Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1897-10-06
SONGS OF PRAISE
And Instrumental Music Are Pleasing
to the Ear of God.
Dr. Talmage Makes Earnest and Flo
quent Plea for Hearty Congregational
Singing In the Churches-He Urge.
the Constant Use OF Music in
Praise.


ing and thanking the Lord.
The temple was done. 1t was the
very chorus of all magnificcnce and
pomp. Splcndor crowded against SPLEEN
dor. 1t was the diamond necklace of
the earth. From the huge pillars
crowned with leaves and flowers and
rows of pomegrantae wrought out in
FURNISHED metal, down even to the
tongs and shutters made out of pure
gold, everything was as complete as
the God-directed architect could make
1t. 1t seemed as If "a vision from heaven
had alighted on the mountains. The
day for dedication came.
Tradition says that there were in and
around about the Temple on that day
100000 silver trumpets, 10000 harps.
10000 timbrels and 200, 900 singers. so
that all modern demonstrations at Dus-
seldorf or Boston seem nothing com
pared with that. As these great sounds
surged up amid the precious stones OF
the Temple, it must have seemed 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 a
cloud of glory SO ovcrpowering that the
officiating priests were Obliged tn stop
in the midst of the services.
There has been much discussion a. to
where music was born. | think that ut
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 an
gels stood TO celebrate the creation was
the birthplace of song The stars that
gltter at night are only so many KEYS
of celestial pearl. on which Gods fing-
erS play the music OF the spheres. In
animate nature is full of Gods strinped
and wind instruments. Silence itself
perfect silence-is only musical rest
In Gods great anthem of Worship
wind among the leaves, insect humming
In the summer air, the rush of billow
upon beach, the ocean far out sound
ing Its everlasting psalm, the bobo-
INK on the edge of the forest. the quail
whlstling mp from the grass, are music.
While visiting Blacllwcll's Island |
heard, coming from the window of the
lunatic asylum, "A very sweet song. 1t
was sung by one who had lost her rea-
son, and i have come to believe that
even the deranged and disordered ele-
ments of nature would make music to
our ear, if we only had acuteness
enough to listen | suppose that even
the sounds in nature that are discord-
ant and repulsive make harmony in
Gods ear. You know that YOU NAV
come SO near to an orchestra that the
sounds are painful instead of pleas
~ l.l. 1
near devastating storm and friphtful
whirlwind. We can not hear that
which makes to Gods car and the ear
OF the spirits above a music a. com
plete as it is tremendous.
propose to speak about sacred |
music, first showing you its import |
ance and then stating some of the OBJ |
stacles to its advancement.
draw the first argument for the i'm |
portance of sacred music from the fact /.
that God commanded il. Through Paul !
He tells us to admonish one another in |
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs;
through David He cries CIT: Sing We
TO God, all We kingdoms of the earth"
And there are hundreds of other pas
sages | might name, proving that il is |
as much a mans duty to sing as it is |
his duty TO pray. Indeed, [ 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 the church the harp.
the lutte. the trumpet and all the instru-
ments of music that have given their
chief aid TO the thcatcr and bacchanal |
will be brought by their masters and /.
laid down at the feet Of Christ and then |
sounded in the church's triumph on her |
way from suffering into glory Praise /
We the Lord. Praise Him with your |
voices! Praise Him with stringed in |
struments and with organs.
draw another argument for the i'm
portance of this exercise from the im-
pressivencs, of the exercise You
know something Of what secular music
has achieved You know IL has made
its impression upon governments upon
laws. upon literature. upon whole zen
erations. One inspiring national air
rs worth 30 900 men as % standing army
There comes a time i'm the battle when
one buglc call is worth "A thousand
AAAN'A't's III lllf thIittF part OF our
civil war the government proposed 10
economic in band, OF music. and many
Of them were sent home. but the gen
erals IN the army sent word to Wash
inRton. You are making q very great
mistake. We are falling back and fall
ing back We have not enough music.
j have 20 tell you that no nation or
church can afford TO severely ccono.
mize i'm music
Why should we rob tie programme,
Of worldly gayetv when ac have ,o
many appropriate songs and tunes
composed in our own day. a. well s.
that magnificent inheritance Of church
psalmOdy which has come down fra
grant with the devotion Of other pen-
eratiOns tunes no more worn out than
when our Rreat-grandfathcr, climbed
mp on them from the church new
TO glory? Dear old souls. how
they used 20 sing! And in those
days there We're certain tunes married
20 certain hymns. and they have lived
IN peace great while. these two old
people. and we have mo- right to divorce
them. Born as vec have been amid this
great wealth ~ church music. AUG.
mentcd by the competitions Of artist.
In our day. we ought not 70 be tempted
out Of the sphere pf Christian har-