The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1897-10-01
THE POWER OF MUSIC
IMPORTANCE OF CONGREGATIONAL
SINGING IN CHURCHES.

Rev. DIR. Talmage Says There Are -Four
Schools of Singing, the New One Being
the School of Christ - Helps and Oh
stacIes.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 26.-Dr. Talmage
In this discourse rallies the churches to
more hearty congregational singing and
calls upon instruments of music to join
in the praise of God. The text is Ii
Chronicles V, 10, "It came even to pass,
as the trumpeters and singers were as
one, to make one sound to be heard in
praising and thanking the Lord.
The temple was done. 1t was the
very chorus of all magnifcence and
pomp. SpIendor crowded against SPLEEN
dor. 1t was the diamond necklace of
the earth. From the huge pillars crown
ed with leaves and flowers and rows of
pomegranate wrought out in FURNISHED
metal down even to the tongs and
snuffers made out of pure gold every
thing was as complete as the God direct
ed architect could make it. 1t seemed
as if vision from heaven had alighted
ON the mountains. The day for dedica
ton came. Tradition says that there
were in and around about the temple on
that day 200, 900 silver trumpets 40, 900
harps, 49, 900 timbrels and 900, 900
singers, so that all modern demonstra-
tions at Dusseldorf or Boston seem
nothing compared with that. AS this
great sound surged up amid the precious
stones of the temple it must have SEEM
ed like the river of life dashing against
the amethyst of the wall Of heaven.
The sound arose. and God, as if to show
that he was well pleased with the mu-
sic which his children make in all ages,
dropped into the midst of the temple
cloud of glory SO overpowering that the
officiating priests were obliged to stop
in the midst of the services,
+ Sacred Music.
There has been much discussion as to
where music was born. 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 was the
birthplace of song The stars that gilt
ter at night are only SO many keys of
celestial pearl Oh which Gods fingers
play the music of the spheres. mani
mate nature is full of Gods stringed
and wind instruments. Silence itself
perfect silence-is only musical rest
in Gods great anthem of worship.
Wind among the leaves, insect hum
ming in the summer air, the rush of |
billow upon beach, the ocean far out |
sounding its everlasting psalm, the
bobolink on the edge of the forest, the |
quail whistling up from the grass are
music. While visiting Blackwell's |
island heard, coming from window
of the lunatic asylum, very sweet |
song. 1t was sung by one who had lost |
her reason, and have come to believe
that even the deranged and disordered |
elements of nature would make music
TO our ear if we only had acuteness |
enough to listen. l suppose that even
the sounds in nature that are discordant
and repulsive make harmony in Gods
ear. You know that you may come so
near to an orchestra that the sounds are
painful instead of pleasurable and /
think that we stand so near devastating
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 it is tremendous.
| propose to speak about sacred music
first showing you its Importance and
then stating some of the obstacles to its
advancement.
1 draw the first argument for the i'm
portance of sacred music from the fact
that God commanded it. Through Paul
he tells us to admonish one another in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs
Through David he cries out, "Sing We {
to God, all ye kingdoms of the earth"
And there are hundreds of other pas {
sages l might name, proving that it is
as much a mans duty to sing as it is {
his duty to pray. Indeed l think there
are more commands in the Bible to sing {
than there are to pray. God not only {
asks for the human voice, but for the
instruments of music. He asks for the {
cymbal and the harp and the trumpet. {
And | suppose that in the last days of I
the church the harp, the lutte, the trum-
pet and all the instruments of music [
that have given their chief aid to the
theater and bacchanal, will be brought
by their masters and laid down at the
feet of Christ and then sounded in the 1
church's triumph on her way from suf- t
fering into glory. Praise We the Lordr' t
Praise him with your voices Praise i
him with stringed instruments and with
organs. {
"a
draw another argument for the i'm 7
portance of this exercise from the i'm 1
pressiveness of the exercise. You know '
something of what secular music has t
achieved. You know it has made its i'm c
preston upon governments, upon laws, '
upon literature, upon whole genera 1
tions. One inspiring national air is /
worth 30, 600 men as a standing army. |
There comes a time in the battle when t
one bugle is worth 1000 muskets. In G
the earlier part of our civil war the /
government proposed to economize in S
bands of music, and many of them were /
sent home, but the generals in the ar v
my sent word to Washington: "You /
oil | 6