brought food to Elijah by III,
brook Cherlth so these winged harmonies
God sent are flying to your soul with ~
bread of life. Open your mouth n tax
1t, o hungry Elijah
have also noticed the power OF sacre'
song to soothe perturbation. You ma
have CONF in here with a great many wor
riments and anxieties, yet perhaps In IN,
singing OF the first hymn you lost them al
You have read In the Bible OF Saul, an
- .-. - oNA aonr md how fhA hO